CNN's Blitzer, Cafferty Regret Minimum Wage Hike Not Retroactive

On Monday's The Situation Room, CNN's Wolf Blitzer and Jack Cafferty expressed frustration that the Democratic Congress has not yet passed a minimum wage increase, even lamenting that the increase could not be made retroactive.

After Blitzer seemed to seriously ask if the minimum wage increase could be made retroactive to November, Cafferty rhetorically exclaimed that it should be "retroactive to ten years ago."

Blitzer: "I guess they can't make the increase in the minimum wage retroactive to back November, huh, Jack?"

Cafferty: "They ought to make it retroactive to ten years ago. That's the last time anybody addressed these folks."

Blitzer: "Don't hold your breath on that one." (Transcript follows)

Cafferty began his regular "Cafferty File" segment registering his disapproval that Democrats in Congress have still not completed their promise to pass a minimum wage increase. Cafferty: "Remember all the noise about how the Democrats were gonna raise the minimum wage, which has not been increased in more than ten years? Well, don't hold your breath." Complaining that each house had passed a different version of a minimum wage increase that will have to be reconciled later, Cafferty lamented that there's "no indication that's going to happen anytime soon."

Then, one week after he called Alberto Gonzales a "glorified waterboy" and a "weasel," Cafferty downplayed the importance of going after him and other administration officials if it stands in the way of a timely minimum wage increase, as he mockingly referred to the Democrats "having great fun flexing their newfound political muscle at the expense of folks like Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, White House aide Karl Rove and Harriet 'I could have been a Supreme' Miers."

After Cafferty asked viewers to email him with their answers to his question about which matter was more important for Democrats to focus on, Blitzer seemed to seriously wonder about the feasability of a minimum wage increase being made retroactive, which would logically require employers to provide back pay going back to November, as the CNN anchor asked: "I guess they can't make the increase in the minimum wage retroactive to back November, huh, Jack?" Cafferty: "They ought to make it retroactive to ten years ago. That's the last time anybody addressed these folks." Blitzer: "Don't hold your breath on that one."

Below is a complete transcript of the segment from the Monday March 19 The Situation Room on CNN:

Wolf Blitzer: "Let's check in with Jack Cafferty. He's got the 'Cafferty File' for another week. Jack?"

Jack Cafferty: "Indeed I do. Good morning, Wolf, or good afternoon. It's the American way, isn't it? You promise the voters anything in order to get elected, and then, once you're in office, hey, forget about it, do whatever you want. Remember all the noise about how the Democrats were gonna raise the minimum wage, which has not been increased in more than ten years? Well, don't hold your breath. The House and Senate both voted to raise the minimum wage, but the versions of the bill that each passed is different. And before workers see any more take-home pay, a House-Senate conference committee has to reconcile the two versions of the bill. No indication that's going to happen anytime soon. Meanwhile, the Democrats are having great fun flexing their newfound political muscle at the expense of folks like Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, White House aide Karl Rove and Harriet 'I could have been a Supreme' Miers. Talk of subpoenas and hearings fill the air in Washington these days. But what about all that stuff you said you were gonna do about solving the nation's problems? Here's our question, then. What should be the top priority for the Democrats: investigating the Bush administration or solving domestic problems?"

After Cafferty gave viewers his email address, he returned the discussion to Blitzer.

Blitzer: "I guess they can't make the increase in the minimum wage retroactive to back November, huh, Jack?"

Cafferty: "They ought to make it retroactive to ten years ago. That's the last time anybody addressed these folks."

Blitzer: "Don't hold your breath on that one."

Cafferty: "No, no."