Joan Walsh on GOP: 'White, Older Base That Doesn’t Quite Understand the Way Healthcare Works'
Let's call a spade a spade: the arrogance, hypocrisy and racism of Salon's Joan Walsh knows no bounds.
On PBS's Tavis Smiley Show Monday, this so-called "editor at large" had the nerve to depict some Republicans as "a white, older base that doesn’t quite understand the way healthcare works" (video follows with transcript and commentary):
TAVIS SMILEY, HOST: Speaking of the American dream, that’s what this healthcare debate is all about.
Mr. Obama and his supporters believe that it is a protection of, an extension of, an expansion of the American dream. The right, of course, sees it the exact opposite, as an attack on freedom of choice and on liberty, government intruding too much into our lives – you know the argument.
JOAN WALSH, SALON: Yes.
SMILEY: What’s your sense, though, of how the right, the political right has played this since the decision came down? Have they done about what you thought they would do and say?
WALSH: Yes, maybe a little bit crazier. I think the attacks on Chief Justice John Roberts have been tragic and awful, people going so far as to suggest that an illness caused him to change his mind, or medication, as well as people just being very angry and calling him a traitor.
This is laughable given how liberal media members have been mercilessly attacking Roberts since George W. Bush first nominated him for the Court in 2005. Now that he's ruled in their favor on ObamaCare, criticism of him is "tragic and awful."
This certainly won't be the case if next year the Court upholds states' rights to define marriage as between a man and a woman or rules against affirmative action. Then folks like Walsh will be right back to attacking the justice they've recently promoted to saint.
But I digress:
WALSH: There’s such anger, Tavis, that it really points to the fact that I think a lot of Republicans believed that they controlled the court and there was only one way this ruling was going to come down, and that’s a little bit worrisome.
We don’t want the court to just be an arm of one party or another, so some of the personal anger and nastiness has surprised me.
This too was laughable as later in the interview she told Smiley, "I think you’re going to get to October and November and people are going to really look at what happens if we give Republicans another shot at more appointees, because they have taken the court to the right, and we will see rulings that we don’t like already, even with this court. It will not be the democracy we want if we have more conservative justices."
That bears repeating: "It will not be the democracy we want if we have more conservative justices."
Yet moments earlier, Walsh said, "We don’t want the court to just be an arm of one party or another."
Quite the contrary, that's exactly what people like Walsh want: a court filled with exclusively Ginsburgs and Kagans passing extreme leftwing decisions on the society.
If hypocrisy were gold, Walsh would be Midas. But I once again digress:
WALSH: On the other hand, I think President Obama is probably going to be kind of lucky on this one. The ruling helps him politically, but also his opponents are such incredible disarray.
The House Republicans want to repeal it, they want to run on this, they want to appeal to that base, and let’s say it – it’s a white, older base that doesn’t quite understand the way healthcare works, but they’re worried that some people are going to get something for nothing.
"It’s a white, older base that doesn’t quite understand the way healthcare works."
Now imagine for a moment if a conservative commentator said of Democrats supporting ObamaCare "it’s a black, younger base that doesn’t quite understand the way healthcare works."
There would be immediate calls from the left for said person's suspension or termination. But because her racism is pointed at white Republicans, it's just fine.
Lest we forget this is the same woman who in March wrote a column titled "What's the Matter With White People" and is so proud of the idea she's turning it into a book.
You see, racism for Walsh is a common theme to be repeated whenever possible.
As for Republicans being "worried that some people are going to get something for nothing," shouldn't that concern all Americans?
Or is the country Walsh pines for one where a growing majority of idle citizens take from the decreasing minority that actually work for a living?
Yes, those last two questions were rhetorical.
As for Walsh, she sadly represents the voices on the far-left in this nation that don't believe people are entitled to more if they work harder and smarter than others, and even more sadly speaks for those that still want to divide this nation along racial lines.
How someone so arrogant, bigoted, and closed-minded could become the editor at large of any publication in this country today is both shocking and disheartening.
Even worse, Walsh has now become a mainstay on that joke of a so-called "news network" MSNBC.
