In CNBC host Cramer's “U.S.S.A.”: “Comrade[]” Obama is a “Bolshevik” who is “taking cues from Lenin”

CNBC's Jim Cramer has repeatedly characterized President Obama and congressional Democrats as Russian communists intent on “rampant wealth destruction,” claiming Obama is “taking cues from Lenin” and using terms such as “Bolshevik,” “Marx,” “comrades,” “Soviet,” “Winter Palace,” and “Politburo” in reference to Democrats.

In the past month, CNBC Mad Money host Jim Cramer has repeatedly characterized President Obama and congressional Democrats as Russian communists intent on “rampant wealth destruction.” Specifically, Cramer has referred to Obama as a “Bolshevik” and said he is “taking cues from Lenin.” Cramer has also used terms such as “Marx,” “comrades,” “Soviet,” “Winter Palace,” and “Politburo” in reference to Democrats and questioned whether House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is the “general secretary of the Communist Party.”

As Media Matters for America documented, on the March 3 edition of NBC's Today, Cramer attacked Obama's purported “radical agenda” and claimed that “this is the most, greatest wealth destructive I've seen by a president.” Cramer's statements were subsequently highlighted by congressional Republicans.

Examples of Cramer characterizing Obama and congressional Democrats as Russian communists in the past month include:

  • During the February 2 edition of MSNBC's Morning Joe, Cramer discussed January 29 remarks by Obama in which, referring to an “article today indicating that Wall Street bankers had given themselves $20 billion worth of bonuses,” Obama stated: “And so, you know, we're going to be having conversations as this process moves forward directly with these folks on Wall Street to underscore that they have to start acting in a more responsible fashion if -- if we are to, together, get this economy rolling again. There will be time for them to make profits, and there will be time for them to get bonuses. Now is not that time. And that's a message that I intend to send directly to them, I expect [Treasury] Secretary [Tim] Geithner to send to them.” Cramer claimed of Obama's remarks:

Well, there's people who think I look like Lenin. Let me tell you something. We heard Lenin. There was a little snippet last week with, “Now is not the time for profits.” I -- look, in Lenin's book What Is To Be Done?, the simple text of what I always thought was for the communists, it was remarkable to hear very similar language from What Is To Be Done?, which is that we have no place for profits. Thank heavens for the Chinese communists, deeply rooted in a profit government, because we have decided that profits have no place in the system.

After co-host Joe Scarborough said "[t]hat was a stunning quote," Cramer replied: “I was thinking, 'is he the New Economic Policy Lenin or the initial storm-the-Winter-Palace Lenin?' I'm not quite sure yet, it's a mid-20 situation. It could go either way."

  • During the February 2 edition of Mad Money, Cramer echoed his Morning Joe comments by claiming that the “Bolsheviks stormed the Winter Pa -- Obama got elected. Hard to tell the difference when he's talking about how now is not the time for profits. By the way, my great-great-granduncle [Lenin] often said that now is not the time for profits.”
  • During the February 6 edition of Mad Money, Cramer said of Obama: "[H]e has to repudiate a lot of what's happened so far. For example, bizarrely, he gave Nancy Pelosi free rein to create a stimulus package full of pork -- extended unemployment benefits but without, you know, any stimulus. What is she? The general secretary of the Communist Party -- I mean, of the Democratic Party?" Cramer then added: “Then he took his Leninist line, telling us now -- telling us that now is not the time for profits and instituting salary caps for executives at banks who take more TARP money.” While Cramer spoke, he held up a picture of Lenin:

  • During the February 13 edition of Mad Money, Cramer claimed: “Some people actually believe that we are going to slash our $600 billion defense budget just because the Bolsheviks stormed the Winter -- just because Barack Obama got elected and went to the White House.” Cramer added of the defense budget claim: "[T]here is no way Obama wants to tarnish himself -- some would say further tarnish himself -- by getting into a big fistfight with the Pentagon."
  • During the February 26 edition of Mad Money, Cramer claimed of Obama:

He's crushing the margins of the health-care insurance companies like Aetna and Cigna. He's turning them into charities, for heaven's sakes, right before our eyes. Reimbursements could be cut for everyone, including the drugs not just made by Big Pharma places like Lilly but biotechs like Genzyme. Companies we had thought were near and dear to the hearts of the Bolshe -- of the Democrats everywhere.

After noting that "[m]y charitable trust owns some health care," Cramer later said of health-care stocks: “All of which goes to show in this new commun -- in this new Democratic revolution -- don't worry, after about another four years, I will get it right. Nothing is safe.” Cramer then asked from who Obama is “taking his cues” and answered: "[H]e's taking cues from Lenin, and I don't mean the 'All We Need is Love' [John] Lennon. I'm talking about the we'll-take-every-dime-Cramericans-have Lenin, a man whom I revere as an ancestor but not as a manager of a capitalist country. With this assault, no stocks can be considered truly free from danger."

