MSNBC's Dylan Ratigan appeared on Morning Joe, Wednesday, to dismiss Barack
Obama as a "little boy" in the eyes of Wall Street and to assert the President
"just bends over," rather than stand up to the financial industry. [Audio
available
here.]
The charged language surprised host Joe Scarborough who sputtered, "You know,
I was so uncomfortable with a couple of the things you said and then the
exclamation point at the end."
Speaking of financial reform, Ratigan attacked, "...When the Wall Street guys
got across the table from him and said 'Oh, you going to change our tax code,
little boy?'" After dismissing Obama's ability to oppose Wall Street,
Ratigan vulgarly claimed, "
But with this guy, he just bends over every time."
Scarborough and co-host Mika Brzezinski expressed their amazement over the
comments, prompting Ratigan to first asserted, "I'm not trying to offend." He
then quickly changed course and opined, "I am trying to offend, because I am
offended. And everybody in America is offended and they are right to be
offended."
Ratigan isn't the first MSNBC and Morning Joe regular to make highly
questionable comments. On
February
23, 2010, Donny Deutsch appeared on another program, the Joy Behar Show, and
referred to Republican Marco Rubio as a "coconut." (Coconut is a racist term for
Hispanics who are brown on the outside and white on the inside.) Deutsch later
apologized.
Considering that many liberal journalists have jumped on any criticism of
Obama as proof of racism, it will be interesting to see how Ratigan's comments
are received.
A transcript of the July 14 segment, which aired at 7:11am EDT, follows:
JOE SCARBOROUGH: When do we start cutting back?
DYLAN RATIGAN: We start cutting after we start clawing
back. I don't know why, as country, we refuse to deal with the issue of
compensation that is being paid out to individuals who are taking that money
predicated on their control of the government and not on their introduction of
any value. 75 percent of what happens in the financial industry is a racket. It
should be basically outlawed so that we can restore capitalism. And why we don't
deal with tax dodge that exists at the top. And Barack Obama, very aggressive
in his campaign trail about [starts doing an Obama impression] how he was going
to take care of the private equity tax loopholes and he's going to work for the American
people. It's not a very good Barack Obama. It was more of a Joe Scarborough.
JOHN HEILMANN: Sounds more like a Texas Congressman. Lyndon Johnson.
RATIGAN: And he didn't do it. When it came down to it, when the Wall
Street guys got across the table from him and said "Oh you going to change our
tax code, little boy?" I think not. Because I'll tell you right now, when
you're a 75 or an 80 year old billionaire from New York who is looking at any
government in this country that's trying to play with the tax code, you know who
wins? The 80 year old billionaire from New York every time. If its Teddy
Roosevelt in office who is not intimated by these types of people he might say
"Listen. I don't care who you are, I don't care how rich you are, it's not going
to happen." But with this guy, he just bends over every time.
SCARBOROUGH: Yeah.
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: Dylan, you're very- Oh, my God!
WILLIE GEIST: Wow.
SCARBOROUGH: You know, I was so uncomfortable with a couple of the things
you said and then the exclamation point at the end.
RATIGAN: It's unbelievable to me. I'm not trying to offend.
SCARBOROUGH: Well-
RATIGAN: No, no. They want to cut teachers and cops, okay?. You want to cut
teachers and police in California, in Massachusetts and Ohio, but you don't want
to restore any fairness to the tax code or eliminate the theft, let alone the
extraction? We go to BP, health care, etc.
SCARBOROUGH: You don't actually try to offend.
RATIGAN: I am trying to offend, because I am offended. And everybody in
America is offended and they are right to be offended.
-Scott Whitlock is a news analyst for the Media Research Center. Click here to follow him on
Twitter.
