Fox & Friends hosts former mobster to compare Dems to crime family
SUMMARY: Fox & Friends hosts featured a segment in which they asked a former member of the Colombo crime family to compare Tim Geithner, Nancy Pelosi, Barney Frank, and George Soros to members of the mob.
During the March 26 edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends, co-hosts Brian Kilmeade and Gretchen Carlson hosted Michael Franzese, the former caporegime of La Cosa Nostra's Colombo crime family, to discuss similarities in the way Democratic leaders and progressive figures are "operating" and "the way we used to operate on the street." Kilmeade began the segment by asking, "So, is this a big stretch to think that, all of a sudden, the Washington, D.C., has become our Godfather?" Asked by Carlson what he would "call" Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, Franzese replied that Geithner is "like an underboss to me. I mean, he's doing the work of, you know, the whole family, and he's kind of the guy out front, and looking to exercise control." When Kilmeade later asked how House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) would fit "in the mob," Franzese replied that Pelosi and Frank are like "the lady and the guy that [President] Obama is kind of stuck with to appease the rest of the family," and also referred to Obama as "the boss." Carlson also asked Franzese about financier George Soros, whom Carlson described as "a very wealthy man who's made his political views very well known to the left." Franzese replied that Soros is "[t]he guy in the shadows that's kind of, you know, pulling the strings on the whole party. I think this guy maintains a lot more control than we may think."
During the segment, Kilmeade and Carlson aired on-screen graphics featuring an image of the iconic puppet strings from The Godfather along with photos of Geithner, Pelosi, Frank, and Soros:
From the March 26 edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends:
KILMEADE: So, is this a big stretch to think that, all of a sudden, the Washington, D.C., has become our Godfather?
FRANZESE: Well, I don't know. I mean, I see a lot of similarities in the way they're operating and the way we used to operate on the street. And, you know, to me, it's -- it looks like that's the way it's going.
CARLSON: What do you mean? Extortion, things like that?
FRANZESE: No, I mean, just this desire to take control. You know, it's Geithner coming out now with wanting to exercise more control over business. It's the way we used to operate, you know? The mob was all about --
KILMEADE: Decide 90 percent of your bonuses belong to him.
FRANZESE: Exactly. You know, we would walk into a business, and, you know, put our arms around the people, lend them a little money, if they needed, and the whole object was to get control of the company. And, I see this going the same way.
CARLSON: So let's talk a little bit more about Tim Geithner, because this plan -- and apparently, it's been leaked last night, but he's going to announce it today. You call him what?
FRANZESE: He's like an underboss to me. I mean, he's doing the work of, you know, the whole family, and he's kind of the guy out front, and looking to exercise control. To me, it's scary, because this is how we used to take control of things and, you know, to me I want less government intervention in my life.
KILMEADE: Nancy Pelosi and Barney Frank play what role in the movie? In the mob?
FRANZESE: You know, they're like, to me, the two guys -- or, you know, the lady and the guy that Obama is kind of stuck with to appease the rest of the family. And, you know, we used to have that in our life. Sometimes the boss would have two people there or one person there that he didn't really want there, but he was stuck with them because they had control in the family, and you had to appease the rest of the people. And I look at them as the two people that he's appeasing the rest of the Democratic Party with.
CARLSON: Interesting. George Soros, of course, a very wealthy man who's made his political views very well known to the left. How do you see him?
FRANZESE: The guy in the shadows that's kind of, you know, pulling the strings on the whole party. I think this guy maintains a lot more control than we may think, and you know, he's got the money. He funds a lot of their groups. And I really think he has a lot to say in that party.
KILMEADE: Michael, does it scare you?
FRANZESE: It concerns me. I mean, you know, not much scares me at this point, but it really concerns me because I see that trend, you know.
CARLSON: He got out of the mob, Brian, so, you know, in the early '90s, you said you did fear for your life for a short period of time. So I understand that nothing scares you.
FRANZESE: Yes, and with good reason. I had, you know, my issues in walking away from that life. People were pretty upset with me about it, and -- so it took years to get over. But, you know, George Soros, you know, to me, he's the guy. I mean, he's the guy you gotta be concerned about here because he exercises a lot of control.
KILMEADE: And here's the scary thing: He's made money through this global downturn. He came out of retirement because he predicted it. I don't know if he orchestrated it -- if that's possible with his money -- but he's made billions.
