Fox's Latest Pelosi Smear: She "Has Totally Lost It" Over Payroll Tax Estimate

Although the right-wing media are generally supportive of tax cuts, they often find themselves opposing them whenever they are proposed or supported by President Obama and Democrats. This is true of the proposal to extend an existing holiday on the payroll tax. The latest attack came from Fox Nation -- with an assist from CNSNews -- which mocked House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi as having "totally lost it" for comments she made about the payroll tax holiday and extension of unemployment insurance.

In a recent press briefing, Pelosi noted that independent estimates have shown that the two proposals "would make a difference of 600,000 jobs to our economy." On December 15, Fox Nation seized on a CNSNews article that reported her comments and linked to it with the following headline:

Fox Nation has never been a fan of Pelosi, so it's no surprise they would attack Pelosi as having "totally lost it." But maybe they think she has "totally lost it" because the CNSNews article it links to falsely suggests that Pelosi made up her 600,000 jobs figure:

"The payroll tax cut that the president proposed would put $1,500 in the pockets of 160 million Americans," she said. "The unemployment insurance extension is not only good for individuals. It has a macroeconomic impact. As macroeconomic advisers have stated, it would make a difference of 600,000 jobs to our economy."

Pelosi did not name those "macroeconomic advisers." 

In fact, Pelosi did name those "macroeconomic advisers" -- right in her comment. She was not referring to a group of people who could be described as "macroeconomic advisers," but to Macroeconomic Advisers, an independent economic consulting firm. And as Reuters reported on August 30, "Macroeconomic Advisers, an economic consulting firm, estimates that extending the payroll tax holiday, emergency unemployment benefits and business expensing provisions through 2012 would boost employment by about 600,000 next year."

So Pelosi has not "totally lost it"; despite CNS News' terrible reporting, she has support for her claim. Macroeconomic Advisers is a reputable source, despite CNSNews' apparently never having heard of it. Moreover, Macroeconomic Advisers is not the only independent group to highlight the potential economic effects of extending unemployment insurance and the payroll tax holiday.