Pallone debates healthcare on CNN

by: Jason Springer

Sat Sep 19, 2009 at 11:08:48 AM EDT

Congressman Pallone took to CNN the other night on the Lou Dobbs show to continue the healthcare debate with Republican Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn. Blackburn says that her biggest concern is the public option. Pallone talked about how the cost to the overall healthcare system would go down with reform. Blackburn just continued to hammer away at the public option calling it rationing and saying it restricts public access. Pallone defended the public option saying there is no way the public option doesn't bring down costs:

Following the interview, Senator Baucus released the details of his bill from the Senate Finance committee, to which Pallone had this response:

"This is a major step forward in the long-sought effort to reform health insurance in America. Senator Baucus and his colleagues have dedicated a lot of time and effort to produce a plan in the Senate Finance Committee. I praise them for their work and welcome the introduction of their plan; it will add momentum to the political and popular support that is steadily growing for health reform as people learn the truth about the proposals and the fallacy of most criticisms.
[snip]
"I know already that there are many more similarities than differences with the two plans. We will work to bridge whatever differences that exist. I am confident that we will do that. We have made a lot of progress, we have increasing political momentum, popular support grows with understanding and most everyone sees the need for reform."

And the debate moves on. Pallone will be on Fox this Sunday at 1pm to discuss the next steps in health care reform.

Jason Springer :: Pallone debates healthcare on CNN

Tags: Frank Pallone, healthcare, Max Baucus, marsha blackburn, (All Tags)

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Pallone debates healthcare on CNN | 1 comments

Pallone Got Rolled.... (0.00 / 0)

Blackburn was allowed to get away with overtalking Pallone and saying things that were simply not true.

Yes, I know, on a purely intellectual/policy level we all know that she was (in plain English) full of shit; but at the level of gut feelings she dominated Pallone.

By the end of the "debate" Pallone looked frustrated and annoyed.....and somewhat understandable so since he clearly didn't know how to handle/confront Congresswoman Blackburn's bullshit.

Pallone's tepid TV "debating skills" on this topic are symptomatic of most of the party, it's not just him.

Pallone is no fool. He knows the facts and the stats......and he has a sharp and agile brain. It's almost as if he (and most of the Democrats) is/are "fighting" with TWO hands tied behind their backs.....they couldn't do a better job of "tanking" if they were trying!

{Hell, if Obama had gone straight up for the Public Option, ALL the passion in the August town halls sessions would have been from the millions of progressives that would have shown up breathing fire and light! Pallone himself has stated that single payer would be the gold standard for real health care reform.}

So, how SHOULD Pallone handle being on right wing media when he's confronted by "moderators" who slant the framework towards the opposition and folks like Marsha Blackburn are allowed to filibuster?

How about a simple assertion (stated with some volume and intensity) to the effect that, "Now that's simply not true...and you know it." Followed by a specific challenge...

"There isn't time in this venue and format to have a properly fleshed out in depth debate; but if you're willing to accept my challenge....I'll be pleased to debate the matter with in in a truly fair and balanced setting at (give the location of a willing academic venue and a suggested time) where we can share time equally and where the rules of civil debate don't permit interrupting each other."

In that venue, Fox and CNN and the rest could all choose to cover or not cover (C-Span surely would)......but at least there would be a record of at least one real debate on this life and death matter.

Hell, if there were a free and fair 90 minute debate between, say, Dennis Kucinich and ANY Republican (or Democratic!) Congressperson on the question of single payer; Kucinich would (figuratively of course) kick their asses to a bloody pulp....and not so much just because Kucinich is so much smarter; but because the facts and the logic would be on his side.

It's obscene that we are reduced to fighting for even a watered down public option.....and even more obscene that commercial media insists on framing whatever "debate " does make it to the public in such a way that real reform (i.e. a TRULY robust PO or SP) gets short shrift.

Could it be that the commercial media just might be influenced by the fact that the medical and financial industrial complexes are in great measure the folks that buy their advertising???

by: Nick Lento @ Sat Sep 19, 2009 at 20:57:58 PM UTC