Health Care Debate...an Actual Debate!!

This morning on Morning Meeting with Dylan Ratigan, there was an interesting development. Mr. Ratigan hosted an actual debate on health care! Shocking I know. But it did happen.

The segment in quest was ostensibly to be a debate between Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) and form New York Lt. Governor Betsy McCaughey (some how pronounced McCoy!). Now I am not going to present this as some sort of impartial and objective airing of differing points of view. I loathe Mrs. McCaughey. She has done more in the last 15 years to retard substantive health care reform then almost any other person.

Her track record on this issue is clear. If there is a democrat in the White House, she will be against virtually any health care reform they offer. The New Republic has a timely and long overdue piece attacking Mrs. McCaughey, especially since the very same publication was responsible for publishing her first misguided screed.

But I digress. In contrast to Mrs. McCaughey, Rep. Weiner has been vocal proponent of health care reform (a strong advocate of a single-payer system). So I am clearly on one side of this argument. But here is the segment on the Morning Meeting:

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Obviously the host grew increasingly frustrated with Mrs. McCaughey's dissembling. Not only that, but I did very much enjoy the exchange over the "tort reform". While it is an issue which I talked about in much greater detail here, the statics just do not support the claim that it is the magic bullet that so many conservatives paint to be. I mean, viscerally it has the right feel to it. Lawyers are held in low regard by the general public, so it only stands to reason that they are somehow messing up health care too! The problem with that sort of rationalization, though cathartic, just is not an accurate assessment of what actually happens.

To add to that, when Mrs. McCaughey did finally answer Mr. Ratigan's question. Rep. Weiner took that opportunity to pounce. Pointing out accurately, that what she was suggestion was a removal of Medicare coverage for anyone currently 55 years old or younger. Not that I am opposed to some sort of age increase, in actuality I think the CBO's recommendation is a valid one. I just viscerally enjoy when a serial demagogue, gets out demagogued, or at the very least rhetorically treated the way they treat others.

As I stated earlier, it is just pleasant to see specious arguments challenged. Mr. Ratigan did an admirable job of trying to the keep the conversation tethered to the topic at hand. So it is worth a watch.

-Cheer