Rick Santelli: 'If It Wasn't for the Tea Party...We Would Have Been Rated BBB'
For over 24 hours, Obama advisers, Democrat senators, and terminally stupid ideologues in the media have been blaming Standard and Poor's downgrade of America's debt on the Tea Party.
On Monday, one of the only sane voices in the mainstream media stood up and said, "If it wasn't for the Tea Party, they would have passed the debt ceiling thumbs up, we would have been rated BBB" (video follows with transcript and commentary):
JOE KERNEN, CNBC: Alright. You know, Santelli, I never know with you. So, I don't know how much of the debate you've been able to watch, but what do you make of what's happened since Friday?
RICK SANTELLI, CNBC: You guys ever play sports? You ever been on an organized team?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah.
SANTELLI: Okay. You know sometimes you get a couple of bad calls or the game didn't go your way but it should have? A good coach isn't going to come up to you and say, “Gee, you know, the other team really stinks. You know, I’m mad. We're going fight, we're going to appeal. We’re going to go to every league and every lawyer.”
No, you know what a good coach says? “It doesn't matter. Okay? We’re a better team than this. Just take this to motivate the team to move on to greater things.” You know, the treasury secretary, the eight percent excuses, you know, the blame Bush, blame the sun, blame this. You know what leadership means? It means that it doesn't really matter what S&P says. We all know deep inside that no country is the same as it was five years ago. And the market seems to be okay with it. And as for stocks going down we were already Ralph Cramden on thin ice. Now an infant jumped on our shoulders. It’s just even more weight.
In the end, in the end we need to address problems we know exist. A treasury secretary or a president should be out here not fighting S&P, not grabbing the other coach and slapping him around, taking the umpire behind the barn. He should be getting the team psyched to overcome.
See, I remember I had a professor in college. I wrote a great paper. Could never please this guy. But it made me better. Okay? We’re better than this. Don’t get caught up in the minutia. All this BS. We’re better than this. We need to prove it. We’re off the track. Whether we're better than some other country or not, the real issue is we're on the wrong path.
Blame the Tea Party? Geez, no wonder Kerry did so well in an election. If it wasn't for the Tea Party, they would have passed the debt ceiling thumbs up, we would have been rated BBB.
For those not familiar with the jargon, S&P's highest rating is AAA. From there, it goes much like school grades to AA+, AA, AA-, A+, A, A-, BBB+, BBB.
Everything BBB and higher is considered "investment grade." Everything below that is considered highly-speculative or "junk."
With that in mind, I think Santelli's being a little aggressive in saying that without the Tea Party, S&P would have downgraded our debt eight notches to BBB.
However, what the President, his Party, and their media minions seem to forget is that they wanted a clean vote on the debt ceiling, meaning one just on that issue without any other strings attached.
At this point it seems safe to say S&P would have at least downgraded us to AA+ had that been the case as we then would have raised the debt ceiling without any spending cuts regardless of how small they ended up being.
Maybe worse, Moody's and Fitch might have also reduced our rating last week adding more fuel to the fire that's happening on Wall Street.
With that in mind, although Santelli might have been a tad aggressive with his outrage, it is indeed absurd to blame this downgrade on the small but growing number of Tea Party legislators that refused a clean vote and insisted that spending cuts be a part of any debt ceiling agreement.
That liberal media members from coast to coast don't get this and instead echo the inflammatory and inaccurate Democrat talking point is indeed an outrage.
(H/T Right Scoop)
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Comments
Early pick for " American the Century"
Submitted by Blonde on Mon, 08/08/2011 - 7:19pm.
Rick Santelli.
He speaks the truth.
Handy Reference Guide to Obama's Gaffes and Goofs ~ Currently Numbering 200 (and Counting)
j .. yep, he's one of those. . .
Submitted by Gary Hall on Mon, 08/08/2011 - 8:09pm.
. . picky factoid sort of dudes.
(:~> gary
And I might add. Without the Tea Party in this game these past several months, Obama and the Democrats never would have come to the table to begin conversation on how to address the debt (I note, they're still not interested in talking about the economy)
Gosh, Gar....
Submitted by Blonde on Mon, 08/08/2011 - 8:22pm.
We need to start a "Pescky Fact Club".
Charter Members....Gary, Blonde, and Rick.
Within six months...we'll have fifty million members.
(going to snatch the domain name, now...."Pesky Factoid Dudes (And Dudettes)".
