Brit Hume lies and says "everybody agrees ... that the New Deal failed"
By John Amato Friday Jan 09, 2009 1:30pmI thought Brit Hume was done littering our airwaves with conservative talking points since he gave up his show to Mr. Baier, but no, he's still going to be a lead talking head for FOX. And boy is he ever wanking. With a straight face and not in clown make up, Brit Hume said this:
HUME: That's right. Well, then, the New Deal -- everybody agrees, I think, on both sides of the spectrum now, that the New Deal failed. The debate is over why it failed. People on the left believe it failed because Roosevelt, at the end of the day, really didn't do enough spending, that it simply wasn't spending -- he was not spending, whether deficit spending or not, on a scale grand enough to lift the damaged U.S. economy out of that depression.
There are people on the other side of the spectrum who would say, maybe, but look at this as well. President Roosevelt waged what could only be called a jihad against private enterprise. He prosecuted leading figures in it, Andrew Mellon being a conspicuous example. He prosecuted little companies, butcher shops in New York, as has been laid out in Amity Shlaes' book about the new -- book about the history of the Great Depression.
The problem FDR had was that he got caught up in being more conservative with the budget in '38, which slowed it down---still---the NEW Deal rescued America out of the depression and was so successful that conservatives have been trying to destroy every part of it ever since. Bush's lame attempt at dismantling Social Security was a humiliating defeat for him right after he won reelection in '04. He thought he had all that political capital to spend and he turned his attention on Social Security. There's one thing you can't fool with. That is Social Security benefits. Americans will never take that risk. .
Can you imagine if the people had actually been hoodwinked into believing Bush and went along with the mantra that they should invest their Social Security into the stock market? There may have been an armed march into DC, not by Blackwater type militia's, but by the AARP crowd that would have been screwed by the market meltdown. But it will not stop clowns like Brit Hume from trying to rewrite history about FDR.
I agree with Digby when she says:
...Brit Hume's mendacity is approaching Holocaust denial territory. Talk about intellectual violence.
The conservative elite appear to have decided on a strategy of making Obama's recovery plan fail so that they can blame the Democrats, seize power and start a world war.
I keep thinking I can't be any more shocked by their audacity. But they always exceed my expectations.
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Fox so needs to have all of its broadcast licenses revoked. They are an anti-American, anti-social obscenity.
Fox News is cable, not over-the-air. It is not a broadcaster. It is a program source. Ergo, no FCC broadcast license involved.
Hume has no idea what "retire" means. And John, I have a problem with your tags, all 3 are redundant.
And John, I have a problem with your tags, all 3 are redundant.
Well played.
And John, I have a problem with your tags, all 3 are redundant.
WWII brought prosperity to our nation for 50 years. Tell me how that happened again?
Sacrifice and back-to-the-basics like victory gardens. Also killing off a good number of the young males did wonders for unemployment numbers. But I think a lot of it was the attitude of the society during war; if you were able-bodied and weren't doing something for the cause then you were beneath contempt.
Contrast to now with yellow support magnets on gas hogs. I just hope that we get a call to service movement going.
Don't forget about no competition from other industrial nations who were out of commission for about 10+ years. Oh, and don't forget about the Bretton Woods system that put the dollar yoke on most of the world.
The New Deal didn't end the Great Depression. Destroying half the world did.
nothing new that's what they do: lie,embellish,partial truth,out of content/context.....they're so afraid to see the middle class get any help like Universal Healthcare
they call it fox news, but they have only an hourly news segment that is about a minute long, otherwise, it's all opinion, there should be a truth in advertisment law, at least 20 minutes per hour of news or they shouldn't be able to call it a news channel, it's false advertisement.
The bridge across the river I use daily was a WPA project, the CCC still has effective projects in the area, Social Security is a third rail for good reason, some of the great art of the 20th century is related to WPA as well. Try buying a gov't sponsored poster from that era...If that is failure, the epic liar Hume needs to show me success.
If the liar is looking for failure, I suggest the admins of: Hoover, Harding, Nixon, Reagan, Bush(chimp). He will find plenty of failure there.
