Media Matters: CNBC's Kernen, Bartiromo Falsely Claimed Obama Promised To Eliminate Earmarks

[Hissyspit]

http://mediamatters.org/items/200903130011?f=h_top

CNBC's Kernen, Bartiromo falsely claimed Obama promised to eliminate earmarks

Summary: CNBC's Joe Kernen falsely claimed that President Obama "promised ... no more earmarks," while colleague Maria Bartiromo similarly asserted that "during the campaign, said he would eliminate" earmarks. In fact, Obama promised to reform the earmark process and cut wasteful spending, not eliminate earmarks altogether.

Discussing the 2009 omnibus spending bill on the March 11 edition of CNBC's Squawk Box, co-host Joe Kernen falsely claimed that President Obama "promised ... no more earmarks." Kernen's colleague, Maria Bartiromo, host of CNBC's Closing Bell, similarly asserted on March 11 that "during the campaign, said he would eliminate" earmarks. In fact, as Media Matters for America has noted, during the 2008 presidential campaign, Obama promised to reform the earmark process and cut wasteful spending, not eliminate earmarks altogether. Indeed, NBC News White House correspondent John Yang noted during the March 11 edition of MSNBC Live that "the president has never said he wants to eliminate earmarks."

From the 11 a.m. ET hour of the March 11 edition of MSNBC Live:

YANG: Now, the president has never said he wants to eliminate earmarks. He's opposed the outright elimination of earmarks. He says they do -- he has said in the past that they do serve a valid purpose of directing money back to worthwhile projects in lawmakers' home districts. But he wants to make sure that in addition to the transparency that Congress itself has put in place -- people have to identify by name the earmarks, put their names on the earmarks -- they want to make sure that these are worthy projects and it's not wasted spending.

Addressing claims that Obama campaigned on a promise to end earmarks, PolitiFact.com similarly wrote: "That's incorrect. Obama did not promise to end earmarking, only to 'reform' it, and eliminate 'screwy' or wasteful earmarks."

On Closing Bell, Bartiromo claimed Obama "said he would eliminate" earmarks despite airing an excerpt of Obama's March 11 speech on earmark reform in which he stated that he has "opposed outright elimination" of earmarks.

Numerous media figures have similarly misrepresented Obama's statements regarding earmarks to accuse him of breaking a promise.

From the March 11 edition of CNBC's Squawk Box:

KERNEN: President Obama says he's inherited it from Bush, but there's earmarks galore across the board, and they're just saying this is not the time we're going to tackle that issue. Only five senators don't have earmarks -- only five of them.

- snip -

KERNEN: -- getting their earmarks out.

QUICK: I can understand that.

KERNEN: But he promised that no more earmarks. So Gibbs has been answering, you know, soon. Or the next omnibus bill, we're going to have our imprimatur -- is that how you say it? We'll put it on that but not on this one.

- snip -

From the March 11 edition of CNBC's Closing Bell with Maria Bartiromo:

BARTIROMO: Welcome back. President Obama today tackling the criticism directed at him for allowing earmarks into the federal budget.

OBAMA: Done right, earmarks have given legislators the opportunity to direct federal money to worthy projects that benefit people in their districts and that's why I've opposed their outright elimination. ... But the fact is that, on occasion, earmarks have been used as a vehicle for waste, and fraud, and abuse.

BARTIROMO: The president and Senate Democrats will have to contend with my next guest to get this budget through, Republican Senator Judd Gregg of New Hampshire. He's the top Republican on the Senate Budget Committee. Senator, it is wonderful to have you on the program. Thanks for joining us.

GREGG: Thank you for having me, Maria.

BARTIROMO: Your reaction to the president's description there about earmarks. We know that during the campaign, he said he would eliminate them.

[MrPerson]

1. In Bartiromo's defense - she's really really hot.

[marmar]

2. Am I the only one who can't stand Maria Bartiromo?

Right-wing propagandist with a smile.

[indepat]

3. Now, now, Joe and Maria were on all junior's lies, distortions, falsehoods,

and disingenuously dichotomous remarks at the drop of a hat without fail just like ugly on an ape: they even promptly exposed each of junior's 935 lies about Iraq, excoriating him mercilessly for each so we can't expect them to go light on the new president. :P

[DCKit]

4. Sure, let them promote earmarks as the sign of the Devil. Let's see which party is hurt more...

when the rabble rises up.

Beyond slamming Obama right now, what game are they playing? I just don't see this as being "productive" for their corporate masters. If this same earmark money wasn't flowing back into the same corporations that own the MSM, they'd have attacked the practice long ago.