How much should we charge for adverts?
Handy Reference Guide to Obama's Gaffes and Goofs ~ Currently Numbering 200 (and Counting)
Three verifiable facts . .
Submitted by Gary Hall on Mon, 08/08/2011 - 8:27pm.
. . . and you're in.
That's a good 'un, Ms. Dudette!
(;~> gary
Well, let see.
Submitted by Boudin on Mon, 08/08/2011 - 8:36pm.
Grass is Green, The sky is Blue, And the Sun is hot. So how about it : ]
Santelli for President
Submitted by Tjexcite on Mon, 08/08/2011 - 7:49pm.
Santelli for President
DARN!
Submitted by almostacowboy on Tue, 08/09/2011 - 10:38am.
Tex, you beat me to it! But, in all fairness - it's 2 hours earlier in CA than TX.
He makes a good point about
Submitted by MightyMouth on Mon, 08/08/2011 - 8:05pm.
He makes a good point about the 'team'. A team needs a leader, Obama has never led anything! And it shows! Obama is a manufactured 'head of state' pure and simple! (or 'simple and pure' if you are a troll on NB).
Too Bad Republicans can't talk like Santelli
Submitted by Mike009 on Mon, 08/08/2011 - 8:17pm.
The Tea Party didn't block the debt ceiling bill so it will be tough for liberals to say the market crash and credit downgrade is the Tea Party's fault. If Republicans act like George Bush and don't fight back, however, they will lose the debate. Too bad Reublicans can't talk like Santelli.
Democrats have controlled the House and the Senate sincec 2006, and they had control of all three branches for the first two years of the Obama adminstration. They could have raised taxes but they didn't. They could have passed a budget. But they didn't. Why aren't Republicans out there yelling from the rooftops?
25 of them....
Submitted by almostacowboy on Tue, 08/09/2011 - 10:37am.
in the house do talk like Santelli.
Rick Santelli, One Quarter of CNBC's Net Worth
Submitted by Avitar on Mon, 08/08/2011 - 8:36pm.
Between Larry Kudlow and Rick Santelli a rival network could walk away with half the value of CNBC over a lunch. Jim Crammer is another 5% to 10%
All the left knows how to do
Submitted by fatboy on Mon, 08/08/2011 - 9:00pm.
All the left knows how to do is shoot the messenger and blame the TEA Party. I really don't know how they can be the root of all evil having been in existence for what, 6 months or so??!!?!
What else would you expect?
Submitted by MightyMouth on Mon, 08/08/2011 - 9:29pm.
You move the entire Chicago political machine to DC and this is what you get. Anyone surprised ??
Wow! With all due respect to my wife, I love this guy!
Submitted by Rush Fan on Mon, 08/08/2011 - 9:38pm.
Santelli speaks the truth with enthusiasm and sincerity. Unfortunately, he is one of the few working in the mainstream media who does.
They say that child molesters can't be rehabilitated. So it is for hardcore Leftists.
Good analogy from Reich
Submitted by hayate1 on Mon, 08/08/2011 - 10:54pm.
"Imagine your house is burning. You call the fire department but your call isn’t answered because every fire fighter in town is debating whether there will be enough water to fight fires over the next ten years, even though water is plentiful right now. (Yes, there’s a long-term problem.) One faction won’t even allow the fire trucks out of the garage unless everyone agrees to cut water use. An agency that rates fire departments has just issued a downgrade, causing everyone to hoard water.
While all this squabbling continues, your house burns to the ground and the fire has now spread to your neighbors’ homes. But because everyone is preoccupied with the wrong question (the long-term water supply) and the wrong solution (saving water now), there’s no response. In the end, the town comes up with a plan for the water supply over the next decade, but it’s irrelevant because the whole town has been turned to ashes.
Okay, I exaggerate a bit, but you get the point. The American economy is on the verge of another recession. Most Americans haven’t even emerged from the last one. Consumers (70 percent of the economy) won’t or can’t spend because their major asset is worth a third less than it was five years ago, they can’t borrow as before, and they’re justifiably worried about their jobs and wages. And without customers, businesses won’t expand and hire. So we’re trapped in a vicious cycle that’s getting worse.
But the government won’t come to the rescue by spending more and cutting most peoples’ taxes because it’s obsessed by a so-called “debt crisis” based on budget projections over the next ten years. That obsession – which serves the ideological purposes of right-wing Republicans who really want to shrink government — has even spread to the eat-your-spinach media, deficit hawks in the Democratic Party, and a major (and thoroughly irresponsible) credit-rating agency that’s neither standard nor poor.
