Rick Santelli’s "PLANTED" Rant - "More To The Story Then Originally Met The Eye" Playboy Magazine

[kpete]

It turns out that there may be more to the story then originally met the eye, according to (yes, really) Playboy magazine.

Excerpt:

“How did a minor-league TV figure, whose contract with CNBC is due this summer, get so quickly launched into a nationwide rightwing blog sensation? Why were there so many sites and organizations online and live within minutes or hours after his rant, leading to a nationwide protest just a week after his rant?

What hasn’t been reported until now is evidence linking Santelli’s “tea party” rant with some very familiar names in the Republican rightwing machine, from PR operatives who specialize in imitation-grassroots PR campaigns (called “astroturfing”) to bigwig politicians and notorious billionaire funders. As veteran Russia reporters, both of us spent years watching the Kremlin use fake grassroots movements to influence and control the political landscape. To us, the uncanny speed and direction the movement took and the players involved in promoting it had a strangely forced quality to it. If it seemed scripted, that’s because it was.

What we discovered is that Santelli’s “rant” was not at all spontaneous as his alleged fans claim, but rather it was a carefully-planned trigger for the anti-Obama campaign. In PR terms, his February 19th call for a “Chicago Tea Party” was the launch event of a carefully organized and sophisticated PR campaign, one in which Santelli served as a frontman, using the CNBC airwaves for publicity, for the some of the craziest and sleaziest rightwing oligarch clans this country has ever produced. Namely, the Koch family, the multibilllionaire owners of the largest private corporation in America, and funders of scores of rightwing thinktanks and advocacy groups, from the Cato Institute and Reason Magazine to FreedomWorks. The scion of the Koch family, Fred Koch, was a co-founder of the notorious extremist-rightwing John Birch Society.”

What isPlayboy’s evidence of this?

“Within hours of Santelli’s rant, a website called ChicagoTeaParty.com sprang to life. Essentially inactive until that day, it now featured a YouTube video of Santelli’s “tea party” rant and billed itself as the official home of the Chicago Tea Party. The domain was registered in August, 2008 by Zack Christenson, a dweeby Twitter Republican and producer for a popular Chicago rightwing radio host Milt Rosenberg—a familiar name to Obama campaign people. Last August, Rosenberg, who looks like Martin Short’s Irving Cohen character, caused an outcry when he interviewed Stanley Kurtz, the conservative writer who first “exposed” a personal link between Obama and former Weather Undergound leader Bill Ayers. As a result of Rosenberg’s radio interview, the Ayers story was given a major push through the Republican media echo chamber, culminating in Sarah Palin’s accusation that Obama was “palling around with terrorists.” That Rosenberg’s producer owns the “chicagoteaparty.com” site is already weird—but what’s even stranger is that he first bought the domain last August, right around the time of Rosenburg’s launch of the “Obama is a terrorist” campaign. It’s as if they held this “Chicago tea party” campaign in reserve, like a sleeper-site. Which is exactly what it was.

This looks like more than a coincidence. This is now a very serious charge.

more at:
http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2009/02/rick-santellis-faux-rant/

[marmar]

1. It always came across as manufactured outrage to me.......

Everything about them is a fraud.

[Demeter]

2. I am no longer capable of any emotion besides disgust for the GOP

nothing they do shocks or dismays any more.

[msongs]

3. wonder if this news tidbit will have legs anywhere? nt

[annabanana]

5. Alas.. I don't think Keith or Rachel will be free to follow this up. .

As good as they are, they DO have bosses.

[spiritual_gunfighter]

28. Yeah Rachel and Keith won't mention this at all

They would be looking for work right after the broadcast.

[mwb970]

33. We'll see.

Don't misunderestimate them.

[spiritual_gunfighter]

46. I don't misunderestimate them at all

But NBC owns both MSNBC and CNBC obviously. Actually I was surprised Keith mentioned Santelli at all last week. But I don't see them running a story that accuses a fellow employee of something with this type of implication.

[truedelphi]

64. I agree. Keith has stated several times that he is given leeway to do as he

Wants.

