What More Does Senator Romney Need to Know to Reject Trump’s Extreme Fed Board Choice?

April 23, 2019

If Stephen Moore’s Ugly History of Urging Kids to Burn Their Social Security Cards and Degrading Women Isn’t Disqualifying Enough for Senator Romney, What Is?

Moore Claims “Not a Single [Senate] Republican” Opposes His Potential Nomination

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — Last March, President Trump tapped Stephen Moore, a self-described “radical” who’s not a “big believer in democracy,” to serve a 14-year term overseeing the nation’s monetary policy on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. Moore made a name for himself as a conservative commentator and frequent cable news guest who pushes fringe right-wing ideas like dismantling Social Security because in his words: “We’ve probably gone too far in providing a safety net for the elderly.” Moore’s troubling history of trafficking in misogyny and sexism has also come to public light in recent days. The question is: will Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) allow those views to be represented on the Fed where Moore would have influence over decisions that impact millions of Americans?

Stephen Moore boasted last week that the White House told him not a single Republican Senator is opposing his nomination. While Senator Romney has said he “would like to see nominees that are economists first and not partisans,” he said he was still “evaluating” Moore’s likely nomination and “will look at all the elements of his background to determine whether he’s qualified to serve on the Fed.”Romney apparently has no hard feelings over Moore’s past statements that it would be a “betrayal” for Trump to nominate Romney to be Secretary of State. Meanwhile, Romney did not reserve judgement for Trump’s other potential Federal Reserve pick, Herman Cain, as one of the few Republican Senators to quickly oppose him.

“Given Stephen Moore’s history of degrading women, dissing democracy, and disparaging the elderly, what more does Senator Romney need to know to ‘evaluate’ whether Moore belongs at the Fed?” said Jeremy Funk, spokesman for consumer watchdog group Allied Progress. “Moore has been on the Washington scene for decades and what he stands for is no mystery. We’re talking about someone who egged on a roomful of kids to burn their Social Security cards and thinks seniors who depend on Social Security are living too high on the hog. If Senator Romney needs more time to decide whether Moore is a serious or rational choice for a fourteen-year appointment to the Fed, it’s time to question his own judgement.”  

BACKGROUND: If Senator Romney Plans to Rubber-Stamp Moore for the Fed, Does He Agree With Some, Most or All Moore’s Extreme Views?:

• Moore Urged Kids to Burn Up Their Social Security Cards in Support of Privatization

• Moore on Social Security: “We’ve probably gone too far in providing a safety net for the elderly”, “Essentially was a Ponzi scheme”

• Moore wrote: “Capitalism is a lot more important than democracy … I’m not even a big believer in democracy.”

• Moore said women should be banned from refereeing or announcing at men’s college basketball games, asked if there was any area in life “where men can take vacation from women.”

• Moore Wrote That White Males Were The “New Oppressed Minority On College Campuses” And That If Women “Were So Oppressed And Offended,” They Wouldn’t Show Up “In Droves In Tight Skirts To The Keg Parties.”

• Moore Has Repeatedly Called for Scrapping the Federal Reserve in Favor of a Return to the Gold Standard, an Idea Resoundingly Rejected by Republicans and Democrats Alike in the Economist Community

• Moore Has Advocated For a Regressive National Sales Tax That Would Be a Massive Tax Cut for Millionaires While Increasing The Tax Burdens of Low- And Middle-Income Taxpayers

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