Because their sons in the CCC and WPA sent money home -- money they could not earn elsewhere because there were NO JOBS! Brit Hume must never have met anyone like my late grandma, one of those poor homeowners who had no income. So you can't get ME to agree the New Deal failed. It didn't fail my grandma. Now my parents are able to keep theirs because of Social Security. Don't tell me social programs don't work. Imagine where some people would today be if Bush had managed to gut Social Security in favor of private Wall Street accounts. Brit Hume, you are a sad liar with no compassion.
also worked in the CCC. He couldn't join the army because when he was a child, he broke his foot and it was never set properly. He helped build the Peace gardens In N. Dkota, where he met my mother.
Hume and all these conservative jerks are selfish, psychotic monsters. Lie, lie, cheat, steal, deny, accuse, whine, lie and stab-in-the-back. Never turn your back on a conservative.
your right. Blah, blah, blah, yawn, turn over back to sleep, turn the channel.
jihad on the truth, we should issue a fatwah. no wait, that's coulter, (fatwaht)
File this comment in the folder containing the statement "Reagan won the cold war" and other Republican crap.
"I'm a uniter, not a divider."
Funny how that played out...
Idiot!
There is ample evidence everywhere that Hume and Fox live in the same anti-reality that the 19 per-centers who believe Palin is the greatest.
The new scum-pond on Chipmy's pigfarm that is to be overseen by turd blossom in his new role, has ample room for all these folks...
What, everybody on Faux Noise?
Oh, I forgot, his lips were kinda moving. Mnrf mmssnn sgng.
The more he speaks like Palin the more reason that people will keep the democratics in office now and a long time in the future. Only shit comes out of his mouth.
were still alive to hear this. those who really experienced the Great Depression don't believe this crap. My dad worked in the CCC camps building trails in northern Minnesota to help his mother take care of the family, my mom ate potatoes 2-3 times a day on the farm in southern Minnesota (yes, grandparents were Irish immigrants). Where do they even get this stuff? Who is "everybody" ?????
Delusional Sore Losers.
Oops! Thought that said "Baby rattler". My bad, Britney.
I'm sooo over Fox. I choose to not believe anything coming from that Network of complusive liars. Except for sports, I refuse to watch anything from Fox.
Did you see the broadcast of the BCS game? Their sports coverage is just as bad as the rest of the network. Only the Simpsons for me.
"I keep thinking I can't be any more shocked by their audacity. But they always exceed my expectations."
And their not done yet, I have a feeling that the onslaught already beginning against Obama and the semi-worthless Dems will make anything we've seen so far look like a Girl Scout cookie sale.
Was it really too much to simply accept the fact the boy was gay?
beautiful
At the end of the day, the fundamental argument between liberals and conservatives on the New Deal and economic policy is entirely rooted in how each views wealth.
Unregulated markets, going back to the Tulipmania of 1637 and beyond, will always be defined by speculative bubbles and panic crashes. The wealthy make money on the way up, and, while perhaps losing a chunk in the ensuing panic, still have money left over to pick up assets at firesale prices, which eventually compounds their wealth. And, unregulated markets are that in name only--because even if the government isn't regulating them, crooked businesses will (i.e. monopolies). Plus, importantly, both the financial and the power divide between the wealthy and the poor generally grows to an extreme.
Regulated markets ensure a much more even-handed path, and the crticism comes down to--there isn't as much individual opportunity to amass wealth.
Conservatives hate the New Deal and regulation as well because, as FDR noted in his inauguration speech, wealth is not the end all be all for happiness, and we are our brother's keeper.
If some blowhard like Hume thinks wealth and its accumulation is the fundamental principle for happiness, then it'll be hard to argue with him until he loses all his money in a bad business deal, can't afford an attorney to play in the system, has no authority or regulator to turn to or help fight for him, and finds his health insurance won't cover the cancer he's gotten because it's a special clause, and again, he can't afford an attorney or
i completely agree with the spirit of your post. com-plete-ly agree
yet... consider this: the rightwing LOVES a regulated market as much as the left--the two sides merely disagree as to what constitutes "good" regulations.
while the left--sweeping generalization alert--support regulations that might make the market economy more equitable, more transparent, etc. the right support regulations that protects corporations: such as copyright laws, intellectual property rights, etc.
the left wants to use the power of the govt, thru regulations, to empower the people.
the right wants to use the power of the govt, thru regulations, to protect the profit of the multinational corporations
.