Meanwhile, some lazy (or misinformed) commentators are linking our faux debt crisis to Europe’s real one. But the two are entirely different. Several European nations don’t have enough money to repay what they owe their lenders, or even pay the interest. That’s threatening the entire euro-zone.
But there’s no question that the United States has enough money to pay what it owes. We’re the richest nation in the world and we print the money the world relies on. The only question on this side of the pond is whether tea-party Republicans will allow America to pay its bills when the debt-ceiling fight resumes at the end of 2012....."
"Facts are not decided by how many people believe them. Truth is not determined by how loudly it is shouted."
hayate1 ....: "But the government won’t come to the rescue by
Submitted by Rush Fan on Tue, 08/09/2011 - 12:46am.
spending more" [....]
Repeat after me: "But the government won’t come to the rescue by spending more"
"But the government won’t come to the rescue by spending more"
"But the government won’t come to the rescue by spending more"
"But the government won’t come to the rescue by spending more"
"But the government won’t come to the rescue by spending more"
"But the government won’t come to the rescue by spending more"
"But the government won’t come to the rescue by spending more"
"But the government won’t come to the rescue by spending more"
No matter how many times I repeat that phrase, it doesn't make any sense to me. Will someone help me out here? I'm trying to come up with a word or phrase that best describes the phrase above. The only description that comes to mind is: Already tried many times and failed just as many times.
hayate1 - Since you are fairly new here, let me recommend that you read an excellent NewsBusters' post by Rich Noyes titled: Debunking the Myth that Government Spending Stimulates the Economy.
Then, let me recommend that you review (assuming it isn't your first time) Milton Friedman's Free To Choose 1980 TV series.
P.S. Despite what Robert Reich believes, I believe a case could be made that we are still in a recession, thanks to President Obama and the Democrats.
Regards,
RF
Has been the tried and true
Submitted by hayate1 on Tue, 08/09/2011 - 8:37pm.
Has been the tried and true method for pulling the economy out of past recessions, even the great depression. All presidents have used it to one degree or another, except for Hoover and FDR for a few years.
It works, it helped turn the tide of the Bush recession before it ran out. now we are sinking back into recession bc the stimulus wasn't large enough to deal with the deepest recession since the 30s. The debt problem is bad for sure, but what caused it to be this bad? Did Obama start a bunch of new programs? Or did revenue drop off? One just cannot discuss this in theory. It needs to be dealt with in reality. Friedman' s theories are nice, but lets talk about reality which didn't start 3 years ago.
without some spending increases from some source how will we get out of the problems created by lack of demand?
"Facts are not decided by how many people believe them. Truth is not determined by how loudly it is shouted."
hayate1.....It seems that you and Barack Obama have something
Submitted by Rush Fan on Wed, 08/10/2011 - 12:55am.
in common. You're both hardcore rigid ideologues. Since you and Obama are not susceptible or open to change, the only recourse, if I want a better life for my family and friends, is to vote President Obama out of office.. As for you, I hope as you grow older, you will grow wiser and the adage:
will apply to you.
correct me if I am wrong
Submitted by hayate1 on Wed, 08/10/2011 - 1:41am.
but didn't the stimulus turn things around, creating growth, record profits, jobs and rising stocks? And, isn't all that going in the opposite direction now that the stimulus has ended?
Correct me on this bc I need to see it.
"Facts are not decided by how many people believe them. Truth is not determined by how loudly it is shouted."
NO
Submitted by Blonde on Wed, 08/10/2011 - 1:49am.
Just NO.
Obtuse, much, hayate?
Handy Reference Guide to Obama's Gaffes and Goofs ~ Currently Numbering 200 (and Counting)
Look boys and girls. You can see why trolls are so dense.
Submitted by The Vet on Wed, 08/10/2011 - 3:26am.
United States growth of GDP from 2009 Q1 (13,893 Billion) to 2011 Q2 (15,003 Billion)
A whopping growth of 1.1 Trillion dollars in 2.5 years.
How much stimulus was pumped in again? 800 Billion dollars.
1100 Billion - 800 billion = 300 billion in actual growth
800 billion injected into the economy gives us a whopping 300 billion dollars growth in 2.5 years. Yippee! That is 1.9% growth over 2.5 years.
