I'm not sure why anyone thinks Newt Gingrich has anything of value to offer with his presence on these Sunday talk shows, but if they're going to have him on, I'd like to see something like this happen more often: Lawrence O’Donnell Confronts
December 9, 2012

I'm not sure why anyone thinks Newt Gingrich has anything of value to offer with his presence on these Sunday talk shows, but if they're going to have him on, I'd like to see something like this happen more often: Lawrence O’Donnell Confronts Gingrich: Asks Him To Apologize For Predicting Clinton Tax Increases Would Lead To Downturn:

On Sunday, during an appearance on Meet The Press, MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell confronted Newt Gingrich for falsely predicting in 1993 that the economy would suffer if then-President Bill Clinton raised marginal tax rates.

Republican are making a similar argument against President Obama’s call to raise marginal tax rates on the richest Americans, even though the economy and jobs grew exponentially during the Clinton years when the top marginal tax rate was at 39.6 percent for the top income earners.

O’Donnell read off Gingrich’s false prediction and asked him to apologize to Americans: [...]

Indeed, in 1993 when President Bill Clinton raised taxes on the top income earners, Gingrich and the Republicans argued that the hikes would result in economic decline and result in huge deficits. They were proven wrong. The country experienced the “longest period of economic growth in U.S. history, increased business investment, 23 million jobs added, and, of course, budget surpluses.” The same boom did not materialize after President George W. Bush enacted his tax cuts; the country experienced large deficits and the weakest job and income growth in the post-war era.

Of course Gingrich wasn't going to let a few facts get in the way of his talking points.

Transcript below the fold.

GREGORY: Lawrence, this-- this idea of how much room the president is willing to give becomes a big question because he wants-- based on what I’m hearing, he wants Boehner to say, okay I give-- I give on the rates. And then he-- maybe he’ll talk a little more.

MR. LAWRENCE O’DONNELL (Host, MSNBC’s “THE LAST WORD”): The problem for Boehner is how does he give on rates. He said this the other day I oppose tax rate increases because tax rate increases cost American jobs. That gives you no room to give on rates. It is, by the way, not an original thought. Who said this? The tax increase will kill jobs and lead to a recession, and the recession will force people out of work and onto unemployment and actually increase the deficit? That’s Newt Gingrich in 1993 on the Clinton tax increase. And those of us who were working on the other side of that tax increase, Newt, have been waiting for your apology for 20 years for being completely wrong about that.

MR. GINGRICH: Well, I don’t agree with you.

MR. O’DONNELL: Well with the-- but the economy soared, no one lost a job…

MR. GINGRICH: Baloney.

MR. O’DONNELL:…because of that tax increase.

MR. GINGRICH: Baloney. Baloney.

MR. O’DONNELL: There was no recession. You said there would be a recession.

MR. GINGRICH: You now see the case.

MR. O’DONNELL: There was no recession.

MR. GINGRICH: The fact is if you look at all the indicators the day I was elected speaker, virtually all the economic growth occurs after Republicans take control, virtually all the increase in the stock-- the matter of fact, all the increase in the stock market is after Republicans take control.

MR. O’DONNELL: You did not reduce the rates, Newt?

MR. GINGRICH: And-- and when we balanced-- wait a second.

MR. O’DONNELL: You said the rates would cause a recession.

MR. GINGRICH: When we balanced the-- when we balanced the budget, we balanced the budget with a tax cut not a tax-- four consecutive balanced budgets with a tax cut, not a tax increase.

MR. O’DONNELL: A tiny tax cut compared to the biggest tax increase in history which is what Bill Clinton did. You didn’t dismantle it.

(Cross talk)

MR. BOB WOODWARD (Associate Editor, Washington Post/Author, The Price of Politics): ...to re-litigate the 1990s.

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