Fox News wants you to think that “common sense Democrats” would "eat their vegetables" and cooperate with Donald Trump’s plan to repeal Obamacare and, probably, the rest of his radical agenda.
Never mind that Trump is historically unpopular nor that he has no mandate nor that Obamacare has never been so popular as it is right now, with more Americans now approving of it than disapproving. Fox News host (and Trump cheerleader) Harris Faulkner seems to think Democrats should act like Trump is Barack Obama when he first took office. Even worse, Fox News Democratic wanker Doug Schoen is on board.
Early in the discussion, Harris Faulkner complained about Democrats who boycotted Donald Trump’s inauguration. She sneered that “no one missed them, apparently,” but she still acted offended.
Noting that many of the boycotters were women and people of color, she said, “Certain groups are not going to be represented at the table if they continue to sit out.” She asked Schoen, “How in the world does your party justify – they were elected to be there. How do they justify that?”
Schoen said that the polarization in the country is so bad that Faulkner’s “common sense” does not prevail. He didn't say a word about the effect of Trump attacking civil rights icon John Lewis on Martin Luther King Day, just a few days previously.
So Faulkner began suggesting that Democrats should be pushed into participating. And Schoen was on board.
FAULKNER: You and I are parents and you know sometimes you have to get little Sally and little Johnny to eat their vegetables even though you know that they don’t like them and their friends are giving them street cred for not eating them. […] Their job is to go to Washington and get along and get their jobs done.
[…]
SCHOEN: Here’s the problem. You are a very good parent and a very good mother. But there’s no leadership in the Democratic Party and there’s no one there to say we all have to work together. I say it and I believe common-sense Democrats believe that. But more and more, the common-sense Democrats are sitting out or being marginalized and the institutional pressures of women, minorities, the left are pulling away from eating vegetables and more just snacking on, really, candy. Political candy.
Schoen did note Trump’s role in the problem. “The parent in this situation is the president, Donald Trump. He has to do more than he did to bring people together,” Schoen said.
So now that the inauguration is over, what kind of “vegetables” was Faulkner thinking Democrats should be forced to eat now? Why, it turned out to be the repeal of Obamacare. And it turned out Schoen was on board with that, too.
FAULKNER: Let’s talk Obamacare. Alright, we’ve got the Patient Freedom Act coming out tomorrow. Your thoughts.
SCHOEN: My thoughts are we need to replace Obamacare so that 20 million people are able to have care, that we do not end up in the situation where costs spiral because insurance companies can’t afford to provide reasonably-priced care.
And right now, we do not have a clear path for providing that care. And, yeah, everybody – Republicans certainly want to replace Obamacare but we have no idea what it’s gonna really be.
[…]
FAULKNER: I know Republicans are going ahead. I know John mentioned this, I’ve heard others say that they’re going to have to sell this whole idea to the American public so they don’t get scared. But Doug, a quote from you. I’m going to quote you to you:
“Democratic scare mongering is making GOP nervous but 75% of the public still wants repeal or dramatic change in Obamacare.
SCHOEN: Right, and what Evan [Siegfried, the other guest] spoke of and what I spoke of there is actually a real problem. Because if there isn’t bipartisanship and if the Democrats do promote fear instead of cooperating, we’ll get the worst of all possible worlds: polarization, no legislation. And a very angry and restive public.
FAULKNER: Let’s hope they didn’t take the cue from the outgoing President Obama, who said, “Don’t rescue them” when it came to working with Republicans.
SCHOEN: Boy is that bad. Really, the Republicans have to work with the Democrats, too.
As someone who depends on Obamacare for health insurance, I can assure you that I see no reason for Democrats to make any compromises on my health insurance or anyone else’s just because Republicans can't wait to take it away.
If Democrats need to “eat their vegetables” they should do so to gain strength to fight the Republican plan to give their wealthy cronies a tax break while the rest of us suffer with lesser coverage.
Watch Faulkner promote Trump's agenda while pretending otherwise, from the January 22, 2017 Fox Report Weekend.
The Right Wing and Fox News have no moral ground whatsoever to make these kinds of statements, and shame on them for attempting to do so. How dare they accuse the majority of this country of immaturity when in fact it’s the Right who has spent the past 8 years in a constant and vicious temper tantrum?
The Right Wing never accepted or acknowledged Barack Obama as a legitimate president. They worked to undermine him even before he was sworn into office into 2009. They deliberately undercut him at every opportunity, including their refusal to do their jobs whenever possible and even sending treasonous letters overseas to try to disrupt treaties he was negotiating with foreign leaders.
And now that the Right has an acting president in Mike Pence who will do their harshest bidding, we are meant to lay down and just enjoy the damage these people intend to do to the country? And if anyone raises an objection, it’s because they’re being childish?
Self-awareness is clearly not a keystone of anyone on the Right, is it?
When the Right Wing can acknowledge its own childishness and churlishness, then perhaps it can ask others to help in a healing process. But not when the tone being set by Donald Trump and Sean Spicer and Kellyanne Conway is that of screaming at everyone to get in line or else.
Shoen is such an ass. Seriously. Him and Pat Caddell should join the Tea Party already and show up on set in costume with tricorne hats and knee breeches. 😉
