CNN’s Rick Sanchez omitted the left-wing ideology of an organization he cited as he lambasted North Carolina Representative Virginia Foxx on Tuesday’s Newsroom for her recent hyperbolic remarks against ObamaCare. Sanchez referenced a figure from the National Priorities Project, a think tank labeled “progressive” by CNN itself in 2007. He also left out some of the context of Rep. Foxx’s full remarks [video of the full segment available here].
The CNN anchor devoted an entire segment 37 minutes into the 3 pm Eastern hour to the North Carolina Republican’s speech on Monday against a health care “reform” bill sponsored by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Representative Foxx denounced the bill as “a tax increase bill masquerading as a health care bill,” and continued that Americans “have more to fear from the potential of that bill passing than we do from any terrorist right now in any country.”
Sanchez gave his spin on the speech before playing a clip from the Republican’s speech:
SANCHEZ: Think of the money that we have spent on the so-called war on terror, the thousands of lives that have been lost, the soul-sapping drain on America’s national psyche. Now, according to a congresswoman, Virginia Foxx, we did that for nothing, because that’s not the real threat. She seems to be saying this is what you need to know as Americans- al Qaeda, what’s the big deal? This Republican from North Carolina says there’s an even bigger threat than al Qaeda.
REPRESENTATIVE VIRGINIA FOXX: I believe that the greatest fear that we all should have to our freedom comes from this room, this very room, and what may happen later this week in terms of a tax increase bill masquerading as a health care bill. I believe we have more to fear from the potential of that bill passing than we do from any terrorist right now in any country.
SANCHEZ: Okie-dokie. If you discerned a morsel of logic there, then you’re way ahead of me. I think that what she’s trying to say is that health care reform is a greater threat than the terrorists because it’s, in her words, a tax increase in disguise. How could another 9/11 be any worse than that? She thinks so. In Virginia Foxx’s world, this threat that we face- well, it appears to be all about money, right? All right.
Actually, it’s not “all about money” in Representative Foxx’s view. Sanchez failed to mention that the Republican explained why Pelosi’s bill should be feared, pointing to different pages of the legislation.
FOXX: Page 94—section 202(c) prohibits the sale of private individual health insurance policies beginning in 2013, forcing individuals to purchase coverage through the Federal Government. We can’t make that up. It’s right there in the bill.
Page 110—section 222(e) requires the use of Federal dollars to fund abortions through the government-run health plan; and, if the Hyde amendment were ever not renewed, would require the plan to fund elective abortions.
Page 111—section 223 establishes a new board of Federal bureaucrats (the ‘‘Health Benefits Advisory Committee’’) to dictate the health plans that all individuals must purchase; and would likely require all Americans to subsidize and purchase plans that cover any abortion.
Since the CNN anchor spun the Republican’s speech as being about money, he continued by comparing the amount spent on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to the amount proposed to be spent on health care “reform.” Sanchez cited the National Priorities Project’s figures, mentioning the organization by name, but did not mention their left-wing ideology.
SANCHEZ: Let’s look at the numbers, for the record. The Congressional Budget Office looked at the Baucus bill. That’s the best known health care reform plan out there right now, and we found that it would cost about $830 billion. That’s over 10 years, by the way- $830 billion over 10 years. But it would cut the federal deficit by making health care more affordable. In Virginia Foxx’s world, that must be terrifying. Of course, Foxx was a big supporter of invading Iraq, so let’s do the comparison. And she said that doesn’t seem to be a threat, yet she spent all this money- you’re looking at it- on Iraq, where it cost our nation, according to the National Priorities Project, nearing $700 billion. But it wasn’t as big a threat?
Then we have Afghanistan. Foxx was all for that war as well- $230 billion and still going out. So, combined between Iraq and Afghanistan, that’s $927 billion so far. Estimated cost of health care: $830 billion, and for that, we’re actually going to be getting something back- health care. Tell us again, Congresswoman, which one is more scary?
Almost three years earlier, CNN correspondent Tom Foreman cited the Project’s Iraq war spending figures, referring to it as a “progressive think tank.” If Foreman thought it was relevant enough to mention that detail as he cited the organization, how come Sanchez didn’t?
