You gotta love ol’ Ed Schultz. A recent demotion at the Lean Forward network hasn’t stopped the bombastic MSNBC host from sputtering over Republican opposition to ObamaCare, despite the fact that Schultz himself admits he doesn’t really know what’s in the bill.
Schultz was recently moved from his weeknight, primetime spot in MSNBC’s über-progressive lineup to weekends, a move sources at the network said would make space for “new talent.” The liberal host has since transformed his new weekend show into an hour-long advertisement for ObamaCare, gushing on Saturday’s The Ed Show that the law is “a great step forward to get us to universal health care some day.” [Yes, Ed, who owns a Canadian fishing lodge, is pining for Canada-style “single-payer” care.]
Schultz offered similar exaltations on Sunday, but then admitted that he doesn’t even know much about the massive legislation:
The bottom line here is that there is a lot of things about ObamaCare that I don't know and I know you don't know. And guess what, there's a lot of people in the media that don't know and there's a lot of people in Congress that don't know.
Of course, one member of Congress who doesn’t know what’s in the bill is House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who declared in 2010 that Congress had to pass ObamaCare to “find out what is in it.” Schultz himself brought up some important questions about the law that he doesn’t know the answers to, questions that he apparently can dismiss in the name of free health care for all.
And they ask in this flyer, “how will the exchange and federal subsidies work?” Do you know? Do you know how this exchange and these subsidies are going to work? I'm going to find out.
(...)
The other one was, “what are the tax implications?” What are they? Good, bad? Going to pay more, going to pay less? Is it going to help your business to have more people covered?
Despite these major underlying questions surrounding ObamaCare, and the dozens more that affect millions of hard-working Americans, Schultz berated Republicans for bringing up the very same concerns he voiced.
All we hear is ObamaCare sucks. All we hear is the negative from the Republicans, and dammit, we have to repeal it, because millions of people are going to lose their jobs. That is a lie.
Makes you wonder how Schultz can claim Republicans are lying about the effects of ObamaCare, when he a) doesn’t seem to have any more idea than Nancy Pelosi of what’s actually in the bill and b) seems to revel in his ignorance.
Quite ironic for a man who works for a company that gave us the iconic “The More You Know” campaign.
See the full transcript after the jump:
MSNBC
The Ed Show
05/19/13
5:06 p.m. Eastern
ED SCHULTZ: Let's focus on “learn.” It's an interesting word that Mitch McConnell used. Now, everybody's backyard is different. I don't know who your insurance company is. I will tell you mine. I have a North Dakota corporation that's based in Fargo, it's called Ed Schultz Broadcasting. It's been in business since 2004 when I started my national radio show. And I have employees who have insurance. I have some that don't. The bottom line here is that there is a lot of things about ObamaCare that I don't know and I know you don't know. And guess what, there's a lot of people in the media that don't know and there's a lot of people in Congress that don't know.
So I've got an interesting piece in the mail from my insurance company that I want to share with you. It says, “health reform answers personalized for your business.” And seeing that I am a capitalist and a businessman that employs people and actually meets payroll, I thought I'd look at this. And I did. And it says, “federal health reform is complex and means something different to every business.” That caught my attention. “Blue Cross/Blue Shield of North Dakota has tools personalized to your individual business to help you navigate through the rules and decisions you are facing.” Folks, you and I have to engage. The government isn't just going to show up and say, “here, here's insurance.” That's what Republicans want you to think. This is about you and I taking advantage of something that's on the table.
And if you're a business owner, a small business owner, I suggest that you pay close attention in your backyard, no matter – when I say backyard, I mean your state, your region, whoever your insurance company is. Now, it's interesting. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Dakota, what they're going to do is they’re going to do seminars around the state. And it just so happens that on Monday, June 27, in good ol’ Fargo, North Dakota – guarded by the eighth graders, I might say, little inside joke there – they're going to have this seminar. And I'm going to go to it, because there are some basic questions that are going to be answered.
And they ask in this flyer, “how will the exchange and federal subsidies work?” Do you know? Do you know how this exchange and these subsidies are going to work? I'm going to find out. “Which business will be penalized for not providing employer-based insurance?” Another good question. The other one was, “what are the tax implications?” What are they? Good, bad? Going to pay more, going to pay less? Is it going to help your business to have more people covered? The other question interesting on this flyer was, “how does the number of employees affect health insurance decisions?”What does it mean if you have so many employees that are covered? “What does a competitive post-reform benefits package look like?” Nobody knows.
Speaking of learning, those five basic questions, I would venture to say that there isn't a cable host, there is a network reporter that can say with conviction that they know the answers to every one of them. All we hear is ObamaCare sucks. All we hear is the negative from the Republicans, and dammit, we have to repeal it, because millions of people are going to lose their jobs. That is a lie.
