CNN conservative provokes 'sour' response with 'bass-ackwards' understanding of 'Econ 101'

CNN's Kate Bolduan remarked on a commentator's "sour" reaction to a conservative's justification for Elon Musk's sweeping cuts to the federal workforce.

Republican political consultant Terry Sullivan, who helmed Marco Rubio's 2016 presidential bid, argued on "CNN News Central" that current levels of federal spending were unsustainable, and he celebrated the unelected tech mogul's seemingly arbitrary cuts to wide swaths of the government.

"Republicans have been talking about cutting the deficit since as long as I can remember, for as long as I could vote, and it usually doesn't happen, and now it's actually happening," Sullivan said. "Right now, the American people are spending, or the American government is spending 25 percent more than it brings in every single year. People have to stop, and it's awful when folks lose their jobs – every one of us has known a family member who has gotten laid off through no fault of their own, whether they worked in government or not, and so, look, this isn't great for the people getting laid off. It's awful, it's traumatic, but it happens, and the government isn't sustainable at this rate of spending."

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"So we can talk about how it's phrased or how efficiently it's handled," Sullivan added. "Government doesn't handle anything efficiently, and it's never laying off people is never going to be done in the most caring way. But at the end of the day, this has to be done. It is the single greatest threat to our economic stability in the United States. This deficit spending is out of control, and finally we've got someone who's standing up to say, 'Look, we're going to do something about it.'"

Liberal pundit and former Democratic lawmaker Bakari Sellers made a face during Sullivan's remarks before breaking into an incredulous smile, and the host commented on his expression.

"Bakari, at one point, you looked like you ate something sour," Bolduan joked, "and then I don't know what your face did."

Sellers laughed, and he then launched into an explanation of what he found absurd about Sullivan's argument.

"I feel like I've got to do Economics 101 because the theory is, 'Oh, my God, you know, I saved a lot of money for my budget this year because I didn't pay my mortgage' – like, that's not the way it works," Sellers said. "That's not the way deficits work, that's not the way that that economics works. I mean, you have to see the other side of the ledger. We're going to talk about a balanced budget. If we're going to have a conversation about deficits, etc., you literally have to look at the other side of the ledger, and that is not what the argument was."

Sullivan attempted to cut in at that point, saying the other side of the ledger was higher taxes, but Bolduan asked him to allow Sellers to continue his response.

"I was just going to say that these cuts are doing more damage to the economy in the long run," Sellers said, "and I think that you have to do some assessment. If you and I actually went to a bar in D.C. right now – I wish Charlie Palmer's was still open, shout out to the bartender. They were great, but if we were able to go to the bar, we could probably figure this out and go through and do cuts that were direct and purposeful and intentional."

"What I'm saying is that by not assessing the needs of the American people, what DOGE is doing is a---backwards," Sellers added. "I mean, that's the only way that I can think about saying it, because you're actually cutting things that people need in their daily lives, and it's harming people like American farmers, that's my point."

Bolduan gently corrected Sellers on his PG-13 colloquialism.

"On television," she said, "you're supposed to say bass-ackwards."

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