And the notion that the PR firms and media efforts are all part of an interwoven entity (Which could be called "Corporate America's Truth") is not a new notion.

See the folks from "The Progressive" and their book "Toxic Sludge Is Good For You" about how the environmentalists have to battle countless creations of "grassroots' RW concoctions such as "Communities for a Safe Environment" Et Al.

[blondeatlast]

83. I was a bit surprised that both KO and Matthews actually seemed more than publicly peeved

by Sntorelli's "performance art" piece and called him out, so I'm hoping they can pick up on this tidbit too.

[myrna minx]

4. Very interesting. K&R n/t

[seemunkee]

6. k&r

Thanks kpete. You are a treasure.

[burythehatchet]

7. Hold CNBC to account. They are a BIG part of the problem.

[FormerDittoHead]

42. CNBC is a big part of our shitty economy as well.

In advance, pardon the rant.

The entire narrative of their standard reporting day revolves around speculation in the stock market. As a former accountant who studied financial planning, I've been personally burned by this philosophy and a great many people I know who have more than a couple of bucks to rub together have been burned as well, thinking that the market is a race track, and all they need to is figure out the secret (by watching CNBC and reading Barrons) to winning and you'll get rich.

They have done well in putting together programming that draws a desirable demographic, willing advertisers, and an endless parade of advice givers like Jim Cramer and CEOs wanting to get their face on "National TV". What they HAVEN'T done well is educating their viewers into RESPONSIBLE INVESTING and UNDERSTANDING OF RISK.

The bottom line is that this culture of speculation should constantly be compared to "investing" as heroin is to Advil. It is, however, served up to the general public with the most superficial of disclaimers.

I'll close the loop. The public acceptance of such speculation HELPED lead to our current situation. If our public, investing in 401Ks etc., were more, excuse me, conservative in their investing, then the money, company and fund managers who continued to feed into the beast wouldn't have been encouraged so much to keep it going as long as it did, seeking returns over risk.

[burythehatchet]

52. That's exactly right. (You stated what I was too lazy to spell out)

They also play more direct role. Have you read Deep Capture?

http://www.deepcapture.com/category/2-the-journalists-tried-to-be-players-but-became-pawns/

“You want to know what just happened? I’ll f—ing tell you what just happened. Here’s how it works. Those two guys are part of the short-seller community. Cramer especially is part of this ring of hard-charging short-sellers on Wall Street. I’ll bet you anything that one of his buddies is short your company. Whoever it is saw your earnings release, saw you blew your numbers away, got on the phone to Cramer and said, ‘Don’t you dare let this thing start moving. Don’t you f—ing dare let this move!’ So Cramer goes on TV and screams that nonsense at you. I bet my last f—ing dollar that’s what happened. It’s been like this all my career, but it’s never been like this.”

Later that week, a fund manager who had seen the interview told me, “That was the most unprofessional interview I have ever seen in my life.” In time, others would mention it to me, so that months and even a year later, I’d meet people who said, “I saw you on with Cramer one time. That was the craziest interview I ever saw.”

That was the first time I heard the joke, but I did not get it until I heard it the second time, a few weeks later, in February, 2004, while I was in Kabul (because it is a natural next question: I was in Afghanistan searching for artisans to become suppliers for Worldstock). Our PR Director at the time, a calm, mellow Californian named “Scott,” had sent an urgent message saying that a BusinessWeek reporter, Tim Mullaney, was going to write a story attacking the price comparisons listed on Overstock’s website. Mullaney was asking about a set of products which were precisely the same products that another two reporters had called asking about that same week. Since Overstock had about 12,000 products at the time, the coincidence was odd. In addition Scott said, Mullaney was acting as though he wanted us to know he planned on writing a hatchet job.

[JDPriestly]

62. FormerDittoHead, your post is one of the best I have ever

read in my years on DU. Please start a thread with it. It may not get a lot of responses because many people don't want to admit that what you are saying is true, and the rest won't understand what you are saying, but yours is the best post yet.

"Investing" in the stock market is like heroin. It certainly can be. That kind of gambling/speculation may even excite the same parts of the brain that other addictions do. Might make an interesting study.

