MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell conducted one of the best interviews in recent memory, never letting a false talking point get by, grilling author Peter Schiff on what he would do with health care in the U.S.. This is the template for other informed talk hosts to take on the opponents of change, and reveal the real intentions of the profit driven health care industry.
Schiff is an Ayn Rander all the way. Who else would write a book with the title, 'Crash Proof, How to Profit from the economic crash." His answers are typical Rand answers, which borrowed heavily on Through the Looking Glass's Humpty Dumpty persona. To quote a passage:
"When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said in a rather a scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean – neither more nor less.""The question is," said Alice, "whether you can make words mean different things.""The question is," said Humpty Dumpty, "which is to be master – that's all."
This interview cooks!
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Is this post a joke? That was possibly the single most unprofessional interview I have ever seen. The only thing this interview does is make Bill O'Reilly look better. Peter is a very respected man, unlike the clown interviewing him. No wonder MSNBC's ratings are struggling.
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ReplyDeleteYou wish it was a joke. If every talk host disputed every untrue talking point like O'Donnell, we wouldn't be in this mess and the Republican Party wouldn't have gone so far of the edge. No one reined them in with a reality check.
ReplyDeleteO'Reilly is just the opposite, interrupting guests with his opinion, not facts.
Nice try.
I like to hear different points of view, but he just tried to brow beat Schiff. That's not an interview, that's a hatchet job.
ReplyDeleteYou can always tell somethings wrong when the interviewer talks 90% of the time. I hate it when people do that, don't you? You want to hear what the guest has to say, right?
O'Reilly is similar, he thinks it's all about him, yelling and sniffing and being arrogant. I don't watch him any more. I like Beck but he tends to talk too much too, not letting his guest talk.
If O'Donnell just wants to do a monologue then fine, what does he need a guest for? Other than to use him as a punching bag? The general consensus by most every blog I've read is this interview didn't cook, it got burnt in the oven. O'Donnell made a fool of himself. We're in a serious situation here, we need to hear all points of view, apparently O'Donnell doesn't.
Here's the difference between us:
ReplyDeleteI don't think anyone should be given time disseminating misinformation. What we have seen over the last 8 years has been the acceptance of opinion as if it were fact, or a relevant part of the debate. What is normally called "relativism."
A world where everything is equal is a world filled with chaos.
Schiff refused to answer questions that would clarify his extreme and totally theoretical economic vision. Schiff knew if his real health care solution were explained from the start, he would lose credibility. O'Donnell knew that and pressed him on it.
One more thing. I conducted my radio interviews with conservatives just like O'Donnell. It was confrontational, there's no doubt about it, but my opponent loved it. Many Republican politicians left the studio thinking they had won the argument. I've never had a problem getting another interview with them either.
As one state Rep. said to me, it energized him.
O'Donnell's style is not something to get angry about, but something practiced on all sides to cut through the thick cover word smithing. Say what you mean, that's all we ask.
Nice try? Democurmudgeon, do you stand by what you write? Seriously, that was the worst interview I have ever seen. That was ridiculous attack by the interviewer. I'm not a republican. I'm not a democrat. I'm just a person who thinks for himself. You should try it sometime.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure what "nice try" means in this case. Are you saying my own personal experience with interviewing politicians is somehow wrong? That you know more about the examples explained here than I do? Do you have a problem believing reality?
ReplyDeleteThe one big frustration when debating "I'm not a Democrat or Republican" Republicans is they discount and don't believe reality or the facts. Skepticism is healthy and encouraged, but when applied to the facts or another persons personal experience, that's just ideological zealotry.
If after you have combed through this blog, and you can honestly say I don't think for myself, than a dialog here is wasted.
The one thing I will concede to, that I failed to mention earlier, I would like to hear more of the guests point of view than hosts asking 3 minute, four part questions. That doesn't mean the guest be allowed to BS without interruption.
Yea, O'Donnell did a great job...
ReplyDeleteThat's why he assumes that because Schiff is for free markets, he must obviously want nothing to be done to health care. Because "that's what free market is, to do nothing".
That's why he stopped the discussion on the cost of tuition after Schiff was actually able to state his opinion. "Oh, well...I'm sure you and Dodd will have a great discussion on that."
That's why he accuses Schiff, a well known believer in Austrian School economics, of wanting to raise taxes. Yea, because those guys are all about raising taxes. When Schiff tries to clarify his rather simple point for him, O'Donnell ends the interview (and, of course, gets in a jab of how he gave Schiff all the time in the world, and just couldn't get anything out of him).
Yes, Austrian School economics is extremely theoretical. But cutting Schiff off, putting words in his mouth, and accusing him of something that is polar opposite to his beliefs isn't exactly the best way to dispute his views.
First, Schiff's solution is to do nothing but EXPAND the free market private health care system in place right now. It has a great track record, doesn't it? I've been buying health care on my own, the full cost, for 10 years. Please, tell me I don't know what I'm talking about.
ReplyDeleteAlso, opening the market to cross state borders does away with health care floors, allowing insurance companies to craft impossible to understand limited policies that bring in money but are filled with loop holes to deny coverage, unless you would like to defend the insurance industry as humane and caring thus far. Open markets and no baseline plan is what Schiff is talking about, so no, he doesn't want to do anything but put the current private insurance death trap on steroids. But of course, you knew this.
Secondly, on tuition, O'Donnell is talking about the private sector colleges that charge tuitions through the roof, colleges that are untouched by government meddling. But then you probably knew that too. Competition between private colleges hasn't lowered prices in anyway, has it?
Keep in mind, public schools and colleges have to answer to the people, private do not. Simple isn't it. But I'm sure you would believe any private college brochure claiming to be the best school in the country, right? That's the free market.
Please don't act oblivious to reality, pretending it really doesn't matter. O'Donnell nailed Schiff with common sense and logic. Two points that have been declared enemies of the right.
This interview is the worst I have ever seen, bar none.
ReplyDeleteWhat we have now in health care is not free market; it is corporatism brought about by government intervention.
There is absolutely no Constitutional authority for it either. Of course that does not matter to people like you.
As Mr Schiff said, we need to wean the dependents of Medicare and then phase it out. We need to abolish tax incentives for group health insurance so individuals will buy their own instead. And we need to abolish price protections on pharmaceuticals. Finally we need more providers with the right amount of expertise instead of the AMA/govt cartel we have now; four years of med school with an internship simply should NOT be required of non-surgeons.
To the above response, I will be featuring this incredible perspective in a separate entry soon.
ReplyDeleteIf someone doesn't understand the implications of turning everything over to the free market, there's little I can do to change that mindset.
But I'll try.