You can't swing a dead cat anymore without hitting her on some MSNBC program spewing her divisive opinions.
Let's hope it's so frequent that viewers have become numb to her much as they did Keith Olbermann.
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— Noel Sheppard (@NoelSheppard) June 9, 2012
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Comments
Nice variation on the "poor,
Submitted by motherbelt on Wed, 07/04/2012 - 10:48am.
Nice variation on the "poor, uneducated, easy to command" characterization, Joan!
Liberals, arrogant lot that they are, NEVER think anyone can oppose their policies out of anything but ignorance.
I'm assuming by "healthcare" you mean "Obamacare." Because older Americans certainly understand how "health care" works.
Please, Joan, explain to us how everyone in "healthcare" will have quality care from a vast number of well-qualified doctors and specialists. Explain how no one will be turned away (they might have to wait 6 months, but they won't be "turned away." They might be put on a "death pathway" but they won't be turned away).
Things like that would never happen here, right?
Obama was just kidding when he said maybe you don't get the surgery, maybe you just get the pain pills, right?
This woman is just plain stupid. As we say in Italian....stunaad. (phonetic spelling). Not ignorant, not uneducated, but profoundly stupid.
It actually boggles the mind
Submitted by ronber on Wed, 07/04/2012 - 10:37am.
It actually boggles the mind how incredibly stupid this woman is. I wonder if she really lives on this planet.
It's no accident that she is a virtual regular on . . .
Submitted by Galvanic on Wed, 07/04/2012 - 3:48pm.
. . . MSNBC. Some of the funniest moments on TV are when she, the equally ridiculous David Corn, and Obama's boy Chris Mathews try to discuss a subject. Salon.com, Mother Jones, and Hardball -- three looney media vehicles joined in political fantasy, each feeding off the others, and when they reach their myopic conclusions, Mathews applauds their genius.
I hope they stay on the air. When I get in discussions about media bias, I point to this trio as a classic example.
Maine Reporters’ Training Funded by Pro-ObamaCare Group
Submitted by celator on Wed, 07/04/2012 - 10:40am.
How's that for a headline? Yep, it's true. Did Joan Walsh attend similar training? Did this kind of propaganda training take place in other parts of the country?
The lead from the story ought to open our eyes to the training some "journalists" have received to promote ObamaCare.
"A group of Maine reporters has received financial support from a pro-Obamacare organization to attend health care reporting workshops. The Maine Health Access Foundation, a pro-Obamacare organization that has been active in liberal health care issues since its state-mandated creation in 2000, provided scholarship underwriting for a number of Maine reporters from the Bangor Daily News, Portland Press Herald, Maine Public Broadcasting, the Associated Press, and other Maine news organizations."
This is a big deal, IMHO. In fact, it's a major violation of the ethics of journalism. The full article can be found here:
http://www.themainewire.com/2012/03/maine-reporters%E2%80%99-training-fu...
Big deal? I'd quote Joe Biden
Submitted by motherbelt on Wed, 07/04/2012 - 10:52am.
Big deal? I'd quote Joe Biden and call it a big F'n deal!!
Teaching reporters how to write about Obamacare.
The Soviet Union would be proud!
Rush Limbaugh often says that the "greeen" movement is the new home of communists. Looks like they're moving into healthcare too.
I've been scouring the web to
Submitted by celator on Wed, 07/04/2012 - 1:10pm.
I've been scouring the web to see how wide this pro-ObamaCare training for journalists has reached. I haven't found anything yet, but it would seem plausible that there are many of these training camps held all over the country. Good grief, why would they have one up here for the MSM from the woods of Maine and not in CA or NY or FL, et al? I'll bet there is a big stinkpot under this mess,
BDN..
Submitted by dmacleo on Wed, 07/04/2012 - 11:32am.
big surprise to see BDN there.
they and stephen king are a cancer up here.
I used to be a stringer for
Submitted by celator on Wed, 07/04/2012 - 1:15pm.
I used to be a stringer for the BDN (they paid 25 cents a column inch, I swear--so you'd write loooooongggg stories ;+}), way, way, way back in the day (early '70's) to make some extra cash. My editor was the famous and classy Kent Ward (now retired, not even sure if he's alive anymore). He kept the BDN on the straight and narrow, I can tell you. No bias, no BS, no "some say" stories, no story without solid backup. Then he retired and the crazies took over. Sad.
