A giddy Stephanie Ruhle could hardly contain her excitement on Monday’s The 11th Hour as the MSNBC host applauded Democrats for “fighting like Republicans” on alleged GOP hypocrisy on student loan forgiveness. As a result of all the pom-pom waving, facts were forced to take a back seat.
Ruhle kicked off the segment by observing, “Democrats are doing something many voters have been begging for, for quite a while. They are fighting like Republicans. Take the recent GOP criticism of the Biden Administration's student debt relief. Republican lawmakers were all over social media complaining the relief was for elites, it was reckless, it was unfair.”
Not happy with this, Ruhle offered up a confused analogy, “Well now, for fact’s sake loan forgiveness is not nearly as uncommon as they would have you think. The government does it all the time. It is called a tax break. We see it with corporations.”
Shifting the conversation to PPP loans, Ruhle continued, “And now, the newly feisty White House Twitter account is trying to drive home the point by publicly naming and shaming Republican members of Congress who took PPP loans, and the truth is, all along with some significant wins, that may finally be helping push President Biden's approval rating higher and possibly crushing the GOP dreams of a red wave come November.”
Ruhle then introduced Politico’s Sam Stein and Real Clear Politics’s A.B. Stoddard. Beginning with Stein, Ruhle asked, “Why on Earth do so many members of Congress whose job it is to govern also run small businesses that got hundreds of thousands, in some cases millions of dollars from the government?”
After Stein explained that some of these small business have been in the member’s family “for a while,” he tackled the PPP-student loan comparison more directly, “In this case, it's becoming the nexus of an element of hypocrisy in our political system. As you noted, a number of these members who have been hyper-critical of this student debt relief that the Biden administration has put forward, did in fact receive government loans through PPP.”
However, Stein then pointed out that PPP loans were the result of “pandemic-era closures” which should have ended the conversation as the analogy was shown to be utterly false. Instead, Stein ignored his own point, “But, fundamentally at its core, as you note, Stephanie, it is the government coming in to help relieve debt for someone who needs the debt relief and I think, structurally, that’s the similarity that's why the White House is hitting back hard on these members.”
Turning to Stoddard, Ruhle ignored the idea that PPP is completely different and declared, “They are hitting back hard. What do you think of this new strategy A.B.? Because traditionally, Democrats are way more careful than that. They might say, “well, there are Democratic lawmakers that also got PPP loans," but not here. They're punching between the eyes. We haven't seen up before.”
So, much for “for fact’s sake.”
As for Stoddard, she declared that Biden’s “career really was during the arc of a more civilized time. He was this genteel man of the Senate” and liberal critics thought “he really wasn't going to take on the fight of our time and” being willing “punch Republicans back in the nose” is a welcomed development for them.
This segment was sponsored by AT&T.
Here is a transcript for the August 29 show:
MSNBC The 11th Hour with Stephanie Ruhle
8/29/2022
11:37 PM ET
STEPHANIE RUHLE: Six months after Nancy Pelosi made that promise, Democrats are doing something many voters have been begging for, for quite a while. They are fighting like Republicans. Take the recent GOP criticism of the Biden Administration's student debt relief. Republican lawmakers were all over social media complaining the relief was for elites, it was reckless, it was unfair.
Well now, for fact’s sake loan forgiveness is not nearly as uncommon as they would have you think. The government does it all the time. It is called a tax break. We see it with corporations. The government does not make them pay as much as they owe, which gives them more money to grow and thrive and that is exactly what student loan cancellation is meant-- meant-- to accomplish. Helping Americans have more money so they can succeed. And now, the newly feisty White House Twitter account is trying to drive home the point by publicly naming and shaming Republican members of Congress who took PPP loans, and the truth is, all along with some significant wins, that may finally be helping push President Biden's approval rating higher and possibly crushing the GOP dreams of a red wave come November.
Here to break it all down, Sam Stein, a veteran journalist and White House editor for Politico, and A.B. Stoddard, veteran Washington journalist and associate editor and columnist for Real Clear Politics.
Sam, here’s something I need to know, if you are a member of Congress, it is a full-time job. We’re talking for days about PPP loans. This was the forgivable loan program that the government put in place to keep small businesses across the country afloat. Why on Earth do so many members of Congress whose job it is to govern also run small businesses that got hundreds of thousands, in some cases millions of dollars from the government?
SAM STEIN: It’s a really good question. Being a member of Congress is a full-time job or should be I would say. Comes with a pretty nice salary too, but members do have holdings and businesses sometimes tied to family members or that have been in their family for a while, that they do operate on the side.
And yes, some of them did get loans from the government, some of them do business that involves government subsidies. Oftentimes this is the nexus of some element of corruption in our political system. In this case, it's becoming the nexus of an element of hypocrisy in our political system. As you noted, a number of these members who have been hyper-critical of this student debt relief that the Biden administration has put forward, did in fact receive government loans through PPP. Now, of course, there’s fundamental differences in the programs.
One was there to help with pandemic-era closures, the other one is there to help students who are struggling in debt. But, fundamentally at its core, as you note, Stephanie, it is the government coming in to help relieve debt for someone who needs the debt relief and I think, structurally, that’s the similarity that's why the White House is hitting back hard on these members.
RUHLE: They are hitting back hard. What do you think of this new strategy A.B.? Because traditionally, Democrats are way more careful than that. They might say, “well, there are Democratic lawmakers that also got PPP loans," but not here. They're punching between the eyes. We haven't seen up before.
A.B. STODDARD: No and, Stephanie, one of the criticisms of President Biden early on was that, you know, Democrats didn't see him out there punching back. He came into office saying he was going to unite the nation and cool tempers and he wanted to work with Republicans and much of the grassroots energy, you know, all of the frustrations over the long, long road of Build Back Better which finally became the Inflation Reduction Act was born out of the fact that they felt that he wasn't --he was taking too much time negotiating with Republicans on other things, hoping for things like infrastructure and maybe other deals.
That he comes, that his career really was during the arc of a more civilized time. He was this genteel man of the Senate, and he really wasn't going to take on the fight of our time. And so it is an interesting turn. Everything happening at once. Not only this slate of really, really productive and successful and meaningful new laws coming out of the Senate with the help of Republicans, passed by, signed into law by President Biden, as gas prices are going down, as President, former President Donald Trump is back in the news yet, under yet another criminal investigation of a very serious nature.
And then you have this new tactic which is that they are going to fight back and punch Republicans back in the nose. It's really, obviously being on defense, you're always losing when you’re on defense, and the Democrats feel that all of these things happening at once have given them, finally a position of offense, but it is--it is-- definitely long sought by the base of the party and a welcome development.
