Before today, CNBC "Mad Money" host Jim Cramer was known for his outlandish statements and crazed antics that would land him in the public spotlight.
However, Cramer got one-upped today by CNBC's Rick Santelli, calling for something like a "Chicago Tea Party" revolt against the redistributionism that is plaguing our federal government. Cramer, in his "Stop Trading" segment on CNBC's "Street Signs" on Feb. 19, remarked it was odd no one was talking about Exxon-Mobil (NYSE:XOM) downgrade, overshadowed by Santelli's revelation.
"I'm sorry not be screaming about class warfare and how you should have your house ripped out from underneath you, but I actually get excited about stocks," Cramer said.
"Street Signs" fill-in host Melissa Lee asked Cramer if he was a "buyer" of Rick Santelli's philosophy, now deemed as "Rick's Revolution" by CNBC and MSNBC.
"No, I'm not," Cramer said. "But I never challenge our own talent on-air. And I never will. There's no need to talk over our own talent and I like our own talent. We're very good ... I don't agree with him, but I don't want to be vitriolic about it because he's one of our team and he does a good job."
Cramer and Santelli have had some differences, however. Back in August 2007, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) was hovering in the mid-13,000s, Cramer was criticized by Barron's for being overly bullish on stocks. Five months later, after the Fed made an emergency rate cut as economic conditions began to deteriorate, Santelli was the one to criticize Cramer for being a stock market cheerleader. Cramer had taken a shot at then-Wall Street Journal reporter Greg Ip. Santelli told Cramer he was too hard on Ip and suggested Cramer shouldn't be one to criticize. Cramer response to Santelli: "You ought to watch my show."
