A Fox News guest who took on Sean Hannity for blasting President Barack Obama even as employment dropped to the lowest level in more than four years reaveled on Tuesday that the conservative host and others at Fox News are "so upset" that the economy is recovering.
During a panel discussion on Monday, Hannity talked over Occidental College Associate Professor of Politics Caroline Heldman as she tried to point to positive economic indicators like that the unemployment rate had dropped to 7.7 percent and the stock market was soaring.
"Nine million fewer Americans in the workforce!" Hannity interrupted. "You hear Nancy Pelosi, others talking about the stock market. Do any of those people on food stamps, are they investing in the stock market, Caroline?"
"I'm impressed that you're now concerned about the poor, thank you for that," Heldman shot back.
In an appearance on MSNBC on Tuesday, the Occidental professor shed some light on her interview with Hannity.
"You know, I have never met a group of people that is so upset that the economy is rebounding than the folks over at Fox," Heldman told MSNBC's Al Sharpton. "I mean, the signs are really clear, not only the unemployment rate dropping, but housing starts, new housing starts, housing prices, the fact that the stock market has doubled since 2009, that private wealth has been fully restored... But it is getting better, and we can't be in denial about this because that actually affects consumer confidence."
"I think that Sean Hannity is a perfectly likable person," she added. "I happen to know that he tips 100 percent in his private life, I just wish that his public stances and the stances of Republicans didn't go after the poor, the elderly, kids with Pell grant cuts, Medicaid cuts, job training cuts. I mean, you really do have to put your money where your mouth is."
"I agree with you, professor," Sharpton concluded. "I don't have a problem with any of them personally. They just seem to have a problem with facts."
(h/t: Media Matters)