While Cramer spoke about Obama, he again held up a picture of Lenin:

Cramer added that Obama is the “new enemy” and "[n]ow we're just worried about Marx. And I don't mean Groucho."

  • During the March 2 edition of Mad Money, Cramer recounted that he was at a concert at Madison Square Garden and “a young kid took me aside, said I was right to say we had elected a Leninist.” Later, while discussing soft-drink maker PepsiCo, Cramer said:

Pepsi even posted 17 percent volume growth in Russia, and their economy has been pancaked. Yeah, so pancaked that I bet the Russians are longing for the good old days of the first five-year plan. Something we're about to experience here under the leadership of Comrades Obama and Pelosi. And the Politburo. Politburo -- did he say Politburo? I think he meant Congress.

Cramer later wondered: “Is nothing safe? Can any group be protected from the wealth-destroying efforts of President Obama and the people's Soviet -- and the Democratic Congress?”

  • During the March 3 edition of Mad Money, Cramer stated, "[w]elcome to the U.S.S.A." and told viewers he would help them “Obama-proof your portfolio, or at least make it Obama-resistant, because we know he has both the power and the will to crush entire sectors.” Cramer further claimed: “In the worst bear market since the Great Depression, we have a president and a Bolshevik -- Democratic Congress that seems oblivious to the rampant wealth destruction that's being caused by their agenda. Or maybe they know and they don't care.”

From the February 2 edition of MSNBC's Morning Joe:

JOE SCARBOROUGH (co-host): That's what's so -- so distressing to me is that Barack Obama's been in for a week or two -- I'm still, I'm cheering for him. I'm cheering for the Democratic Party, the Republican Party, because I'm cheering for America and this economy. But they've only been in for a couple of weeks, and we're already hearing him telling other senators, “Hey, we won. It's gonna be our bill.”

CRAMER: Well, there's people who think I look like Lenin. Let me tell you something. We heard Lenin. There was a little snippet last week with, “Now is not the time for profits.” I -- look, in Lenin's book What Is To Be Done?, the simple text of what I always thought was for the communists, it was remarkable to hear very similar language from What Is To Be Done?, which is that we have no place for profits. Thank heavens for the Chinese communists, deeply rooted in a profit government, because we have decided that profits have no place in the system.

MIKA BRZEZINSKI (co-host): OK, first of all, I got two questions for you --

SCARBOROUGH: That was a stunning quote. “Now is not the time for profits.”

CRAMER: For profits, no. It's the time for nationalization, and I was thinking, is he the New Economic Policy Lenin or the initial storm-the-Winter-Palace Lenin? I'm not quite sure yet. It's a mid-20 situation. It could go either way.

From the February 2 edition of CNBC's Mad Money:

CRAMER: We used to have this thesis here, that Washington would embrace natural gas.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN (audio clip): House of pleasure.

CRAMER: As a fuel for vehicles, like cars and trucks. And that we use it as a sort of transition fuel, since it's cleaner and cheaper than oil, while we waited for renewable fuels to become viable. And then, yep, the Bolsheviks stormed the Winter Pa -- Obama got elected. Hard to tell the difference when he's talking about how now is not the time for profits. By the way, my great-great-granduncle often said that now is not the time for profits.

From the February 6 edition of CNBC's Mad Money:

CRAMER: We got -- I'd call today a relief rally after two weeks of unremitting sense that Obama had betrayed us and all of his new-thinking ideals. We got an enormous reprieve today as investors bet that the new old Obama will resurface and rescue everything from tech to steel to banks to commodities. What I heard from the market today was, all we are saying is give Obama a chance. Perhaps a recognition that our president could be more John Lennon than Cramer great-great-granduncle Vlad Lenin.

And all of this despite the awful jobs data that probably is making you think that the market should have taken a nosedive. If that's not crazy, nothing is. No wonder that you turned to this madman to help you try to figure out this market. We -- meaning, of course, I -- am thrilled at prospect of a second honeymoon for Obama after he squandered the first one. What's he have to do to follow-through on this rip-snorter of an Obama's OK rally today? Well, he has to repudiate a lot of what's happened so far. For example, bizarrely, he gave Nancy Pelosi free rein to create a stimulus package full of pork -- extended unemployment benefits but without, you know, any stimulus. What is she? The general secretary of the Communist Party -- I mean, of the Democratic Party? Then he took his Leninist line, telling us now -- telling us that now is not the time for profits and instituting salary caps for executives at banks who take more TARP money. Then he just scared the heck out of us. I gotta tell you, he scared me.

From the February 13 edition of CNBC's Mad Money:

CRAMER: Some people actually believe that we are going to slash our $600 billion defense budget just because the Bolsheviks stormed the Winter -- just because Barack Obama got elected and went to the White House. That's not how I feel. Recently, defense king Nicholas Chabraja, the CEO of General Dynamics, called a possible cut in defense spending --

CRAMER [audio clip]: They know nothing!

