CNN's Rick Sanchez often describes his Newsroom segment as a "national conversation." Increasingly, however, his program primarily consists of Sanchez mouthing current liberal talking points.
So it was today, as he excitedly asked viewers:
Do you want the public option that could make health insurance more competitive and cheaper, because it's looking like we may get it in some form at this point. Here's who else is going to be speaking in just a little bit, Senator Harry Reid is about to announce his position on this. I asked you this same question, by the way, a little while ago. How you felt about public option. You know, I've got to tell you, the numbers seem to show right now, it's about 61 percent in favor.
That 61 percent figure came from a recent CNN poll. He could have, but didn't, cite another poll, one mentioned recently in The Hill:
Polling experts, however, have documented that many people don’t know what a public option is, and that small changes in language can cause poll results to vary widely. An August poll by Penn, Schoen and Berland Associates showed that only 37 percent of those polled correctly identified the public option from a list of three choices.
So there's substantial confusion over a public option, which more accurately should be termed a government option. That's to be expected. Neither Obama nor his congressional Democrats seemingly have a clue about what "their" health reform will be, so why should the public?
But noting that confusion might put a crack in Sanchez's perceived momentum for the public option, and he wasn't about to do that:
And you, on Twitter, are in favor as well. Go to the Twitter board if you can, Zack. Look at the first one -- "Yes, it makes not sense why we can't have another public option.
Under that: "Absolutely, it is a must."
I have no idea what just happened that thing. But you know, sometimes technology gets the best of you, as it today. Let me go back here.
"Absolutely, it's a must."
Next one, here's something I want to know, "Would you like to see a public option? Yes, public option is the whole point."
Next one: "Yes, to the public option."
"I would love to see a public option, without the state opt out. Repeal the anti-trust laws, give real choices to us."
"One word: Yes."
Next one, "yes, but it should be for everyone, not just for a few. We should all be able to opt out from our current coverage if we want."
So, you get a sense there that there is starting to be -- a sense that Americans are embracing this idea of a public option in this country. And there are other people now who are getting involved and embracing it as well.
The reason viewers may have gotten "a sense that Americans are embracing this idea of a public option" is Sanchez didn't read a single tweet from anyone opposed to the idea. I know he received at least two, but they didn't fit into his storyline. So he simply pretended they don't exist.
Sanchez still wasn't done with peddling a major feature of ObamaCare. He had yet another card to play:
Nebraska's conservative Democrat Ben Nelson, is now saying that he -- this is interesting, remember what I just said, conservative Nebraska Democrat and Senator Ben Nelson, who hasn't been keen on the idea in the past, has over the last couple of days maybe possibly going through a shift in this. He's now saying he would not be opposed to the public option in some form.
Wow, even conservatives are jumping on the public option bandwagon. It's a landslide! Sanchez didn't tell his viewers exactly how "conservative" Nelson is.
According to interest group ratings compiled by Project Vote Smart, for 2008 the National Taxpayers Union gave him a rating of F. In 2007, Nelson scored a 5 with Americans for Tax Reform. The American Conservative Union assigned him a rating of 16 for 2008. Nelson received a 100 from the AFL-CIO for 2008 and an A for 2007-2008 from the National Education Association.
Ben Nelson may be many things. A conservative isn't one of them.
To contend, as Sanchez does, that a government option could make health insurance more competitive and cheaper flies in the face of all reality. What company could possibly compete against an entity with unlimited tax dollars at its disposal? And if Medicare, which is defrauded to the tune of $60 billion a year is any example, the public option will be staggeringly expensive even if all other waste is squeezed out of it, a highly unlikely occurrence.
Rick Sanchez may be many things. An objective journalist isn't one of them.
