MSNBC's Ratigan Bashes GOP, Sarah Palin

By Mike Sargent (Bio | Archive)
September 23, 2009 - 14:37 ET
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On today's Morning Meeting, host Dylan Ratigan gathered his loyalist liberal media friends to deride Sarah Palin's recent speech to investors in Hong Kong, wherein she made the observation that government programs often create new problems, which are then tackled by eager politicians with what else but even more government programs. 

First, in the interest of fairness, it must be noted that the guest from the Huffington Post and Vanity Fair, Vickie Ward, barely uttered a word in the entirety of the segment.

That's because she was laughing.

Here's what caused Ward's giggle-fit:

RATIGAN: I want to go to Andy Barr at Politico.  Palin on health reform.  This one made a little bit less sense.  But I feel like it's very indicative, Andy, of certain aspects of right-wing talking points which look to demonize the government inherently, as opposed to looking at government as a tool that can either be abused, misused, or screwed up.  Right?  And so that rhetoric is evident here. [reading] 'It's common sense that government attempts to solve problems like the health care problem will just create new problems.' Now, forget the nonsensical aspect of that.

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At that, the panel collapsed into laughter.  Now the obvious question arises: Putting aside the rhetorically unfortunate construction of that line, is Palin correct?  And of course, Ratigan went with the obvious question:
RATIGAN: If you look at where the Republicans - Vickie, please! - If you look at where the Republicans get themselves into trouble, whether it's in indicting Obama, Andy, for the bailout which he didn't do because he was not President at the time the bailout was constructed. He's, yes, guilty of perpetuating it, but as somebody who was covering it last fall, he wasn't the President. How is it the Republicans are able to get away, not with rhetoric, but rhetoric that is openly wrong?
Or, you could go with a gratuitous partisan slam.  Note to Dylan Ratigan, riding a rhetorical rocket to the left of Keith Olbermann didn't help David Shuster keep his job either.

But I digress.

Anyone with access to Google's search engine can find out the federal government's record in administering massive bureaucracies.  There are the conservatives' favorite punching-bags such as Social Security (going bankrupt), Medicare (bankrupt), Medicaid (bankrupt); and there are also other, less obvious examples of federal forays into monopolistic behavior such as the Department of Education - which, so far, has given American schoolchildren a sub-par system for a greater price than anyone else in the world pays.

What is the point of all that, you might ask?  Simply put, when the [federal] government attempts to solve a problem as large as health care, it generally creates more problems than the [federal] government anticipates creating.  Thus, as Ratigan engages in nakedly partisan combat (responding to self-defined partisan talking points on behalf of an unnamed opposition within a two-party system), he is biased, intellectually dishonest, and ultimately incorrect.

As the ultimate in empty-headed media rhetoric, Ratigan should not, therefore, throw stones.

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Better to ask how Democrats

September 23, 2009 - 14:47 ET by HockeyKid

Better to ask how Democrats can get away with rhetoric that is openly nothing but lies. 

"Beauty is only skin deep, but liberal's to the bone." - me

Ratigan was....

September 23, 2009 - 14:50 ET by Robert17

Ratigan was pretty good on Fast Money because he would question the conventional wisdom and those in power.  Now he's just thrown in with the "smart" crowd.....we heard all this crap in early 20th century Germany too.

fourth estate

September 23, 2009 - 15:55 ET by Theo J. Beach

What happen to the Fourth Estate? The media is a cheerleader for government policies, especially when the Democrats are in office. I feel like I live in the old Soviet Union some days. This is why there is anger out there because the little guy feels like no one stands up for them. What happen to Democrats and the media standing up for the ordinary guy? Now we are racist, rubes, dolts and rednecks. Just venting!

How is it the Republicans

September 23, 2009 - 14:55 ET by StarAZ

How is it the Republicans are able to get away, not with rhetoric, but rhetoric that is openly wrong? Dunno--same way the pres does? Just guessing.

I guess these youngsters have never heard of taking a second medicine to stop the ravages created by the first medicine and then the second one creates its own side effects. So you need a third one....

Oooo

September 23, 2009 - 14:57 ET by StarAZ

Just thought up a name for what I described above:
Polypolicy.

Isn't he with CNBC?  I

September 23, 2009 - 14:59 ET by buddyc

Isn't he with CNBC?  I think he is one that they kept after purging the independent thinkers that dared to criticize Jimmah II, aka Obeyme, aka Obama.

 

If he is the one, he should be ashamed for staying there after his friends got fired for telling "truth to power".

 

All I can say to him is, "Van Jones"!

Dylan Ratigan

September 23, 2009 - 15:03 ET by Captain Kirock

Ratigan is the perfect example of how someone goes from being a relatively fair journalist to being a left-wing shill who toes the NBC News party line in the hope of keeping his face on tv.  What a shame. 

Just a rat. 

September 23, 2009 - 15:14 ET by HockeyKid

Just a rat.  Again. 

"Beauty is only skin deep, but liberal's to the bone." - me

Just another perfect

September 23, 2009 - 15:25 ET by bigtimer

Just another perfect example of why I don't watch much of msnbc anymore.

'Go Green...Recycle Congress'

Palin is right as usual.

September 23, 2009 - 15:28 ET by Constant

Palin is right as usual. Here's Coase (Nobel, economics) talking about the effect of government regulation (interview with Reason magazine):

Reason: Can you give us an example of what you consider to be a good regulation and then
an example of what you consider to be a not-so-good regulation?