[siligut]

63. Excellent rant!

The way you say it allows me to feel level headed, not cynical.

[glinda]

73. CNBC scares the crap out of me

[anonymous171]

82. Would K&R if I could. nt

[madrchsod]

8. koch industries will be belly'n up to the bar...

when road construction funds start rolling out across the country. will they stand up for their convictions and refuse to offer their products for sale?.....ya that will be the day hell freezes over

[the other one]

9. ENOUGH! THis is BULLSHIT

Rick Santelli is a good guy and the least political reporter on CNBC. He can almost be said to be a liberal.

What did his "rant" consist of? Asking traders in the pit if they wanted to pay for their neighbors mortgage. Thats all he said. Thats it. Go check the tape. He didn't say anything, most of the crap came out of the studio hosts, and out of the traders themselves.

Just another example of how the media can turn someone into something that he is not. This conspiracy stuff has gone too far, at least for Rick's fans, and I remain one, his so-called "rant" notwithstanding.

[vssmith]

10. Santelli may be a good guy BUT he is not close being a liberal

[pansypoo53219]

12. he went on

G gordon liddy's show. he is a ditto head idiot. or just a stupid publican. and spends WAY too much time with traders.

[WeDidIt]

14. HE's a rightwing schmuck

The only bullshit I smell comes from YOUR POST!

[Peregrine Took]

15. I agree and smell a huge freepin' RAT! n/t

[Fla Dem]

69. LOL and take a look at his homepage. n/t

[DainBramaged]

16. Wow, truth brings out calls of bullshit, I smell pizza.........

[acmavm]

24. GOOD GUY? Take a look at this...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x5159165

[uponit7771]

25. I also respected Santelli but this crap looks funny no?

[jpak]

26. "Dick" Santelli is a stupid loudmouthed republican asshole - and derivative trading parasite

but thanks for your "concern"...

:rofl:

[spanone]

27. you may be the only fan he has here....you should write and tell him

[alcibiades_mystery]

29. Rick Santelli is a Freidmanite douche

His rant was right wing politics at its purest, and CNBC is a den of free market snakes no more credible than a politboro vodka night.

[spiritual_gunfighter]

30. Santelli is most definitely not a liberal

I dont know too many former traders that would call themselves liberals especially ones that voted for McCain.

[riverdeep]

35. Actually, I did just that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEZB4taSEoA

I'd never heard about any of this, and I never heard of Santelli. But it was quite a rant. It took a lot of gall for traders, who according to Santelli 'represent the cross-section of America', to start complaining. It was their ilk that got us here. And that's the thing that's missing. It's been socialism for the wealthy for at least the last eight years (the rich got richer, everyone else poorer), and now that a correction HAS to be undertaken, now is when they start screaming about 'moral hazard'. Too bad they weren't when they were making money hand over fist.

[fasttense]

38. Santelli's contract is coming up for renewal this summer.

How convenient for him to start a movement that will profit the wealthiest family in America. Could it be all those advertising dollars?

Santelli's rant is just another Brooks Brothers fake protest.

[olegramps]

40. Are you a Republican mole?

[proud2BlibKansan]

41. Santelli a liberal??

:rofl:

[Ikonoklast]

45. He voted for McCain.

You're full of it, pal.

Santelli is a corporate shill and part of the problem. He is NO liberal.

[burythehatchet]

54. sucker born every second

[KayLaw]

55. Not a liberal.

He likes Ayn Rand.

[progressivebydesign]

59. "asked if they wanted to pay their neighbors mortgage" More shortsighted asshole thinking.

Amazing that someone smart enough to get a job like his is really that utterly stupid. It's not about paying your fucking neighbor's mortgage... it's about fixing the god-damn mess that Bush left for us. yeah.. go ahead assholes, let all those mortgages continue to default. Let's see how YOUR house does when your neighbors house goes into foreclosure and sells for 1/2 of what your home is worth. Shortsighted, greedy assholes, who are part of this problem. Fuck the traders.. they're part of the problem.

