This Week with Christiane Amanpour - July 24, 2011

Guests:
Tim Geithner (Sec. of Treasury)
Jonathan Karl
George Will
Alice Rivlin
Gasparino - Fox Business News
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Amanpour: Norway is going to respond
to a massive right terror attack with more
democracy - are they crazy?

Reporter: the killer was an anti-muslim racist
who called for others to martyr themselves

Amanpour: so he was a lone wolf

Reporter: right

Amanpour: are political leaders still planning
to wreck America?

Karl: Democrats will call it the
“Boehener Drop”

Karl: Republicans are calling for 2 votes,
one with spending cuts and another
with more spending cuts

Amanpour: what about a grand Bargain?

Karl: it calls for $4 trillion is spending cuts
which would cause a revolt among Tea Partiers

Amanpour: Secretary Geithner will there be a deal?

Geithner: we need to have the Senate,
House and President and agree by tonight

Amanpour: that seems impossible

Geithner: maybe not

Amanpour: how so?

Geithner: we can give dictatorial powers
to a Special Committee to Fuck the Middle Class

Amanpour: interesting concept

Geithner: a short term deal is unacceptable

Amanpour: has everyone is Washington
completely lost their minds?

Geithner: not at all - only the people in charge

Amanpour: did you make a deal and
then move the goalposts?

Geithner: no

Amanpour: are you saying john Boehner lied?

Geithner: um yes

Amanpour: shocking

Geithner: I give Boehner credit for admitting
we need to raise taxes

Amanpour: what is the President’s plan?

Geithner: back in April he proposed
Medicaid cuts and higher taxes for the rich

Amanpour: I see

Geithner: look there are Republicans who have
said they would never vote for a debt ceiling

Amanpour: but not the leaders

Geithner: only the leading Presidential candidates

Amanpour: would Obama invoke
the 14th amendment?

Geithner: that’s not a good idea

Amanpour: so what’s the solution?

Geithner: lift the damm debt ceiling!

Amanpour: but Congress won’t do it!

Geithner: yes they will

Amanpour: how - by magic?

Geithner: Wave the Elderwand at the
economic Slytherin!

Amanpour: can America be saved?

Geithner: I have an economic an
Resurrection Stone in my pocket

Amanpour: how do you convince Congress
to make a deal

Geithner: by pointing out that the Tea Party
are tax-hiking, job-killing assholes

[ break ]

Amanpour: panel will America go off the cliff?

Will: the House GOP passed a bipartisan plan!

Amanpour: with 5 Democratic votes

Will: Obama had a tantrum so they might
as well just pass the McConnell plan

Rivlin: we need to cut entitlements and
flatten the tax code

Amanpour: Obama has moved the right
but the GOP won’t meet him halfway

Gasparino: we’ve got lots of money
lying around so who cares about the debt ceiling

Amanpour: really?

Gasparino: right we can always stiff defense
contractors as long as we pay bondholders

Amanpour: that would fool them?

Gasparino: yes most of them are Chinese anyway

Huffington: this is a stupid debate -
it’s an artificial crisis to debate whether
to approve spending money we already spent

Gasparino: I disagree this is great debate to have

Huff: no it’s moronic - we have a jobs crisis
not a debt crisis

Rivlin: to solve the jobs crisis we
need to cut spending to attack the debt

Will: see - that proves that the Tea Party
are right and Obama is wrong

Amanpour: what about jobs?

Gasparino: small businesses don’t hire
new employees because they’re worried
about the big debt

Will: Obama is uppity and he needs to be
disciplined by the white men in Congress

Pawlenty: women who get headaches
can’t be President

Will: JFK was a big sick secretive bad guy

Huffington: they’re putting Michele Bachmann
on the Victorian fainting couch

Will: oh my stars

Gasparino: Rick Perry has the Texas Taint

Amanpour: you work at Fox -
what’s up with Rupert?

Gasparino: I report on for-profit companies
so luckily I never have to report on Murdoch newspapers

Huffington: Fox is an embarrassment
to journalism

Gasparino: no one covers terrorist
fist-bumps like Fox News!

Amanpour: thanks for coming everyone
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