Let me try this...
Submitted by BBallleaper on Wed, 07/04/2012 - 11:10am.
"Black younger base doesn't understand value of education."
"Black younger base doesn't understand the value of marriage."
"Black younger base doesn't understand the meaning of legitimate birth."
"Black younger base doesn't understand the penalty of crime and jail."
How am I doing Joan??????????????????
RACIST!!!!
Submitted by Blonde on Wed, 07/04/2012 - 1:02pm.
j/k
Here's a visual.
Handy Reference Guide to Obama's Gaffes and Goofs ~ Currently Numbering 200 (and Counting)
No I don't understand
Submitted by BullRider on Wed, 07/04/2012 - 11:25am.
I'm white and heading towards older. I don't understand how healthcare works.
Obviously I don't, or else I could find out how to get it for FREE while being in the country illegally. I could find out how to get it FREE via a conscious decision to not lift a finger or do any work, and thus be "poor" and in need of "help".
If I understood how it works I would understand why it's a 'right' - yet I have to use earned, taxed money to pay for it out of my own pocket. There's no tax deduction until I've spent 7.5% (soon to be 10%) of my gross income on healthcare. Not only do I pay my own way but the government insists on taxing the money first!
If I understood how it works I would understand why the government is willing to let program recipients use the emergency room as a walk-in clinic. I can't afford to go there for less than an all-out emergency because I can't AFFORD to. I'm paying for the po' folks to use it at their convenience.
No, I don't understand, beeyotch.
These older generations put
Submitted by LAM SON 719 on Wed, 07/04/2012 - 11:31am.
These older generations put a man on the moon, gave us the computer, nuclear power and a host of medical advances. I think they can figure out health care. Walsh is really afraid is that they do indeed understand it for the scam it is.
These older generations put
Submitted by LAM SON 719 on Wed, 07/04/2012 - 11:32am.
These older generations put a man on the moon, gave us the computer, nuclear power and a host of medical advances. I think they can figure out health care. Walsh is really afraid is that they do indeed understand it for the scam it is.
These older generations put
Submitted by LAM SON 719 on Wed, 07/04/2012 - 11:32am.
These older generations put a man on the moon, gave us the computer, nuclear power and a host of medical advances. I think they can figure out health care. Walsh is really afraid is that they do indeed understand it for the scam it is.
Exactly
Submitted by oldfart on Wed, 07/04/2012 - 11:50am.
We are old enought to know a con-job when we see one, unlike this lady, who obviously lives in the bubble of make believe.
Funny how progressive/liberals can never truly debate the issues without being insulting.
New reality show
Submitted by HockeyKid on Wed, 07/04/2012 - 11:36am.
Job Swap: Journalists and other urbanites have to trade jobs for a month with middle-American citizens who actually work for a living.
The network will provide compensation for the financial losses incurred by the urbanites' inability to work in the real world.
"Beauty is only skin deep, but liberal's to the bone." - me
You're correct, I'm white and I'm old
Submitted by cocodrie on Wed, 07/04/2012 - 11:50am.
You're correct, I'm white and I'm old and I don't understand how healthcare works. I come from a time when I went to the doctor and he gave me a bill and I paid it. I brought my prescription to the druggist and I paid him. This method worked quite well and I understoof how it worked. It was when the government complicated the system that I no longer understood how things work.
Thanks to Obamadontcare I will once again understand how things will work. I will go to the doctor if I survive the long wait and he will tell me to go home and die.
Jesus Loves You so much He died for you
Good afternoon, Cocodrie!
Submitted by drsamherman on Wed, 07/04/2012 - 1:06pm.
Reading "Glenn" up in the Disqus section, I get the distinct impression that he is another retread troll who has appeared on this board before the ban hammer came down on his leftist carcass.
The usual talking point screed about "profitizing" Medicare and half-baked articles from a fringe lunatic website.
You can tell he is a product of public indoctrination, I mean education.