FRANZESE: Yes.
KILMEADE: So, he's in control, while everybody else wonders what the heck happened.
FRANZESE: And I wonder why they associate with this guy. I mean, here -- one thing about mob guys, now, we were pretty patriotic. We may have been doing our thing on the streets, but we didn't like anybody messing with the country. And I recall, you know, after 9-11, he was -- he did some damage on Wall Street.
KILMEADE: Absolutely.
CARLSON: Here's your new book: I'll Make You an Offer You Can't Refuse: Tips from a Former Mob Boss. Michael, great to see you. Thanks so much for coming on.
CARLSON: Here's your new book: I'll Make You an Offer You Can't Refuse: Tips from a Former Mob Boss. Michael, great to see you. Thanks so much for coming on.
Why does FOX embrace reprobates..? Do FOX viewers catch the sad irony here?
well slugs do recognize their own kind
"Why does FOX embrace reprobates..?"
Same reason they embraced
-Ollie North [sold weapons to Iran]
-Crazy Annie Coulter [vote fraud]
-Tom Delay [money launderer]
-KKKarl Rove [helped out a covert CIA agent]
They wanna maintain consistency - plain and simple.
Well done.
I imagine Fox News is at this very moment in South America trying to get former Nazi's to go on Fox & Fiends to speak about the similarities between their old boss and President Obama.
Where are all of the reasonable people who call themselves conservatives? Are they OK with crap like this representing what their side is all about?
The last ones died years ago....
Exactly...and what's left is a Frankenstein conservatism. And they wonder why it didn't last...
im still alive! and no im not ok with these neo con nutjobs
I'm glad that you're here; and hope you can take your party back. We actually benefit from a diversity of rational views.
We began jumping ship during the Clinton impeachment. We moved further away during the G-Dub tenure and split all ties with the Republican party once and for all during this last election cycle. We are sickened by what the term conservative has come to mean.
We began jumping ship during the Clinton impeachment.
For me, back in the 80's and early 90's I hardly followed politics unless it was good theater (Ollie North/Fawn Hall comes to mind). Then came The Clinton Chronicles and later, the impeachment. It was then I realized how dangerous the Repub's could be.
neo cons neo cons, they are republicans they are neo cons.
they are not republicans they are neo cons
So... what do you call yourselves now? WHo did you votes for? Are you... http://www.republicansforobama.org/ ?
worrierking, i am probably maybe one of maybe 5 people in the entire country who are republicans and find myself disgusted with the direction my party has taken.
though watch clocktower, dick2012, and the rest of those neo con idiots are going to call me a RINO.
funny thing is they say the same thing about probably the last true good conservative Barry Goldwater. from there you see a clear downhill drop from that point on.
Where is Jcoop? I see he hasn't berated you yet.
cause they know im right and don't have the stones to come out and prove me wrong.
their arguments will consist of the following:
TR wasn't a conservative
Goldwater wasn't a conservative
and maybe even Lincoln wasn't a conservative.
the reason being for that is, in especially TR's case, because he used his power to make things better rather than enriching his buddies.
Boy you have some good points. As for the three leaders you referance here is what some on the right have said or will say.
TR was not a conservative for two reasond trust busting and being an environmentalist. Both for the betterment of America.
Goldwater not a conservative because he was ok with gays in the military.
Lincoln was not a conservative because he believed in freedom for all.
By the way two three men have U.S. Navy Aircraft Carriers named after them.
but TR was for a strong military
ie. The Great White Fleet.
and for imperialism.
both appealing to neo cons.
as as for trust busting...well TR may have got the ball rolling but it was Taft, darling of the Old Guard, that actually had more anti trust cases by a ratio of at least 3 to 1.
Yes but the investigations were started under TR.
By the way the US strongest military in relation to the rest of the world was under a Dem TR's distand 4th or 5th cousin FDR.
distant 5th cousin by blood. and uncle by marriage. Elanore Roosevelt's father was TR's brother.
I'm an unapolegetic liberal, and I will say it very cleary: Goldwater was a good man.
WOW.
They need to keep this up. The more they do stuff like this the less credible they are with the moderate conservatives. Its like the little boy who cried wolf.
Any journalism studies majors in here? Is there some sort of understanding amongst news outlets not to criticize or make fun of one another (unless it's from one of the talking heads you hired)?
