We're all gonna die—and it's all the Republicans' fault! With some slight exaggeration, that was CNN's message this morning regarding Republican reluctance to raise the debt limit. Mugging a petrified look [see screencap] New Day co-host John Berman opened the show by predicting nothing short of "the potential collapse of the U.S. economy," because "Republicans have voted against paying U.S. debts."
Moments later, Berman fearmongered: "The week from hell could turn into the economic calamity from hell if the U.S. defaults on its debts, which Republicans, for now, have voted to let happen."
CNN economics commentator Alexis Glick took the fearmongering a gigantic step further, warning not just of "catastrophic consequences" for the U.S., but for the entire "global economy."
Here's some of Berman's meltdown:
It is Wednesday, September 29, the week from hell on Capitol Hill. Congress has less than two days to head off a partial government shutdown. And after that, the potential collapse of the U.S. economy, as Republicans have voted against paying U.S. debts.
While that's going on, there have been feverish negotiations among Democrats over President Biden's sweeping economic agenda. Moderate Arizona Democratic Senator Kyrsten Sinema, she made three trips to the White House yesterday. Three. For what? Progressive Democrats say they don't know. And that's a major problem.... So a week from hell.
John Harwood played a bit of the fearmongering party pooper, saying it was "unlikely" that there'd be a debt default. But Berman finessed that, still managing to see the downside. He claimed that the mere fact Republicans are flirting with refusing to raise the debt limit is enough to scare Wall Street. And in doing so, Berman once again displayed his puerile penchant for playing with naughty words, calling that flirting "blanking around, blanking around."
CNN resorting to anti-Republican fearmongering on the debt limit was sponsored in part by Procter & Gamble, maker of Downy, VRBO, Tractor Supply, Liberty Mutual, and Noom.
Here's the transcript. Click "expand" to read more.
CNN
New Day
9/29/21
6:00 am EDT
JOHN BERMAN: All right. Good morning to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. It is Wednesday, September 29, the week from hell on Capitol Hill.
Congress has less than two days to head off a partial government shutdown. And after that, the potential collapse of the U.S. economy, as Republicans have voted against paying U.S. debts.
While that's going on, there have been feverish negotiations among Democrats over President Biden's sweeping economic agenda. Moderate Arizona Democratic Senator Kyrsten Sinema, she made three trips to the White House yesterday. Three. For what? Progressive Democrats say they don't know. And that's a major problem.
These progressives say they will not vote for a bipartisan infrastructure bill -- roads, bridges, et cetera -- unless they also get a vote on other domestic agenda items -- child care, pre-K. Moderates, including Sinema, are standing in the way of that. But progressives say they have no idea what her counteroffer is, and they're angry.
So a week from hell. The first order of business is to fund the federal government. If that
doesn't get done, this is what could shut down: national parks, museums, the Department of Defense, the Housing Department, the Treasury, the Department of Homeland Security, Centers for Disease Control, the Food and Drug Administration, the U.S. Small Business Administration.
...
Our John Harwood just reported that, he thinks sooner or later, they'll work out the debt issues, so the U.S. will not default on it. But what Wall Street seems to be saying is, yeah, maybe. But the mere fact that you're—as I put it to you before we came on TV—blanking around. The mere fact that Congress is blanking around with this, or flirting with this, that's bad enough.
ALEXIS GLICK: It is bad enough! The reality of not being able to pay our bills? Just think about that. The two largest holders of our debt are Japan and China. The consequences not just to the U.S. economy, but the global economy, the contagion, would truly be catastrophic.
BERMAN: Seems like a bad idea.
GLICK: Yes.