Good evening doc
Submitted by cocodrie on Wed, 07/04/2012 - 3:29pm.
Nice to hear your voice. I had to leave for a while to cut the grass, or as we say in cajun - "maudis lawn" (maudis means cursed). going to read Glenn now) Have a wonderful 4th.
Jesus Loves You so much He died for you
2 + 2 =5
Submitted by 125 grain on Wed, 07/04/2012 - 11:52am.
My 11 and 9 year old understand more about this healthcare boondoggle than Ms. Walsh and her revered Democrats.
Geeeeez
Submitted by GregE on Wed, 07/04/2012 - 3:10pm.
Sure is a bunch of crap up in the DISQUS section.
Couldn't corroborate.
Submitted by almostacowboy on Wed, 07/04/2012 - 8:41pm.
One time I come here there's disqus, then I come back no disqus. Meh.
I must say that the level of discourse on disqus is pathetic.
Yep, the disqus section seems to be full of
Submitted by Radical1979 on Wed, 07/04/2012 - 9:32pm.
foul words, racist slurs, insults, and non arguments. Even worse, when I click on a comment, it takes me to the comment, then up to disqus. Argh.
One thing I am not liking
Submitted by Scuba Dude on Wed, 07/04/2012 - 11:22pm.
One thing I am not liking with the DISQUS comments is the ability to be able to have fun editing to whatever
we aretyping. To write a response up in DISQUS and italicize a comment I had to find a web page that told me how to do it with HTML tags. Pardon my language but IT SUCKS!!!!No, it's a big improvement.
Submitted by SickofLibs on Wed, 07/04/2012 - 9:34pm.
RIP, Newsbusters.
Classic SoL
Submitted by Blonde on Wed, 07/04/2012 - 9:52pm.
I'm going to miss your snark, dude.
Handy Reference Guide to Obama's Gaffes and Goofs ~ Currently Numbering 200 (and Counting)
What? I think Disqus will change the comment dynamics--
Submitted by Jer on Wed, 07/04/2012 - 10:42pm.
and generally for the worse [I fear]--but the format should actually be even more conducive to SoL's unique talent for hilarious snark.
Jer
Good evening Jer
Submitted by cocodrie on Wed, 07/04/2012 - 11:10pm.
I agree. To put it mildly Disqus stinks.
Jesus Loves You so much He died for you
I'm not logged onto Disqus
Submitted by stratman on Wed, 07/04/2012 - 10:46pm.
I'm not logged onto Disqus and am reading and commenting on NewsBusters. I don't see all the Disqus trolls either.
If you want your NewsBusters Comments section back then try logging off NewsBusters and then deleting cookies (and cache too to be sure). You may be able to just clean out the Disqus cookies if you use a program like CCleaner that lists all your cookies for complete control. Otherwise, scrub all the cookies. Then log back onto NewsBusters and enjoy the Comments section as before.
strat...
Submitted by Jer on Wed, 07/04/2012 - 11:01pm.
I assume that would only be a temporary option during the transition phase pending full Disqus implementation, right? [With the possible exception of Forum content and comments???]
No response yet to my question about archived comments since the 2010 site redesign. Are you aware of any update on that issue?
Jer
Crickets Chirp
Submitted by Blonde on Wed, 07/04/2012 - 11:15pm.
I'm still mourning the loss of more than a thousand comments on the old Health Care Forums.
Which were far more important than our kicking of Incestmo, although that was pretty hilarious.
Jer, you must be mortified to see the seminar posters on Disqus. They are slimy beyond belief. I've been called a bitch and worse in the last three days.
Handy Reference Guide to Obama's Gaffes and Goofs ~ Currently Numbering 200 (and Counting)
Blonde...
Submitted by Jer on Wed, 07/04/2012 - 11:36pm.
With the exception of one thread where I skimmed/read the Disqus comments, I have been scrolling past them and going directly to the regular NB comments.
Jer
As far as the archived comments, I would just like to know one way or the other. If they are going to be zapped again, I think we should at least get a heads-up and maybe save some things to folders--like your existing health and gaffe forums if you haven't already.