Seriously, all other media outlets that don't appear to be biased need to completely lampoon this Fox & Friends segment, and the channel that hosts it. Nobody will take it seriously if it just comes from MMfA, DKos, Olbermann, etc.
It should be widely reported because it's cartoonishly funny. In playing to their ignorant viewers it makes you wonder if FOX really grasps how intellectually insulting this stuff is to anyone with half a brain.
To FOX, those with half a brain are the elites. The highest end of their demographic.
I was a newspaper reporter for 28 years, and we used to pounce on any and all egregious, stupid, or politically biased utterances of the competition. Sadly that competition no longer exists. Fox News seems to set the tone with their disgusting right wing bias, and CNN and CNBS, and the others not only seem willing to let them get away with it, they try to out-do each other. The only vioces in this extremely barren wilderness are Media Matters (there's your plug, guys) and NPR, which doesn't seem to want to take on the big commercial networks.
...the others not only seem willing to let them get away with it, they try to out-do each other.
And I think they're afraid to start a war with FOX and being called <gasp> LIBERAL...prticularly knowing that their own reporting is sometimes less than sterling.
Tomorrow on Fox & Fiends, a roundtable discussion with Charles Manson, Tex Watson, David Berkowitz and a surprise guest to talk about how similar the Manson Family was to the present Democratic Party and Mr. Berkowitz will give advice to the president on how to choose the best dog to fit in to the president's family.
I'm surprised FOX hasn't booked Osama Bin Laden to accuse Barack Obama of being a terrorist. ;>)
Yah beat me to it, but you forgot Ted Kazinsky (sp).
I didn't forget Ted, Ewe.
He's on next Wednesday which is the day they have guests who give home making advice and grooming tips.
Must zee TeeVee! I've long been jealous of Ted's skilz in this arena of Sibilzation.
D*mm! now I have a vision of Ted and Karl R in a free-for-all food fight on Martha Stewart.
Ted's fanatism against Karl's brilliance at fighting dirty. I think someone as a ref without fear would put it completely over the top. It would be entirely sellable.
hey maybe they will try a seance to conjure the ghosts of Ted Bundy, and Jeff Dahmer.
They contacted Dahmer, but all they heard was a voice singing, "My bologna has a first name..."
maybe they will really go out on a limb and try to get Hannibal Lector and Francis Dolerhyde!
Whose limb? Which limb would it be?
I think Lector might go for the thigh.
no Lector likes cheeks remember?
That's right....that's right...
that was awesome
I'm in Mandarin class - trying real hard to contain a belly laugh - Bah-hah-hah! I seen the mobster segment live and noticed how friendly the Foxette Gretchen was with this mobster. His treatment was very friendly - like they have dinner parties at each other's house friendly.
This is probably the worst thing ever. It's not news, it's not even tabloid drivel, it's Onion-esque but written much more poorly.
It would be a joke if it were funny. These people are serious.
That's not completely correct. Look at all the shows Dick Cheney has been on lately.
Oh, sorry. You said former mobster.
Dick is not a mobster.....he is a Dark Lord of the Sith.....there is a subtle difference.
LOL i love it!
he makes Malak, Bane, and Palpatine look like amateurs
I channel surfed to Fox & Friends and caught this former Mob Guy with Gretchen and Brian tying Democrats to the mob in some type of made-up, out of this world, makes no sense, but hey we are F&F this is what we do, way. Too funny - indeed.
Malloy also presents evidence with what he says. Haven't heard the other guy.
Do you really need a reveiw of the MMfa mission statement?
Will F&F ever investigate any of the disappeared billions of the shrub administration? If it ever happenned thermal shock will have disintigrated hell and we'd be facing some "different" immigrants.
Are you seriously comparing Mike Malloy to a news network? You don't think there's any difference in standards between the two whatsoever?
well given the previous administrations actions. i would like that more to a mob family than the present one
Your false equivalence aside, Bush and Cheney are, in fact, facing possible charges of war crimes, and Republicans are, in fact, telling the past administration to stay out of the public eye. These are simply facts. Fox and Friends are devoid of any facts and they have absolutely no journalistic integrity here.
Having said that, I think you're hilarious in defending them here.
Shoes, Jonathan Turley is a straight-up guy who tells the truth. Perhaps that's why you don't care for his commentary...
