Krauthammer Battles NPR's Totenberg Over Whether or Not People Want ObamaCare
For over two years, liberals and conservatives have been at odds over whether the public actually wants ObamaCare.
On Friday's "Inside Washington," NPR's Nina Totenberg took the predictable liberal position that polls show folks want all the "goodies" in the bill, but Charles Krauthammer made it clear that these survey results change drastically when people are told the cost (video follows with transcript and commentary):
CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER: Look, there are pluses and minuses. The American people are adults. They understand that would be a cost. They also understand that if you’re going to insure pre-existing conditions, insurance companies have to get more money…
NINA TOTENBERG: No they don’t understand that.
KRAUTHAMMER: …from elsewhere, otherwise they’re going to go bankrupt. Everybody understands that if you create a new entitlement, you’re going to insure 30 million…
TOTENBERG: But…
KRAUTHAMMER: Hold on, Nina – 30 million additional Americans, it’s going to cost you. There isn’t a free lunch.
TOTENBERG: They may understand that.
KRAUTHAMMER: All the protestations of the government is going to be savings is a farce, and ordinary folks understand that which is why you have had such absolutely strong, unwavering opposition to this right through a year and half.
TOTENBERG: Every single poll for well over a year about this has had the American people strongly by large, large majorities favoring all the goodies in this and not the mandate to pay for it.
KRAUTHAMMER: Well, of course. Who would oppose a goodie? If somebody offers you ice cream asking for nothing…
TOTENBERG: Well…
KRAUTHAMMER: …everybody will say yes…
TOTENBERG: There is no free lunch. That is what we still haven’t come to accept.
KRAUTHAMMER: The Republicans have to make the case, they make the case for the costs, people if you have to weigh the benefits and the costs, the public opinion result is people oppose it generally.
COLBY KING, WASHINGTON POST: Well, I just, I like the reference to ordinary people understanding this, and…
KRAUTHAMMER: It’s intuitive.
KING: It is intuitive. Those of us who know…
KRAUTHAMMER: No, you don't have to go into details and actuarial tables. You’re going to give an entitlement to 30 million people and everybody understands it’s going to cost.
Indeed. And the idea that polls show people want the goodies in the bill is largely irrelevant unless the costs are part of the survey.
What folks like Totenberg, King, and most of their ilk have been doing for almost two years is make their case based on people wanting the benefits of the bill if you don't tell them it costs money.
This has been dishonest from the start because everybody wants something given to them for free regardless of what it is. As Krauthammer said, that's intuitive.
Unfortunately what we have found for years in watching liberal media members is their ability to intuit is abysmal when such an exercise produces results contrary to their agenda.
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Comments
Nina should just give it up already
Submitted by RESTLESS 1 on Sat, 03/26/2011 - 11:32am.
Unless she's just for comedy relief anymore.
Krauthammer makes her look the fool on a regular basis now, and she keeps coming back. Must be some kind of masochist.
Heh. I read your tag line,
Submitted by ozarkian on Mon, 03/28/2011 - 9:25pm.
Heh. I read your tag line, and it took me a second to realize it wasn't all-in-one.
It's a good motto. But it read really well for me, too, when I thought it said:
"Don't look back in anger. Don't look ahead in fear. Triumph."
Yeah.
Delete
Submitted by RESTLESS 1 on Sat, 03/26/2011 - 11:38am.
Duplicate
More Transcript
Submitted by Comrade Jim on Sat, 03/26/2011 - 11:39am.
TOTENBERG: Also all polls show that the Obama economic recovery policy has a 95% approval.
Footnote: "Poll was limited to employees of GE, GM and BOA."
Submitted by SickofLibs on Sat, 03/26/2011 - 11:49am.
.
Who Pays?
Submitted by jcpenny on Sat, 03/26/2011 - 11:43am.
That's the really issue with these so-called surveys. It really doesn't matter if you mention the costs:
The base of the strong support for this new entitlement program comes from the same group that doesn't pay income taxes but thinks they deserve a rebate. The left has turned this huge swath in America into true belivers that they deserve to get and the 'rich' deserve to give.
