If you ever wondered why Republicans won’t go on Lawrence O’Donnell’s show, watch him use Newt Gingrich’s own words against him to prove the Republican wrong on tax cuts.
Here is the video:
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GREGORY: Lawrence, this– this idea of how much room the president is willing to give becomes a big question because he wants– based on what I’m hearing, he wants Boehner to say, okay I give– I give on the rates. And then he– maybe he’ll talk a little more.
MR. LAWRENCE O’DONNELL (Host, MSNBC’s “THE LAST WORD”): The problem for Boehner is how does he give on rates. He said this the other day I oppose tax rate increases because tax rate increases cost American jobs. That gives you no room to give on rates. It is, by the way, not an original thought. Who said this? The tax increase will kill jobs and lead to a recession, and the recession will force people out of work and onto unemployment and actually increase the deficit? That’s Newt Gingrich in 1993 on the Clinton tax increase. And those of us who were working on the other side of that tax increase, Newt, have been waiting for your apology for 20 years for being completely wrong about that.
MR. GINGRICH: Well, I don’t agree with you.
MR. O’DONNELL: Well with the– but the economy soared, no one lost a job…
MR. GINGRICH: Baloney.
MR. O’DONNELL:…because of that tax increase.
MR. GINGRICH: Baloney. Baloney.
MR. O’DONNELL: There was no recession. You said there would be a recession.
MR. GINGRICH: You now see the case.
MR. O’DONNELL: There was no recession.
MR. GINGRICH: The fact is if you look at all the indicators the day I was elected speaker, virtually all the economic growth occurs after Republicans take control, virtually all the increase in the stock– the matter of fact, all the increase in the stock market is after Republicans take control.
MR. O’DONNELL: You did not reduce the rates, Newt?
MR. GINGRICH: And– and when we balanced– wait a second.
MR. O’DONNELL: You said the rates would cause a recession.
MR. GINGRICH: When we balanced the– when we balanced the budget, we balanced the budget with a tax cut not a tax– four consecutive balanced budgets with a tax cut, not a tax increase.
MR. O’DONNELL: A tiny tax cut compared to the biggest tax increase in history which is what Bill Clinton did. You didn’t dismantle it.
One gets the sense that O’Donnell has been waiting nearly 20 years for opportunity to directly confront Gingrich about the fact that he was, and still is, totally wrong on the impact of tax increases. Notice how Gingrich tried to take the credit for the economic growth of the 1990s while implausibly denying that the raising taxes had anything to do with economic growth.
This segment also demonstrated how poorly Republicans fare when they leave the Fox News bubble. Conservatives have become so dependent on friendly media that they disintegrate when they are confronted by anyone. O’Donnell came loaded for bear, but his challenge to Gingrich really wasn’t that hard. The former speaker could have given a variety of answers about the many factors that went in to growing the economy. Instead, all he could come with is “baloney.”
When one of the supposed, and self-styled, intellectuals of the conservative movement was asked about a 20 year old incorrect prediction that is just as relevant today as it was then, his answer was baloney.
Lawrence O’Donnell brought a rare attempt to hold Republicans accountable for their inaccurate beliefs to the Sunday morning news circuit today. Newt Gingrich may have squiggled and squirmed, but he still couldn’t face the reality that everything Republicans believe about the impact of tax increases is wrong.
Job creators are the Republican version of the Tooth Fairy, and Lawrence O’Donnell wasn’t about to let Newt Gingrich push anymore of his baloney on to the American people.
We’re still waiting for that apology, Newt.
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buckeyewill
Dec. 9th, 2012 at 5:56 pm
Oh boy. Lawrence gonna have A LOT to say Monday night.
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Judy M
Dec. 9th, 2012 at 6:24 pm
Why does Gingrich have any credibility anywhere, anytime?
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Laurie Mann
Dec. 10th, 2012 at 7:05 pm
He never had any credibility with many of us.
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Keith Miller
Dec. 9th, 2012 at 6:34 pm
ODonnell uses facts to destroy talking points. Loved it.
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Dave
Dec. 9th, 2012 at 6:38 pm
Republicans repeat their lies so often the believe them! So do their sheeple!.
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Paul Menchini
Dec. 9th, 2012 at 9:06 pm
“Newt Gingrich is the intellectual of the [2012] Republican field the way Moe was the intellectual of the Stooges.”
– Andy Borowitz
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ShineFiddler
Dec. 10th, 2012 at 1:38 am
Gingrich is the sociopath personally responsible for the current partisan acrimony in DC. “Go negative early” was his quote to that first freshman GOP class of sycophants. His speech to the media owners in 1992, urging them to jettison neutral reportage in their news rooms and replace it with offerings more in line with their business and political interests, virtually destroyed American journalism, as they took him up on it.
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denise
Dec. 10th, 2012 at 11:31 am
this is why these people stay on fox friendly fox and do not appear on msnbc. they know the anchors over at msnbc are well-informed, and so are most of their viewers. what the viewers over at fox news won’t question, the viewers at msnbc will.
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jay hood
Dec. 10th, 2012 at 11:39 am
i love this..need more….just like this….
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So Right!
Dec. 10th, 2012 at 11:47 am
You’re welcome to your own opinions but not to your own facts.
1) Price of oil was $26pb during Clinton years vs $35pb the previous four years which is a large tax break.
2) Personal Federal Tax rates were dropped in both 1996 and 1998
3) Social Security rates dropped in 1996, 97 and 98
4) In 1998, Capital Gains tax dropped from 28% to 20% and tax revenues actually increased
I’m not taking sides here, but the rhetoric here is not any different than from MSNBC or FOX.
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Shiva (Moderator)
Dec. 10th, 2012 at 12:08 pm
Jobs had increased dramatically in the 90′s You cant attribute those gains to just capitol gains rates dropping.
