On CNBC, radio host Lewis repeats ACORN, earmark falsehoods

On the May 7 edition of CNBC's Power Lunch, Minnesota radio host Jason Lewis -- who has occasionally filled in for Rush Limbaugh -- repeated the false Republican talking point that ACORN received money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Lewis stated, "Who said we had to double down on a failed stimulus program? Bush tried that in '08 -- it failed. So Barack Obama and the Democrats doubled down on that to the tune of $800 billion. More funding for Amtrak, ACORN, and solar panels in Seattle is not gonna revive the economy." However, as Media Matters for America has repeatedly documented, the recovery act does not mention ACORN or otherwise single it out for funding; ACORN itself has said it is ineligible for the funds and has no plans to apply for them.

Lewis also falsely asserted that Obama "said he was gonna get rid of earmarks; he signs the omnibus bill in 2009 loaded with earmarks." In fact, as NBC News White House correspondent John Yang noted during the March 11 edition of MSNBC Live, "[T]he president has never said he wants to eliminate earmarks." During the 2008 presidential campaign, Obama promised to reform the earmark process and cut wasteful spending, not eliminate earmarks altogether. Media Matters has previously documented CNBC and other outlets repeating this claim

From the May 7 edition of CNBC's Power Lunch:

MICHELLE CARUSO-CABRERA (co-host): Joining us now, former Vermont governor and former Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean. Good to see you, Governor. And we also have Jason Lewis, radio host of The Jason Lewis Show.

This is how this segment works, folks. We give you each 30 seconds -- and I time you -- to outline your case, and then we go from there. Jason Lewis, I want to start with you. Is this enough, or is it just chump change?

LEWIS: This is a joke. I mean, we've got an $800 billion stimulus plan. We've got a 2010 budget blueprint that triples the debt, takes spending to 25 percent of GDP. The president could've done away with earmarks in the 2009 omnibus plan.

There are three opportunities he could've carved into real spending cuts. And we're talking about $17 billion, which is less than the amount of earmarks in a given year. Come on. This is symbolism, this is a deflection, this is a bit of a joke. Let's be honest.

CARUSO-CABRERA: There's 30 seconds. Governor Dean? Jason Lewis says it's chump change. What do you think?

DEAN: I think he's wrong. It's a good start. It's not a lot of money by federal budget standards. It's a great deal of money by most of our standards. It's a decent start.

And, oddly enough, it's almost exactly what George Bush tried to cut, and was turned down by his own Republican Congress. Getting Congress to cut stuff is tough. And let's not fool around here. You've got to make bigger cuts. You're also going to have to have some revenue increases to pay for all of this stuff -- there's no question about that -- and my favorite is a carbon tax.

CARUSO-CABRERA: Carbon tax. Jason Lewis, go ahead. What's your response? You mentioned things he could have cut.

LEWIS: A carbon tax? Well, for heaven's sakes. Who said we had to double down on a failed stimulus program? Bush tried that in '08 -- it failed. So Barack Obama and the Democrats doubled down on that to the tune of $800 billion.

More funding for Amtrak, ACORN, and solar panels in Seattle is not gonna revive the economy. He said he was gonna get rid of earmarks; he signs the omnibus bill in 2009 loaded with earmarks. There's no serious effort. This was a press release.