Visibly amused by the socialist blatherings of "This Week" guests Donna Brazile and Katrina vanden Heuvel, Will during the Roundtable segment said, "They're trying to pass a bill that is, A, huge, B, radical, C, unpopular, and, therefore, D, they have no choice but to resort to serial corruption."
ABC's lone regular conservative contributor then elaborated as Brazile and vanden Heuvel grunted and moaned in the background (video embedded below the fold with partial transcript, relevant section at 3:20):
JAKE TAPPER, HOST: Health care reform is -- is coming close to final negotiations. And one of the big points in this has been some concessions that labor unions exacted for support for this -- for this health care reform bill, specifically in terms of a delay before those who have so-called Cadillac plans are taxed on that plan. Until 2018, they have time to renegotiate with management, because a lot of them negotiated better health care in lieu of higher wages.
This type of negotiation, behind the scenes, is not what President Obama promised when he was campaigning. He promised it would be an open negotiation.
Great intro by Tapper. Now watch as Brazile predictably spouted disingenuous Democrat talking points:
DONNA BRAZILE: Well, Jake, the fact is, is that we've had so many -- we've had congressional hearings. We've had congressional markups. We've had floor debate. We've had...
TAPPER: But we have -- but we have that every...
(CROSSTALK)
BRAZILE: We've had town hall meetings. We're at the -- we're at the finish line. And what -- what Democrats are trying to do is now pull all of these various pieces together and present one final bill that can go to CBO, get scored, and then take it to the vote -- take it to the floor for a final vote. That's what this is about.
And if this Republicans want to campaign against all of these good items in this bill, then bring it on. Bring it on.
With the ball nicely teed up, Will whacked it down the middle of the fairway:
GEORGE WILL: I want to defend Donna's friends here, because they have an insuperable problem. They're trying to pass a bill that is, A, huge, B, radical, C, unpopular...
(CROSSTALK)
WILL: ... and, therefore, D, they have no choice but to resort to serial corruption, beginning with -- beginning with the carve-out for Medicare Advantage people primarily in Florida, followed by the $300 million bribe to get Senator Landrieu's vote in Louisiana, followed by the $1 billion over a decade purchase of Senator Nelson's vote from Nebraska, followed by the payoff to the unions, which is the least they could get, considering that they have given $400 million to Democrats.
Exactly, and this is what an honest media would be focusing on every day if they weren't acting as advocates instead of journalists.
Not surprisingly, Brazile responded with more Democrat talking points:
(CROSSTALK)
BRAZILE: ... Republicans do, too, when they're in charge.
(CROSSTALK)
This again teed it up for Will:
WILL: The pharmaceutical industry was last seen in this town rallying around a special fundraiser for Mrs. Coakley in Massachusetts.
KATRINA VANDEN HEUVEL: First of all, I wish that these negotiations, health care negotiations, would be on C-SPAN. The idea that this bill is radical is laughable. Medicare for all, which is part of the DNA of our country, should be what is on the table. Instead, this has been diluted, mostly by lobbyists and by obstructionist Democrats, too, I will admit.
The deal, though, that labor got is good for all middle-class Americans, middle-class Americans who have been shafted in these last eight years under Bush and Cheney.
Union members being taxed differently than everyone else is good for all middle-class Americans?
Thankfully, Will was really on his game Sunday:
WILL: It's not good for at least the 87 percent of Americans who are not in unions.
Indeed, which is exactly what an honest press would focus on if such a thing existed.
(CROSSTALK)
VANDEN HEUVEL: And, you know, the clean, simple thing, George, which would raise your hair on end, is if there had been a surcharge on the wealthy. I believe the wealthy in this country could afford to pay a little more, and it shouldn't be a burden on the middle class. And these are not Cadillac benefits. Let's not use that term. These are Chevy, if that. They...
(CROSSTALK)
Much as he did earlier in the segment when he asked vanden Heuvel to stop saying "Teabaggers," Tucker Carlson marvelously shot down "The Nation" editor:
TUCKER CARLSON: You get the boldness award for defending the indefensible, to -- I mean, I think there are many parts of this bill you could defend, as someone who agrees with the ideological aims of the bill. But to defend the carve-out for Obama campaign contributors, these unions, is a pretty bold thing to do. And I'm...
(CROSSTALK)
VANDEN HEUVEL: I admire boldness, and...
(CROSSTALK)
BRAZILE: ...we're going to support the middle class.
Yes, Donna -- the middle class that supports Democrats, that is.
In the end, kudos go to ABC for scheduling such a balanced Roundtable.
For a change, viewers got to really see the differences between liberal and conservative ideologies on "This Week" rather than Will being the lone right-leaning voice as so often happens during these segments.
In fact, it was downright refreshing to see two libs and two cons go at each other.
With this in mind, let's hope Carlson gets more invitations to be Will's tagteam partner.
