Shepard Smith Goes Nuclear Over Viewer's Email

Fox News' Shepard Smith was very upset over an email he received regarding his discussion of the potential bailout of the auto industry, and he was not afraid to show it. Smith read the whole email on the air, and then repeatedly insulted the man, starting off by acknowledging he mispronounced the emailer's name, but flatly declaring he "didn't care." Watch it.

Comments

[qoftu]

Keith Olbermann wannabe?

[RobinD]

So much envy over at Fox towards Keith. What a bunch of insecure white men.

[BLinCincinnati]

The REAL reason the Republicans are against the bail out....

Toyota has assembly plants in:
Huntsville, Alabama
Georgetown, Kentucky
Princeton, Indiana
San Antonio, Texas
Buffalo, West Virginia
Blue Springs, Mississippi
Lafayette, Indiana
Tupelo, Mississippi

Nissan has plants in:
Smyrna, Tennessee
Canton, Mississippi
Decherd, Tennessee

Mazda has plants in:
Flat Rock, Michigan
Kansas City, Missouri
St. Paul, Minnesota

Honda has plants in:
Lincoln, Alabama
East Liberty, Ohio
Marysville, Ohio
Anna, Ohio
Raymond, Ohio
Indian Lake, Ohio
Swepsonville, North Carolina
Greensboro, North Carolina
Greensburg, Indiana
Timmonsville, South Carolina
Tallapoosa, Georgia

Notice a pattern there?

[BigBagel]

There are Democrats against it too. They just don't hold elective office and don't want anymore money going down the rat hole.

[kallisti7]

Yeah, I notice a pattern, but what are you saying? Are you saying Republicans are more loyal to Japan than the U.S.? I'm a bleeding heart liberal but I don't believe that. You know what? F the Big Three. They make a crappy product that no one wants to buy. Why should we subsidize them. That's not free market economics. I'm sorry if it will hurt people in Michigan and Ohio but we can't reward their egregiously horrible business sense with our tax dollars to save a few hundred thousand jobs. Let's get the pain over with and move on. And if so many Japanese cars are assembled here doesn't it beg the question of what it really means to buy American. The marketplace is a conversation and that giant sucking sound is the marketplace telling Detroit you blew it. We should instead take that money and invest it rebuilding America's infrastructure a la the WPA. That would be an investment. Bailing out the Big Three would be a waste of taxpayer money. Hey, HuffPost Readers, don't be so quick to be partisan. Use your head, ai'ight. Besides, Smith is a douchebagasaurus. Who cares what he says?

[RJII]

It resembles the electorate? states typically republican and key states needed by a party to win?

[Bocado]

Interesting, but the big 3 have cars that nobody wants to buy.

Honda and Toyota came in and took the rug from under the big 3 over the past 15-20 years.
They are building better cars and more fuel efficient cars.

The big 3 have rested on their laurels for years and this is what they deserve, sorry.

[BlackTom]

This is incorrect.

Big three sales are higher than Japanese and Korea sales.

If nobody wants to buy them, why do they sell more than the foreign competition?

[ADinSC]

Yep. Except for Ohio these are all "right to work" states, whose laws make it less attractive for a person to join a union. This means workers are not subjected to the protections afforded to them by unions. That includes lower wages and benefits, and fewer health and safety protection.

Also, these states gave massive incentives and tax breaks for these companies to come to town. They are all being tax-payer subsidized, in other words.

You also forgot:

BMW
Spartanburg, South Carolina

Mercedes-Benz
Vance, Alabama

Volvo
Dublin, Virginia
Orrville, Ohio

[MsLiz]

Sheep Smith is no Walter Cronkite.

[ggorilla]

Thank God for that.

[Bocado]

Cut him some slack, he defended Obama when Joe the Plumber said Obama would bring death to Israel.

Shep defended himself against a guy that badgered him right from the beginning of the email.
Shep did well.

[all4peace]

Lawn care guy example to a viewer named "Fuentes"?
I'm just asking....

[MsLiz]

You don't think there are any affluent people with Spanish surnames?

[all4peace]

Yes, my parents and many friends.
I was just remarking that if the viewer's name had been "Anderson" would Smith have used the lawn service reference or a car repair shop?
Perhaps no change, but so often the hints of bigotry are whispers, not screams.
No disrespect meant .

[kasinca]

The bailout went to Wall Street. We will pay for that and get nothing back. A loan to the auto industry is not a bailout...it is a loan paid back with interest. The rethuglicans are being sanctimoniously negative again.