In my neighborhood, two people defaulted on their homes. When the rest of the neighbors were selling their homes for market value around 500k, the foreclosures went at auction for 350k for more square footage. Yeah... don't help people out with their mortgages, THAT'LL show 'em! Dumbasses.

[liberation]

70. Maybe you are the one full of bullshit?

Rick Santelli was involved to the gills in the S&L scandal of the late 80s. Since he was one of Milken's lackeys at Drexel, Burnham, and Lambert.

Furthermore, even after starting to contribute to CNBC. Santelli continued his involvement with Sanwa. And what was he doing there you ask? Well, Mr. Santelli was doing most of his work on derivatives. You know, derivatives together with credit swaps being one of the main (if not the main) causes for the shit storm we are suffering through right now.

So maybe we have a different definition on what a "good guy" is. Or just like Mr. Santelli you too are full of BS.

Plenty of people are in a position to express righteous anger about what is going on with the economy. It is that a crook like Santelli lacks any sort of moral high ground to even open his mouth.

Furthermore, it takes an infinite amount of gall for Mr. Santelli and his trading floor boyfriends to even open their mouth regarding "moral hazard." They seemed to be conspicuously quiet when they sucked well over $1 trillion from the federal coffers a few weeks ago. I guess that for Mr. Santelli's buddies "moral hazard" only occurs when federal money is used to help US citizens.

[rfranklin]

76. You are amazing ignorant or purposely deceptive....

Santelli was given a script. I have never heard him express any similar thoughts in years on the air.

[blondeatlast]

84. It did seemlike a rehearsed script. Words all too carefully chosen and the enthusiasm from the crow

was considerably less than genuine, IMHO.

[stlsaxman]

77. "let's all sing like the birdies sing-..."

"freep freep freep!"

[crikkett]

11. I only read it for the articles

O8)

[WeDidIt]

13. It doesn't matter any way

Their major plan with all the coordinated efforts and a public "rant" all amounted to nothing more than:



Nobody gives a shit about their "tea party".

The Freepers can't get more than a few dozen people to show up for the "tea parties".

So all they've done is put out a boatload of:

[pacalo]

17. My gut feeling is that the corporate world, who really runs this country, is using those in media

who can be bought, along with Limpballs&Co who were already on board, to wage a really nasty, new propaganda war with the people.

Too many organized events going on to make my red flag go up. The sheeple aren't savvy enough, or in large enough numbers, to conduct all of this on their own.

[drm604]

18. Check out my post about this.

This goes way back to March '08.
http://journals.democraticunderground.com/drm604/40

[slay]

19. And boom goes the dynamite - A MUST read

Good stuff drm604 - really good stuff. You might want to e-mail the Playboy editorial staff with your findings as well. The old story is true - Playboy really does have great articles.

Again, some really great stuff you've put together there. :applause:

[drm604]

20. Do you have an email address

that they will actually read?

[slay]

22. Can't find one but

here's the link to the article on the playboy website - you can leave comments. http://www.playboy.com/blog/2009/02/backstabber.html#more

Maybe he reads them. Otherwise maybe a snail-mail addressed to Duff McKagan or Mark Ames and Yasha Levine at the playboy office. Didn't realize they'd be so hard to get in touch with. And there's always [email protected] see if Rachel Maddow would do anything with it. Sorry couldn't be of more help.

[spiritual_gunfighter]

31. Duff from Guns and Roses works for Playboy now?

Weird.

[Shoedogg]

32. From Wiki:

McKagan had turned his royalties from Guns n' Roses into a small fortune after he invested his money into Microsoft and Starbucks, a move which paid huge dividends. Growing more interested in finance, he earned his GED, then enrolled in community college, eventually graduating from Seattle University with a degree in finance.

He writes a finance column for Playboy, apparently.

[Bette Noir]

43. Microsoft and Starbucks?

His small fortune has just become a tiny fortune.

[spiritual_gunfighter]

44. Wow good for him. n/t

[martymar64]

48. Duff is from Seattle, so is Starbucks and Microsoft

He's doing his part for the locals up there. Good on ya Duff!

[drm604]

68. I left a comment.

It's not up yet since they prescreen their comments.

