MSNBC host David Shuster has made it clear that he's left-of-center politically with his stands on social issues and his eagerness to ridicule conservatives. But yet he still maintains an anchor post for the network's mid-day regular news coverage.
But the former host of the network's now-canceled "1600 Pennsylvania Avenue" interviewed Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind. on the issue of the day, health care and kicked it off with a loaded question and followed by repeatedly talking over the congressman and interrupting him. Shuster wanted to know why Pence was misleading his constituents that Medicare was government run.
"Congressman, first of all one of the themes you keep hearing from protesters is that they oppose government-run health care," Shuster said on MSNBC Aug. 12. "I understand that at your town hall at a Republican district, you got a standing ovation when you said to your constituents, ‘I oppose government-run health care.' But did you know that Medicare is government run? And why haven't you told that to your constituents?" he asked with a sarcastic tone in his voice.
Pence had to clarify that he didn't oppose all government-run health care, but instead opposed a government takeover of health care, which has a totally separate meaning.
"Nice try, David," Pence responded, chuckling. "When I said I oppose a government takeover of health care paid for with $800 billion in new taxes and I do believe that if the Democrats get their way and we introduce a government-run insurance plan that will lead to a government takeover of health care, millions of Americans will lose their health insurance."
Throughout the interview, Shuster interrupted Pence, badgering the Indiana congressman with liberal talking points - that the tax would only be on the rich, that he was part of a misinformation campaign, etc.
"But congressman, I got to stop you right there," Shuster interrupted. "You talk about the $800 billion and about this very point, congressman - aren't you part of the misinformation campaign when you say that $800 billion in new taxes - the CBO, the non-partisan congressional budget office says it's $540 billion and that most of the costs of a trillion dollars of health care will come from offsets of saving of Medicare, but it's only $540 billion and that's taxes not on folks like you and me, but the rich?"
Pence explained the CBO figures were just the cost on the individual and not all the hidden taxes and fees association with a government-run health care option. If you add up the totals it comes to $800 billion, he said.
"I know MSNBC has reported a different number, but it's $800 billion," Pence replied.
However, Shuster resorted to his first question - that Pence was somehow stoking "fears" and that was leading to the backlash against the health care reform proposals the president and Congress are trotting out.
"Congressman, what's the difference between Medicare, which is run by the government and the fears that you're stoking that some of your constituents share? What's the difference?" Shuster asked.
Pence replied, "What fears am I stoking, David?" Following that reply, the MSNBC host needed a chance to compose himself and contended Pence was stoking fear about government-run health care. Shuster alleged the preposterous notion that he was hiding Medicare was run by the government.
"Well, the fears that people don't want government-run health reform and yet we have government-run health care reform in the form of Medicare, but a lot of these people don't seem to know that?"
As far-fetched as the idea that the average American wasn't aware the Medicare was a government-run program, Shuster omitted that Medicare is facing its own financial problems. According a recent Wall Street Journal story, the Medicare fund for hospital care will be depleted in 2017, which is two years earlier than government actuaries estimated in 2008.
"David, you can check - there may be a mis-press report but I describe my opposition to a government takeover of health care," Pence said. "I know there's government-run health care with Medicare, government-run health care with Medicaid. I just simply oppose a government takeover of health care which I think would be the result which I think would be the result of introducing a government-run health insurance plan as an option."
Out of talking points, Shuster and the MSNBC cast left the interview for Obama's Medal of Honor presentation ceremony, which was already being shown in progress on CNN and Fox News.
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Drinking the Kool Aid
August 13, 2009 - 07:33 ET by rightwingidiotIt seems Shuster is on a heavy dose of the Kool Aid.
Is this a good example of how "reporters" or "journalists" should do interviews? I assume that Mr. Shuster treats the Democrats with the same level of discourse that he did Pence.
What a turd.
Perhaps Mr. Pence should
August 13, 2009 - 09:01 ET by motherbeltPerhaps Mr. Pence should have said "I didn't tell my constituents that Medicare is government-run because they don't have grapes for brains and they already know that. They also know that I am talking about the government takeover we are NOW talking about."