Agreed. Turley is one of my favorite Constitutional Law experts. I love listening to him!
Shoes is contrarian for the sake of being contrarian. Having read her posts for over a year, that's the only conclusion that I can come up with.
That was supposed to be in reply to Victor above, my apologies.
totally agree.
it's only going to get worse Casey. the more outrageous and partisan they can get they higher their ratings go, apparently. I know ratings do not measure quality, but especially in tough economic times it is what is driving this stupid programming on Fox. they want to position themselves as holding Obama accountable and not being his cheerleader, so they embarass themselves with crap like this. if and when people tune away, they may tamper down their rhetoric and become serious, until then they are most likely content to be like this.
I'm cool with them being shut down by force. It would be great fun to see actual news footage of Fox News' move-out day covered by actual news networks. Seriously, Glenn Beck's curbside interview, complete with him holding a tear-soaked cardboard box soaked, would be pure television gold.
they won't be shut down by force, and they shouldn't be.
Oh, I disagree on "shouldn't be." One wealthy Australian does not have an inalienable right to lie to America on its airwaves.
then we disagree. I am not an advocate of censorship or the govt. shutting down cable tv networks because they don't like the opinions given. it won't happen, thankfully. don't watch Fox, I don't. you have no right to take that right away from someone else if they choose too.
well the situation can be resolved by holding these people accountable to libel and slander lawsuits.
at the very least get people in there who will actually do their job
This is the old Tommy. I clearly recognize the writing style. Either forgot the old password or come back in incognito. Borders on 'troll-ism", but does tend to keep the board honest with legitimate commentary.
always appreciate the comparison, thank you as well.
Yeah, you and Tommy had some great exchanges.
you should be glad Tommy is awol. the way he used to get under your thin skin calling you Governor was fun to watch, especially your crybaby denials, I on the other hand don't give a damn.
God bless ya!
why not clear out the management and reporters and get responsible people in there.
As nice as that would be, until Murdoch and Ailes are gone, we won't see any changes...
I'd like to see the entire Fox Network shut down as well. I do believe in free speech, but to me, there is a responsibility that goes along with calling yourself a news network. This responsibility involves honesty, credibility and integrity. Fox does a disservice to the American people in that they act as though it would kill them to say anything nice about anyone on the Left or if they spoke even one word of truth. If Fox were more responsible in their programming and their opinions/editorials, they could become an actual rational news network with some worth. What they don't get is that if they were more rational, more Americans might swing back their way.
Too many people are poorly affected by the nonsense Fox spews - and they should be held accountable.
poorly affected? What the hell does that mean? you mean they hold different opinions than you do, or they don't vote like you? in any event, don't you see the danger of what you are proposing? that the govt. has the right to come along and shut down a major news network because of their opinions? sure, they may have some incredibly partisan, truth stretching commentators on their shows, but so? it isn't up to you, or me, or the govt to determine what is truth or not. you have no right to shut them down because you feel some people are poorly affected by what's on their airwaves. What if a far right candidate is elected president someday and they don't like Olbermann or Maddow on MSNBC, after all Olbermann said some pretty inflammatory things about Bush that many would say were over the top. and they have the same opinion about them that you do about Fox. Scary, scary territory that would be.
It's not about opinions. Fox News takes file footage of people and reports it on air as "news" and lies about what they said and when the said it.
for what's it worth, they also apologized for that, you left that out. our government has no business shutting down cable networks because of political opinion. my god how anyone could advocate something that is so in direct conflict with what this country stands for is shocking. don't watch then, people have the right to watch if they choose, not to be told they can't by the govt, or you.
They apologized for making a mistake, which it most certainly was not. Hence, their apology was a lie. It's what they do.
And, again, it's not about opinions.
show me an egregious major lie in their straight news reporting refuted by confirmable facts, devoid of any spin or political partisanship, and the verifiable consequences of the lie, that has not either been corrected or apologized for publicly. not commentators or opinion talkers, straight news reporting done on their straight newscasts? you keep saying it's not about opinions, this should be a piece of cake for you. oh and for the record, anyone that not only advocates censorship but govt. control of our media is far too wacko and fringe to determine much of anything, much less monitoring news content for public consumption. stick to your opinions here, they are harmless.
