Kline gets past the rudimentary explanation of the House and Senate's process, i.e., the sausage making explanation. The lies start dribbling down his chin at 1:47 (I've bolded the lies):
1:47 Unfortunately, this has largely been taken out of my hands in terms of that specific piece of legislation. The Democrats will pull it back in, into essentially a closed conference and work on the language without Republican input and that's what's been fundamentally wrong with this process. This should have been a bipartisan process from the very beginning where we had a blank piece of paper and said what can we agree on that will help lower the costs of healthcare and allow more Americans to be insured and not place a burden on the taxpayers. Instead what we got was a bill written by Democrats which puts $730 billion, slashes Medicare by $500 billion and raises the cost of insurance. The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services just came out with their analysis of Nancy Pelosi's bill and it increases healthcare costs while taxing individuals and businesses $730 billion, eliminating for all practical purposes Medicare Advantage and taking $500 billion out of Medicare. It's horrible legislation.
Esme (2:51): But doesn't this bill in effect allow greater access for more people to healthcare who currently don't have healthcare?
Kline (2:56): Well that --
Esme: You do acknowledge that there is a crisis in this country, with so many people who don't have insurance?
Kline: There are too many people without insurance, there's no question about that. Democrats and Republicans agree. But what the Pelosi bill has done is still leave millions uninsured, it costs all of this money, it's gonna cost jobs, it's gonna slash Medicare, it's gonna endanger seniors, it is horrible legislation that needs to be stopped so we can come together in a bipartisan way and say what are the things that we can do.
Bipartisanship Lie
Just to be clear, here's Kline's statement again:
This should have been a bipartisan process from the very beginning where we had a blank piece of paper and said what can we agree on ...
What do Republicans and Democrats agree on? Other than too many people are uninsured, nothing. Republicans at their town hall forums claimed that Obama was (among other things) a Nazi Muslim born in Kenya who hated America. That healthcare reform would kill seniors. That we need to slit our wrists in a covenant to stop healthcare reform. They equated healthcare reform with genocide.
It's as if Kline agrees that he wants to order a pizza, but will not agree on any ingredients including cheese and sauce.
The Cost of the Public Option Lie
Kline would like you to believe that after sitting on the sidelines of Congress as the Bush Administration turned a Clinton surplus into a $1.2 trillion deficit, he's actually a fiscal conservative. Or at least a reborn one. Just never you mind those years under Bush.
In his statements to Murphy, he specifically and repeatedly claims that the House bill would cost $730 billion. He seems to be both concerned that it's expensive and will be paid for by raising taxes. He's ignoring the Congressional Budget Office's estimate that the bill would be deficit neutral.
Furthermore, he states that the "Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services just came out with their analysis of Nancy Pelosi's bill and it increases healthcare costs while taxing individuals and businesses $730 billion..." I have no idea where or from who's butt he's pulling these numbers. But apparently, many Republicans are citing the CMS.
Nowhere in the PDF of the report does it even mention the number 730 billion. Here's what the CMMS's analysis actually said:
The House-approved healthcare overhaul would raise the costs of healthcare by $289 billion over the next 10 years, according to an analysis by the chief actuary at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
(The Hill)
The Slash Medicare Lie
Kline conflates cost savings into slashing Medicare. First and foremost, the House bill allows Medicare to negotiate for the lowest drug prices from the pharmaceutical companies. Denying Medicare the ability to negotiate was a massive giveaway to his corporate overlords that Kline voted for.
Furthermore, the other "cuts" are just making Medicare more efficient which will save money.
The Endangering Seniors Lie
This is one of the most blatantly bogus bunch of bull**** that Murphy let Kline spew. There aren't going to be any changes to Medicare that will have any effect on people's lives.
This is just plain and simple fearmongering from a Republican.
Healthcare Reform means Lost Jobs Lie
While not as cynically playing into the Kill Grandma talking point like the previous lie, this lie is just about as blatantly false. Kline wants to claim that healthcare reform will so burden the economy that businesses will close.
The opposite is true.
Many businesses are saddled with 10-12% increases in health insurance costs each year. Not addressing these astronomically rising costs is idiotic.
Small businesses will get help providing insurance to their employees through tax breaks.
It's unbelievable that Murphy isn't sharp enough to notice this one. It's also a clear sign that she didn't do the slightest amount of research in preparation for Kline's appearance on her show.
Leaving Millions Uninsured Lie
Really? I think it's actually the Dems who have been bought by the pharmaceutical companies who have weakened the bill so that fewer people would be covered.
Oh ... and your bill ... the Republican bill ... yea ... that one. It sucks far worse:
The House Republicans' health care bill would cost significantly less than the Democrats' plans and possibly lower the average cost of premiums, but it would leave millions uninsured, according to a report from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
The 230-page GOP bill would reduce the number of uninsured in the United States by 3 million by 2019, according the CBO analysis (PDF). That would leave about 52 million nonelderly residents uninsured. The share of residents with insurance coverage would be about 83 percent, roughly what it is now.
The GOP bill insures about 33 million fewer people than the Democrats' bill.
(CBS)
Esme Murphy -- culpable or lazy?
Why wouldn't Murphy do any research in preparation for Kline's interview? Is she lazy? Or does she not want to confront Kline out of the fear that he wouldn't appear on her show if he knew she'd call him on his bull****.
I think it's the latter.
Kline goes to great lengths to avoid any situation in which he might have to justify his lack of accomplishments or his poor voting record. When he holds public meetings, which he almost never does, his staff tightly control who gets inside. |