[rjmiller]

It's only a loan if they don't go bankrupt in two years. Otherwise it is a parting gift.

[OutsiderSA]

Agreed

[BigBagel]

If it's such a great thing they should get their loan in the private market.

[Malamati]

$70B of the bailout went right straight into the pockets of the executives who caused the crisis in the first place. Expect more of the same; MUCH more.

[ggorilla]

We shouldn't be bailing out the auto industry nor AIG nor wall street nor the banks. Let them fail so that the strong ones will survive.

The unions sure don't help the cause. They are one of the big reasons the auto industry is failing.

[MsLiz]

What is really important is that we adhere to our free market ideology, right? Blame the workers!

Hey, free market ideology applies to political parties too. Nyeh, nyeh, nyeh, nyeh heh.

[BigBagel]

Right. Take money from people making $20.00 an hour and give it to UAW guys compensated at a rate of over $70.00 bucks an hour and give it to a dysfunctional management that makes a lot more then $70.00 bucks an hour.

[ggorilla]

Nyeh nyeh nyeh - that's your best argument?

[racom]

I strongly suspect that one way or another, whether directly or indirectly, your standard of living has improved thanks to unions. Unions do not produce failing models, they do not design poor models, they do not make the poor corporate decisions.
Can you spell 'management'?

[josefsvejk]

"The unions sure don't help the cause."

Yeah to hell with the laborers making 25 bucks an hour! /sarcasm

[SpoxLogic]

ggorilla,
I'm gonna have to call a BS foul on this comment. The unions aren't the cause of the auto problems, nor do they contribute to it. Unions have been in the industry for decades - so to suddenly say they are one of the big reasons the auto industry is failing is patently false.

The auto industries problems were caused, as a huge part, by the American public. Yes, I said it. Our desire for big hunking autos caused the profit minded CEOs to focus on these behemoths, which is understandable. Then add in the economy failing and you can see how it all blew up.

The American public didn't learn from the 1970's - at least they learned for a while, but as things looked so rosy the past few years, it was back to our love affair with the the big car. Did you notice that it was only after gas prices started sky rocketing that folks really started looking to buy the smaller more fuel efficient cars?

[ggorilla]

BS foul - that would have to be called on most of the posts on this site.

Unions had a place and were good for the employees. Problem is they got greedy. They keep asking for more than the company can deliver. So the auto industry had to prosuce and sell the big suvs and trucks etc in order to make the profit margin to support the unions (not soley the unions).

For you others out here - i never once siad that I blame the workers. They are what makes this country great. The unions are a separate entity.

I know the truth hurts but just try and accept it.

[bassface49]

The UNIONS made concessions in 2007 and MANAGEMENT failed. To blame the workers for what went on up front is typical anti-labor propaganda.
AGAIN read the post above yours, there is a difference between a $700billion BAILOUT to Wall Street and a $25billion LOAN to the Big 3. 'We the People' MADE money the last time money was loaned to Big Auto, We got screwed in the S&L ripoff!
SAVING MANUFACTURING should be one of the top priorities to saving the Middle Class.
Make the loans, install new management and resurrect the electric car.

[Passing-By]

Agree with Shep's sentiment, to some extent. However, jumping on viewer e-mail (and uncommon op at that) and chest thumping is uncool and does not impress.

[Bocado]

The viewer started off with "Shepster" and badgered him in the beginning of the email.
Shepster read it out loud and I actually thing he did a great job in replying to the guy.
The author disrespected him first, Shep did alright.

[escapement]

Hey Shep,

maybe we wouldn't have to print so much money if we hadn't of slashed taxes on the rich, hadn't have exported all our jobs and haven't focused solely on 'shareholder value' at the expense of workers. How much should an American worker make? It seems a lot in the media seem to think we are all overpaid. I don't see them lining up to take pay cuts.

Even Henry Ford, that well know socialist, knew that if he didn't pay his workers a decent salary they couldn't afford his cars. We expect the American worker to take on his health care expenses, his retirement funding, the cost to educate his children but at the same time we slash his wages so we can drive up stock prices.... It will all end in tears.

[Soulsurfer]

Well said. Why is it that when CEO's make a lot of money, the economy is "healthy", but when I get a raise, its "inflationary"?

[jaschrod]

First we should face facts. We are in a no win situation. As a nation we are 54 trillion in debt. There is absolutely no way we can pay our way out of this. If we bail out the three auto companies, then how can we turn down all other request. If we do not bail out the big three, then many families will be in dire straits. The lack of revenue these families would normally pump into the economy would be felt throughout the country, causing more business closings, more homes lost, and possibly a sever depression. As I see it, we are caught between a rock, and a hard place, and I think the future looks rather dim.

