RUSH: Here’s Jay Carney. The biggest story of the day is that the European Union and the banks decided on Saturday to just confiscate between 6% and 10% of everybody’s money in Cyprus, and now they’re thinking of doing it in Italy. They said, “It’s a one time deal! We’re only gonna do it once. It’s an emergency. We’ll never, never, never do it anywhere else.” Now they’re thinking about doing it in Italy, because there hasn’t been any worldwide shock or outrage. So at the daily press briefing today, a reporter asked Jay Carney, the spokeskid, “What’s the US take on this EU plan with Cyprus?”
Basically the Cypriot government and the banks just confiscated people’s private property, 10% of their money. What’s the White House reaction?
CARNEY: I would refer you to the Treasury department. We’re obviously monitoring the situation, uhh, right now. The… Our general proposition (sic) is that we, uhhh, you know, believe it’s very important for, uhh, Europe to take steps necessary, as they have been, to both grow and deal with, uh, sovereignty debt issues, but as regards —
RUSH: This is unreal.
CARNEY: — this particular situation I would refer to you Cyprus (sic), beyond saying we’re monitoring it. I mean, refer you to Treasury, beyond saying we’re monitoring it.
RUSH: Go talk to the Treasury department? So the government of the United States of America…? I will guarantee you, you ask Ronald Reagan this question, you ask George W. Bush or his administration this question, and the first thing they would do is unilaterally oppose this. “We stand against the seizure of private property,” blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. This White House can’t even defend, and will not defend, the concept of private property. By the way, I’m being told now that Cyprus has delayed voting on what to do. They were supposed to vote today on this. I didn’t think there was a vote. I thought they went ahead and did it.
Anyway, obviously they listen to this show there, because it’s the only blowback they’re getting other than from the Cypriot citizens, and who cares about them?
Where are we?