The opposition to this program have been fed a farcical analysis that somehow says Obamacare is revenue possitive.
The reality is that everyone will pay more, especially the 20-somethings that would otherwise opt out of paying for insurance.
jcp
JC, you mentioned ...
Submitted by SentryDan on Sat, 03/26/2011 - 11:54am.
JC, you mentioned that the left has, "turned this huge swath in America into true belivers that they deserve to get and the 'rich' deserve to give." Well, I would likely be willing to join the line behind the rich liberals and give a little more, as long as the rich liberals give 75% of the millions.
Do you think that is going to happen?
Remember folks, FREEDOM isn't Free. It is bought with the blood and sacrifice of the men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces.
NIMBY
Submitted by jcpenny on Sat, 03/26/2011 - 12:15pm.
It's the "evil" rich that should pay...or so the mantra is professed. I've always been bemused by a wealthy liberal pontificating on the need to redistribute other people's wealth, Paradoxically, this most blatant hypocrisy is so common that to question it is deemed selfish.
Jacques
Submitted by Blonde on Sat, 03/26/2011 - 12:20pm.
(sorry, that's what Mom and I have always called JCP, if you don't care for the nic, let me know and I'll cease and desist with it).
I don't know whether you saw this video or not, it was at one of Allen West's town hall meetings. Here's someone who is just totally adamant that "you gotta give up what you have for the common good".
You don't need two steaks a week, man!!!!!
How do these people become so galactically stupid?
Handy Reference Guide to Obama's Gaffes and Goofs ~ Currently Numbering 200 (and Counting)
Here's the deal
Submitted by DontFeedTheTrolls on Sat, 03/26/2011 - 1:25pm.
I'll give up one of my steaks if the guy who wants it comes over and cleans my bathroom and kitchen.
<sound of duct tape ripping off roll>
Submitted by motherbelt on Sat, 03/26/2011 - 3:25pm.
OMO, that tears it!
No one in the US should eat steak until every kid is covered by health insurance, or whatever these clowns want everyone to have. No vacations. And then we can start looking at cars. No one needs a $35,000 car to get around.
But what really got me at the end, was the woman demanding Who's going to take care of US???
MB, remember obama ...
Submitted by SentryDan on Sat, 03/26/2011 - 5:34pm.
MB, remember obama is pushing the Chevy Volt and the base price on that POS is about $40K. Of course, he has all the bases covered on where we are going the get the extra juice to power all of these new electric and hybrid cars, right?
Remember folks, FREEDOM isn't Free. It is bought with the blood and sacrifice of the men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces.
RE: Who Pays?
Submitted by Par for the Course on Sat, 03/26/2011 - 12:31pm.
Who Pays?
Submitted by jcpenny on Sat, 03/26/2011 - 11:43am.
20-somethings may still opt out of paying for insurance because of the law. It will be cheaper to pay the penalty. An excerpt from Happy Birthday, Obamacare? What It Really Means for Young Americans
Precisely mypoint
Submitted by jcpenny on Sat, 03/26/2011 - 12:33pm.
20-somethings will pay more. Either a penalty to the US Treasury or a subsidy for a baby-boomer.
Dishonest. What, if ...
Submitted by SentryDan on Sat, 03/26/2011 - 11:43am.
Dishonest. What, if anything, has been honest about the things this administration has done?
The citizens of this country had better get smart in a hurry, otherwise, we will end up living the same kind of existence as the people did in the former Soviet Union.
And if obama thinks he will be among the elite, he had better think again. obama is just a puppet.
Remember folks, FREEDOM isn't Free. It is bought with the blood and sacrifice of the men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces.
Waivers?
Submitted by PJRyan on Sat, 03/26/2011 - 11:47am.
I wonder how Ms. Totenberg would attempt to spin 1,000+ waivers.
And some of the "polls" were
Submitted by forest on Sat, 03/26/2011 - 12:04pm.
