Donny Deutsch Rips Wisconsin GOP as 'Fascist Regime'; Decries 'Totalitarianism' of Vote
Former CNBC anchor Donny Deutsch went ballistic Thursday on Morning
Joe over the situation in Wisconsin. Deutsch called the Republican
majority in the state capital "a fascist regime" after they rushed a
vote Wednesday night to curb most collective bargaining for public
sector workers.
"This is a governor that would not sit down at the table with these
people, the Democrats, they walked away," Deutsch ranted. "Now he's
doing whatever sleazy, end-run - this is not what this country is built
on. This is a fascist regime."
Both Deutsch and MSNBC political analyst Harold Ford were audibly
dismayed at the procedural move by the Republicans that caught the
opposition in complete surprise, but it was an unashamed Deutsch who
doubled down on his criticism by arguing that Gov. Walker and the
Republicans were totalitarian.
"I
think people in this country have what are called 'tummy meter,'
something that feels right and doesn't feel right," he described. "And I
think the tactics, the approach, the totalitarianism of this does not
feel right."
Harold Ford dismissed the validity of the move as "illegal," but also
warned that it will serve no practical good. He even went as far as to
say that cutting down on collective bargaining will kill jobs in the
state.
"At the end of the day, nothing has changed with the budget in
Wisconsin," the former Democratic congressman insisted. "The reality is
Scott Walker has done nothing to increase the budget coffers in
Wisconsin. As a matter of fact, he may have hurt it. Because he may have
put more people out of work."
A partial transcript of the segment, which aired on March 10 at 6:06 a.m. EST, is as follows:
DONNY DEUTSCH: I gotta tell you, this is a democracy. This is not what the people, the good people of Wisconsin voted for when they voted for this governor. This is a governor that would not sit down at the table with these people, the Democrats, they walked away. Now he's doing whatever sleazy, end-run - this is not what this country is built on. This is a fascist regime. There's something wrong here. Very, very wrong.
(...)
HAROLD FORD: But at the end of the day, nothing has changed with the budget in Wisconsin. I understand that Karl Rove and others may be working on ads, but the reality is Scott Walker has done nothing to increase the budget coffers in Wisconsin. As a matter of fact, he may have hurt it. Because he may have put more people out of work.
(...)
DEUTSCH: I think people in this country have what are called "tummy meter," something that feels right and doesn't feel right. And I think the tactics, the approach, the totalitarianism of this does not feel right. This is not the way we govern in this country. And I don't care, Democrat or Republican, and I really believe everybody around this table somehow in their tummy says this doesn't feel right.
(...)
DEUTSCH: Are there any mobs in New Jersey? Because this is nothing about the budget, this is about ideology. That's the difference to Harold's point.
(...)
DEUTSCH: Nobody's debating a budget issue. This is not a budget issue. (...) It's just wrong! It's wrong!