If there was ever a textbook example of kissing up to a host in a television interview, Rep. Jim Moran, D-Va., gave a demonstration on MSNBC's "The Ed Show."
During the Dec. 28 broadcast, Moran, who represents a district that is just a stone's throw away from the U.S. Capitol, encouraged "The Ed Show" host Ed Schultz to keep pushing for the public option as part of health care reform, even though it is losing support as being essential in the U.S. House of Representatives.
"You've got to keep up the pressure, Ed," Moran said. "You know, they pay much more attention to what's said on MSNBC, particularly shows like yours than Fox or something like that. You know that."
Schultz made his case that his push for the public option and railing against the Obama administration has not won him many friends in the Obama administration and was under the impression people would be disappointed if it wasn't included.
"Well look, they know where I'm coming from," Schultz said. "The White House is so mad at me. They don't even talk to me anymore. This is about holding people accountable and I know there is going to be a lot of disappointed people in this country outside the Beltway that don't understand all of this process and they want to see some fighters down the stretch. They want to see some real mechanism and some real change. That's not to say this bill doesn't have some good things in it. It does have some good things in it. But this is - I think you're going to find a lot of Democrats in this country, a lot of progressives who aren't real sure that the sleeves are going to be rolled up when it's time to do that."
That response inspired Moran to plead for Schultz to run for Senate and change the rules because that's how the liberal radio talk show host and MSNBC on-air personality can truly "keep up the pressure."
"You know what I want to know, Ed? I want to know when you are going to run for the U.S. Senate," Moran said. "That's what I want to know. We need people like you in the Senate. We need to get rid of the damn filibuster and make it a more representative body. That's what we need, but you got to keep up the pressure for us, my friend."
Moran, who has been a member of the House since the early 1990s, has made previous outrageous statements. In 2008, he said it was a "simplistic notion that people who have wealth are entitled to keep it."