I suppose Sh!t Fumes will not cash a single Social Security check...
.
cash them with a fury and a vengence, and put it in the bank where it will look like a dime next to a gold bar.
Though not unbelievable. This comment of his is SO SO SO stupid that I haven't even see a Freeper thread agreeing with it. And if a Right Wing moron can't get the Right Wing moron site to agree . . . well . . . sad yet hysterical.
If some blowhard like Hume thinks wealth and its accumulation is the fundamental principle for happiness, then it'll be hard to argue with him until he loses all his money in a bad business deal where he gets screwed, can't afford an attorney to play in the system, has no government authority or regulator to turn to or help fight for him, and finds his health insurance won't cover the cancer he's gotten because it's a special clause, and again, he can't afford an attorney to fight this and there is no industry oversight, and then he finds himself in prison because for food for his family and to pay for chemo treatments he's stolen for the third time (200 dollars) and is thrown in prison for life because of the three strikes law the conservatives passed.
Everybody knows, except for all the folks old enough to have gone through the Depression, except for their children and grandchildren who heard the stories, except for anybody who didn't flunk out in elementary school history, and except for anyone with a brain in their head, who knows that Brit Hume is completely and totally bat shit crazy.
Brit Hume should fall in a sausage vat.
Wage war against private enterprise that gave us child labor and unsafe meat packing is not the kind of war we would want to come from Obama administration?????? WTF???
We now have whistle blower for the pharmaceutical industry that are telling Obama, that we are at war with managerial decision for unsafe testing and product in medicine.
Brit Hume should not only fall in a sausage vat, but also be poison by unsafe drugs for his crazy syndrome relapse.
Not only did the New Deal help, but so did regulation from the FDA.
According to Hume, the Hindenburg didn't explode due to a mix of an electrical spark and hydrogen gas. FDR's "socialist" policies caused spontaneous combustion.
Hume is a Grade-A Douchebag. Always has been - always will be.
Brit Hume more or less accurately portrays Noble Laureate Paul Krugman's understanding of the New Deal and its minimal impact on the Great Depression of the 1930's.
Here are Krugman's most important points - pretty much what Hume portrayed as the view from The Left.
Franklin Delano Obama?
Krugman has already stated that Obama's $300 Billion stimulus package may not be enough - he was hoping for more like $700 Billion or $1 Trillion.
most of the criticism of the programmes are on the fact that the recovery was not "fast enough." And that seems to me as a completely arbitrary approach, since they fail to define what they meant by "fast enough." Also, there is a big problem with applying modern considerations when analyzing policies of times past. In the past few decades, savage capitalization of the US economy has meant that success is viewed as constant, fast as possible expansion. Whereas in the 30s, most people viewed success as not being on the street, with a stable decent wage and job, and security for their families. Thus the view of what can be deemed "success" is differently.
Had the new deal been a real failure, as it is being tried to be spin now, there is no way FDR would have been re-elected so many times. Plus there is no way the US would have been in a position to over produce, and over whelm military a world war in 2 concurrent fronts.
As much as I appreciate Krugman's insights, I disagree with him on this one.
This man is quintessence of stupundicy AND stupunditry.
A Jihad against private enterprise!
Brit Hume is definitely off the deep end. If he can't think of anyone who disagrees with him, it says a lot about the company he keeps.
Still, what's lacking here is a definition of success. It took a decade for GDP to recover, eight years of that being fueled by the New Deal.
Would we call Obama's stimulus plan and subsequent regulatory reform wildly successful if our GDP recovers eight years from now?
Clearly, the speed of the recovery was not the benchmark of success, and isn't today, either. The benchmark of success is jobs. The New Deal employed people when the market would not (average private investment was negative from 1932 to 1940), and lowered the unemployment rate (though still not below double digit levels).
