No Conservatives in Campbell Brown's Health Care Discussion

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Hours after the Senate Finance Committee rejected the public option as part of the proposed health care “reform” plan, CNN’s Campbell Brown couldn’t seem to find any conservatives to discuss the vote on her program on Tuesday. Her discussion segment brought three liberals to the table- former Clinton labor secretary Robert Reich, Roland Martin, and senior political analyst Gloria Borger.

Brown first turned to Borger, who flatly stated that she thought the public option is dead: “I think it’s pretty dead, Campbell. I think it’s safe to say that right now it looks like it’s a goner.” The analyst continued that “the President has to settle for something less- something that may be a down payment on a public option, if the insurance companies don’t behave themselves. So, I think the President’s going to have to settle for less, and I think he’s signaling that he will settle for less.”

Reich remained a bit more hopeful about the left-wing proposal: “I don’t think it’s quite dead, Campbell, though Gloria does have a very, very important point. It certainly was a big setback today. But let’s be clear- four out of five of the committees considering health care have included a public option.” He then cited his proof that the public was for the public option: “The latest [New York] Times/CBS poll showed that 65 percent of Americans are very much in support of a public insurance option. They think that they should have a right to choose a public insurance option, if they want it, and the President is very much aware of that.”

This poll result, which has been frequently cited by liberals, was achieved, in part, by the way the question was phrased: “Would you favor or oppose the government offering everyone a government-administered health insurance plan like Medicare that would compete with private health insurance plans?”

Brown followed-up with the former Clinton official: “Let me challenge you a bit on that, because you’ve said that without a public option- and here’s your quote here: ‘Health care reform is a Band-Aid for a system in critical condition.’ So...listening to you now, it sounds like you’re open to some other things. Do you still believe what you said before, or is there room...for more of a compromise here?” Unsurprisingly, Reich voiced his full support for the left-wing proposals:

REICH: Well, if you’re asking my opinion, in terms of my policy hat- what I actually think ought to be- you know, my first priority and my first option would be- would be some sort of single-payer. I think that a- a full-blooded public option, such as Jay Rockefeller and Senator Schumer presented today, is probably the best alternative, simply because- two- two points- number one, there’s not very much competition. Most local markets- you have a choice of maybe two or three private insurers, and you need some sort of real insurance option that is public. And, number two, we know from a lot of studies that a national public insurance option would have the authority and the scale to negotiate low rates from a lot of medical providers and drug companies, which is exactly, Campbell, why private insurers and the drug companies hate the idea of a public option.

Martin predicted that President Obama would face even more pressure from the left: “I just got off the phone with several House members. They made it perfectly clear that the Senate vote emboldens them. They say they’re going to push even harder. You’re going to see liberal and progressive interest groups even put more pressure on the House to toe the line. And so, Speaker Nancy Pelosi- she understands where her Democrats are, and they’re saying it has to be a public option.”

Despite this slanted lineup, Jonathan Martin of the Politico noted on September 25 how CNN denied it has a bias, particularly in comparison to its competitors at MSNBC and Fox News. According to Martin, an unnamed executive at the network, replying to how President Obama has complained about the “chatter” on the cable news channels, “surmised that Obama was talking about the other two networks.” This executive explained that “he’s [Obama] talking mostly about the ideological-leaning networks rather than CNN...He’s talking about the back and forth and sometimes one-sidedness that you might get on other cable channels.”

The CNN executive should try turning on his own channel during the 8 pm Eastern hour (not to leave out the other hours), for this isn’t the first time Brown has hosted a one-sided panel.

The full transcript of the segment, which began 12 minutes into the 8 pm Eastern hour of Tuesday’s Campbell Brown program:

CAMPBELL BROWN: Breaking news tonight- the Senate Finance Committee has voted down two different attempts to create a government-run public option for health insurance reform, and that comes after months of fierce battles over what may be the most controversial proposal for reform. And today, all sides argued their case in hours of passionate debate. Listen.
       
SENATOR CHARLES SCHUMER: We need a public option to create competition and to bring costs down. It is my belief nothing will do it better.

SENATOR CHARLES GRASSLEY: If you want competition, you don’t want the government running anything- everything. The government is not a fair competitor. It’s not even a competitor.

SENATOR KENT CONRAD: We’ve gotten locked in a really sterile debate that says the only alternatives are what we’ve got now or public option. Those are not the only alternatives.

BROWN: And right now, the Senate Finance Committee is still on the job. They’re going to be working late into the night on other proposed changes to the health care reform bill. But tonight’s big question- is the public option dead on arrival?

And joining me right now to answer that: Robert Reich, President Clinton’s labor secretary, with us tonight; CNN political analyst Roland Martin; and senior political analyst Gloria Borger joining us as well. So, Gloria, let’s cut to the chase here-

GLORIA BORGER: Yeah.

BROWN: After today’s vote, is public option dead or alive?

