Hey, if you're Fox News, you never, EVER pass up the opportunity to paint Maxine Waters as an Angry Black Woman, amirite? Today it was preening knobstick, Stuart Varney, blowing dog-whistles aplenty in response to the Chairwoman's speech about her committee's plans for holding big business and big banks accountable for their behavior.
Watch as they play a few moments of Rep. Maxine Waters speaking in calm, reasonable tones about the financial crisis, and her committee's (House Financial Services Committee) responsibilities of oversight. Then listen to the language Varney uses to describe his interpretation of her plans.
WATERS (on video): The crisis was a result of Wall Street running amuck. The Committee will be paying close attention to whether financial regulators tried to weaken these important reforms, and we will be keeping an eye on the big banks and their activities.
EARHARDT: So, what does this mean for you and your family and our economy? Here to weigh in on this is host of Varney and Company, Fox Business Network Stuart Varney...So, she has a stern warning for Wall Street. What did you make of her agenda?
VARNEY: She wants revenge. She's gone flat out with it and said, "I want revenge." She says, "I am going to do to you," as in the banks, "what did you to us." She is going to turn this committee, which she now chairs, into a court which is going to try and punish bankers. You will see a lot of hearings where bankers, leading bankers will have to stand up, raise their right hand and take the oath. That's very bad PR for the banking industry, and Maxine Waters is doing that deliberately. She will harass the president. She will go after Deutsche Bank, which financed some of the Trump Organization's business. She go right after the Deutsche Bank and try to expose and harass the president. She will call for new taxes on Wall Street. I think she is going to turn that committee into a sounding board to establish the Democrats' financial policies going into 2020. But, I don't think she has any real power to affect the economy because any new rules or suggestions that she has can be reversed by the Republican Senate and/or vetoed by the president.
Revenge. Revenge. Punishment. Expose. Harass. Go after. This is how Varney explains that clip of Maxine Waters' and her plans. Don't worry, though, the Great White Men of the Senate and the Great White President can stop her in her tracks. That should be soothing to the Fox viewers.
Next up in the typical Fox format? Non-ironic hypocrisy.
KILMEADE: A lot of the people responsible for 2008 are retired, gone, or fishing somewhere. Where did she dust this speech off from?
VARNEY: Well, she doesn't like the banks. She blames the banks for the crash 10 years ago. I think that's regurgitating old ground, frankly. That's what she is going to do. You will see an endless set of hearings where the banking industry, Wall Street, rich people are pilloried in front of this committee. Don't forget AOC is on that committee as well.
Regurgitating old ground. Endless set of hearings. Pilloried in front of committees. Varney is saying these things as if they are horrible things, and, of course, things THEY AS REPUBLICANS WOULD NEVER DO...especially, to OH I DON'T KNOW MAYBE TO HILLARY CLINTON??? *cough* Yeah, they would never ever be in favor of bringing up things from the past and have say, eleven-hour hearings about things, and lord knows they certainly aren't even STILL talking about Hillary Clinton's alleged misdeeds oh my god please hold while I stick my head in the oven.
Note, Varney is not the slightest bit concerned with the substance of what Rep. Waters said: that big banks and Wall Street companies with tremendous power are operating under loosened rules, and there is need for oversight as a result. Then, after they took an audience question about IRAs and retirement, came the predictable incitement portion of the program.
KILMEADE: I would love to see HER investigated. A lot of people curious how she got so rich and why she doesn't live in her district
VARNEY: That's another story, Brian.
Killmeade called for her to be investigated, with Varney's approval. So, let me get this straight. Varney is screeching about Maxine Waters possibly investigating illegal behavior of Wall Street and big banks, but doesn't blink when his colleague suggests a Black Representative in Congress should be investigated, because she is doing her job?
Seems the blowhards have their own taste for revenge.
