CNBC Must Fire Jim Cramer

Jim Cramer is just another rightwing coward. As long as he controls the microphone, he's the smartest guy in the world, the one guy who can solve all our economic problems. But if someone else - like Jon Stewart - controls the mic, he's reduced to a simpering, babbling moron. And Stewart definitely owned Cramer:

Stewart laid out a devastating indictment of the industry and CNBC's facilitating, coverup role. As Cramer fumbled to defend himself and CNBC, Stewart showed clip after clip of Cramer describing stock price manipulation, insider scams, and how cool and easy it is to fool federal and state regulators.

After getting his ass kicked by Jon Stewart, Cramer cancelled his appearance on Morning Joe, hid from the rest of the Peacock Empire, and only referred to his appearance with the other Stewart - Martha, the convicted insider trader - on his own afternoon show. 

Rather than defend himself in his own medium - TV - Cramer retreated to his blog, where no rude interviewer could ask any embarrassing questions. And his blog revealed him to be a paranoid slave of Rush Limbaugh:

some would say, including Rush Limbaugh, I am on someone else's enemies list: that of the White House. Limbaugh says there are only a handful of us on it

Cramer, do you really think your insane rants are taken seriously outside your fevered brain, let alone by the White House?

Then Cramer blames President Obama for the Bush Bust:

Look at the incredible decline in the stock market, in all indices, since the inauguration of the president, with the drop accelerating when the budget plan came to light because of the massive fear and indecision the document sowed

"The market" started tanking in December 2007, which was the very start of the Bush Bust. The DOW crashed from a peak of 14,000 all the way down to 8,000 during Bush's last year. That was "the market" President Obama inherited.

Everyone who isn't insane like Cramer acknowledges "the markets" are falling because the real economy is in freefall and because gigantic banks are on the verge of bankruptcy, even if President Obama is using the hard-earned tax dollars of ordinary Americans to keep the banks on life support.

And in the past week, while Cramer was engaged in his paranoid war with President Obama, the DOW soared 700 points.

But here's why Cramer needs to be fired: he's lying about President Obama: 

Obama has undeniably made things worse by creating an atmosphere of fear and panic rather than an atmosphere of calm and hope. He's done it by pushing a huge amount of change at a very perilous moment, by seeking to demonize the entire banking system and by raising taxes for those making more than $250,000 at the exact time when we need them to spend and build new businesses, and by revoking deductions for funds to charity and that help eliminate the excess supply of homes.

Who in his right mind thinks President Obama has created "fear and panic" rather than "calm and hope"? (Obama spent quality time with the Business Roundtable.) Who in his right mind thinks President Obama has "demonize[d] the entire banking system"? Who in his right mind thinks President Obama has "rais[ed] taxes for those making more than $250,000"? Who in his right mind thinks President Obama has "revok[ed] deductions" for charities and mortgages?

It's one thing to accurately criticize President Obama's specific economic policies. It's quite another to distort them beyond all recognition. That's not within any accepted boundaries of journalism - it's just plain lies.

If Cramer is too stupid - or paranoid - to realize he's lying, he doesn't belong on any TV station. If he's lying on purpose, he certainly doesn't belong on CNBC.

Either way, it's time for CNBC to fire Jim Cramer.

Update 1: Of course CNBC may knowingly employ a liar because it is a criminal enterprise devoted to insider trading. As Brent Budowsky writes,

What does it tell us that a high percentage of guests on CNBC, and unnamed sources quoted on CNBC, are shorting the market, but CNBC refuses to tell us they are? If a trader would lose a lot of money if America succeeds, and make a lot of money if America fails, don’t we the people have a right to know this when they seek to spread fear and panic?

The issue is not whether they are right or wrong, the issue is whether we the people have a right to know their true financial interests. And we have a right to ask why CNBC systematically fails to tell us their true interests

Update 2: Cramer's non-defense didn't impress his bosses, according to the Pentagon Post:

Cramer has told colleagues he felt blindsided by Stewart’s hostile approach. But many CNBC staffers were furious with Cramer yesterday for failing to defend the network’s reporting or to criticize Stewart’s video clips as selectively edited or out of context. CNBC declined all interview requests, saying in a statement: “CNBC produces more than 150 hours of live television a week that includes more than 850 interviews in the service of exposing all sides of every critical financial and economic issue. We are proud of our record.”

Cramer used an analogy to the college basketball playoffs to depict himself as the underdog. “When you are a Big East team and you are 16th seed in the Western Regional, you just want to leave with your head intact,” he said by e-mail. “When I walked out, I checked in the mirror. It was still attached. So I am thrilled to have been in the tourney.“

Update 3: Jim Cramer stands accused of far greater crimes than lying about President Obama:

This rabbit hole involves the thugs surrounding Jim Cramer and some of the top financial "journalists" from the New York Times, WSJ, Fortune magazine and BusinessWeek, top hedge funds, the Mafia, and the DTCC. It also includes "blackmail, smear campaigns, espionage, fraud, harassment, extortion, bribery, rumor-mongering, sabotage, off-shore money laundering, political cronyism, frivolous lawsuits, witness tampering, biased financial research, false identities, bogus credit ratings, bribery, libelous blogs, bad science, forgery, wiretapping, counterfeiting, collusion, lying, cheating, threats and theft."

And if that wasn't fun enough, it may be the underlying story of what collapsed the entire, global banking system or at least served as the catalyst for the collapse.