Ed Schultz Challenges Eric Cantor To Exciting Debate

On last night's The Ed Show, MSNBC's Ed Schultz didn't take too kindly to Virginia Representative Eric Cantor's suggestion to a constituent, whose relative was diagnosed with cancer and who could not get health care, that she should seek out an "existing government program" or a "charitable organization" to, you know... save her life and whatnot. I can understand why Schultz was so angry! Here's Eric Cantor, knowing full well that America has the "best health care in the world," suggesting that health care was somehow rationed or something!

Well, if Schultz didn't care for Cantor sloughing off the concerns of a constituent in that manner, the straw that seems to have broken the camel's back was a call from a Cantor spokeperson, "chiding him for going after the congressman," reports ThinkProgress. This would not stand!

SCHULTZ: I want you to email or call Cantor's office and ask him why he won't go head to head with me on this issue. Why he doesn't have an answer for that woman that would give her coverage, and why he is against the public option that would give her coverage. She obviously now has a pre-existing condition and can't get helped. She is left behind and the Republicans don't have a plan for her, and they're just comfortable with the fact that she...you know...she's either got financial ruin, or she's going to die.

Schultz then played the original exchange between Cantor and fulminated a bit more before reiterating his call-slash-invitation to have Cantor come on The Ed Show for the entire hour to debate the matter and elucidate the Republican health care plan in full:

SCHULTZ: Call Cantor's office or e-mail him and ask him if he'll go head-to-head with me for a full hour on the Ed show. A full hour. I'll give him a full hour! To explain what the Republican plan is to help that woman out, or is she just left to die?

LISTEN:

Then there was some stuff about roulette tables and ass-kickings. Schultz was pretty het up! He concluded by saying, "Come on, Cantor. Don't hide behind your press secretary. Let's get it ooooooonnn."

Anyway, get excited, America, at the prospect of Ed Schultz and Eric Cantor yelling at each other for an hour, which will solve everything except for the part where it's actually Blue Dog Democrats killing meaningful health care reform because lobbyists paid them to do so.

RELATED:
After being chastized by Cantor's 'PR flack,' Ed Schultz challenges the congressman to a one-hour debate. [ThinkProgress]

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Comments

[morefromLA]

It's like a Navy Seal challenging David Patterson to a target shooting contest.

[magiart1]

The compunctionless nonsense of a reply Cantor poffered that nice woman exemplifies the extent to which these incurably wealth and power-addicted stooges for big businesses of ALL kinds will dissemble brazen-facedly about...

Does Rep. Cantor not receive the most comprehensive and FREE health insurance at taxpayers' expense? Can he understand just how vast the gulf IS between the ripped-off and cornered masses and those who attempt discrediting what they've not HAD to experience and endure? Can tapeworms fly?

No, what bothers the Cantors is the very idea that the affluent and influential wil be forced to pay their fair, proportionate share of what the rest of us pay coercively and disproportionately: TAXES!

These highly but narrowly educated , condescendingly monomaniacal, self-proclaimed fiscal aristocrats cannot FEEL VISCERAL PAIN; no vital experience of what, first - being constrained by this Depression Economy means and, second - what degrading consequences too many REAL people MUST fatally decide about: 1 - possibly irremediale penury - or, 2 - death by some curable disease!

Now we see how the MYTH about 'public opinion clout', when anyone DARES to merely CONSIDER touching the 'economic aristocrats' dirty money, is arrogantly ignored - disgracefully; disingenuously; vituperously and fictitious­ly...

[nini516]

Cantor doesn't have the courage to go on that show. He's heartless.

[wyldthings]

Sorry, Ed is an opportunist. He was a conservative who was not on the radar as a national talk show host. Some say he changed his views. I think he just changed because he went from not being in the top 25 to the top 5 as a liberal. Let's see his income back then and see it now as a liberal.

[drumz]

You're full of it. He woke up to the fact that the GOP is for the rich ONLY! He changed and so can you but me thinks he's a tad smarter.

[wyldthings]

Right From Nobody on the right to a top liberal talk show host. Keep it up that the party of the rich are Republicans. Eight of the richest Senators or congressmen are Democrats.

[Factonfact]

You're doing stellar work, Ed. But a word of advice: Dump Howard Fineman. He brings nothing to the table that we couldn't read in The New York Times Online or any number of other sources long before his appearances. And his bearing and expression on your show suggests that he considers you something of a joke (as compared to him, of course,). Fineman is a lazy, self-important, self-indulgent Country Club Journalist who seldom is right in his opinions about anything and who has a long, long record of sheer outright foolishness. Dump him.