BTW, David, using Medicare as a positive example of government-run health care was not a great idea.
But not surprising; Shuster is a tool. As part of the MOI, he does as he is told.
I got a real chuckle out of his telling Pence that he shouldn't care about the $800 billion in new taxes because HE won't be paying them, the RICH will!
Way to stoke that class envy, David!
Why Go On MSNBC?
August 13, 2009 - 09:17 ET by pilsenerShuster has been more propagandist than reporter since he went to work for MSNBC. The continuing mystery is why any Republican dignifies MSNBC by appearing.
Newsbusters has now had 3 recent entries about horrific interviews with Shuster, Matthews, and O'Donnell beating up Republican/conservative supporters. It's not an aberration, it's normal MSNBC operating procedure.
Why not instead of calling
August 13, 2009 - 11:37 ET by jistincaseWhy not instead of calling him Shyster just start calling him Turdster instead? That is a perfect description of that liberal stinking pile. The only talent that he has is the louder that he talks the bigger that pie hole of his opens. I swear he could swallow his own head if he tried.
Thanks for pointing that out Shuster, old buddy.
August 13, 2009 - 07:46 ET by c5thenMedicare and Medicade are running in the red every single year. They are one of the biggest reasons why the Federal Government runs a deficit. And...we have been told now for years and years that they are broken and unsustainable with the current level of benefits. What was this administrations temporary fix to help lower the costs of medicare and medicaid just a few months ago? They are slashing the payments to the providers (doctors, clinics, hospitals). The assumption is that the States will amke up the difference (un-funded mandate). But many States are running HUGE deficits themselves and cannot afford the extra expense. What will happen? Some doctor's will drop out of the medicare system, some clinics and hospitals will go bankrupt and close.
This is the same thing we have to look forward to if the Obamacare plan is passed. At first it will be mediocre and not too bad. Then the budget crises will occur (they always do) and services will be cut, care will be rationed and people will look for another line of work to go into because medicine will be like working for the post office. Then we will be just like Britain and Canada.
Just look at all the programs that the Federal Government runs:
US Post office
Social Security
Medicare / Medicaid
AmTrack
They are all constantly having financial problems, service is poor and they are always either raising their rates or cutting services.
Throw 'da bums out!
no incumbent re-elected, with very few exceptions!
www.loyaltoliberty.com
Excellent comment C5
August 13, 2009 - 08:03 ET by RovinShuster always seems to be having a "postal moment" when he interviews conservatives---he just can't help himself. It must have really bothered him when Pence kept sayin' "nice try David". Can we assume Shuster bought his car from the newly formed Goverment Motors?
Rovin
Ah yes....the Post Office
August 13, 2009 - 08:10 ET by BlondeAs Obama so wonderfully pointed out, the Post Office competes with FedEx and UPS...the fact that they are failing at it, however, sailed right over his pointy head. The same phenomenon seems to affect Shuster as well.
I love Pence's tactic of laughing at Shuster's democrat talking points (remember John Zeigler doing the same?). The problem with Shuster is that he is just too stupid to get the fact that his guest is making fun of his stupidity. Any other human being with an IQ north of room temperature would be mortified at being humiliated like that. Not our Shuster though. He's just waaaaaaay too dumb to get it.
I hope he fails, too.
OMG!! I forgot the VA
August 13, 2009 - 09:15 ET by c5thenThe closest example to what Obamacare would actually be like.
We'd all like to have the same level of care that the government gives to our heros, wouldn't we?
Why don't we just get rid of the whole VA system and simply supply our heros with government debit cards to be used at any medical facility and with any doctor of their choice?
Throw 'da bums out!
no incumbent re-elected, with very few exceptions!
www.loyaltoliberty.com
Well if you get Medicare
August 13, 2009 - 07:46 ET by KC MulvilleIt's a false argument that if you accept Medicare, you must accept any and all intrusions of government. In fact, as Pence argued, Medicare isn't a very good talking point anyway. It's going broke.
