Good Riddance Larry Kudlow

Kudlow’s  CNBC Show was Cancelled for Low Ratings-Down 60%

You would think that Larry Kudlow was leaving CNBC to work for Mother Teresa’s charity, by the empathy shown last week, by his CNBC colleagues, which included gushing accolades, and having his wife deliver a going away cake on air, during his last day at CNBC, since his show is being cancelled.  The scene had all of the forced empathy and reverence of honoring a triple amputee before a ball game.  Everyone seems to agree that Kudlow was unfailingly polite to his on air guests, and obviously he had a genial and companionable personality towards his co workers.  So why do I hate his guts?  Because Kudlow had an insidious, and toxic influence at CNBC.   

Insidious,  because Kudlow pushed his trickle down economics and masqueraded it as business news during his prime time shows at 6PM and later during his 7PM shows.  One example is how he introduced  Ann Coulter to business news watchers, long before he was exiled to his now defunct 7PM show.  Coulter known for making outrageous comments some of which are racist and anti-semitic, in addition to calling Bill Clinton “a faggot,” heh?, enjoys being a lightning rod, however she never discusses business or the stock mkt.  Even Coulter said at the time that, ' I don't know anything about the stock market.’  Why did he have her on?  Because Coulter was part of the right wing circuit that Kudlow made a habit of tuckus lickin. Once Larry decided to become a right wing political hack, he had to kiss up, and having inappropriate ‘to a business audience’ guests was simply the price he had to pay. 

His influence was toxic to some of the other anchors.  Particularly to Joe Kernen, the CNBC early morning co- anchor, who when he doesn’t sound as if he’s just woken up from an ambien induced sleep, mumbles inane right wing comments- particularly to loud mouth Rick Santelli, the guy whose frequent rantings, one of which was credited to founding the Tea Party.  Another of Larry’s anchor pets is Michele Caruso Cabrera, whose best selling book,” You Know I'm Right: More Prosperity, Less Government” (best selling, just kidding)  Never heard of her book?, yea she has to go on Bill Maher’s Real Time, with a hostile audience in order to promote it.  Lately, Cabrera has been replaced by the younger and prettier anchor models, like Sarah Eisen (snatched away from Bloomberg) and Kelly Evans. Although Cabrera’s still with the network she’s often dispatched to remote locations.  Retiring middle aged female anchors is a constant sexist fact in the news business. I’d feel sorry for her, if her politics, which she thinks are ok to interject into the biz news, weren’t so horrendous.  Hey Michelle, how’d you like to go to the Ukraine?, don’t forget to pack your ski mask. 

I like my business news unadulterated. Politics have no place in the business news and it was morally wrong for Kudlow and CNBC to push it.  Ironically, I don’t hear any liberal or left wing pundits on the biz news. When they’re interviewing someone like George Soros, it’s always about a business related issue.  And it would be wrong if someone promoted liberal causes during prime time biz news watching.

The most objectionable thing about Kudlow’s shows is that he never gave actionable info, (news you could invest on)   He would repeat mundane phrases like, “I’m for free mkt. capitalism.”  No shit Larry, everybody who watches CNBC is for free mkt. capitalism , duh, we’re watching a channel about the stock mkt.  And he totally missed the financial collapse.

This is taken from Cudlow's Wikipedia page:

"Kudlow firmly denied that the United States would enter a recession in 2007, or that it was in the midst of a recession in early to mid 2008. In December 2007, he wrote: "The recession debate is over. It's not gonna happen. Time to move on. At a bare minimum, we are looking at Goldilocks 2.0. (And that's a minimum). The Bush boom is alive and well. It's finishing up its sixth splendid year with many more years to come" It's a shame Kudlow's income is not dependent on following his own advice.

At it’s low point CNBC dispatched Jim Cramer to the Daily Show to apologize for totally missing the financial crisis. At the now infamous show, Cramer had to endure the humiliating satiric slings and arrows of John Stewart. Although Cramer says it was not one of his best performances, the reality was he did exactly what he was supposed to, take the heat for the networks humiliating screw up.  Ironically, Cramer is one of the few people at the network who tries to look out for the small investor.

CNBC has learned very little from the experience.  Shortly afterwards, Larry Kudlow and Rick Santelli and co. were back in business, spouting Tea Party b.s. about Obamacare and over regulations, as if unregulated derivatives hadn’t caused the financial sector to implode and bring down the entire country with it. 

The reality is that a lot of the small investors who fled the stock market during the financial crisis haven’t returned to CNBC or the stock mkt. and the ratings show it.  Just the other day on the Closing Bell, the pundits, including the newly retired Kudlow, were outraged that Michael Lewis said that the ‘American stock market is rigged, because of the high speed trading,’ on 60 Minutes.  They spent more time condemning Lewis than the high speed trading practice, which should be outlawed, and is one more public relations disaster that is preventing  small investors from coming back. 

A look at Kudlow’s Wikipedia page tells why he was hired in the 1^st place, and what he is about.  He is affiliated with Freedom Works,the conduit, the right wing billionaire Koch brothers use to funnel election money and the Cato Institute, the libertarian think tank.  He was put on CNBC for propaganda purposes to swing elections for right wing Republicans.

Nearly all the CNBC anchors have sterling resumes, including business, journalistic, and academic credentials.  Most do a fine job and truly try to be non-partisan.  This would include some of the longest reigning veterans like Bill Griffiths, Tyler Matheson, Sue Herrera, etc. etc. Larry Kudlow’s tenure has been a stain on the professionalism these people strife for every day, and a blot on the reputation of CNBC.