Coase: This is a very interesting question because one can't give an answer to it. When I was
editor of The Journal of Law and Economics, we published a whole series of studies of regulation
and its effects. Almost all the studies--perhaps all the studies--suggested that the results of
regulation had been bad, that the prices were higher, that the product was worse adapted to the
needs of consumers, than it otherwise would have been. [...]

Reason: What's an example of bad regulation?

Coase: I can't remember one that's good. Regulation of transport, regulation of agriculture--
agriculture is a, zoning is z. You know, you go from a to z, they are all bad. There were so many
studies, and the result was quite universal: The effects were bad.

(Coase had trouble believing the result so he tried to explain it away, but the facts speak for themselves.)

SARAH BARACUDA...

September 24, 2009 - 02:00 ET by danybhoy

 Yes she is right, most of the time she is. But what I find funny is how the left though they had piled enough dirt onto what they thought was her political grave. I get the feeling she will biting them in the @$$ for time to come. Not to mention those in the GOP who threw her under the "Straight Talk Express". I feel we have not heard the last of that.

 

"...How blind can you be, don't you see...

...that the gambler lost all he does not have..."  

Nightwish

Two things

September 23, 2009 - 15:30 ET by BKeyser

First on this topic:

If you look at where the Republicans get themselves into trouble,
whether it's in indicting Obama, Andy, for the bailout which he didn't
do because he was not President at the time the bailout was constructed.

Who wrote the bailout bill? And how did Barry vote on it?

Secondly: MSNBC was ripping on the GOP and Sarah Palin? Say it ain't so!!!

MSGLBT

September 23, 2009 - 16:03 ET by VengeanceIsMine

Nice argument, Mr Correspondent.  Except for the fact Barry did vote for TARP when he was in Congress, did he not?  Palin was not in Congress and not responsible for Republican drunken sailor spending during the Bush years.  Yet you lump her in with the likes of big government spenders in Washington.  Sort of a little dishonest, don't you think.  Perhaps thats why I watch Megyn and Bill instead of your lame "morning meeting".

"You cannot spend your way out of recession or borrow your way out of debt." Daniel Hannan

What's up with Ratigan's hair?

September 23, 2009 - 16:45 ET by sic721

It looks like he went to his 'stylist', lifted up the arm of a typical liberal hippy chick, pointed at her un-shaven armpit, and said, "That's what I want."

That's sic.

September 23, 2009 - 16:52 ET by BKeyser

That's sic.

Yep!

September 23, 2009 - 17:52 ET by Rukus

Um, could you maybe Photoshop that? Fleas and all.  : ) 

Gary

If there must be trouble, let it be in my day, that my child may have peace. -- Tom Paine

hmmm.... I'll get back to

September 23, 2009 - 18:01 ET by BKeyser

hmmm.... I'll get back to you on that.

I always suspected Ratigan

September 23, 2009 - 17:07 ET by Chris Norman

I always suspected Ratigan (who I always thought looked like a wooden nutcracker) at CNBC of leaning liberal, but it looks like MSNBC has allowed him to blossom to his fullest potential of liberalness. I never could understand these "business journalists" who favor lots of government intrusion to improve business and the economy - they're really just shills for Corporatism. The bottom line is they don't understand business beyond the very biggest of business and have no sympathy and know almost nothing about the most dynamic sector of the economy - Small Business. Heck, what NBC needs to do is scrap CNBC in favor of GNBC (Government NBC).

 

The "Mainstream" Media: By liberals. For liberals.

Ya think?

September 23, 2009 - 17:17 ET by CobraMan

"But I feel like it's very indicative, Andy, of certain aspects of
right-wing talking points which look to demonize the government
inherently, as opposed to looking at government as a tool that can
either be abused, misused, or screwed up.  Right?"

Wrong.  Excuse this "right winger" if I feel that a government that is habitually abused, misused, or screwed up is inherently,well, abused, misused, or screwed up! Especially when the you and the rest of the MSM spent the last eight years making sure we all viewed the Bush government as inherently abused, misused, or screwed-up.

BTW, You STILL portray the Bush government as abused, misused, or screwed-up, so tell me again who is is that is demonizing government?  Me or you?

The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States.
The US Constitution

Unless you're a fetus.
The US Supreme Court

The press, Government and

September 23, 2009 - 17:37 ET by jkwtrading

The press, Government and all those in the little nuerotic world of Government being the saviour will all go down into one huge heap..

 

implode is a good word to describe their fall..

jk... Hope you're

September 23, 2009 - 17:46 ET by bigtimer

jk...

Hope you're right...what I worry about is this whole country imploding with what this administration is doing to our freedoms,  some of their orders not even going through congress...let alone what the enemies we have are anticipating with the weakness O is putting this country in every chance he gets.

'Go Green...Recycle Congress'

Dylan's right...

September 24, 2009 - 06:36 ET by theduck6

There are a host of government programs that have been run efficiently and produced the desired effect: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Just to name a few.

This story on NewsBusters attracted more eyeballs...

September 24, 2009 - 09:30 ET by jawebster1

than Ratigan's show on MSNBC.  BTW, is Ratigan a man or a woman?  I guess Dylan is sort of a man's name.  Jim Webster