Again, people may be satisfied with the actual medical care, as they are with regular healthcare as it is now. The problem is how we pay for it. The Medicare model is going broke because of the demographics. Our current model for regular healthcare is also driving us to the poor house. The problem is the finance. The care isn't a problem itself, until the finance changes the care.
Medicare is going broke for
August 13, 2009 - 08:09 ET by BruzillaMedicare is going broke for the same reason that private insurance premiums are going up and up: the fees that providers charge are going up and up. Everytime CMS approves rate changes for providers, the cost of service goes up, and it's now outpacing revenues.
And......the government's
August 13, 2009 - 08:57 ET by motherbeltAnd......the government's solution to rising costs is to just refuse to pay them! Then they talk about cutting out Medicare Advantage plans which make up for their shortfalls, and expect doctors to work for the amount that the bureaucrats deem sufficient. Then they wonder why fewer doctors are willing to accept Medicare patients.
Who sets the fees again?
August 13, 2009 - 08:57 ET by dscottWho sets the fees again? Not the providers, Medicare unilaterally sets the fees it pays. Get your facts straight!
The rate of reimbursement from Medicare and Medicaid is below market rates and that's why insurance premiums are going UP, because they are being forced to subsidize Medicare and Medicaid. The original point is correct, it's a matter of demographics, however, that's not the only reason. The other source of subsidy are those who are uninsured like 13 million illegals who don't pay their medical bills. When they don't pay, the medical providers must make ends meet by OVER charging the rest of us. Everyone gets medical treatment whether they pay for it or not and when they don't pay someone else must.
Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, starving the poor one gallon of ethanol at a time. Fill your tank with E85 and cull a village.
I agree but...
August 13, 2009 - 09:30 ET by beauxdogThe other source of subsidy are those who are uninsured like 13 million illegals who don't pay their medical bills.
dscott... I agree with you that the uninsured and poor, including a great many illegals, is a real problem. I know, I was uninsured for a time several years ago, and I am STILL paying for it. However, lets put some of the blame for this where it truly belongs. These people aren't stealing services from you and me... our beloved politicians offered it to them... free of charge (to our politicians). The poor and illegals are simply taking advantage of a free gift offered to them. I think you would take advantage under the same circumstances.
I understand you didn't accuse them of stealing, but in the long run, that is what most people think.
Everytime you see illegals using medical services at your expense... think "liberal politicians (and Republicans without the backbone to object) are giving the services away for free... at your expense."
Thank you.
Beauxdog
13 million?
August 13, 2009 - 11:41 ET by Willis_Leon_JohnsonLaRaza puts the number of illegals somewhere past the 40 million mark. Most of which do not pay their medical bills and are first in line for malpractice suits.
Malpractice suits, and the fear of them is the largest reason for medical cost increases.
BOTH PROBLEMS were directly caused by the federal government.
http://gjresult.com
Shyster, "just one of us regular folks"
August 13, 2009 - 07:54 ET by SickofLibs"...taxes not on folks like you and me, but the rich"?
I don't know what MSNBC pays their utility strapon Shyster, but I'm sure it's a helluva lot more than the CEO of an average mid-size corporation. Typical elitist jerk like the rest of the debris in that putrid cesspool known as MSNBC.
Good Job!
August 13, 2009 - 07:56 ET by TexndocI was ready to say "Why do Republicans even go on MSNBC...." before watching the clip but Mike Pence took him straight on from the beginning and put Shyster on the offense. Kudos!
The real answer to that
August 13, 2009 - 08:00 ET by BruzillaThe real answer to that question is that seniors and the poor are on Medicare and Medicaid, both government programs, because they can't afford non-government insurance. In most cases they are enrolled in these programs because they have no choice. For people who whine about what private insurers don't cover, they should take a look at the list of exclusions under Medicare and Medicaid.
If these folks could get provate insurance for what they pay for Medicare/Medicaid, they would take private insurance in a second.
