Evan McMorris-Santoro of Talking Points Memo writes that CNBC anchor Michelle Caruso-Cabrera accused an Arizona congressman of making the stock market drop because he decided to appear on CNBC.
McMorris-Santoro writes, “Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) tanked the market, she said, by refusing to budge on his contention that Medicare cuts should be off the table in negotiations surrounding the so-called fiscal cliff. Democrats accused the anchor of trying to ‘shame’ them into cutting entitlement cuts by directly blaming Grijalva’s words for the market’s decline.
“Grijalva, co-chair of the House Progressive Caucus, appeared on CNBC to talk about the debt talks and his view that it was unfair to talk about Medicare and other entitlement programs when Republicans remain publicly unwilling to significantly increase government revenues.
“Caruso-Cabrera said Grijalva’s words were literally hurting the economy in real time. It’s something that’s happened before when members of Congress appear on the air, she added.
“‘Representative? You know what, as we’re talking the market is selling off once again,’ she told Grijalva. ‘Every time members of Congress come on, and I’ve got to tell you sir, I think you’re contributing to the fears that we’re going off the fiscal cliff because it doesn’t sound like there’s any compromise in what you’re saying. Do you care that markets are selling off dramatically when it looks like you guys can’t come to a deal?'”
Read more here.