[20score]

21. K&R

[mopinko]

23. my local bottom feeding, scum sucking, brain damaged, freeper blogger

is all over this chicago tea party shit. believe me, if he is pushing it, it comes from on high. the guy has no known source of income, but spends his days drinking coffee and blogging all over my hood. i wont link, but if you are curious, he is chicago news bench, or rogers park bench. he gets the memos, i promise you.

[RJ Connors]

34. "like a sleeper-site. Which is exactly what it was."

Sleeper-site, that phrase needs to be remembered.

[riverdeep]

36. I know this can't be true,

because only George Soros manipulates the media according to Bill O'Reilly, who is an independent.

[NewJeffCT]

37. sigh

even if Olbermann & Maddow pick it up, will it get any play beyond them?

[Maineman]

39. His act looked phony to me - right from the start.

[Celebration]

50. actually

I am one who thinks it wasn't manufactured. He is always ranting about stuff. Sometimes he makes sense and sometimes he doesn't. He ranted at Bush too. Yes he is pretty right wing but I don't *think* that this was planted. He always acts that way. He's always asking his trader friends stuff. He's high strung. I actually prefer him over Larry Kudlow by a mile (and a lot of the others).

If his contract was coming up, though, he might be taking it up a notch for that reason.

I could be wrong. I think the "tea party" site was just there waiting for something to latch on to.

[GinaMaria]

53. His contract is up this summer

He needs a new gig. Go here for info about the exec producer who registered his website www.chicagoteaparty

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x5102005#5104556


Here's the Chicago Tribune Article that talks about his contract:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-rosenthal-23...

[Numba6]

47. CNBC manipulating the market -- die Santelli, Kudrow have short positions before his planned rant?

SEC should investigate, if they have any regulators working yet

[Beavker]

80. Yes they do.

The entire Securities Industry, Markets, Wall Street, etc... have become "Too Big to Fail".

[Stephanie]

49. So the Freepers get conned again.

Don't they get tired of being used as corporate pawns?

[GinaMaria]

51. K and R this is too important

Pay attention to the man behind the curtain.

[spamlet2002]

56. heh

not at all surprising

[hfojvt]

57. this sorta jumped out at me

"Last August, Rosenberg, who looks like Martin Short’s Irving Cohen character, caused an outcry when he interviewed Stanley Kurtz, the conservative writer who first “exposed” a personal link between Obama and former Weather Undergound leader Bill Ayers. As a result of Rosenberg’s radio interview, the Ayers story was given a major push through the Republican media echo chamber, culminating in Sarah Palin’s accusation that Obama was “palling around with terrorists.”"

August? August 2008? I am not sure when this Kurtz article is, but I thought the Ayers stuff came out in the primary and was being pushed by the Hillary people and Charlie Gibson and/or Steph in February or March. A nationally televised debate is much more publicity than a little radio interview.

[progressivebydesign]

58. Disgusting. What do you expect from a Party that has made Rush Limbaugh their new leader?

I mean really... Rush Limbaugh, Idiot Santelli, Sarah Palin, Joe the Plumber, Bobby Jindal.. the new faces of the Republican Party. What a fucking joke. Of course this is all planned, this all those assholes do all day -- is to think of ways to POLITIC so that the top 2% can keep all of their money, and the idiot-fucks that support them lose theirs. Their ignorant followers, the ones in the other 98% of income, have no idea that the GOP doesn't give a God-damn about schools, jobs, the flag, or even our troops. Everything they do and say is for political reasons. Those scumbags would rather watch families lose everything, small businesses fail in the thousands, and another Depression, than to actually work to fix the problems. It's all about greed and politics... The saddest thing to me is when you see these men in their 50s and they're driving these $800.00 cars, and working shit jobs, and they have republican bumper stickers all over their cars. Why in the hell do they even believe, STILL, that assholes like Limbaugh and Santelli (who are multi-millionaires) give a damn about them???? Rush Limbaugh and tools like Santelli would sic their body guards on those people if they ever tried to get close to them.

The GOP would rather watch our Country fail, our President fail, our troops fail, than to put aside their greed and politics to fix the Country.