And some of the "polls" were conducted by O-care advocates like Kaiser Health. Absolutely bogus polling with half-truth questions, bad samples and being conducted to drive opinion rather than measure it accurately. It's surreal that the media references garbage like that as if it's legitimate.
Krauthammer may as well give up.
Submitted by motherbelt on Sat, 03/26/2011 - 12:05pm.
TOTENBERG: Every single poll for well over a year about this has had the American people strongly by large, large majorities favoring all the goodies in this and not the mandate to pay for it.
That's as far as I got and my head exploded.
The fact that Nina can say this with a straight face and think that is actually bolsters her argument that Americans may understand that there's no free lunch means that nothing CK says is going to penetrate her skull.
The worst thing about this monstrosity called ObamaCare
Submitted by no tingly legs on Sat, 03/26/2011 - 12:12pm.
is that the Republicans who were elected to defund it are, according to the latest I've heard, DOING ABSOLUTELY NOTHING, thanks to the gutless wonder House Speaker. He wants to be a nice guy and play by the rules, not like those nasty Dems. The $105 billion ObamaCare slush fund will remain in place and even NPR will keep getting funded by the government. This, according to Mark Levin, who I have no reason to doubt. Someone should tell Boehner that NICE GUYS FINISH LAST. It reminds me of how McCain ran his joke of a presidential election campaign.
Your are absolutely right,
Submitted by jdhawk on Sat, 03/26/2011 - 1:21pm.
Your are absolutely right, "no tingle legs!" We howl here everyday over liberal bias, but what we are getting with few exceptions from the media, including NB, is a white wash of the recently elected Republicons over the budget and specifically the budgeting of duhbama care.
The fact is that the only arrow in this House's quiver is the one that they refuse to launch. That is, they must stop increasing the debt ceiling until both the Senate and this president agree to reduce spending - and not a mere $60 billion dollars - but a reasonable amount given the situation of at least $500 billion dollars (an amount receommended by the debt commission). Instead they are moving along to get along. It is business as usual.
Tea Party members of the House and Senate = Republicons.
Part of the reduction in spending ought to be the $105 billion dollars earmarked by the last Congress that is being rolled out to fund duhbama care. Instead, we get a half-assed vote to "repeal" duhbama care. This vote was altogether symbolic. It means nothing. It does nothing.
Meanwhile, food and energy, is being priced through the roof! Food and energy is 3 times what is was during the recession. By the end of this year, it will four times that amount. Expect in the future years to pay 5, 6, 7 times that amount as inflation goes beserk. That means gas at $5 and then $6 dollars a gallon and up.
What're Yall
Submitted by kilrod on Sat, 03/26/2011 - 1:51pm.
So what're yall gonna do, wait on another election.~!~
ROFLMAO.~!~
(grins) kilrod "the Birther"
If an unborn child cannot trust you, why should I,??
Playing chicken never works when the other side knows
Submitted by lsudolemite on Sat, 03/26/2011 - 5:38pm.
you always blink first. Thanks, Republican leadership!
Charles Krauthammer
Submitted by rpeeler42 on Sat, 03/26/2011 - 12:12pm.
I think Charles Krauthammer is the most articulate person on television. He thinks in coherent paragraphs, with proper grrammar. What a guy!
The question of whether the people want ObamaCare or not
Submitted by virginia republican on Sat, 03/26/2011 - 12:43pm.
was settled last November. These libs still haven't gotten the word. Of course whether Boehner has gotten the word or not is questionable. I'm not sure he realizes that his party controls the House based on his timidity.
Webcast
Submitted by hbest on Sat, 03/26/2011 - 12:52pm.
Does any one know if there is a webcast of this show? It would be even more fun to watch Krauthammer take Nina T apart every week.
I have searched but not having any luck.
Found this
Submitted by Tjexcite on Sat, 03/26/2011 - 2:27pm.
http://www.insidewashington.tv/
Not sure how soon after the show is it up more as a podcast rather than a live stream. They don't have this week yet. It has a web player
On TV
Submitted by Farley on Sun, 03/27/2011 - 9:38am.