Wait.
Don't we have to repay that 800 billion back. Wasn't it all borrowed? What if we had to pay it all back tomorrow? 800/15003 = -5.3% (negative 5.3%) of the GDP gets sliced off in an instant.
Nah. Let's slowly peel off the band-aid by slowly paying it back WITH INTEREST! You know, like a 30 years bond. That way the original 800 billion is paid back with 300 billion in interest. 1.1 Trillion dollars. A net of A BIG FAT ZERO!
Winner!
And unemployment is still 10%!
Yay!
The Vet.....It's not just the trolls that are dense. It's been
Submitted by Rush Fan on Thu, 08/11/2011 - 4:23am.
proven beyond a doubt, that ALL Liberals are inflexible, thickheaded and are slow to grasp the obvious.
Imagine your house is burning, government style.
Submitted by Denny Crane on Tue, 08/09/2011 - 2:18am.
Imagine your house is on fire. You call the FD, and they come and are putting out your fire. Meanwhile the bureaucrats at the top FD office (who aren't firefighters just government stooges) are arguing about how much water to use. Out of 100 idjits arguing, 20 of them are arguing to use exactly and only the amount that the fire chief recommends. 29 of them are saying to only use twice as much as recommended. While the other 51% are saying use as much as we have, and borrow some more from the next city over, and to go and blow up the dam to release what's in the reservoir. Meanwhile the 20 are saying wait a minute, we don't need to use that much. And we need that water for the upcoming months and years. So the 51% turn around and start blaring on 95% of the media, NP, news and so forth how the 20 want to burn down the city. That they just want to hoard the water for the rich in the next city over, and that the rich greedy people that use the electricity provided by the hydroelectric dam don't care about the fish (Ya it doesn't fit, but neither does anything else they do).
We Are The 53%
yes
Submitted by hayate1 on Tue, 08/09/2011 - 8:41pm.
You are being overly jocular but I think that you make a valid point. I agree, lets work on better controls of the bureaucratic mess that is modern government, but also to your point as counter point to mine, at least the fire was put out. ;-)
"Facts are not decided by how many people believe them. Truth is not determined by how loudly it is shouted."
Wrong
Submitted by Denny Crane on Wed, 08/10/2011 - 1:53am.
I said the fire was being put out. Not that it had been put out. Do you understand what an analogy is?
About half of what government does is somewhat necessary. The other half is just plain wasteful and only serves the purpose of making government bigger.
There is absolutely no reason that the Federal government should have to spend 25% of GDP to keep America running.
We Are The 53%
Water
Submitted by owlpellets on Tue, 08/09/2011 - 12:59am.
And our memories are too short to grasp exactly why we were short on water last year. Wait, if only we could take the water from the guy that saved his for later and give it to the guys that piss it away. Then we would all have an equal amount. Still, my house would burn down as the firemen are at a union meeting wondering how to get everyones water for themselves for their retirement.
owlpellets.....Excellent post. It is succinct, yet covers the
Submitted by Rush Fan on Tue, 08/09/2011 - 1:20am.
spectrum of the Lefts ideological malfunctions.
The Shout Heard 'Round the World
Submitted by Free Stinker on Tue, 08/09/2011 - 9:37am.
Thank you Rick Santelli for The Shout Heard 'Round the World which helped launch the Tea Party movement.
/// Sarah Palin Fan since July 11, 2007 /// خال
Tell me
Submitted by hayate1 on Wed, 08/10/2011 - 1:22am.
what is so rigid and ideological about the realities I lay out?
"Facts are not decided by how many people believe them. Truth is not determined by how loudly it is shouted."
Watch out Boys and Girls!
Submitted by The Vet on Wed, 08/10/2011 - 1:30am.
A starving troll is pleading and mewling. It is starving for attention and will lash out in more and more desperate tactics.
This is one hungry troll boys and girls and will do anything to get the attention it so desperately craves.
Grab a rock boys and girls. A troll will think it is raining rocks when hit with a rock.Time for the troll to think there is a full blown rockstorm a coming.... The troll will soon wander off to seek shelter.
Aside from the fact....
Submitted by Blonde on Wed, 08/10/2011 - 1:39am.
...that a liberal troll is doing the "laying about"????
Shucky Gosh Darn!
Not a thing at all.
Handy Reference Guide to Obama's Gaffes and Goofs ~ Currently Numbering 200 (and Counting)