Fox Senior VP for Business News Cavuto has his own political “Platform”

Written by Matt Gertz

Published

Today on Fox News' Your World, host Neil Cavuto announced his own “2010 Campaign Platform.” I'm sure you won't be surprised to learn that it largely consisted of a smorgasbord of right-wing proposals that would preserve the positions of America's wealthiest while punishing the middle class and the poor:

Cavuto isn't just a Fox News host -- he is the network's managing editor of business news and Senior Vice President of Business News. According to Fox, that means he “oversees all business coverage for FNC” and “directs content and business news coverage for the FOX Business Network.” That's right, the man in charge of what business stories Fox covers and how just announced a personal political platform, which includes the following:

  • “No Tax Hikes On Anyone For Any Reason.” Because it would be just too mean to ask the wealthy to pay the tax rates they did during the Clinton administration.
  • “Start By Raising Retirement Age For Social Security.” Apparently, this is a “sacred cow” that needs to be put down so the “system can stabilize.” And to hell with factory workers who want to retire before they turn 70.
  • “Let Younger Workers Put A Portion of Retirement Money In The Markets.” I assume he's talking about partially privatizing Social Security here, since there's obviously no ban on younger workers investing their savings. As we've noted, even the Bush administration has acknowledged that such plans would create a shortfall in Social Security funding, since those funds are currently earmarked to pay benefits for current retirees.
  • “A 10 Percent Across-The-Board Cut In Every Gov't Program.” No exceptions, no nuance. And yes, that includes Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, military benefits, unemployment insurance, and food stamps.

Cavuto's development of his own right-wing platform is only the latest example of Fox News' evolution from a conservative news network to a full-on political organization.

As head of Fox's business programming, Cavuto has had no qualms with letting his underlings promote their own right-wing platforms. Earlier this month, Fox Business anchor David Asman asked Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) to sign on to his conservative “contract,” which pledged “No New Taxes, No New Regulations No New Bureaucrats, Cut Spending, Repeal Obamacare.”

Similarly, Fox Business anchor Stuart Varney, regularly used by Fox News as its primary analyst of business and economic news, has frequently advocated for Republican electoral victories and has described himself as “very clearly partisan.” And Fox Business host Eric Bolling regularly uses his platform to endorse conservatives.