CNN Analyst: Tax Cuts a Product of the 'Silly Season'

By Justin McCarthy | July 21, 2008 | 15:17

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Calling for tax cuts to stimulate the economy is just a call from the presidential election’s "silly season" and those who do (McCain) are "going to say anything to get elected" according to CNN financial analyst Gerri Willis. Appearing on July 21 edition of "The View,"Willis discussed many of the current economic troubles from high oil prices to the mortgage crisis. [audio available here]

Reliable liberal and Democratic partisan Joy Behar asked "how can the Republican party then say that they’re going to cut taxes in this election? How can they say that when the whole country will fall apart?" Gerri Willis changed her financial analyst cap to political analyst adding "it’s the silly season."

Earlier in the broadcast, Joy Behar brought up some past McCain jokes she finds offensive, such as the "bomb, bomb, Iran," remark. Behar felt such jokes are "inappropriate" but seemed to forget her own inappropriate jokes such as belittling the role of the saints to simply crazies and labeling men "idiots" who "think with Mr. Happy." Elisabeth Hasselbeck , for her part, added McCain does not have a monopoly on such jokes and alluded to Obama’s recent joke mocking the American people.

At the show’s opening, the panel addressed Thursday’s fight over the "n" word. Barbara Walters attempted to play Solomon stating she felt they were "both right." Elisabeth Hasselbeck downplayed it, facetiously adding "I was sobbing all weekend apparently." Whoopi Goldberg claimed nothing is personal, and they debate with passion.

Relevant portions of the transcript are below.

GOLDBERG: Let me ask you this, so now Fannie Mae, Johnny Mac, Freddie’s John, whoever, these companies now are going to be bailed out by the federal government. Who’s paying for that?

GERRI WILLIS: Us, everybody here.

BEHAR: Taxes.

GOLDBERG: So my taxes have to go up even though I can’t afford to pay for the house that you gave me the money to get, knowing it was a bad loan that I wasn’t going to be able to meet.

WILLIS: I think you’re getting it, yeah, yeah.

BEHAR: It’s called the royal screw.

WALTERS: Suppose that you’re not somebody who’s in that kind of trouble with Fannie Mae and so on. Why should we care?

WILLIS: Because you’ll help pick up that tab at the end of the day.

WALTERS: Because of what Whoopi is saying because eventually it comes back to every one of us, even if we don’t have a house then.

BEHAR: How can, how can the Republican party then say that they’re going to cut taxes in this election? How can they say that when the whole country will fall apart?

WILLIS: It’s the silly season. They’re going to say anything they can to get elected.

HASSELBECK: On both sides to be fair.

BEHAR: Should we believe them?

HASSELBECK: They are going to cut taxes in some areas and they’re also going to remove unnecessary positions in government that are wasteful of money.

[...]

BEHAR: There’s another subject about McCain that is going- that’s interesting to me, about whether he has- what kind of a sense of humor does that guy have? Like for instance, do you think this is funny? Why is Chelsea Clinton so ugly? Because her father is Janet Reno, 1998.

SHEPHERD: Who said that?

BEHAR: McCain said that.

HASSELBECK: He apologized since then.

BEHAR: He referred to Leisure World as "Seizure World."

SHEPHERD: He said that?

BEHAR: He said increasing cigarette sales to Iran could be a good way of killing them. [mocking laugh]

WALTERS: Well, that may be a way of distance in the past.

HASSELBECK: His camp says he doesn’t recall all of those, but he did apologize for the Clinton joke, and I mean look. There have been jokes that have been gone acr- look, both of these men I’m sure have told jokes in the past, whether they’re funny or not, that’s subjective. Are those all okay if said? No. Are some of the things Barack Obama has said okay? No.

BEHAR: Barack Obama hasn’t said any of these jokes. Barack has not said, excuse me, Barack has not said "bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb Iran." He has not said that.