I found it by accident on a New Jersey public TV station on Sunday nights at 6:30. On Time Warner in Manhattan it's channel 165 WNJN. I'd love to find in on the internet but so far no luck.
Nina Totenburg - NPR poll said what - on ObamaCare?
Submitted by Gary Hall on Sat, 03/26/2011 - 12:53pm.
Let's cut to the chase, Nina.
NPR poll, from Jan. 26, 2010
Given the time and want to waste my energy on this NPR liberal, who according to Bill Moyers, does not exist, I'd list a dozen other national polls with similar results.
(:~> gary
FREE LUNCH
Submitted by JPTSO3 on Sat, 03/26/2011 - 1:39pm.
Are you in favor of a free lunch? The majority might say, "yeah! – free lunch!"
If the question were changed to: Are you in favor of the government serving “free” lunch to 30 million people who cannot or will not pay for it, the poll numbers just might change…
And only free to those who
Submitted by Dan The Man 2 on Sat, 03/26/2011 - 4:09pm.
And only free to those who cannot or will pay for it, the rest have to pay out the wazoo.
If there were such a thing as
Submitted by poseA on Sat, 03/26/2011 - 11:13pm.
If there were such a thing as a free lunch, I would certainly be in favor of it.
One person not paying for his lunch doesn't mean that nobody pays for it, but rather it simply means that someone else aside from the person eating the lunch must pay for it.
Here is a Poll Question or two.
Submitted by Ashrak on Sat, 03/26/2011 - 2:16pm.
Is government empowered to force you to pay for your neighbor's health care?
Do you want to pay for your neighbor's health care?
Totenberg=Death mountain (German)
Submitted by russedav on Sat, 03/26/2011 - 2:29pm.
How utterly appropriate. Surely she'd love to be on one of the death panels
If I were her, I'd worry more about being
Submitted by no tingly legs on Sat, 03/26/2011 - 4:26pm.
the subject of one of those Death Panels. Then she'll discover that what the conservatives have been claiming all along is true. Soylent Green is people!!
I'm just going to say it this way
Submitted by Dave. on Sat, 03/26/2011 - 7:18pm.
If the American sheeple have become stupified enough to allow the federal government, which is run by totally incompetent morons, to complete it's takeover of our nation's health care system, then we deserve exactly what we are going to get - a third-rate health care system and a totally bankrupt country.
The latter will probably happen even without Obamacare.
-Dave
Vote for the American in November
Typical liberal...
Submitted by P. Aaron on Sat, 03/26/2011 - 11:00pm.
Totenberg thinks the public can have their liberties bought off with freebies. She actually thinks that us common folks have no pride, no sense of decency, and no self-respect.
That's what Totenberg thinks of us.
Nina thinks this way about
Submitted by poseA on Sat, 03/26/2011 - 11:09pm.
Nina thinks this way about the citizenry of the United States because the characterization is supported by the behavior of the parasitic hardcore liberal zombies she associates herself with.
Just NPR Again
Submitted by Increase Mather on Sun, 03/27/2011 - 8:13am.
Just Nina and her NPR talking points.
Obama care
Submitted by Cyborg 0427 on Mon, 03/28/2011 - 6:11am.
Writing this comment gives me great pleasure. As I have said many times my family are all liberals. None of them understand how I turned to be a conserative given the fact how I was brought up.
One year ago I sat and argued with them about Obamacare. All were saying how wonderful it would be and how much I would like it when it came into full effect.
My sister is the personel manager of a county in NC. She is now saying that Obamacare will bankrupt the county if it is not stopped because there is no way the county can afford it and all the new mandates are a nightmare. She plans to fight it and even vote her first republican ticket in her life if need be to stop it. Victory is so sweet.
I will be giving more info as it develops
Submitted by Cyborg 0427 on Mon, 03/28/2011 - 6:13am.
Maybe liberals gitting what they wanted will make more conseratives than we hoped for.