Sunday Morning Talk Show Round up on Health Care Bill

I'm out of town and don't have much time to blog. But I did watch most of the Sunday morning talking heads and wanted to comment.

The big names on the various shows were John McCain, Nancy Pelosi, Eric Cantor and Lamar Alexander.

Pelosi, as usual is living in an alternate universe with her opinion that the Republican Party is directing the Tea Party. I don't think so! She also claimed that the Dems share alot of their values, trying to give the impression that she and the Tea Party on the same page with many issues. What a crock! Then she was asked to grade herself and of course gave herself an A for effort but went on to blame the republicans for not getting as much as passed as she'd like. The rest was just the usual b.s.

McCain was McCain. With the exception of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, he's an opportunist just like the rest and is now taking on a more Conservative outlook. Guess he's looking to get re-elected. Funny how so many Republicans run on Conservative values and then vote moderate and behave like RINO's when in office...

Eric Cantor was a breath of fresh air. When asked a direct question, he gave a direct answer. Regarding the health care bill, Cantor stated that if the Dems vote for the current plan, they'll lose their majority. When asked what are his solutions to bring down the cost of health care, he stated the following: Tort Reform, universal care access but at the state level, the ability to purchase insurance across state lines. He would also would like to get rid of all the mandates as there is no plus side to government interference. I like this guy!

Lamar Alexander said that the current bill cuts Medicare in order to fund other initiatives, would raise taxes by a half trillion dollars and would also raise premiums. In addition it would shift cost to the states. Last he mentioned how at present, about 50% of doctors won't see Medicade patients because of low and tardy reimbursement payments. So why involve government more? Alexander also echoed Cantor's prediction that if the Dems vote in the current health care bill, they'd lose their majority. Alexander's another Republican I like. He answers questions with direct answers but does so in a non-combative and calm way.

For the most part the commentators ie Cokie Roberts, Mara Liasson, George Will, Liz Cheney, etc. all agree that by passing the health care bill as written would contribute to a loss of the Dem's majority. A few dissentors were Klugman and Donaldson (no surprise there!).