Neil Cavuto Called An 'Asshole' By AFL-CIO Economist On Live TV (VIDEO)

How can you spice up a fairly mundane debate on the efficacy of deficit spending during a recession? Put it on Fox News and pit the show's host, deficit hawk Neil Cavuto, against the AFL-CIO's chief economist Ron Blackwell.

The conversation between the two was already pretty cantankerous when Cavuto asked where Blackwell actually had earned his degree.

"A baking school," Cavuto wondered. "Where are you cooking up these numbers?"

Shockingly, Blackwell, who was making the point that spending money is a fairly well-tested way of spurring economic stimulus, didn't take well to the slight. He proceeded to call Cavuto an "asshole"... on live air.

Ron Blackwell: Why don't you let me finish my thought.

Neil Cavuto: You never answer a basic question.

Ron Blackwell: I'm answering you right now.

Neil Cavuto: Why will spending work?

Ron Blackwell: These programs created jobs but not net creation. we lost more jobs because of the recession than were created by these programs.

Neil Cavuto: Wait a minute, Ron, you're the chief economist there. Where did you get your degree? A baking school? Where are you cooking up these numbers?

Ron Blackwell: Oh that's an insult. You're a joker. You're an asshole.

The interview ended shortly thereafter, with Cavuto saying that the public would likely regard Blackwell as a hysteric.

AFL-CIO spokesman Eddie Vale, who seemed genuinely surprised that Blackwell had it in him, tweeted the following response to his colleague's take on Cavuto: "Yes Mr. Chief Economist Blackwell, he is."

Comments

[logo]

10:19 AM on 06/30/2010

Another angry liberal who can't answer a single question with a strait answer. Shocking

[Kris Daniels]

01:41 PM on 07/02/2010

Did you not watch the video?

[diogeneslives]

03:56 AM on 06/30/2010

If the shoe fits.........

[jffrymg]

06:04 PM on 06/29/2010

Well this joker's degree is in public affairs, not business or economics so who the hell is he to talk. Another Faux news host with nothing but a big mouth and a platform. Surprise.

[emrogers]

12:41 PM on 06/29/2010

He gave Cavuto a clear answer - "No net new jobs" becasue additional jobs were lost. Why couldn't Neil have simply carried on an intelligent dialogue from there? Why? Becasue he had his "What cooking school did you go to" one-liner teed up and was waiting to use it. This was an ambush pure nad simple. Neil is a liar of the worst kind. Talk about fabricating numbers...
http://current.com/news/89972932_cavuto-gets-caught-telling-blatant-lies-about-tea-party-crowd-size-on-tax-day.htm

[Aripottah]

12:25 AM on 06/30/2010

Cavuto is one of the worst. But true to his foKKKsNouz pedigree he is blissfully unaware of it and of his surroundings. To Cavuto, it is all canned, so it matters not ............................

[justoverit333]

10:10 AM on 06/29/2010

Cavuto was being disrespectful. He didn't agree
with what Blackwell was saying so he made
fun of him. Really mature Faux News. You guys
are such goobers.

[BambooHarvester]

09:05 PM on 06/28/2010

CaVooDoo "news"

[Gregj]

08:01 PM on 06/28/2010

NAILED HIM !!!!!!!!!!!

[BambooHarvester]

09:04 PM on 06/28/2010

5 ways to Sunday !

[Harbinger08]

05:30 PM on 06/28/2010

You gotta like an economist with such great judgment and insight. Spot on.

[sippi33]

05:34 PM on 06/28/2010

I guess all of you people just love CNN or possibly MSNBC.

[Scar]

06:08 PM on 06/28/2010

"You People"? I'm an American; what the heck are you?

[YardGnomeNews]

09:01 PM on 06/28/2010

It all corporate media.

[BigRed100]

06:08 PM on 06/28/2010

I don't know about his economic expertise but he is a great judge of character.

[dave1111]

05:29 PM on 06/28/2010

Cavuto started the Ad hom attacks. Someone can dish it out but can't handle it.

[skepticalbrotha]

05:24 PM on 06/28/2010

Ron should be given some kind of award.

[MrVee]

05:17 PM on 06/28/2010

Cavuto had his feelings hurt awww. He needs a punch in the mouth.

[eldorado81]

05:16 PM on 06/28/2010

All the Fox News Channel's hosts interrupt people they disagree with.That's standard operating procedure over there.

[danielet]

05:13 PM on 06/28/2010

The trouble with Cavuto is the same as that of the bankers: TRUNCATION OF CHAIN OF CAUSALITY. That's typical right-wing; first he insults his guest and then cries that his guest is insuting him. As Dennis the Menace once said: "HE HIT ME BACK FIRST!" What makes me mad at Obama is that he's letting the Covuto post-stroke types do the dancing as if they had aquired some skill they didn't have before the economic stroke hit them. I mean, Obama is allowing these detriorated brains to create the jobs with Federal money, claiming that if he hadn't it would have been much worse. That's like letting a safecracker go because he left one dollar in the vault. At least remove all the top three tiers of the banks-- without bonuses-- to prove you mean business, especially after you are investing the public's money back into the very banks that screwed the nation. Many unions had put their pension plans as capital to save their employers and look at what they got: CAVUTO spewing hard of hearing insults!

[drzoon]

05:08 PM on 06/28/2010

sorry folks... he was just "channeling" ME

[Aripottah]

04:56 PM on 06/28/2010

In all honesty I am truly overwhelmed by the complete accuracy of Mr. Blackwell's prediction.

How he could have identified Mr. Cavuto's identity so accurately without the benefit of analyzing a ton of data is beyond remarkable. I take my hat off to Mr. Blackwell. His gifts of observation and prediction are legendary.

[Publius67]

05:09 PM on 06/28/2010

Hats off to him for having the guts to say what many would like to