CRAMER: -- inconceivable, and there's no way Obama wants to tarnish himself -- some would say further tarnish himself -- by getting into a big fistfight with the Pentagon.

From the February 26 edition of CNBC's Mad Money:

CRAMER: He's crushing the margins of the health-care insurance companies like Aetna and Cigna. He's turning them into charities, for heaven's sakes, right before our eyes. Reimbursements could be cut for everyone, including the drugs not just made by Big Pharma places like Lilly but biotechs like Genzyme. Companies we had thought were near and dear to the hearts of the Bolshe -- of the Democrats everywhere.

If I didn't know any better, I would think that President Pelosi -- President Obama wants the stock market lower. He's turned the White House into a bear's den. It's Jellystone National Park. Obama has unleashed bunker-busting missiles on the cost-cutting health care players, the insurance companies, the drug companies. He's making sure that these companies, which were once winners, are now big losers. You know what they're doing? They're failing the Marathon Man test: Is it safe? I say, pass me the oil of clove. My charitable trust owns some health care. All of which goes to show in this new commun -- in this new Democratic revolution -- don't worry, after about another four years, I will get it right. Nothing is safe. There are no bomb shelters, no NORAD [North American Aerospace Defense Command] caves. You can try to hedge against the chaos by owning gold -- we know you like that -- but you gotta buy it on the way down, not on the way up.

We're in real trouble. We're in real trouble between what's happening in the world economy and our president, who seems to be taking his cues -- guess who he's taking his cues from? No, not Mao. Not Pancho Villa -- although I had lunch with him. No, he's taking cues from Lenin, and I don't mean the “All We Need is Love” Lennon. I'm talking about the we'll-take-every-dime-Cramericans-have Lenin, a man whom I revere as an ancestor but not as a manager of a capitalist country. With this assault, no stocks can be considered truly free from danger.

Defense stocks -- maybe Obama's going to stop war profiteering. He reminds me in the father in East of Eden. Heck, he reminds me of Tom Joad, if you want to stick with the Steinbeck theme. Oil is up big, but for all we know Obama's about to put in a windfall profits tax like the late Jimmy Carter, may he rest in pe -- forgot. What happens if our Treasury Secretary, Tiny Tim Geithner, calls another reporter tomorrow and the reporter tells him the banks rallied Thursday and you better shoot them like capitalist running dogs? Timid Timmy does whatever his press cabal wants. So tomorrow must be an awful day for the financials. If health care can get killed like this, pretty much any group could be next. We gotta recognize this is a terrible market, one where any lift is a chance to lighten up until Obama realizes that, well, many Americans actually own stocks, not just the plutocrats. We have a new enemy. We voted for him. And along with the dismal economy, he's making these pieces of paper more dangerous by the day. A week ago -- a week ago, we were worried about whether the banks were making the right marks on their portfolio. Now we're just worried about Marx. I don't mean Groucho.

From the March 2 edition of CNBC's Mad Money:

CRAMER: I just want some sign that Obama realizes the market is totally falling apart, and that his agenda has a big hand in that happening. I don't know about you, but I felt it -- felt it everywhere I went this weekend. I felt it when I went out to dinner on Friday at the local watering hole. I felt it at my meal before the big Van Morrison concert at the [Madison Square] Garden, and it crushed me when right before Van the man belted out the “Moondance,” a young kid took me aside, said I was right to say we had elected a Leninist. At least Van didn't castigate us for paying to see him -- that was a nice switch.

[...]

CRAMER: The company has a big overseas initiative in China, where it expects to build several new plants in the next few years. And you know we think the Chinese communists -- the last, best, and certainly the most rapacious capitalists left in the world.

Pepsi even posted 17 percent volume growth in Russia, and their economy has been pancaked. Yeah, so pancaked that I bet the Russians are longing for the good old days of the first five-year plan. Something we're about to experience here under the leadership of Comrades Obama and Pelosi. And the Politburo. Politburo -- did he say Politburo? I think he meant Congress.

[...]

CRAMER: Is nothing safe? Can any group be protected from the wealth-destroying efforts of President Obama and the people's Soviet -- and the Democratic Congress? It sure didn't seem that way today.

From the March 3 edition of CNBC's Mad Money:

CRAMER: Welcome to the U.S.S.A. In the worst bear market since the Great Depression, we have a president and a Bolshevik -- Democratic Congress that seems oblivious to the rampant wealth destruction that's being caused by their agenda. Or maybe they know and they don't care. Either way, it's important that you Obama-proof your portfolio, or at least make it Obama-resistant, because we know he has both the power and the will to crush entire sectors. Everything from health care to oil and gas to the defense contractors. As if dealing with this garden-variety depression wasn't enough, now you need to protect your money from the expropriator-in-chief.