Not Liking What I'm Hearing About Disqus
Submitted by stratman on Wed, 07/04/2012 - 11:37pm.
Jer:
I don't know anything more than you about this Disqus change-over. There appears to be no value to the user, and, from the sounds of it, a profound step back in functionality and satisfaction.
Blonde:
I wish someone had saved your Health Care forums before the Big Delete. The carefully documented posts by so many people were a treasure trove of understanding health care now and into the future with ObamaCare.
I cannot believe that NB's moderators are not trying to figure out what to do about the vulgar trolls infesting NB Disqus. I am glad I have not used Disqus yet to see the debasement of NewsBusters. We've had trolls on NB but I don't recall ones like you speak of now, especially in such number. Maybe we did have a "better class of trolls" all along!
strat...I'm skeptical, but I'll ask anyway.
Submitted by Jer on Wed, 07/04/2012 - 11:53pm.
I've had trouble navigating the Wayback Machine website. Do you know if it saves NewsBusters-type content? If so, would that include forums and blog comments?
Jer
Yes. No.
Submitted by The Vet on Thu, 07/05/2012 - 12:36am.
It does save Newsbusters blogs including comments. But it only takes a snapshot once or twice a week. Anything outside of that, not included.
Forums - no. Too far off main page.
And individual comments are not searchable. Not like we can go into google and search for that time someone said "Uncle Jer had a big ol' fat floppy butt that broke his sofa and made everyone at the family reunion laugh".
Fortunately Vet, we live in an era of yankee ingenuity and the
Submitted by Jer on Thu, 07/05/2012 - 1:25am.
magic of FURNITURE FIX.
Saving...
Uncle Jer and his lucky butt [for only $14.99 + S & H]
Jer
Submitted by stratman on Thu, 07/05/2012 - 1:54am.
I'm deferring to The Vet on the Wayback.
I will join you in skepticism on the furniture fix'n Sumo wrastlers. Looked like the whole couch dropped a couple of inches. Maybe it was the floor.
strat...I was only seconds away from placing the order
Submitted by Jer on Thu, 07/05/2012 - 2:23am.
several weeks ago. My favorite sofa IS showing some midsection sag, and I was admittedly impressed by the Sumo behemoths in the TV infomercial.
I had already programmed the number into my cellphone directory when I decided to check for reviews on the internet. Long story short: I don't think I've ever encountered more negative comments about an infomercial product. Basically, for a standard sofa it would have required at least 3 sets of slats [added S & H charges for each set] and that many slats would have created an unsightly protrusion while providing only marginally improved support. An old closet door inserted under the cushions would be a better choice.
On the bright side, the free remote control couch caddy received uniformly high marks.
Jer
Hell, strat - it just took me
Submitted by killa37 on Thu, 07/05/2012 - 12:32am.
Hell, strat - it just took me about 20 minutes to scroll down to the area where I could read any 'normal' comments here!!! It's rather obvious that we've been relegated to the nose-bleed seats, or the back of the bus, or the end of the line. When it becomes more of a hassle for me to keep up with NB in the way that I'm used to it, I will be aloha oe.............gone kalima!!!!
It's too bad - I really enjoy this site, and the people on it - but when the equation between 'work' and 'reward from work' become out of balance, one of them has to go.
Killa
Submitted by stratman on Thu, 07/05/2012 - 2:05am.
I hear you, my Ohio brother. It makes little sense to relegate NB's comments to the bottom of the list. It's OUR (Matthew Sheffield's) forum! How apropos that Conservatives are second class citizens even on their own forum during the Lord Obama of the Flies era. (Sarcasm/off)
NewsBusters will lose its charm and wit without comments from growing number of posters like you taking a hard look at using Disqus. I haven't come to that fork in the road yet - because I'm not using Disqus - but I will be faced with the same issues soon from the look of things. Adjust or essentially abandon commenting? Don't know yet. Like you said, work performed, including suffering a new and endless supply of nasty trolls, to obtain the reward will decide.
Well, strat - I have come to
Submitted by killa37 on Thu, 07/05/2012 - 3:33am.
Well, strat - I have come to the fork in the road - and I AM going to take it!!!