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CC Scarbrough
Dec. 10th, 2012 at 11:54 am
And what about Gregory? I gave up Meet the Press long ago because he uses too many Republican talking points as fact.
Putting the onus on Obama for lack of negotiations on the manufactured fiscal cliff is a farce. I avoid subjecting myself to Fox-like remaking of history.
I do not understand why he had not been fired long ago. Are you listening NBC?
And by the way, my appreciation and respect for Lawrence O’Donnell grows more all the time. Watch him and Rachel daily.
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Rixar13
Dec. 10th, 2012 at 12:03 pm
“Lawrence O’Donnell Completely Destroys Newt Gingrich on Meet The Press”
Facts vs. BS
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john m
Dec. 10th, 2012 at 3:43 pm
Lawrence was there… inside at the time and has immense credibility. He called out Newton big time!
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Olga Olivia
Dec. 10th, 2012 at 5:02 pm
I love Lawrence O’Donnell! Newt is not even in the game. Lawrence convinced me that Newt Gingrich has lied and has been wrong consistently. He just is fast on his feet and comes up with words that mean nothing to me except that the clues come to us with facts and not verbiage.
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clarence swinney
Dec. 12th, 2012 at 8:46 am
I muat credit Newt where credit is due.
He cooperated with Clinton. They liked each other.
Clinton “ate his cake on budget” per National Review founder. Clinton was most learned on governance. A life study + 12 years as Governor
+ a brilliant mind + a gregarious personality + did not know how to hate anyone + liked sex.
Republicans must share in Clinton greatest record
and Newt was the leader. His character may not be good but experience and knowledge are good.
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Sabyen91
Dec. 13th, 2012 at 12:58 am
They LIKED each other? Yeah, that is why Newt led the charge to impeach Clinton. This retconning really bothers me. Newt and Bill hated each other and Bill was not some liberal lion-heart. He was a triangulating Blue Dog that would be to the right of Obama if he were president today.
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clarence swinney
Dec. 12th, 2012 at 8:50 am
CLINTON PRAISE-WITH PLEASURE
GDP–rose from 6300 to 11,600
NATIONAL INCOME-5,000 to 8,000 Billion–took 20 years to grow 2500B before Clinton
JOBS CREATED–over 22 million–record by far
AVERAGE WEEKLY EARNINGS–$360 to $478
AVERAGE WEEKLY HOURS WORKED–never hit 35.0–hit that mark 4 times in 80′s
UNEMPLOYMENT–from 7.2% down down down to 3.9%
WELFARE TO WORK—11,533,710 on federal roll in 1996 and 3,880,321 in 2007.
MINIMUM WAGE–$4.25 to $5.15
MINORITIES–did exceedingly well
HOME OWNERSHIP–hit all time high
DEFICIT–290 Billion to whoopee a SURPLUS
DEBT—-+28%—300% increase over prior12 years
FEDERAL SPENDING–+28%—80% under Reagan- who da true conservative?
DOW JONES AVERAGE–3,500 to 11,800 all it’s history to get to 3500 and Clinton zooms it
NASDAQ–700 to 5,000—all of it’s history to get to 700 and Clinton zooms it
VALUES INDEXES– almost all bad went down–good went up in zoom zoom zoom
FOREIGN AFFAIRS–Peace on Earth good will toward each other—Mark of a true Christian–what has Bush done to Peace on Earth?
POPULARITY—highest poll ratings in history during peacetime in AFRICA, ASIA AND EUROPE even 98.5% in Moscow–left office with highest gallup rating since it was started in 1920′s.
STAND UP FOR JUSTICE–evil conservatives spent $110,000,000 on hearings and investigations and caught— ONE— very evil man who took a few plane rides to events.
BOW YOUR HEADS–Thank you God for sending us a man of Bill Clinton’s character, intelligence, knowledge of governance, ability to face up to crises without whimpering and a great leader of the world.
THANK YOU GOD FOR THE GOOD TIMES THE CLINTON YEARS.
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clarence swinney
Dec. 12th, 2012 at 5:41 pm
Hedge Fund Manager Paulson made $3700 Million in 2007 and $5000 Million in 2010.
He had bet om Mortgage Defaults. AIG covered some of his large bets. They lost. We bailed them out
of gambling losses. His Tax Rate 15%. Union workers pay 28% Tax Rate.
Wall Street is involved in high speed gambling. The type that almost put us in a Great Depression.
When will Congress show courage and tax such gambling activities. UK has taxed them for decades with no ill effect. We need the revenue. Better to do that than cut entitlements. A few rich are involved versus 50 million. Will we ever learn?
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clarence swinney
Dec. 12th, 2012 at 5:42 pm
NEWT GINGRICH TALK
His image as a God-fearing, family values man. A Deacon and Sunday School teacher at local Baptist church. It took three campaigns for him to get elected. He argued that the GOP can no longer afford to be “the party of the country clubs.” It should be the party that cares enough about the poor rather than a party that cares just enough to exploit them”. “Bill Clinton is a very smart, very clever tactician.” “My vision is of an America that realizes its real strength is spiritual, not economic. We need leaders who have a commitment to morality above winning.”
“I will do anything to win.” “We must develop our party as the party of the middle class
working tax payers.”
Book:1995—Quotations from Speaker Newt—–awesome pro and con on Newt. I picked negatives but plenty of positives. Good easy reading. Workman Publishing.
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clarence swinney
Dec. 15th, 2012 at 10:16 am
BIG INEQUALITY
10% own 73% net wealth—80% own 15%
10% own 83% Financial Wealth—80% own 7%
10% get 46% individual income-50% get 13%
Is this Mexico? No! America
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