BORGER: I think it’s pretty dead, Campbell. I think it’s safe to say that right now it looks like it’s a goner. There are going to be some votes on the Senate floor, just for show, to give Democrats the opportunity to vote for a public option. But, in the end, the House has approved it, remember? This goes to a conference committee. This is where the President has to step in, because it’s not going to come out of the Senate- will be in the House, and my bet is that the President has to settle for something less- something that may be a down payment on a public option, if the insurance companies don’t behave themselves. So, I think the President’s going to have to settle for less, and I think he’s signaling that he will settle for less.

BROWN: Secretary Reich, do you agree? Is the public option dead here?

ROBERT REICH, FORMER LABOR SECRETARY: Well, I don’t think it’s quite dead, Campbell, though Gloria does have a very, very important point. It certainly was a big setback today. But let’s be clear- four out of five of the committees considering health care have included a public option. Also, there’s tremendous support in the public. The latest [New York] Times/CBS poll showed that 65 percent of Americans are very much in support of a public insurance option. They think that they should have a right to choose a public insurance option, if they want it, and the President is very much aware of that.

The other thing that- that gives the people who want a public option some hope is that even Senator Olympia Snowe, Republican from Maine, has come up with a version of a public option. It’s a trigger mechanism. Her proposal is that if- after a certain number of years, costs are not contained and coverage is not expanded- that a public option, then, is automatically triggered. Kent Conrad- Senator Kent Conrad, has his own version of a public option, which is more of a cooperative system. So, something will probably emerge.

BROWN: But- but let me- well, let me challenge you a bit on that, because you’ve said that without a public option- and here’s your quote here: ‘Health care reform is a Band-Aid for a system in critical condition.’ So, I mean, it looks like- or, listening to you now, it sounds like you’re open to some other things. Do you still believe what you said before, or is there room for- for more of a compromise here?

REICH: Well, if you’re asking my opinion, in terms of my policy hat- what I actually think ought to be- you know, my first priority and my first option would be- would be some sort of single-payer. I think that a- a full-blooded public option, such as Jay Rockefeller and Senator Schumer presented today, is probably the best alternative, simply because- two- two points- number one, there’s not very much competition. Most local markets- you have a choice of maybe two or three private insurers, and you need some sort of real insurance option that is public. And, number two, we know from a lot of studies that a national public insurance option would have the authority and the scale to negotiate low rates from a lot of medical providers and drug companies, which is exactly, Campbell, why private insurers and the drug companies hate the idea of a public option.

BROWN: Roland, where does this leave the White House? You know, the President made it clear that - that he prefers a plan with a public option- you know, but it was his own party that- that voted him down today.

ROLAND MARTIN: Well, look-

BROWN: Or some members of his own party.

MARTIN: This is where he is going to have to intervene, and- look, I just got off the phone with several House members. They made it perfectly clear that the Senate vote emboldens them. They say they’re going to push even harder. You’re going to see liberal and progressive interest groups even put more pressure on the House to toe the line. And so, Speaker Nancy Pelosi- she understands where her Democrats are, and they’re saying it has to be a public option. House members, frankly, have gotten tired of the Senate dictating so much- so many of the terms. They say the White House, frankly, has spent too much time appealing to the- to the various senators. And so, look for the Senate and the House to really go at it. But the President is going to have to make the call which way are we going in order for this thing to come to his desk.

BORGER: I think he’s already made the call. I think he’s already made the call.

BROWN: What do you mean?

BORGER: Today, the President, in a statement- they came out and they said, ‘He’s open to other ways to increase choice and competition, although he supports the public option.’ I think he’s essentially opening the door and saying- look, don’t make the perfect the enemy of the good, and I want to get a bill here. And Democrats can go on record voting for a public option, but we have to get a bill, and he would like to get at least one Republican in the Senate to sign on to it.

REICH: Gloria, I think you’re- you’re absolutely right. I don’t think this is new.  I think the President, all along, has opened the door to something less than a public option. His public face has been- look, I want a public option. I think it would be a great thing, but I am willing to consider anything else that achieves my ends-

BORGER: Sure.

BROWN: And-

REICH: So, in the conference committee- and I think you’re absolutely right- that’s where the action is going to be, and that’s where the President has got to come clean as to what he really wants.

BORGER: Step in.

BROWN: And- and-

MARTIN: He’s going to have to counter his own interest groups. They’re going to put pressure on him as well.

BROWN: Well, I was going to say- to Roland’s point, too, the position he’s taken has not gone over that well with liberals, which is a whole separate discussion.

BORGER: Which could be good for him. (laughs)

BROWN: Yeah, maybe so.

REICH: Well, the Democrats-

MARTIN: Well- but Robert cited 65 percent of the American people. When 65 percent of that poll shows it- look, they have something to say- Mr. President, I’m sorry. You should be behind us.

BROWN: All right, guys

REICH: I think- I think that- I think this is really a much, much larger question, and there are all sorts of issues, in terms of not only the Democratic base, but also the role of the private insurance companies, the drug companies, corporate America- in terms of deciding policy in this country.

BROWN: All right, we have got to end it there. Secretary Reich, appreciate your time. Gloria and Roland, as always, thanks, guys.