[audadvnc]

Fortunately, that woman's black, so Cantor's remarks get a pass ...

[JustLeftOfRight]

Ed's doing what the president SAID he would do, he's calling these weasels out in public and challenging them. I've seen little of that from O or his surrogates since the speech. They could of capitalized on Cantor's statement when talking about the public option, but have they?

[psmarc93]

Ok, I'd watch this debate, but I'd rather Rachel Maddow or even Jon Stewart did it. Ed is not a good debater.

[bigsioux]

He does yell too much. I can hear fine Ed.

[psmarc93]

Whassup with the yelling? Also he gets so angry that he starts using "loaded" language "Well, so what's your SCHEME to get Obama?" and he gets off the argument too often. I like this liberal Limbaugh's politics, but that doesn't mean he debates well. Maddow faces down pretty savvy debaters without ever getting off track or weakening her argument with disparaging words. She may get riled up, but she seems to become MORE polite and respectful the angrier she gets. Pretty cool.

[babyboomerorig]

Cantor's response would be something like GWB's...."­Everyone has health insurance.­..they can just go to the emergency room".

[chloe4455]

No way Cantor will face Schultz.

[jaslyn]

Cantor HAS no answers! He's a tool with no suggestions, no ideas, nothing but the motivation to maintain the status quo. He's not a servant to the public; he's a servant to insurance and big Pharma.

[DestinationsUnknown]

American Airlines dropping a retiree health plan

American Airlines is dropping its long-standing health insurance plan for retired executives and support staff over 65 as the company battles rising medical costs and a decline in revenue.

Read full story from The Seattle Times

American Airlines cancels HEALTH INSURANCE for NON-UNION RETIRED employees

[DestinationsUnknown]

American Airlines cancels HEALTH INSURANCE for NON-UNION RETIRED employees

[DestinationsUnknown]

Apple to Apple-

Name ONE other TOOL that is the equivalent of a Public Option.

Name ONE other TOOL that is equal if not better then the Public Option to Decrease Cost.

You know- 'Bend the Cost Curve'- ?

Apparently one of the phrases WSJ advised President Obama to DUMB DOWN!

'Bend the Cost Curve'

(I wonder how many Americans truly understand what this means-unfortunately not enough)

Sen. Ben Nelson - the Blue Dog stated it correctly!

Although I am not sure this truth was intended but here it is:

According to Sen. Nelson- Public Option ' would drive the price down ' Exactly Nelson- Thanks!

Does Nelson think his GOP voters will vote him in regardless of how he votes?

This is the moronic mentality of too many policy makers on the take! We all know a public option is to bring health costs down-

That is what the Public Option is for- to bring costs down Now Nelson states- “…if we went with a full public option -- which he called a government plan -- it would drive the price down and hurt private companies.­”

Yes Senator- DRIVE THE PRICE DOWN!

THAT IS IT SENATOR-

THAT IS WHAT we call BENDING THE COST CURVE

A term that those on the take do not want to educate the American people on- Bending the Cost Curve.

[DestinationsUnknown]

How many hours have been used for the MED Advantage Insurance Companies Wednesday and Thursday?

Apparently - none of them were paying attention to Tom Scully- Aug 27-2009- on C-Span-

Tom Scully- Bush's CMS Administrator stated Medicare Advantage, Part C- is overpaid!

This is what OBAMA wants to CUT!

Back door elimination to Medicare Med Advantage is now unfolding as to why this was infiltrated into Medicare.

Mr. Scully admits that Med Advantage turned out to be tactfully wrong- he would not admit the other failure- the philosophical failure.

Yet they continue to scare the seniors with their 'death panels' rhetoric.

Scully admits politically- no one wants to tell those 10 million seniors on Med Advantage that the benefits that were subsidized by tax dollars to Insurance companies will no longer be given thus they will not get the benefits they thought they were going to get.

NO GOP with GUTS!

GOP will not - will never admit what they set up has failed miserably.

Just like GOP will never admit MED D failed miserably.

Back door elimination to all democratic institutions- that is the C-Street Philosophy.

"Slow down, Mr. President: We can't afford to get health care wrong," said the memo.

"Slow down, Mr. President: We can't afford to get health care wrong," said the RNC chairman- Leader Steele.