views
Dobbs once described himself as a "lifelong Republican,"[20] but has stated that he has switched to being an unaffiliated independent populist, as he no longer openly supports any party.[21] Though he made a donation of $1,000 to the Bush-Cheney campaign in January 2001,[22] he often has described the Bush administration and the then Republican-controlled Congress as "disgraceful." He has also argued that both parties are controlled by corporate interests. Dobbs faulted Bush's 2004 presidential election opponent, Democrat John Kerry, for first criticizing outsourcing and then backing off.[23]
Dobbs is pro-choice, opposes gun control and, though he is a fiscal conservative, supports some government regulations, as revealed in a 60 Minutes interview.[24]
Dobbs' stance on trade has earned plaudits from some trade union activists on the traditional political left, while his stance on immigration tends to appeal to the right.[2] In an interview with Larry King, Dobbs revealed that he is now "an unaffiliated independent" owing to dissatisfaction with both the Republican and Democratic parties.
Dobbs has been generally supportive of gay civil rights. In June 2006, as the U.S. Senate debated the Federal Marriage Amendment, Dobbs was critical of the action. He asserted that traditional marriage was threatened more by financial crises perpetuated by Bush administration economic policy than by gay marriage.[25]
In July 2006, Dobbs criticized U.S. foreign policy as being disproportionately supportive of Israel, pointing out the U.S.' rapid recognition of Israel in 1948, foreign aid to Israel, and other policy choices in the past and present.[26]
Dobbs is the author of War on the Middle Class, in which he claims that both Democrats and Republicans are harming the middle class. In it, he comes out strongly against the Bush tax cuts, which he argues favor the wealthy, and argues for raising the U.S. minimum wage from what was then $5.15 an hour.[27]
Recently, Dobbs has been critical of the rescue package brought about by the Bush Administration and supported by the Democratic-controlled Congress, which he and others call as a "Wall Street Bailout." Dobbs describes this package as a way for U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to help corporate interests rather than average Americans.
Controversy
Dobbs' critics, including columnist James K. Glassman, author of Dow 36,000 and member of the conservative American Enterprise Institute think tank, have accused him of inciting xenophobia.[28] Others have accused him of Hispanophobia, a charge he denies[29] and one which he has said offends him deeply, as his wife Debi Segura is a Mexican-American.[30]
Dobbs has also been criticized for his style of reporting, which some claim often lacks clear transitions between stories reported in an objective manner and his own opinions. This ambiguity led to criticism of Dobb's journalistic ethics from other journalists, notably Amy Goodman.[31]
A CNN report, filed by Christine Romans for Dobbs's April 14, 2005 program, reported on the carrying of diseases across the border by illegal immigrants. Romans' report cited an article in the Spring 2005 issue of the non-indexed Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons, written by Madeleine Cosman, which made the statement that 7,000 cases of leprosy had emerged in the United States within the previous three years (2002-2005), an increase attributed mostly to an influx of immigrants into the country.[32][33][34] Critics of the program argued that, in fact, the actual number of leprosy cases had reached 7,000 in the registry over 30 years, not the previous three years, with 137 cases reported in 2006.[35][36] In addressing the leprosy issue, Dobbs compared his critics from the left and right political spectrums to "commies" and "fascists."[37] On December 4, 2007, Dobbs rejected Cosman's claims as unsubstantiated, calling her "a wackjob".[38]
On the May 23, 2006 edition of Lou Dobbs Tonight, Dobbs's program displayed a map of Aztlán sourced to the controversial Council of Conservative Citizens. CNN spokeswoman Christa Robinson apologized for the graphic's use, saying: "A freelance field producer in Los Angeles searched the web for Aztlan maps and grabbed the Council of Conservative Citizens map without knowing the nature of the organization. The graphic was a late inclusion in the script and, regrettably, was missed in the vetting process."[39]
In mid-2009, Dobbs was criticized for giving air time to Barack Obama citizenship conspiracy theories that claim Barack Obama was not born in the United States,[40] even though CNN itself considered it a "discredited rumor".[41] The issue had come up in 2008 during the Presidential campaign, and had largely disappeared from the media spotlight until Dobbs picked up the issue again.[42] His statements in support of these investigations have been dubbed "racist" and "defamatory" by the Southern Poverty Law Center[43][44] The controversy led to Media Matters airing ads critical of Dobbs and of CNN,[45] and to Jon Stewart mocking Dobbs on the satirical The Daily Show.[46]
