Caroline Heldman, a frequent Fox News guest, had a bit of a blowout with Sean Hannity last night in which he argued that the booming stock market was not a sign of economic recovery because, he asked rhetorically, "those people on food stamps, are they investing in the stock market?” To which Heldman replied, "I’m impressed that you’re now concerned about the poor, thank you for that.” Tonight, Heldman was a guest on Al Sharpton's PoliticsNation where she said, "I have never met a group of people who are so upset that the economy is rebounding than the folks over at Fox."
Heldman went on to explain all the signs of economic rebound and added, "It is getting better and we can't be in denial about this because that actually affects consumer confidence."
Like me, Heldman thinks "it's important to ...engage the other side." However, she added, "I think that Sean Hannity is a perfectly likeable person. I happen to know that he tips 100% in his private life. I just wish that his public stances and the stances of Republicans didn't go after the poor, the elderly, kids - with Pell Grant cuts, Medicaid cuts, job training cuts. You really do have to put your money where your mouth is."
Sharpton agreed that he has nothing against Hannity personally.
I'm all for liking people personally and I'll even grant that Hannity may be a "perfectly likeable person." But tipping 100% is grandiose and self-serving to a guy like Hannity. He'll have to do something a little more humble to convince me he cares about working class people.
And as for Sharpton, it still astounds me that he has yet to notice, much less object to, Hannity's bigotry and race-baiting.
Heldman's appearance on Hannity is below, followed by the discussion on PoliticsNation.
(H/T Media Matters)
Liberal Guest Mocks Hannity For Suddenly Being 'Concerned About The Poor' In Fight Over Obama Economy
Sean Hannity got into a shout-fest Monday night with liberal Occidental College professor Caroline Heldman over the economy that was reminiscent of Bill O'Reilly's recent showdown with Alan Colmes. Hannity put forth the notion that Democrats, like MSNBC's Chris Matthews and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, were attempting to put a positive spin on the Obama economy and needed a "reality check."