On Sunday's Meet the Press, as Republican Congressman Mike Rogers denounced ObamaCare's "unprecedented confiscation of people's health care," moderator David Gregory interrupted to parrot White House talking points defending the disastrous policy: "...you talk about confiscation, the reality is there's also a lot of people who are going to have the potential to get insurance who never had insurance. And you have a small piece of the market where people may lose plans. Many of those will get better plans in the individual market." [Listen to the audio or watch the video after the jump]
Rogers attempted to push back against Gregory's assertions: "But David, that's not true. David – a hundred million people [may lose their insurance]." Gregory just kept talking over the Congressman, citing a poll that 54% of Americans think the ObamaCare problems will be solved and concluding: "That's a level of credibility and belief in the system that presumably is very important."
Prior to Gregory's interruption, Rogers had been ripping into the law:
...there are millions of people who got cancellation notices. And the next go-round on the business side is 80 to 100 million people will get cancellation notices....They're getting ready to close high-risk pools that have cancer survivors, people who are trying to fight cancer are getting thrown out of their high-risk pools at the end of this year. And as a cancer survivor, you want your whole focus being on beating the disease.
Here is a transcript of the December 1 exchange:
10:35AM ET
(...)
GREGORY: My reporting, Congressman Rogers, indicates that this is also where the President's gonna go. He's gonna go on the offensive. He's gonna argue that Republicans are trying to sabotage this instead of getting it right, that they've got no real ideas of their own. Is that what's gonna actually make some improvements here to get this helping people?
REP. MIKE ROGERS [R-MI]: No. You have to remember what happened. This is unprecedented confiscation of people's health care. And so here's what I think they're missing. They're trying to make this a political fight. When you have somebody who just lost their insurance, and by the way, there are millions of people who got cancellation notices. And the next go-round on the business side is 80 to 100 million people will get cancellation notices.
And let me tell you why I think they're missing the boat on this, trying to make this a political fight between Democrats and Republicans. A guy grabbed me the other day, whose wife is expecting a baby at the end of December. They've got a cancellation notice. If she has the baby in January, he is absolutely apoplectic about how he pays for it. If she has the baby in December, that – there's no compassion in that.
And this is happening hundreds of thousands of times all across the country. They're getting ready to close high-risk pools that have cancer survivors, people who are trying to fight cancer are getting thrown out of their high-risk pools at the end of this year. And as a cancer survivor, you want your whole focus being on beating the disease.
GREGORY: Alright, but there's enough-
ROGERS: They're making a horrible mistake by trying to...
GREGORY: You talk about-
ROGERS: ...by trying to make this political.
GREGORY: But Congressman, you talk about confiscation...
ROGERS: Real people are getting hurt by this.
GREGORY: ...the reality is there's also a lot of people who are going to have the potential to get insurance who never had insurance. And you have a small piece of the market where people may lose plans. Many of those will get better plans in the individual market. The insurance companies recognize those are there.
ROGERS: But David, that's not true. David – a hundred million people.
GREGORY: Let me get to a bottom-line question, though. You made your argument. Here's a bottom line question, which goes to, will this be fixed? Look at this poll from CNN/ORC back in November 18th to the 20th. Will current problems facing the new health care law by solved? 54% do believe that it will be solved. That's a level of credibility and belief in the system that presumably is very important.
(...)
