In the midst of MSNBC anchor Stephanie Ruhle helping sell Joe Biden’s proposed massive $2 trillion COVID relief package, one of the President-Elect’s economic advisers, Jared Bernstein, took time to thank the compliant host for her “help” and “advocacy.” Ruhle happily took the “compliment” and promised to continue being a Democratic spokesperson.
At one point in the softball exchange, Ruhle gently wondered if Democrats might have to compromise on some aspects of the legislation in order to get it passed: “I know Georgia was a game changer in terms of the amount of control you have in government. But you still need to get a lot of Republicans on board...Do you think you’re going to have to cut some stuff out?”
Bernstein assured her that wouldn’t be necessary: “I don’t think it’s correct....I don’t care whether you’re a Democrat or a Republican, you want to get this virus under control....I don’t care if you’re in a red state or a blue state, you want – you recognize the need to hugely ramp up vaccine distribution...”
Rather than challenge Bernstein on how controversial elements like a federally-mandated $15 minimum wage were going to help treat COVID, Ruhle instead offered supportive talking points: “This isn’t about ‘D’ or ‘R,’ it is about ‘A,’ America.” Bernstein could actually be heard cheering her on: “Ooh, love it.”
It was then that he expressed his gratitude for all of Ruhle’s hard work pushing left-wing policies on her show:
Let me say one other thing before you let me go. You know, there’s been a lot of people pulling for this, your help has been extremely important. Because not only have you continued to amplify some of the things that we’re trying to do here, but you’ve been in the weeds and you’ve talked about the very policies that have been knocking around for a long time and that we finally have been able to get together and put into a plan. So I want to thank you for your advocacy as well.
Ruhle didn’t bother trying to claim that she was an objective journalist, she just basked in the praise: “Well, Jared, if you’re going to compliment me, there’s always more time for that in our show. We’re going to continue to cover this. Do you know why? Because policy matters. That's how people’s lives change.”
Well, at least Ruhle has made it clear that she is a self-avowed Democratic Party hack.
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Here is a transcript of the January 15 exchange:
9:26 AM ET
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STEPHANIE RUHLE: You’ve got a lot of money in here for state and local government, that’s something Republicans haven’t liked in the past. I know Georgia was a game changer in terms of the amount of control you have in government. But you still need to get a lot of Republicans on board and already, we said it before, Marco Rubio is saying this thing is too ambitious. Do you think you’re going to have to cut some stuff out?
JARED BERNSTEIN [BIDEN ECONOMIC ADVISER]: I really – you know, I know that that's a piece of conventional wisdom. I’ve heard it and I understand where it’s coming from. I don’t think it’s correct. And I’ll tell you why. I don’t care whether you’re a Democrat or a Republican, you want to get this virus under control.
RUHLE: Uh-huh.
BERNSTEIN: I don’t care if you're in a red state or a blue state, you want – you recognize the need to hugely ramp up vaccine distribution so that COVID-19 is finally a distant memory. If you’re a “D” or an “R,” you want to open schools, you want to open universities, you want parents to be able to access the child care they need. You want to reach small businesses, “D” or “R,” you want to reach small businesses that haven’t gotten nearly enough help. You don’t want – whether you’re a Democrat or Republican governor, you don't want to lay off first responders, educators, essential workers. In fact, you want to rehire them. So there is so much common ground here, Stephanie, that I am excited and I’m especially optimistic about the ability of one Joe Biden working with Kamala Harris to work across the aisle and make this happen.
RUHLE: This isn’t about “D” or “R,” it is about “A,” America. There’s not a lot of programs...
BERNSTEIN: Ooh, love it.
RUHLE: ...that get support from the Chamber of Commerce and Bernie Sanders, but that’s actually what we’ve heard in the last 14 hours.
BERNSTEIN: Let me say one other thing before you let me go. You know, there’s been a lot of people pulling for this, your help has been extremely important. Because not only have you continued to amplify some of the things that we’re trying to do here, but you’ve been in the weeds and you’ve talked about the very policies that have been knocking around for a long time and that we finally have been able to get together and put into a plan. So I want to thank you for your advocacy as well.
RUHLE: Well, Jared, if you’re going to compliment me, there’s always more time for that in our show. We’re going to continue to cover this. Do you know why? Because policy matters. That's how people’s lives change. Jared, thank you for joining us, we’re gonna leave it there.
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