Desperate for Guests? 'World News' Goes to Rolling Stone's Taibbi for Health Care Segment

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ABC's "World News" is supposed to be above the fray, right? According to "World News" executive Jon Banner, his program didn't jump into covering the recent ACORN scandal because it is "not in the business of noise."

And yet on Sept. 20, ABC compromised the quiet dignity of "World News" by discussing health care reform with Rolling Stone contributing editor Matt Taibbi, a man that claims Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) is responsible for every recession since the 1930s and specializes in personal hyperbolic attacks on conservative public officials, misogynistic sliming of conservative writers and in 2005, had even penned a column that celebrated 52 funniest thing about the pending death of Pope John Paul II.

Earlier in the day, on four Sunday morning network news programs, President Barack Obama had urged the media not to engage in Taibbi's specialty. The networks shouldn't air rude, angry political behavior, because that only encourages it, the president said. ABC must have missed that memo.

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"I'm not really sure what the point of it is," Taibbi said of the president's interview blitz. "I mean I don't see that President Obama is suddenly going to get this avalanche of Republican support for this bill and the people that I really think he needs to convince are the progressives in his own party not to abandon the bill. And he really isn't talking so much to those people as he is to his Republican opponents."

Taibbi used the criticized Sen. Max Baucus', D-Mont., bill, which would require citizens to purchase health insurance. According Taibbi, without the "public option," it's just a subsidy for big business. 

"Of course it's a tax," Taibbi said. "It's using the power - it's worse than a tax. It's using the power of the state to force people to be customers of a private company. Without a public option, without single-payer health care that's really going to drive the cost of health care down, all this really is - is a giant subsidy for insurance and pharmaceutical companies."

In Taibbi's view, by campaigning for the Baucus bill that the president, Obama is in danger of losing the far-left wing of this own party.

"I think there's a strong possibility that this bill is not going to pass because he's going to get defections from progressives in his own party," Taibbi said. "I know of 50 or 60 votes in the House he might not get and there are at least 10 or 15 in the Senate that he might not get."

Taibbi's counterpart during the segment, Tara Wall, a former deputy editor at The Washington Times, told "World News" something would eventually be passed to claim action on health care reform.

"Well, I think at the end of the day something will happen," Wall said. "It may not be right away and it certainly won't be in what the administration expects. But I think at the end of the day, we will have some type of health reform."

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He also assembled

This writer also assembled a toxic bouquet of innuendo against McCain during the election--he can be quite skeevy.

Joy Behar must have been unavailable

Getting ready for her big new gig and all.

Off-topic, but RS's 'Top 100 Guitarists' was about as credible as Atlantic Mag's '100 Most Influential Commentators.'

Taibbi's loony

Matt Taibbi makes Glenn Beck look like Jim Lehrer.

That said, it was fun to see Dan Harris granting the radical left some Obama-bashing time.

I'm sorry, I guess I'm just 'stuck on stupid',

...but can some please explain to me again why I'm supposed to pay for other people's health care?  Especially when they don't take care of themselves, don't take care of their finances and don't plan for their future?

Well, I helped them buy new cars with the C4C program, so why stop there?  I guess that soon we should expect to be paying for their food right?

Same reason why other people

Same reason why other people who don't believe in war pay for your illegal ones.

The Iraq War Resolution

The Iraq War Resolution (formally the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002), public law 107-243, enacted October 16 2002, written by the 535 elected members of Congress, layed out 23 reasons for the war.

Can we quit with these "illegal war" inanities now?

You don't pay for any

Illegal wars? There isn't any illegal wars, and there has not been any illegal wars since the Kennedy days (think: Bay of Pigs). with the possible exception of Carter's Iranian Hostage rescue fiasco. Every "illegal" war since then has been vetted and approved by acts of Congress, thus making them legal, so you don't pay for any "illegal" wars at all.

The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States.
The US Constitution

Unless you're a fetus.
The US Supreme Court

UP jumped the devil!

Guess all those "illegal" steroids are gettin to ya, eh Barry?

(sorry guys, just couldn't resist tossing the troll a bone) 

Big difference, your incorrect whining about "illeagal" wars

aside, is that defense is a common purpose detailed as a fucntion of the federal government, right there in the Constitution, Article 1.

Paying for someone else's health care differs slightly in that regard, so what do you mean, "same reason"?  How does that make any sense?

I read what he said, I

I read what he said, I cannot stand to listen to the jerk Taibbi...at all.

Imus has him on often...I immediately click it when he is on with his leftist drivel.

I fear Tara Wall may be correct....if any bill passes, we are in trouble, the dems will slowly add on what their agenda is in the first place, let alone the conference committee taking out some things that passed (like defunding ACORN) and inserting what they want.

No Bill is a Good Bill...until conservatives can have control...then tort reform, state competition with insurance companies, plus no illegals qualifying...bad enough that they aren't sent packing back home as it is, as they are costing us tons of $$$ regarding all of this mess.

'Go Green...Recycle Congress'

no no no

 

"President Barack Obama had urged the media not to engage in Taibbi's
specialty. The networks shouldn't air rude, angry political behavior,
because that only encourages it, the president said. ABC must have
missed that memo"

 

Jeff you silly man that memo wasn't meant for the left msm....JUST FOX, AND RIGHT WING RADIO

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"The American Republic will endure, until politicians realize they can
bribe the people with their own money." – Alexis de Tocqueville

Now that's "journalism".

He writes for Rolling Stone?

He might as well write for "World News Weekly".  He has the same credibility as the rag that puts out stories on the rat boy, UFO abductions and the Loch Ness monster.  Come to think of it, that is an insult to "World News Weekly"--even they would consider Taibbi a hack.

His number just came up. 

His number just came up.  The MSM probably has a "rolodex"* of liberal hacks they can call in as guests from time to time.

They probably also have one for conservatives they can set up to shout down, and one for fake-republicans who they can get to support the libs and bash conservatism.

*For those of you under 35, a rolodex is a manually operated contact system.