[OutsiderSA]

You are right, it is a no win. This is 60 years in the making and no matter what they spin or do, the world economy is going to tank.

Depression is inevitable - resistance is futile.

To give you an idea of a house worth $170k here in SA compared to what you guys have there in the USA.

http://www.privateproperty.co.za/search/details_new.asp?refpro=F3888_2_440_10

[janmarie]

He is right about the printing of money though!

[chrisNewYork]

as a STAUNCH Democrat and non-viewer of Fox, i have to say that to some degree i agree with Shep Smith. Seriously, all of these billions have to come from somewhere, and while i agree having automakers fail would be bad for the economy, isn't anyone else concerned about the piles and piles of debt we're raking up? and why is it fair that someone who makes FAR less than a GM worker and has little to no healthcare benefits should kick in money to protect gold-plated union jobs. I want every american worker to have those benefits, but they dont. that's the reality. and burdening future generations with massive, profound, shocking levels debt makes me incredibly uneasy.

I think that we should lend the automakers money but only under strict conditions, someone needs to pay for the horrible decisions they've made.. while toyota developed the prius, GM spent almost the same exact amount of money buying Hummer and rolling out new products for Hummer. And as Shelby has said (who i HATE, by the way), there is NO plan, no indication that this isnt throwing good money after bad. I vote for a structured, government guaranteed bankruptcy that causes shareholders to lose their equity FIRST, including management bonuses. then government backed loans based on the automakers showing a detailed plan for product turn-around.

[skatscan]

Why is it that the auto workers have to be brought down to our level instead of the rest of us being brought up to their's?

I love hearing how outraged people are that auto workers get 65K a year but want us to cry for Joe the Plumber when he gets taxed an extra 3 Grand because he makes 4 times that much.

[mick7191]

It's not a bailout. It's a loan.

[racom]

Aren't mortgages loans? So why don't the people get bailed out? Have they managed their finances any worse than corporations? How many more corporations will get bailed out, to save the country is the excuse, while the actual country is crashing and foreclosures are still increasing?
Wake up people, we are getting ripped, the treasury is being looted and the money changers are getting fatter.

[Fletcher Reede]

So, has it occured to anyone that the reason the Repubs are 'reluctant' to bail out the Auto boys, is that when the 3 million total people affiliated with the industry are out of work, they can blame the brand new Obama administration for the record job losses? We are all just a number to the Repubs, kids, and its about winning the NEXT election. The ridiculous union contracts and inability to come up with decent vehicles with better mileage are responsible, but if we throw money at Wall Streeters who dont 'make' anything, we need to keep one of our few industries alive. The top cats get fired, bring in new blood, and start over, but we have to save them.

[kpowellokc]

That's a paranoid view. We are in the GM sales business. It's not just re-tooling the factories, it's getting rid of the tools who have been running the corporate office!

[BLinCincinnati]

It's more than that....

Toyota has assembly plants in:
Huntsville, Alabama
Georgetown, Kentucky
Princeton, Indiana
San Antonio, Texas
Buffalo, West Virginia
Blue Springs, Mississippi
Lafayette, Indiana
Tupelo, Mississippi

Nissan has plants in:
Smyrna, Tennessee
Canton, Mississippi
Decherd, Tennessee

Mazda has plants in:
Flat Rock, Michigan
Kansas City, Missouri
St. Paul, Minnesota

Honda has plants in:
Lincoln, Alabama
East Liberty, Ohio
Marysville, Ohio
Anna, Ohio
Raymond, Ohio
Indian Lake, Ohio
Swepsonville, North Carolina
Greensboro, North Carolina
Greensburg, Indiana
Timmonsville, South Carolina
Tallapoosa, Georgia



Notice a pattern there? Is it any surprise that Republicans are against the AMERICAN car makers?

[skatscan]

Human Capital: That's all the workers are to the Ruling Moneyed Class.

[imaxfli]

If you bail out AIG and the like and spend $10 Billion a MONTH in Iraq..you gotta help the auto industry.

[neocon666]

Shepard Smith is just a symptom of the Fox New disease. The documentary "OutFoxed" goes into detail to show that Fox is anything but news. I can imagine Bill O'Reilly saying the exact same words.

[ggmome]

How does any sane person endure this type of 'reporting'?

[joceeco]

A sane person cannot. One has to be insane, stupid or dumb to listen to and agree with the likes of "fix news talking heads." Fix News should really just go away!