With less than four weeks to the midterm elections, CNN is giving resident populist Lou Dobbs more room to trash the American economy, the Bush tax cuts, and free trade.
Associated Press television writer David Bauder noted in an October 10 article that anchor “Dobbs’ weeknight news show will expand to seven days a week, with the two weekend editions presenting highlights of the week’s reporting beginning Oct. 28.”
“Dobbs is also anchoring three pre-election special reports: ‘War on the Middle Class’ on Oct. 18, ‘Broken Borders’ on Oct. 25 and ‘Democracy at Risk: E-voting's Threat’ on Oct. 29,” Bauder noted.
But viewers don’t have to wait that long for even more Lou. With an October 10 appearance on “Larry King Live” and an interview the next day on “American Morning,” the business reporter has already begun peddling his just-published “War on the Middle Class.”
While King is famous for his decidedly non-hardball approach to interviewing, Dobbs received a similarly soft reception on the October 11 “American Morning.”
Anchor Soledad O’Brien began by urging Dobbs to give viewers some election advice. “Is there one direction you think politically the middle class is leaning or should be leaning,” O’Brien wondered.
Dobbs insisted he is frustrated with both Democrats and Republicans before slamming the Bush tax cuts “since 2001, have all benefited, disproportionately, the wealthy in this country.”
“Not exactly a surprise there,” O’Brien quipped before asking Dobbs for “ways in which the middle class has been underserved or poorly served by Republicans.”
O’Brien also noted that Dobbs also has a “litany of failures” from Democrats in “letting down the middle class,” but didn’t press Dobbs to enumerate any of those policies.
At no point in her interview did O’Brien cite any economists who vehemently disagree with Lou’s assessment of the American economy, of the Bush tax cuts, or his desire to limit free trade.
The Business & Media Institute (BMI) has frequently documented Dobbs’s use of his program to further an anti-free trade agenda.
For example, in August 2005, BMI published a study that found that 89 percent of stories on U.S.-China commerce slammed the trade relationship, leaving out even token opposition to Dobbs’s anti-trade stance. The same study also found Dobbs often confused his ideological leanings for fact, asserting the trade deficit was “literally choking economic growth” even though the economy has steadily been growing and inexpensive imports have helped to boost the American standard of living.