We can all agree that the New Deal was successful, job-wise, but I'm afraid the discussion in the media is going to shift soon to WWII, which also put people to work, and ended with the largest economic boom in our history. I can't imagine what historical fallacies will be raised next, but I'm sure some are clamoring for a repeat of history.
I so glad that C&L watches Fox so I don't have to.
There is obviously no heart, soul, or even decency to be found between those flabby jowls.
Congress must immediately reinstate the Fairness Doctrine. Luckily the Fairness Doctrine is seen as necessary even by the most fervent right wingers, like Brit Hume. In fact, legions of right wing pundits are now flocking to support Fairness Doctrine, citing the difficulty of fighting off the "liberal media."
he was born with a permanent hound dog puss. as he ain't nothing but. a mere mug with botox since birth. he's hume-rless and eternally angry. what a hack.
Why do you think the RNC fielded such a crop of wierdos, losers, nutjobs and northeastern liberals? They knew someone had to clean up Bush's mess and in true right-wing style they're happy to let it be someone else.
when they are partly responsible it is only responsible to point out the dem's participation in the economic meltdown (i'm looking at you DLC, ahem, rahm)
John Amato correctly notes that one thing that should never be touched by the U.S. government is Social Security. But what is equally incomprehensible is how a country that calls itself a democracy cannot and does not provide full health care for its citizens. Unfortunately, what should be basic in a democracy is not going to happen under an Obama administration that is intent upon making sure that the insurance and pharmaceutical industries keep their profitable hands in the till. What Obama is also not informing the American people is that providing universal single payer health care in the United States can certainly be implemented and maintained if the United States would cut its gargantuan military budget. But Obama has pledged to do just the opposite by actually INCREASING the amount of money that is used to kill citizens of third world countries overseas. Barack Obama-not exactly the agent of hope or change for the millions of Americans who do not have health care nor for those countries that fall victim to America's bombs and bullets.
While i agree with the second half of your paragraph, I don't get how you are trying to equate Democracy with an automatic entitlement to 'free' full health care. Also, could anyone explain how the word 'Free' relates to a plan for a Government Ran Monopoly on Healthcare? Can someone please do that in a way that doesn't involve telling me that i have an obligation to support my fellow man financially, under threat of fines or imprisonment?? This truly is the age of Doublespeak.
mjULTRA
If you had seen the very relevant film Sicko, you would have discovered that the film pointed out that the United States, allegedly the richest and best democracy in the world, ranks 37th in terms of quality health care, where it managed to beat out, I believe, Costa Rica. In a document entitled the Preamble in the United States Constitution, it states that the government shall provide for the "General Welfare" of its citizens. As I tried to explain, this can certainly be done if the United States under Obama decides to cut the bloated military budget. But that occurrence seems highly doubtful.
Your description of 'free' full health care is misleading as you seem to be using that description in a pejorative way. As I explained before, every industrialized country in the world provides comprehensive health care for its citizens. In almost every case, this is able to come out, I believe, because the citizens pay higher taxes to its government and by doing that they do not then have to worry about how their basic health care needs will be met.
In a recent speech, Cuban president Raul Castro advised the Cuban people that in order to cope with the economic crisis, free opportunities must be limited to guaranteeing all citizens equal access to education, health care, social security and assistance, culture and sports. The United States, again the country which is closely associated with supposedly being the best and richest democracy in the world, cannot match this same basic guarantee given by a leader of a third world country because they continue, as Obama is doing, to connect the insurance and pharmaceutical companies to health care and that will always be a failed policy as long as profits are emphasized over the needs of the people.
As Michael Moore said in his film, health care should be considered a right and not a privilege. The fact that 75 million Americans are either uninsured or without sufficient health coverage is simply unconscionable and an abomination in, again, what is considered the best and most well-off country in the world. I suggest seeing the film Sicko, as it just might help, to quote a line from a Burt Lancaster film, to broaden your horizons.
"If you had watched a completely one-sided, slanted movie with a single agenda and was as convinced by it as I was, you'd totally agree with me."
for keeping us posted on what pinheads like Brit Hume, Ann Coulter and Joe the Plumber are saying.
I don't watch Fox, so but for you, I wouldn't be able to keep up with their marvelous exploits.
