Posted on 02/02/2006 8:19:45 AM PST by LowCountryJoe
As anyone who has ever suffered through Lou Dobbs' show can tell you, to see it once is to see every episode. We've said it before: He has the best gig on television -- or anywhere for that matter -- in that he does the same show night after night. Every night he serves up a daily dose of misery and mayhem wrapped around a singular theme: America is going to hell in a handbasket. Indeed, it is the darker, TV equivalent of the movie, "Groundhog Day."
And so it was on Tuesday when Punxatawney Lou's clock radio turned over to 6:30 a.m. that he heard the strains of Sonny and Cher singing "I Got You, Babe." He sat up, stretched, and steeled himself for another day. For this would be no ordinary day. No, this would be the day when he gets to fold all the worst of the detritus that he has broadcast over the past year into one grim speedball, Lou Dobbs' doppleganger State of the Union. In one hour, he pinned the needle on the misery index with a heapin' helpin' of mayhem. Let's review:
"It's difficult to imagine", said Lou, "That President Bush tonight will address the issue of class warfare in the United State." Right. Why would he do that? Lou's got that base pretty well covered. His website and the AFL-CIO's website share too many similar themes and messages. War on the middle class. We know all about the middle class. It was manufacturing that created it, birthed in our image and likeness. Some actually vanished from the middle class because their earnings reached a level that moved them up a notch. Maybe Lou would rather drop 'em down a peg -- y'know, just to help the statistics look better.
He opened with author and fellow Harvard-ite Elizabeth Warren, whose grim assessments of the state of the middle class were quoted favorably by the similarly dour Presidential candidate John Kerry. She says it's tough to make ends meet (although presumably not on a Harvard professor's salary), seemingly ignoring the fact that folks consume much more in food, housing, cars and general electronics and goodies than they ever did before.
David Gergen, clinging to relevance, opines that there will be nothing in the President's speech on lobbying reform. After a riff on border security (a nightly feature), Lou goes back to his panel of Ed Rollins, the Wall Street Journal's John Fund and "Democratic political consultant Hank Sheinkopf." Sheinkopf opines that the President "ought to stop engaging in symbolic politics", adding, "Americans have spent three generations now watching the work of political consultants and spin-meisters." Lucky for Mr. Sheinkopf, no?
Somehow Lou meanders into daily topic #2, the trade deficit. He illustrates with a trip to the Silicon Valley which has, Lou says, lost 212,000 jobs since 2000. This, of course, is one of the reasons Gov. Gray Davis was thrown out of office, i.e., that California had one of the most hostile business climates in the country. Companies have left in droves because of their onerous tax, environmental and legal climate. Oh, nevermind. He veers into the daily cheap shot at China, with backup fellow johnny-one-note and Lou regular Alan Tonelson. Trade is bad, trade agreements are bad. Does anybody want to point out that trade agreements open markets and that 90% of our trade deficit is with countries with which we have no trade agreement? Oh, what's the point?
He makes a quick point on the need for socialized medicine, quoting noted health care expert, Rep. Dennis Kunicinich. God help us all. Everyone ignores the elephant in the room, i.e., that countries with socialized medicine also have rationing. A point worth considering, at least, but hey -- why wreck a good buzz?
Finally, Lou returns to familiar turf with another grim look at trade and another shot at NAFTA. That's right, there are still people fighting the NAFTA battle, in spite of the fact that we added some 300,000 auto jobs in this country in the years after NAFTA passed. Heck, even Al Gore agrees. Lou poses as his litmus poor Hertford, North Carolina, home of the hard-hit and celebrated Pillowtex plant. Had he picked San Antonio, Texas, his snapshot would have gone from dark to sunny. It's all in what you measure. No matter, in Lou Dobbs' America, all the store fronts are boarded, stomachs growl and every house needs a coat of paint. Wait -- it's Potterville!
John Fund, for his part, tries valiantly at the end to make the point that things ain't all that bad. "I would remind you that the unemployment rate is 4.9%", says Fund. "There's a lot that's right in this economy." Off with his head.
At the end of the day, if Lou cared about trade, about the state of manufacturing in this country, he would have a laser focus on opening new markets for American goods and on lowering the (non-wage) cost of doing business in this country. Our manufacturers face the highest natural gas prices in the world, the highest legal costs in the world, among the highest corporate tax burdens in the world. Jobs left California because there were other states and countries that would provide a friendlier climate for business. We are in a global competition for jobs and it ain't based on wages, either. If it were, Haiti would be an international powerhouse. Sadly, it is not. But we get the sense that Lou may be more interested in bolstering his sagging ratings than in solutions. The President, to his credit, proposed some things in his speech that will begin to boost American competitiveness. We applaud these initiatives and will continue to work to make sure that we are the best, most productive manufacturers in the world.
As for Lou, all we can say is "Happy Groundhog Day!" We're good for another year. We watch so you don't have to.
Please. Dobbs doesn't care about the truth and never will. He cares about one thing and that's the ratings of his show. It's not surprising that he his able to attract liberals to his show for the Bush bashing alone. That he is able to attract "conservatives," by playing to their irrational fears, is a sad commentary. Dobbs is for or against anything that will generate more ratings.