[certainot]

60. GOP talk radio monopoly is always very useful for amplifying their shit

it's too bad dems don't have a searchable database of the main talker's transcripts

[aquamarina]

61. Shame, shame, shame

This is EXACTLY why I will never trust the M$M ever again.

[Christa]

65. K & R

read more here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x5159165

all come from the same place:

OrgName: Rackspace.com, Ltd.
OrgID: RSPC
Address: 9725 Datapoint Drive
Address: Suite 100
City: San Antonio
StateProv: TX
PostalCode: 78229
Country: US

[ckimmy57]

66. Very serious charge?

Yea but I guarantee nothing will come of it. Those damn republicans can fall in a pile of shit and come out smelling like a rose time and time again. If a democrat planted a stunt like that they'd have him up on charges so fast his shoes would be left in the spot where he was standing. This little antic of theirs does NOT surprise me in the least. They'll be on Obama's back the entire 4 years like they were on Clinton's. I am SERIOUSLY beginning to despise ALL republicans...:grr:

[liberation]

71. Just now you are starting to despise all republicans?

I started despising the whole bunch some time early in the 8 years of terror inflicted by Bush and his gang.

[HereSince1628]

67. Way off the topic...about the use of "then" and "than"

In the old days "then" meant one thing happened after/subsequent to another thing.
In the old days "than" was a flag that a comparison was being introduced.

The two words are frequently found mixed up relative to their old meanings.
Has it become acceptable to use them interchangeably?

I'm just wondering because I don't know the answer. Language rules keep changing. From time to time I am called upon to judge students' written assignments with respect to ability to use standard American forms of language. Consequently, if the rule is in flux I am interested in knowing.

[AnnieBW]

72. Follow the Money, baby

follow the money.

[SpiralHawk]

74. A planned Republicon hissy fit -- to help drag down America

No wonder so many Americans are kissing off Republicon Homelanderism as a plague upon our fair nation.

[Beavker]

75. FINALLY!

More DU'ers getting worked up over this incredibly influential right wing channel that I'm forced to watch (or listen to when I'm working and not watching). I post about them all the time, but until Santelli lost his mind, not many people have paid attention. They are loaded with people who do this kind of thing all the time. He is not alone. There my be less covert or scandalous links involved, but this network, which can influence investing in this country, uses their station to really just support GOP ideals (as most Wall Streeters would). They are rich people that either used to, or still are linked to Financial firms, and their guests are always professionals in the financial world that invest for big shit holes like Citigroup or AIG, or they represent super rich, accredited clients.

Nothing would thrill them more than for Obama to fail so they can get back the Whitehouse and keep their Taxes, especially Capital Gains taxes (Which is a large portion of their income, for not really working for it) super low, as well as keeping regulators out of their hair so they can sleazily obtain more Capital Gains.

Does besmirching Obama and his ideas keep the market down? Sure it does, but they are all selling short, and eventually they'll all get back in cheap, then when they've harpooned Obama enough, the GOP will take back over, allow Wall Street to run wild over regulation, screwing the middle class to get the Dow back up to where they like it.

[mchill]

78. www.obamaisamarxist.com

I got to thinking, what obvious domains would be reserved by the Obama haters and I found this one.....goes to a company called "Cratos Consulting" in Knoxville, Tenn. I dialed the phone number and got this very very old lady, so old, I felt horrible for disturbing her...she sounded like my 95 year old aunt. Nevertheless, I asked her if this was Cratos Consulting - "wrong number" the whole bit. I checked to see if I had dialed the number correctly, 3x, against the web page, I had.

[liberal N proud]

79. This sort of thing is so GOP

They plant the evidence, they plant reporters, they plant the media, they fabricate what ever they need to push the corruption they exist for.

We should not be surprised yet we should be outraged and demand explanations, PUBLIC explanations on every network and every blog where the Santelli's rant was posted, or discussed.

[blondeatlast]

81. Santelliu was sooo obvious to anyone familiar with David Brock's "The Republican Noise Machine." DU,

read the book if you haven't--it is going to be operating beyond capacity for the next eight (yes, I did say eight) years.