As a Republican civil war rages over Trumpcare, Fox News is sounding less enthusiastic than I would have expected.
Sunday night, at about 11:20 PM ET, I went to the homepage of FoxNews.com and found this in the top spot:
The negative sounding "tries to downplay" headline could just be the work of a novice writer. And I notice that some of the sidebars are more upbeat:
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Kevin Koster commented
2017-03-14 13:56:19 -0400
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O’Reilly attempted to spin the CBO report last night as showing that people would “choose” not to have coverage. That’s not what the report shows. The report clearly shows that the lower income people who were able to find coverage under the ACA will be losing that coverage. In a bizarre turn, even O’Reilly admitted that the likely result of the passing of HAHA will be that lower income patients will once again resort to the Emergency Rooms, provided they can get there.
And the harder line Right Wingers are now openly stating that health coverage is not something anyone should count on if they don’t have their own money saved up to cover it. I appreciate that people like Ted Cruz and Mike Lee are at least being honest about what the Pence White House is doing.
In a way, they’re getting a double plus out of this. On the one hand, they get to rip away the primary accomplishment of President Obama and retroactively declare his tenure as a failure. And at the same time, they get to punish anyone and everyone who believed Obama or the Dems could accomplish anything good for the country. And they get to smack the paws of what few GOP members even partly tried to work with Obama or the Dems. If these guys get their way, it’s truly a victory for the Scut Farkuses of the world and a shining example for bullies everywhere.
And the harder line Right Wingers are now openly stating that health coverage is not something anyone should count on if they don’t have their own money saved up to cover it. I appreciate that people like Ted Cruz and Mike Lee are at least being honest about what the Pence White House is doing.
In a way, they’re getting a double plus out of this. On the one hand, they get to rip away the primary accomplishment of President Obama and retroactively declare his tenure as a failure. And at the same time, they get to punish anyone and everyone who believed Obama or the Dems could accomplish anything good for the country. And they get to smack the paws of what few GOP members even partly tried to work with Obama or the Dems. If these guys get their way, it’s truly a victory for the Scut Farkuses of the world and a shining example for bullies everywhere.
David Lindsay commented
2017-03-13 14:25:34 -0400
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“GOP health plan risks backlash from seniors.”
A combination of hedging their bets and not riling up senior citizens on health care issues.
Social Security and Medicare are the third rail of American politics. Faux viewers are a confused mixed up lot. Senior Faux viewers even more so.
The captain ordered, “Ahead. Dead slow.”
A combination of hedging their bets and not riling up senior citizens on health care issues.
Social Security and Medicare are the third rail of American politics. Faux viewers are a confused mixed up lot. Senior Faux viewers even more so.
The captain ordered, “Ahead. Dead slow.”
Kevin Koster commented
2017-03-13 11:37:38 -0400
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I agree that Wallace is probably trying to position himself as mildly critical of the Heritage Action Health Act, so as to give Fox News a little cover. They’ll need that in years to come when history records that Fox News was a major part of the disaster of the Pence White House in not only selling its outrageous behavior but by instigating it in many cases, such as with the firing of the attorneys.
I note that Wallace did NOT ask the key questions that were needed when Cohn stonewalled him. Here’s an obvious one he passed up: When Cohn made the silly comment that people would have “access”, Wallace needed to point out “Sir, ACCESS is a meaningless term. You and I both have ACCESS to a yacht, but that doesn’t mean we have a million dollars to actually buy one. We’re discussing whether 20 million Americans will actually be able to afford to see a doctor. This is a serious question and not a semantic shell game. Please answer the question you were asked, thank you.”
Here’s another one he passed up: When Cohn pushed the nonsense about Medicaid and other conditions staying constant: "But, Sir, isn’t it true that Medicaid recipients regularly go on and off the rolls, and that your new requirement that they have continuous coverage will mean most people on Medicaid will in fact lose their Medicaid within the first year, since they’ll be unable to afford the new 30 percent surcharge? And isn’t it true that you’re attacking employer-sponsored plans both by removing the tax exemption the employers formerly received for providing them and also by removing the requirement that they even provide them in the first place? And isn’t it true that the “middle group” you’ve discussed will actually be receiving far lower of a subsidy so that they’ll essentially be on their own? Why can’t you simply admit that you’re eliminating the coverage and stop with the semantics about it? Please answer the question and stop citing talking points, thank you."
But sadly, we shan’t be hearing that from Wallace or anyone else at Fox News. And so long as they continue to accept the false premises we’re being handed here, there’s no reason to believe that Fox News will be much of a reliable bellwether against the Pence White House’s push to destroy the ACA and replace it with the HAHA.
I note that Wallace did NOT ask the key questions that were needed when Cohn stonewalled him. Here’s an obvious one he passed up: When Cohn made the silly comment that people would have “access”, Wallace needed to point out “Sir, ACCESS is a meaningless term. You and I both have ACCESS to a yacht, but that doesn’t mean we have a million dollars to actually buy one. We’re discussing whether 20 million Americans will actually be able to afford to see a doctor. This is a serious question and not a semantic shell game. Please answer the question you were asked, thank you.”
Here’s another one he passed up: When Cohn pushed the nonsense about Medicaid and other conditions staying constant: "But, Sir, isn’t it true that Medicaid recipients regularly go on and off the rolls, and that your new requirement that they have continuous coverage will mean most people on Medicaid will in fact lose their Medicaid within the first year, since they’ll be unable to afford the new 30 percent surcharge? And isn’t it true that you’re attacking employer-sponsored plans both by removing the tax exemption the employers formerly received for providing them and also by removing the requirement that they even provide them in the first place? And isn’t it true that the “middle group” you’ve discussed will actually be receiving far lower of a subsidy so that they’ll essentially be on their own? Why can’t you simply admit that you’re eliminating the coverage and stop with the semantics about it? Please answer the question and stop citing talking points, thank you."
But sadly, we shan’t be hearing that from Wallace or anyone else at Fox News. And so long as they continue to accept the false premises we’re being handed here, there’s no reason to believe that Fox News will be much of a reliable bellwether against the Pence White House’s push to destroy the ACA and replace it with the HAHA.