Most conservatives see through Dobbs' dishonesty and class warfare rhetoric although some choose to buy into his economic ignorance.
Like most protectionists at FR, Dobbs believes that outsourcing is destroying the middle class. Like the protectionists here, he can never manage to prove it.
Outsourcers are the bigger job creators?
Buckley nails Dobbs in the article linked below:
President Bush is standing by free trade policies (however imperfectly we abide by them). It requires acts of faith in economic laws to applaud free trade. But Adam Smith was resoundingly correct in laying down the law that both parties benefit, giving us the benefit of exposure to Lou Dobbs, and the freedom to reject his counsel.
I bet he does. I watched him regularly years ago. He always had a great show then when it was strictly business and the markets. But his interview technique was outstanding. Although I have not watched him in recent years, I would put bet money that you are 100% right. I respect Lou Dobbs.
Wrong.
... i.e., that California had one of the most hostile business climates in the country. Companies have left in droves because of their onerous tax, environmental and legal climate.
Wrong again.
He veers into the daily cheap shot at China, with backup fellow johnny-one-note and Lou regular Alan Tonelson. Trade is bad, trade agreements are bad.
Trade agreements that ship jobs overseas are bad.
Finally, Lou returns to familiar turf with another grim look at trade and another shot at NAFTA. That's right, there are still people fighting the NAFTA battle, in spite of the fact that we added some 300,000 auto jobs in this country in the years after NAFTA passed.
LMAO.
"I would remind you that the unemployment rate is 4.9%", says Fund. "There's a lot that's right in this economy."
Anyone who believes that the true unemployment rate is 4.9% is delusional.
There is a lot that's right in this economy - for elites only. They are living in an economic paradise.
Slam Lou all you want. He sounds old school GOP. Here is an old Drudge headline for ya.
XXXXX DRUDGE REPORT XXXXX THU JUNE 06, 2002 18:02:37 ET XXXXX
CNN DOBBS ON HOT SEAT AFTER CALL FOR WAR ON ' ISLAMISTS'
CNN star Lou Dobbs hit maximum controversy after calling for a 'War Against Islamists.'
Dobbs made the comments Wednesday evening during the opening segment of his MONEYLINE program, which airs worldwide on CNN.
Dobbs: "The government and media for the past nine months have called this a war against terror. So have we here. But terror is not the enemy. It is what the enemy wants to achieve. So on this broadcast, we are making a change... in the interests of clarity and honesty. The enemies in this war are radical Islamists who argue all non-believers in their faith must be killed. They are called Islamists. That's why we are abandoning the phrase, "War Against Terror". Let us be clear. This is not a war against Muslims or Islam. It is a war against Islamists and all who support them. If ever there were a time for clarity, it is now. We hope our new policy is a step in that direction."
The comments immediately ignited angry phone calls to CNN, according to insiders.
With stunned viewers from Arab countries registering strong complaints.
The Dobbs comments -- which were not labeled commentary -- remained intact during reruns of MONEYLINE.
CNN News Group Chairman Walter Isaacson and Dobbs on Thursday both agreed that Dobbs should explore the "War Against Islamists" -- but in the commentary portion of his show.
Developing...
Also, could you show me just what a twenty-foot container looks like that transports jobs overseas? See, I thought that capital flows were responsible for business expansion and job creation, yet the ignorant seem to be unhappy when we get the capital to expand and create. You do know that net exports are equal to net capital outflows, didn't you? So, if we have net imports, we have net capital inflows that fuel expansion. Do you really not understand this or do you swallow the junk that Dobbs & Co peddle hook, line, and sinker?
What I learned today:
Pat Cleary is in absolutely no danger of missing a paycheck.
I can't imagine that Lou Dobb's expected John Fund to agree with him. The Wall St Journal editorial page has no evident allegiance to America, or at least to any of its citizens below the boardroom level.
A few years ago an American firm sold China the technology to insure that their missiles will stage without failing. That's definitely "a stinking commitment to capitalism and freer trade." It just happens to be one that ignores America's future military security.
Some years ago we used to have part of the Pentagon that concerned itself with our industrial abilities, and who owned or sought to buy vital industries. I'm curious to know the limits, if any, you place on capitalism and free trade?
It's easy to decide whether to trust Lou Dobbs or not. I saw him ranting against tax cuts for the rich. He is obviously in that bracket that got a large tax cut, he says people in his tax bracket shouldn't get tax cuts, he doesn't give his up. He isn't to be trusted. I just love how B. O'reilly or Hannity offers people like that (Franken, Moore, etc.) the opportunity to give back their tax cuts to the government. All of them act like they were handed a deadly cobra. Never trust someone who says they want to do something so easy and yet actually refuse to do it.
4.9% unemployment under Bush, but don't believe it?
Did you believe 5.6% when Clinton ran for re-election?
Communist, or Code Pink?
Who are you?
As transparent as the lies of the Rats.
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