Apparently Fox News thinks that the daughter of mister deficits don't matter Dick Cheney who helped to break the bank on our spending for two invasions of countries that were never a threat to us and the Bush tax cuts that they justified as being okay because we had a surplus under Bill Clinton is somehow now qualified to weigh in on our problem with the deficit and this very dangerous game of kabuki theater we're watching now on raising the debt ceiling.
Naturally, Cheney claimed that our current problems with the deficit are all the fault of the Obama administration and John Podesta called her out for what some of the true drivers of that deficit are.
PODESTA: Every, every, independent analysis.
CHENEY: There is no way that you can claim that he has been a responsible fiscal steward of this economy
PODESTA: Says 60 percent of that run up goes to Bush tax cuts-
(CROSSTALK)
WALLACE: Wait, wait, Liz.
PODESTA: Medicare part D and the two wars.
Jon Perr pointed out here back in June why Cheney is of course full of it with what's driving our deficit -- 10 Inconvenient Truths About the Debt Ceiling. Naturally the Fox News host Chris Wallace didn't happen to have this chart handy from Jon's post to counter Liz Cheney instead of telling Juan Williams to shut up while she was repeating her bullshit right wing talking points.
Full transcript below the fold.
WALLACE: But Juan -- wait, wait, wait -- but Juan, I mean, this president came into office, he was elected-first of all to fix the economy, which we would all agree he hasn't done. But secondly, we were told he was the one who was going to end the partisan rancor. He was going to make the town work. I mean, if they can't get a deal. And as this goes on, doesn't that hurt him, and you know, one of the reasons people voted for him was he was going to fix the system?
WILLIAMS: But there is no evidence that he is not working towards a deal. That he is willing to compromise. He is willing to say, as you point out earlier, there is too much spending in the town, let's have substantial cuts. Eric Cantor said, they had, in terms of the Biden negotiation, $2 trillion on the table. But Eric Cantor wasn't willing to say yes, we have some increased revenue to go with it.
CHENEY: Look, this president is completely out of step with history and out of step where most the American people are. He does not fundamentally believe that the private sector creates job. I will give you three example of where he stands in his press conferences this week.
Neither press conference, did he, at any time, he say the words "private sector." He believes the solution is we'll have more government growth, we'll have the government hire people. Secondly, at one point in the second press conference, or the first press conference, he said that really, he doesn't think he ought to be able to keep more than he needs from the government. Now this notion that the government somehow decides what the American people need and ought to keep is not any kind of a recipe for economic health. It certainly isn't capitalism.
Finally, the president at the end of the press conference, says he wants to increase taxes and get through this initial crisis so that he can spend more on infrastructure. This is an insatiable appetite for spending.
(CROSSTALK)
CHENEY: It is driving the country off of a cliff. It is completely irresponsible.
PODESTA: I think that is so fundamentally wrong on the facts. President Obama has proposed taking the domestic government down to the size that it was in the Eisenhower administration. That is in his budget. We have taxes now lower than they have ever been since 1950, and have --
WALLACE: A lot of that has to do with the fact that we're in a recession.
PODESTA: We're in a recession, but the Bush tax cuts have contributed substantially to that, particularly for the high end. What are the Republicans proposing? Go even further than that. Now we're in a hostage-taking situation on the debt limit that will be catastrophic if we actually do go over that August 2 deadline. I actually think this is the craziest hostage-taking that we've seen since Al Pacino and John Cazale were in "Dog Day Afternoon."
WALLACE: Very good reference. That is our second movie reference.
PODESTA: Well, we like movies around here. Right, Chris?
But I think that they have got to come to grips with the fact that it would be catastrophic, as Ronald Reagan had said in 1983, as S&P and Moody's had said, as Ben Bernanke has said. If we don't raise the debt limit by August 2 and those 44 percent in cuts take place, it will do nothing but drive the economy in to a second recession.
Now, that may be the cynical attitude of the House Republican leadership. Maybe that's what they want, which is to damage Obama by damaging the economy. But I think that the American people see what the framework is right now.
CHENEY: But I was quoting what the president said in his press conference. This president has added more to the debt than all previous presidents combined.
(CROSSTALK)
CHENEY: All you've got to do is find - all you've got to, all you've --
WALLACE: Wait, wait.
PODESTA: Every independent-
(CROSSTALK)
CHENEY: Let me finish.
(CROSSTALK)
WALLACE: Let her finish. Juan, Juan, stop it.
Go ahead.
CHENEY: This man's stimulus program did nothing to help that, we're at 9.2 percent unemployment. You could easily find $1.4 trillion in savings if you would repeal Obamacare. Not complicated. This president refuses to put Obama care on the table.
PODESTA: Every, every, independent analysis.
CHENEY: There is no way that you can claim that he has been a responsible fiscal steward of this economy
PODESTA: Says 60 percent of that run up goes to Bush tax cuts-
(CROSSTALK)
WALLACE: Wait, wait, Liz.
PODESTA: Medicare part D and the two wars.
CHENEY: Bush tax cuts, which you guys keep talking about.
PODESTA: The Recovery Act contributes 15 percent to that.
CHENEY: You guys keep talking the Bush tax cuts for super rich.
WALLACE: Here's the question. Wait, wait. Wait. OK. Everybody calm?
Let's -- what is going to happen? I mean, all you are doing is repeating the arguments we heard and heard and heard. Every one of your agrees that we cannot get past August 2nd without raising the debt ceiling. I think you all agree. Yes?
WILLIAMS: Correct.
PODESTA: Yes.
CHENEY: Yes.
WALLACE: So, what is going to happen?
KRISTOL: The Republicans will pass the Cut, Cap and Balance, on Tuesday. They will then and pass prioritizing of federal expenditures if there are a few days or a couple of weeks where the debt ceiling goes past August 2, so Social Security, Medicare, Defense are taken care of.
They will also pass, I believe, next week, a short-term increase, for maybe a month. $100 billion-
WALLACE: Which the president says he'll veto.
KRISTOL: Well, let him explain that to the American public. They are going to say a $100 billion increase in the debt ceiling, $100 billion in domestic spending cuts, which the president himself has endorses it. He's going to veto it? Why? Because it doesn't accord with his vision of what should happen? So, I think Republicans are in pretty good shape.
WALLACE: John, what's the end game?
PODESTA: I think it is -- I don't like it, but it's probably some version of McConnell, which is cut the deficit now by $1.3, $1.4 trillion. Get this passed, get the debt limit past the election, and then fight it out next year in the election. President Obama will frame it and the Republicans can answer.
WALLACE: You have about 30 seconds. What is going to happen?
CHENEY: The president will lose the election of 2012. The American people are --
(CROSSTALK)
WALLACE: No, no, no, I'm talking about August, not November 6.
CHENEY: I think we will -- that the Republicans in the House will in fact pass spending cuts along with a debt limit increase. And I think it will then go to the president and it will be up to him, as Bill said, to explain to the American people he is demanding we not act on this until 2012.
WALLACE: Juan, 15 seconds.
WILLIAMS: The outrage from Wall Street is just going to become so intense that Republicans will eventually have to say yes to something.
WALLACE: Thank you, panel. See you next week. Thank you for staying inside the clock.