You like Obama are filled
August 13, 2009 - 09:05 ET by dscottYou like Obama are filled with misinformation. Medicare as a cost saving measure gave seniors the option to use private insurance companies instead of Medicare Direct. Those insurance companies your Messiah called wasting federal dollars, gave seniors MORE coverage for the money than Medicare!
Second and just as important, you have ignored the most obvious fact in your misinformation, WE ALL PAY A MEDICARE TAX SINCE THE DAY WE STARTED WORKING, WE ARE ENTITLED TO OUR MONEY BACK BY HAVING THE INSURANCE COVERAGE.
Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, starving the poor one gallon of ethanol at a time. Fill your tank with E85 and cull a village.
Mr Oence,
August 13, 2009 - 08:35 ET by Willis_Leon_JohnsonWould you please, the next time you are on TV, ask the talking head;
"Why are you preaching for the administration, instead of examining the facts and REPORTING THEM?"
Or, "How much are you being paid by the administration to NOT DO YOUR JOB?"
http://gjresult.com
Schuster
August 13, 2009 - 08:41 ET by regimeofterrorDoes this guy Schuster know that he is to the left of the DNC?
Saddam Hussein and terrorism. Trying to tell the rest of the story at http://www.regimeofterror.com
Imagine the MSM treating
August 13, 2009 - 08:42 ET by mattmImagine the MSM treating Obama this way....
wooops! Slipped off into dreamland there for a sec....better get more coffee...
sorry, matt....hard as I try
August 13, 2009 - 09:12 ET by motherbeltsorry, matt....hard as I try to imagine it, I just can't conjure up the image......
M S N B C
August 13, 2009 - 09:14 ET by SkipperMLM-Making
-Sure
-Nation
-Becomes
-Communist
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Communist_Manifesto
August 13, 2009 - 09:32 ET by jessieH( sarcasm) Medicare is govt. run? Well, that changes everything. See how stupid they think we are. Who doesn't know it was govt. run. If it looses money every day, it is a govt. run plan. If it has fraud, it's govt. run. If corruption is running rampant, it's govt. run. If it doesn't have a clue, it's PMSNBC.
Shuster then goes on to
August 13, 2009 - 09:42 ET by NonArabOmarShuster then goes on to accuse the congressman of not mentioning the sky is blue, water is wet, women have vaginas, and birds have wings.
What the heck?
Shuster would do well to
August 13, 2009 - 10:03 ET by NL207Shuster would do well to note that not only is Medicare government run, but ....
Medicaid is in a similar state. There is no reason to believe any other government run healthcare will be any different.
david is a crazed loon
August 13, 2009 - 10:34 ET by sarainitalyIsn't he acting exactly like they are accusing those *racist teabaggers* of acting at townhalls?
these msnbcers have a new mission - attack and interupt. that is all they have been doing.
talking points...that's why Shuster freaked when asked how Pence was fear mongering.
But the former host of the
August 13, 2009 - 10:43 ET by fitzfongBut the former host of the network's now-canceled "1600 Pennsylvania Avenue"
Ouch. Kinda says it all, really. Doesn't it?
"I spent a lot of money on booze, birds and fast cars. The rest I just squandered." -George Best
To add to the "ouch"...
August 13, 2009 - 11:01 ET by SickofLibs1600 was a hand-me-down.
Was it handed down when
August 13, 2009 - 11:27 ET by fitzfongWas it handed down when serial ratings failure Dan Abrams was forced to fire himself?
"I spent a lot of money on booze, birds and fast cars. The rest I just squandered." -George Best
It was David Gregory's
August 13, 2009 - 13:08 ET by SickofLibsIt was David Gregory's show.
Abrams was long gone by then if memory serves.
of course old people end up on government programs
August 13, 2009 - 10:51 ET by candanceWhat shall they do? Watch a third of their paycheck disappear in taxes, save up whatever they have left for their own retirement, and tell the government to keep all the money that was seized from them? The nerve of these old people to expect their investment back!