Now - if I could find somebody to tell me what Noam Chomsky is thinking, or what Ralph Nader has to say about Obama's picks for his advisors and cabinet... but - what am I saying. I forget myself. No entertainment value.
I heard Shit Head Hannity tell his audience that WW2 got us out of the Great Depression and the New Deal had nothing to do with it!
Is he suggesting that feeding the military industrial complex beast and starting another world war is the only way to get us out of the deep recession we are in?
The stupid - it hurts.
The New Deal did not end the Great Depression. It helped a lot of people, but it did not end the Depression. Neither did world war II. The depression kept on through the war, it's just that it didn't seem like it because there was a war on and everyone was asked to sacrifice anyway. The economy didn't return to "normalcy" until about 1948-9.
If the government can put people to work and get the economy moving again by paying for tanks, ships, planes, bombs, missiles and guns, why can't they do the same thing with peaceful things like flat screen TV's, automobiles, infrastructure - you know, positive things that aren't meant to do harm to other people?
Seriously.
flat screen tvs have actually led to a lot, A LOT, of deaths (same with cell phones, lap tops, etc.). see: congo
i agree with your post, just had to say a word for the poor people in the congo
...and Dickhead Hannity also told his audience that government and Democrats were to blame for the Fannie and Freddie debacle because they forced them to loan money to people that could not afford to pay it back?
Like greedy assholes salivating over a commision had nothing to do with it?
And bald faced right wing liar. I thought this propagandist retired and we no longer would have to deal with his scowling face and sneering, know it all attitude. Back out to pasture Brit, spread your manure where it will do some good.
"President Roosevelt waged what could only be called a jihad against private enterprise."
Oh ree-hee-heeeeeely Hume??
I think the trick is waiting for turds like you to finally re-write history so many times that we finally wind up back in agreement.
Everyone DOESN'T agree. In fact, for the first six years FDR had to contend with strong opposition: newspaper editors, Southern Democrats, Wall Street, the Four Horsemen on the Supreme Court who tried to dismantle his New Deal as "unconstitutional."
But for argument sake if it was World War II that got us out of the Depression, who led it in less time than we've been in Iraq? We had no standing army at the beginning nor armorments, but our corporations turned on a dime and started manufacturing tanks, planes, military trucks etc., BECAUSE of FDR's investment in business.
Meanwhile he set up the protective agencies that the republicans and Blue Dog Democrats dismantled, so that we now have this pressing problem.
it takes a big set of balls for the GOP to criticize the New Deal as not being "effective enough." when they were among the actors that tried by active and passive to sabotage the new deal in order to render it as ineffective as possible.
Heck to this day, some Republicans view Social Security as the Antichrist.
I think my favorite part is where he calls prosecuting criminals "jihad".
and ELIMINATE it.
Problem solved.
See how easy that was?
Corporatists (a subset of conservatives) love regulated markets. Regulations can be a brilliantly cost-effective way to exclude competition. Only thing better, to a corporatist, is an un-regulated monopoly.
But, back to the main point ... let's drop the knee-jerk reaction to Hume's every utterance and allow the possibility he is (partly) right.
Unemployment remained high throughout the '30s. The New Deal ameliorated the distress somewhat, but there's no demonstrable proof it "ended the Depression." The upturn after 1933 may well have been due to the economy's organic self-righting mechanisms. Pretty clearly, it was the massive deficit spending for WW2, and the employment it created, that "ended the Depression."
Taking a cynic's point of view, a wartime economy is great, at least for the living. Not only did all that debt kick-start the ensuing prosperity, but the US Air Force effectively eliminated most of the overseas competition of American business. Again, it's always most cost-effective to sic the government on your rivals. (Note that US-owned assets in Germany were mostly spared from bombing.)
Problem is, we have had a "wartime economy" now for eight years --- and the massive debt to show for it: but no employment and no knockout punch to foreign manufacturers. Now we're so far in the hole it will be necessary to devalue the dollar via the printing press, impoverishing anyone foolish enough to save them. BUT, what are stimulative measures supposed to stimulate when so much product is made ... overseas?
Bombs away!
Two things, One: World War II blasted the infrastructure of our European competitors leaving the marketplace wide open for us.