Folks, when the DISQUS change
Submitted by Scuba Dude on Thu, 07/05/2012 - 8:18am.
Folks, when the DISQUS change over happens, (and it will) do what Gunny Highway woud do, You Adapt, You Overcome, You Improvise.
Do not leave NB just because it's harder. We're Americans and we're conservatives!! Making it harder just makes us tougher!!!
Yep,
Submitted by Boudin on Thu, 07/05/2012 - 8:54pm.
I aint going anywhere,, wouldnt give Jer the satisfaction.
That Too!!! LOL
Submitted by Scuba Dude on Fri, 07/06/2012 - 8:14am.
That Too!!! LOL
Boudin..My psyche couldn't handle the shock of your
Submitted by Jer on Fri, 07/06/2012 - 2:33pm.
leaving. I've come to think of you as a permanent appendage--even looking around for you at family reunions.
Jer
NB Forums
Submitted by Blonde on Thu, 07/05/2012 - 8:59am.
I think we're going to be able to continue to use the Forums as well as the pm's.
I'm not sure about whether or not the archive of NB as it exists now (w/comments) will be searchable and remain extant.
Very, very sad if it's lost. I'll not whine again about the Health Care Forums we've already lost, but there were a couple of other really GREAT forums....there was the classic williams411 thread, where we had the trollboy chasing his tail so fast and furiously and it was just side-splittingly funny. And some other fairly serious discussions between some serious posters. Oh well.
Handy Reference Guide to Obama's Gaffes and Goofs ~ Currently Numbering 200 (and Counting)
joan walsh
Submitted by theyjustcantstop on Wed, 07/04/2012 - 3:21pm.
just want to thank joan for her racist,hypocritical in put in this article.
you and your ilk called roberts a lot worse, even before his appointment,and there were just as many on your side as on mine that could'nt believe the courts ruling.
if you took a poll before the ruling, of democrats that thought o'bama-care would be thrown out i would bet it would have been 90%,all the smartest democrat lawyers publicly said it will probably be struck down,but your the smartest person in the world.
and yes the rebuplicans will be appealing to that base,which the last i read, includes 60% of americans that want this law repealed,and for you to assume that only old white men understand this is a socialist big government program,is a very racist statementand includes every race,i know there are alot of black,latino,asian,and native americans that are smarter than me,and i'm old and white,but your ideology permits it.
If only.....
Submitted by ckc1227 on Wed, 07/04/2012 - 4:00pm.
If only we could be young and informed like Nancy Pelosi or Harry Reid....
Ahh, now I get it. If I have
Submitted by michael lofrano on Wed, 07/04/2012 - 5:00pm.
Ahh, now I get it. If I have a question about the 3000 page health care bill I just to need to ask a youthful member of a some minority group.
And this sort of
Submitted by ant on Wed, 07/04/2012 - 6:48pm.
And this sort of '...Baaaaaaadddd white people...' drivel is being constantly spewed by this, what might be the whitest of white-looking people in the white world. Seriously, she's the kind of snotty, upper-Manhattanite white woman that looks at working-class white people in her neighborhood as 'suspicious'.
~Old white chick just described herself
Submitted by Wrathful Brunette on Wed, 07/04/2012 - 9:36pm.
How delightfully ironic.
Can't see Disqus on an iPhone yet. Nice.
I'm older, white, and after
Submitted by Bruzilla on Thu, 07/05/2012 - 8:30am.
I'm older, white, and after working in the health insurance field for several years I understand it quite well, which is why I keep waiting for someone like Walsh to answer one simple question for me: What makes you think giving people access to health insurance, and not healthcare, a good thing?
People like Walsh have no idea all Obamacare does is give everyone access to a standard 80/20 health insurance plan with no cost controls on providers. How are people who can't afford to pay a couple hundred a month for insurance going to handle paying thousands of dollars in co-pays or co-insurance???
I wonder how they're going to play out the stories like "this is Diane, single mother of four who works a dozen jobs to support her family. Diane recently took kid #2 to the hospital, and now has an $8,000 co-pay to deal with. She can't make it on her own. Insurance just isn't enough. Poor women like Diane need more."