CNN Anchor Laughs at House GOP for Threatening Shutdown Over ObamaCare
CNN's Carol Costello blamed Congress for Friday's jobs report and
laughed at House Republicans who will shut down the government if
necessary to defund Obamacare.
In a Facebook post, Costello wrote,
"Many economists think the economy could be a lot better if Congress
did its job, but the House is, again, threatening to shut down the
government. We've been down this road before...but, with an approval rating of 17 per cent, you'd think the House would come up with something new. Hahahahaaha."
[Video below. Audio here.]
On the 9 a.m. ET Newsroom she implied Congress, not also the President, was to blame for disappointing jobs numbers:
"Who's at fault for this, because some people would blame the do-nothing Congress, right? Because they're not doing much to help the economy grow. Things are stagnant there at best."
In fact, Obama's own chairman of his Council of Economic Advisers, Alan Krueger, echoed Costello's pouting during the next hour of Newsroom:
"It's most important that Congress doesn't inflict wounds on the economy. We don't want to have a shutdown of the government, that would slow the recovery. And unthinkable would be to have another fight over the debt ceiling. So I think most important we should follow the rule of do no harm, and that's really up to Congress in the coming months."
The only time Costello held the President responsible for the jobs report, it was for not getting Congress "on board" with him: "But isn't it, in part, up to the President too to try to get Congress on board, at least a little bit? Or is that just an impossibility?"
Below is a transcript of the segments, which aired on CNN Newsroom on August 2:
[9:08 a.m. EDT]
CAROL COSTELLO: So last question. Who's at fault for this, because some
people would blame the do-nothing Congress, right? Because they're not
doing much to help the economy grow. Things are stagnant there at best,
Stephen.
(...)
[10:08]
ALAN KRUEGER, President's Council on Economic Advisers: But I do want
to add one thing, so that we can continue to build on this progress.
It's most important that Congress doesn't inflict wounds on the economy.
We don't want to have a shutdown of the government, that would slow the
recovery. And unthinkable would be to have another fight over the debt
ceiling. So I think most important we should follow the rule of do no
harm, and that's really up to Congress in the coming months.
CAROL COSTELLO: But isn't it important to the President too to try to
get Congress on board, at least a little bit? Or is that just an
impossibility?
KRUEGER: Well the President has done everything imaginable to reach out
to the Congress. He has had meetings with different groups within
Congress and he will continue to reach out. But just take the issue of
the debt ceiling. The debt ceiling says that the Treasury should pay the
bills that Congress already rang up. And what we saw in the summer of
2011 was an unnecessary fight over the debt ceiling where Congress was
literally playing games with defaulting on the full faith and credit of
the U.S. currency. Those are the kinds of manufactured crises that can
slow down the recovery or do much more damage to the U.S. and world
economy, and that's why I think it's so important that Congress does its
job when it comes back from recess and raises the debt ceiling without
drama.
COSTELLO: I was just going to say, I'm sure they're all thinking that on their summer recess.
-- Matt Hadro is a News Analyst at the Media Research Center