Two: There was no Air Force in World War II, but the Army Air Corp. The Air Force as a seperate branch, if I'm not mistaken, wasn't until the Korean War.
..He has a different definition to the words he is using than the rest of us do..
So when he says 'everybody', understand that he is referring to 'everybody who comprehends the basic rules of economics and can also check their political bias at the door regarding this issue'. You see, if one can get past the knee-jerk, 'D-good/R-bad' mentality, you might learn something about the prolonging effects that New Deal Interventionism had on the last great depression. Its being more widely understood, and although im sure Krugman is far from being able to admit it, he is not the economic know-it-all that he is made out to be.. In fact, he is only put on a pedestal, because his brand of economics plays directly into the banksters ability to continue business as usual.
However, i can concede that Brit Hume is a douchebag, and journalists who cite opinions based on faceless entities such as 'everybody agrees' and 'its common knowledge that..' should be fined each time they do so.
Amato says:
Yes I can imagine! Britney Hume would come on and blame the Democrats.
Hume telling lies and "spinning" the facts around 180 degrees , black is really white and white is actually black ? Come on now , you're joking right ?
What he was saying is that "everybody agrees... that the New Deal failed in completely eradicating the middle class, which the previous conservative administrations had tried to destroy with their savage libertarian economic policies."
If you are a rich conservative who hates the middle and lower classes, yes... I can see how you can deem the New Deal to be a failure.
But I find it quite illuminating to see how Hume stays clear when naming the reasons why the New Deal had to be put in effect; namely the disastrous Republican economic policies. Over and over again, these degenerates manage to shit all over our country, and then they have the gall to complain that our cleaning crew is missing a spot while they sit back, relax, and sip on another mint julep.
It seems that Limbaugh et al have already started to coin the this as "Obama's recession" even though he has yet to be sworn in. These degenerates have no shame. Fuck'em, enough is enough....
Mr Amato, I appreciate your assessment of Brit Hume's remarks, and of the 'New Deal' itself. I don't care whether Krugman agrees with you or not, a distinct point of view is what people are looking for here, well, at least some of us.
He's a smart guy, but the fact that Krugman won a Nobel does not make him a genius, or an expert on everything. It will be refreshing when everyone isn't scrambling for a piece of his knob.
They have been trying since before Bill Clinton left to turn everything good he did into bad. If GOP wrote the history books everything bad that happened under the current Bush would be Obama's and Clintons fault.
Now “the new deal” they will lie about anything if they think in any way it will help them in the field of poltics. Don’t you know we didn’t lose Vitnam,and Reagan single handly ended the cold war.
For the love of God ... when is enough enough already. What in God's name do these wingnuts want ... when will they be satisfied?
I am beginning to believe they won't stop until 94% of us are starving, unemployed, and homeless, and the remaining 6% are whipping us to death.
Their approach to America's economy does nothing, nothing but destroy the hopes, dreams, ambitions, and aspirations of the poor and middle class, and that is exactly what they want I think!
Go away already, you are second only to Bush and Chaney in the American mindset of people that everyone is awaiting their timely exit.
Brit Hume you along with all the GOP, Bush/Chaney and conservative Christians are the failures.
Wake up and smell the unemployment and foreclosures and the bailouts and and and; YOU ARE THE FAILURES.
GO AWAY, and by the way; stay goned.
What is brit hume? An open runny sore or rash? How do you get rid of it? Is it an STD? Would use of a condom have prevented exposure to it? Is sex with monkeys responsible for it spreading to human beings? These are things the CDC needs to look into to prevent infecting anyone else. It's to late for brooks,kristol,will,crook hammer(small case intended and deserved) and others, but we can stop this sickness dead in it's tracks. The disease causes the victim to have a skunk like odor, that most people can detect from a distance and causes your skin to crawl in a very creepy manner. On a side note I think his face would make a great pair of gloves. CEO,citizens,eyes,open.
I think you all better come up for air, you all been sucking on that tingleing sensation in Chris Mathew's leg way to long, Mr. I did not have sexual relations with that man. The truth be known Jimmy Carter was the best damm peanut hugger ever!!! Hung one for me.
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