I just cited "an egregious major lie" and since their apology was a lie, too, I say it remains a perfect example of Fox News' beyond the pale corruption and willful dishonesty. Perhaps you're forgetting that this very lie in question prompted you to call Fox News a "waste of cable landscape". Well said!
you're such a phony baloney, I knew you would sidestep when I asked you for an example. stop lying yourself, you know damn well you want Fox shutdown because of the Hannitys and Oreillys, but you try and hide what you really mean by saying it's not about opinions. oh, and by the way Fox is a waste of cable landscape, which is why I don't watch them.
I gave you an example.
And if you don't watch Fox News, quite frankly, you're not qualified to comment on this stuff.
Are their Saturday morning financial shows "straight news?" If so, a week or two ago they talked about Pelosi's "bigger" plane, which as, of course the same size (or same plane) as Hastert's - NOT bigger. But they didn't stop there. The B-roll (inset) video showed a 4-engine jet. WHY? Defend the comment and the accompanying video. That might be interesting.
it's also quite comical that you are such a stickler for lies, yet you had no problem on the thread a couple days ago lying that I stated here who I voted for? so your credibility on lies is shot.
Feel free to correct me anytime about your vote for Bush in 2000.
you don't really want to try and revisit your lie now do you?
I'm not calling for Fox to be shut down because of their opinions. I couldn't care less about their opinions. I want them shut down because they LIE. Such lies have an adverse affect on those who watch it.
An opinion isn't the same as a lie.
What is it with you Conservatives preaching about personal responsibility, take responsibility for your words and actions, be held accountable, but when it suits you, you DON'T want people to be held accountable. Either you want people to be held accountable and take responsibility for their words and actions or you don't. It's pretty simple, don't you agree?
Sorry - evidently I cannot see properly this morning. My reply was supposed to be to jamesB.
victor i'll agree with james on this one....they shouldn't be shut down, just clear out billo, beck (who is kicking billo's butt in the ratings), hannity, and the rest of that crew, and get rid of ailes and moody while your at it and get responsible people in there and Fixed News could reinvent itself
I'll settle for them taking "News" out of their name removing their "Fair and Balanced" slogan. It is false advertising.
well james.....i must say while we have sparred a number of times, i must say im happy to be in agreement with you on this issue.
How long will it be before Mike Franzese gets his own talk show on FOX...?
wow they must be truly desperate if they are trying to bring the Mafia into this
This is absolutely insulting and embarrassing. Nex,t let's host a meth head to talk about the similarities of Obama to being a tweaker? This is utterly vapid and disgustingly Junior High. Fox should be ashamed beyond belief.
Don Vito Murdoch:
haha that is great!
question is who plays the various characters.....you can't picture marlon brando being vito.
"As far back as I can remember,
I always wanted to be a gangster.
To me, being a gangster was better than
being president of the United States."
The above was spoken by a young Barack Obama in Chicago.
Many people who have never become gangsters have said this or something similar. judge me not on what I say when I am young but judge me on what I do my whole life and say when I have the experiance to speak with wisdom. This is how all should be judged by history.
Worrier, was this before or after he became an A-rab, liked arugula, had tea in restaurants, and bowled poorly?
I don't like it either but they're getting so ridiculous now that I think they'll be driving away some of the twenty percenters soon if they keep it up.
To me it seems like the Republicans aren't being led by Limbaugh but by that crazy gray haired woman in the red shirt who told McCain that Obama was an Arab.
Nobody is leading the Republicains because if someone with any sence of responsibility was they would bring in those spewing this hate and tell them to give it a rest and help the nation.
Man I can't stand fox and enimies.... they call the fact that the president wants to regulate businesses that could cause a systemic risk to our country a power grab... they make me so damn sick... how bout this if they want there tax dollars to go twords big bonuses for AIG and other companys then they can do it.... hell there making plenty as it is they sure can while the rest of us are struggling and living from pay check to pay check... the thought that we have somone in the white house now that once to help the bottom half of the country for a change... they call this socialism... man they make me sick!
thanks for your post. This kind of negativity destroys itself eventually...but does a lot of damage in the meantime.
Mob guy so I guess that means they know criminals when they see one. Oh by the way it seems they know how to reach them also and that must mean they have ties to them and with the last 8 years I guess they have learned all they can from the Mob. Wire taps, executions oh excuse me that was an invasion for WMD that were not there, usury, bank failures by sticking them up oh I guess that is what bundling means.