Articles Tagged ‘Wolf Blitzer’

No YOU apologize first! Grayson goes lowbrow

Thursday, October 1st, 2009

Much like Joe Wilson’s apparently not so unusual outburst during a presidential address, the furor over Florida Dem Alan Grayson’s remarks about Republican’s wanting sick people to “die quickly” aren’t exactly dying quickly.

In a bit of apparently unplanned comedy on Wolf Blitzer, Republican Strategist Alex Castellanos dismissed the debate, saying “There are fringes and nutjobs on both sides…”

Blitzer interrupted, “Hold on, he’s coming in right now,” as Grayson entered the studio.

Even the not-notoriously-conservative Wonkette had some choice words for Nancy Pelosi, after the House speaker defended Grayson.

“Nancy Pelosi wakes up every day and picks something to make worse,” Wonkette wrote in her post titled Nancy Pelosi Would Like To Drag The Alan Grayson Thing Out For Another Hot Sec, If That’s Cool With You.

It’s like, why should Alan Grayson apologize when other people—SUBTEXT: Republicans!—also have things to apologize for? How is that even democracy??

“If anybody’s going apologize, everybody should apologize,” Pelosi told reporters at her weekly press conference. “We are holding Democrats to a higher standard than their own members.”

Oh and the Democrats want to socialize apologies now too.

Michelle Malkin had this review of Grayson’s provocations:

You remember Democrat Rep. Alan Grayson of Florida. A month ago, he was taking refuge in a union hall to shill for Obamacare in a cowardly last-minute meeting with angry constituents.

As you know, he has now traveled down Demagoguery Road and accused Republicans of wanting sick Americans to “DIE QUICKLY.”

The diarrhea of the mouth continued yesterday with Grayson trashing his political opponents as “knuckle-dragging Neanderthals.”

Michelle neglects his non-apology issued Wednesday:

“I apologize to the dead and their families that we haven’t voted sooner to end this holocaust in America,” he said.

Right blogger Jules Crittenden has some fun with this obviously over the top congressman in Neanderthal Pride.

Look, I really don’t want to get into the anti-Neanderthalism, though I think it’s deplorable we can’t have a political discussion without people resorting to overt species-ist attacks.

But if being a Neanderthal is something that they want to disparage with partisan cheapshots, then homo sapiens though I may be, I will stand shoulder to shoulder with my theoretically extinct low-browed slope-shouldered fellow hominids.

I am a Neanderthal.

Say it loud, say it proud. I AM A NEANDERTHAL!

I’d also like to congratulate Grayson on all the free national publicity he’s getting. Not bad for a coconut-brained baboon from Disneyworld.

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President Obama voting “Present” on healthcare reform

Monday, July 13th, 2009

During last year’s election cycle, both Democrats and Republicans accused then Senator Barack Obama of ducking tough decisions. While an Illinois lawmaker, Obama voted “present” 129 times, ducking such controversial issues as abortion, gun control and child safety. As a United States Senator and presidential candidate in 2008, Obama ducked 24 of 32 budget and spending votes and 10 of 14 votes on healthcare. (According to Project Vote Smart.) Now, as President of the United States, Obama continues to vote “present” on what his administration claims to be his number one domestic priority.

As healthcare reform bills continue to flounder in the House and Senate, and Democrats continue to defect over financing, abortion procedures and the controversial public option, President Obama refuses to step up and lead his party and the country on this critical issue. Instead, he is content to drop not so subtle hints as to what he’d like to see in a reform bill while consistently refusing to take responsibility for getting a bill passed.

When asked about the troubles getting a consensus bill out of Congress during last week’s G8 Summit, Obama again pushed the tough decisions onto his former colleagues in Congress.

“We jumped in with both feet. Our team is working with members of Congress every day on this issue and it is my highest legislative priority over the next month. So I think it’s important just to recognize we are closer to achieving serious health care reform that cuts costs, provides coverage to American families, allows them to keep their doctors in plans that work for them. We’re closer to that reform than any time in recent history. That doesn’t make it easy. It’s hard… this is not simply a Democratic versus Republic issue, this is a House vs. Senate issue… And my job is to make sure I’ve set some clear parameters of what I want to achieve… There are going to be some tough negotiations in the days and weeks to come but I’m confident we’re going to get it done. Appropriately all of you as reporters are reporting on the game. What I’m trying to keep focused on is the people all across states in the country that are getting hammered with premiums… And I’m also looking at the federal budget….”

Yesterday morning, Health & Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius couldn’t give CNN’s Wolf Blitzer a straight answer on when Obama would step up and lead and on what - if any - demands he was making of Congress with regard to the details of a reform bill including how to pay for at least a $1-trillion in new spending over the next decade.

“The bottom line is it’s got to be paid for,” Sebelius said Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union. “We all have a shared responsibility, that we all need to play a role,” the Obama Cabinet member added.  ”There are “no lines in the sand at this point.” (From CNN.com)

With any hope of passing comprehensive healthcare reform before Obama’s October deadline rapidly fading, it would seem that now is not the time for the President of the United States to vote “present” on healthcare reform.

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When will media focus on you and me?

Monday, July 13th, 2009

In all the inside-baseball reporting on health care reform, one issue is conspicuously given little play - the impact of all these reform ingredients on the average consumer with or without current health coverage.

Wolf Blitzer had an opportunity to interview Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on Sunday. To his credit, he asked whether the administration would reject any reform that includes taxing employer-provided health care benefits.

There are “no lines in the sand at this point,” she replied. On the other hand, she said, “That proposal may well dismantle the employer-based system. … “What we don’t want to do is discourage employers from providing that benefit.”

What Wolf doesn’t ask is what will the various reforms cost the individual and how will they reduce individual risk.  The cost to the federal government and by extension the taxpayer is all over the news, but breaking down how these plans could affect the average premium or deductible is harder to find reported.

Meanwhile, Joan McCarter, writing for New West Politics - claims to know what the average American wants - and that is “not bipartisanship.”

What the majority of Americans want, showing up in poll after poll, is the opportunity to choose between private insurance or a Medicare-like public plan option. They don’t necessarily want to change their own plan right now, but they want to know that the option is out there, as a saftety net for themselves and because, basically, they believe in competition.

McCarter cites a Nate Silver opinion breakdown on FiveThirtyEight: Politics Done Right that breaks down five major polls addressing the so-called public option.

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