So a news anchor on a mainstream network conducts an "interview" by telling a Senator:
- you are part of the smear campaign to spread lies.
- you are scaring little old ladies.
- you make up numbers to exaggerate the problem,
Not another peep from these folks about McCarthyism. Not one more peep.
→ Thanks candance
August 13, 2009 - 10:58 ET by Cool ArrowUtterly disgusting that the government confiscates your money for 45 years, then it's somehow selfish when you start getting it back.
Had this money been invested rather than confiscated over the years, individual retirement income might be a totally different story.
LYDSEXICS UNTIE!
the DNC talking points in another five years
August 13, 2009 - 11:11 ET by candanceYou already need the government to get a driver license, medical treatment, and police protection. Why not let them guarantee three meals a day for everyone?
→ That's true
August 13, 2009 - 11:41 ET by Cool ArrowThe government was fine with the arrangement as long as the life expectancy was around 60 and the retirement age was 65.
That sucker's bet kept a lot of cats fat for years.
LYDSEXICS UNTIE!
you'd think they might learn
August 13, 2009 - 12:37 ET by candanceAfter their "everyone deserves to own a home" plan went down in glorious flames, you might think that they would learn a lesson about government guarantees.
Shyster tweets, pats self on carapace with own mandible
August 13, 2009 - 11:28 ET by SickofLibsShyster tweets: "Sorry we had to cut short our feisty interview with Rep. Mike Pence."
Update dictionaries: The new definition for "feisty" is now "acting like a complete assh*le"
RIP, Les Paul
August 13, 2009 - 11:56 ET by SickofLibsRIP, Les Paul
Everybody hates memes
August 13, 2009 - 12:26 ET by StarAZYup--that is the latest little thought-let--When someone says leave Medicare alone, they don't know it's a govt program. Even what's his name scoffed at that in that snide little way he has. Yup, let's get some periodic stupid checks of everyone over 50, why don't we?
David Shuster is no different than FoxNews Shepard Smith.
August 13, 2009 - 15:26 ET by Rush FanBoth have made it clear that they are liberals, and both anchor the news coverage on their networks. Both have shown their liberal bias while "reporting the news."
I am an avid watcher of FoxNews, and have written to them and asked why someone as bias as Shepard Smith is permitted to present "hard news."
I guess that is what FoxNews means when it uses the phrase "Fair and Balanced."
-------------------------------------------------------------
“I don't know if these people know just how much they are embarrassing themselves. They not only have abandoned their professional responsibility here, it's almost to the point they have abandoned their citizenship.” ~ Rush Limbaugh on the media
Smith at least has some shred of decorum, though
August 13, 2009 - 15:39 ET by SickofLibsI totally agree with you in theory, but Shyster is way more over-the-top-hysterical-moonbatty than Smith.
And while Smith's numbers are pretty good, they would nosedive by 75% if he ever moved over to MSNBC or CNN.
Re Smith
August 13, 2009 - 19:42 ET by slickwillie2001Smith has decent numbers because of the network and the great timeslot. A yellow dog could get good ratings with that going for him. I would like to see day-by-day ratings to see how the show does on days when he is off and Trace Gallagher or someone else is filling in.
Pence was priceless
August 13, 2009 - 19:54 ET by bigtimerPence was priceless there.
I especially enjoyed that long chuckling from him towards the twit-extraordinaire Shuster.
Obama's a Community Agitator, a walking, talking destroyer. ~ Rush Limbaugh
Moron
August 13, 2009 - 21:20 ET by nadadhimmiDoes Shuster think people don't know Medicare is run by the Feds??? What a frickin idiot that waste of skin is.
Let's just say that what
August 14, 2009 - 00:32 ET by RR GOPLet's just say that what works on a relatively small scale and is fiscally unsound is something that can be handled by the richest country on earth.
Just because my Styrofoam ice cooler floats, let's not get carried away and think we can use the stuff to build cargo ships.
One of the 34% who thinks George W. Bush was a great President. One of the 86% who wants to bring back the stock and pillory.