Matthews To Health Care Reform Opponent: What You're Talking About Doesn't Exist

Chris Matthews interviewed Tim Phillips, the president of Americans for Prosperity, Thursday about health care reform.

At the center of their discussion was disturbing footage from an Ohio protest that showed opponents of the health care overhaul legislation shouting down a health care supporter, a man with Parkinson's Disease sitting before them.

One of the screaming men wore a pin for Americans for Prosperity. Phillips condemned the angry protester, but said that because of "the government takeover" he could imagine why the man was so angry.

Phillips told Matthews that the man with Parkinson's should join his group and fight health care reform. Matthews scoffed at the claim

MATTHEWS: Do you think that guy's got good health care right now. Do you think he's got health? He's sitting in the street.

PHILLLIPS: I tell you what, I think it's going to be worse under the federal government. We're going to have a bureaucrat deciding that he's not worth saving, potentially.

MATTHEWS: OK, he is as valuable to our society as any one of those guys yelling at him

PHILLLIPS: No one's arguing that point here, Chris.

MATTHEWS: What do you recommend he do?

PHILLLIPS: I recommend that he not support legislation where bureaucrats in this government may be deciding whether or not to cover his sickness. Because they're gonna be deciding that. The section in the Senate law 2713 does just that. It establishes boards that says OK, we think this sickness and this sickness is worth covering, well, you know what, that one's not and we're not going to cover it.

MATTHEWS: Here's my problem. The thirty million people that are going to get health care subsidized under this bill. Right now, have relied on a private sector program that doesn't exist. They don't get health care now. So whatever you're talking about doesn't exist. There is no health care for the thirty million people who will benefit from this program of the president.

PHILLLIPS: And we're going to destroy the best health care system for the other people.

MATTHEWS: But those thirty million people of which that gentleman on the ground represents. Those thirty million people have nothing.

WATCH:

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Comments

[smugbunny]

02:24 PM on 03/26/2010

When are the people in this country going to get sick of the lies and hatred that is propagated by the right wing nutjobs? The right appeals to the lowest common denominator in people, their basest instincts. No wonder they are so popular at the moment! People are filled with hatred, they are fearful of the other. They are afraid to lose what little they have, but they don't understand that by continuing to give all their support to the rich and the powerful, they are only guaranteeing that outcome.

Anyone in this country who must work for a living (those who aren't independently wealthy) is becoming more and more of an indentured servant to the corporations all the time. They (the corporations) decide when they need you, and when they no longer need you, they toss you out on the street. When your health insurance is tied to your job benefits, where will you go for your healthcare? You no longer have a paycheck coming in, so you can't afford exorbitant premiums, or even Cobra. You will rely on government programs and the Emergency Room, just like those millions of people who are already in that position.

And now, Corporate America has control of the Supreme Court. It is even more important to lay some sort of groundwork of protection of average Americans from the greedy and the powerful. Wake up, people, especially you tea partiers - you don't strike me as the power elite.

[itjustis]

11:29 AM on 03/25/2010

News Flash: Chris Matthews and MSNBC raitings fall below the Cartoon Channel in viewing for month of February.

At No. 26 is MSNBC and CNN is No. 32.

Over at 13th place, the Cartoon Network is beating both of them.

It’s the credibility gap.

[BoshSpong]

01:59 PM on 03/26/2010

Yo are acting in a pathetic way when you excuse unexcusable behavior by talking about the cartoon channel - you show your callousness and your extreme selfishness typical of the republican party. Don't you "get" it?

This man for AFP is making patently ridiculous statements - Do you like the idea that an insurance company bureaucrat decides what is covered and what is not covered? The argument is ridiculous and it only serves to protect the massive for profit health care system - Why is it that you teabaggers cannot open your eyes and see the facts?

[grind88]

05:56 AM on 03/21/2010

Wow, that guy was de-stroyed

[meko]

11:29 PM on 03/20/2010

Much of what bill PROPONENTS talk about doesn't exist either:

http://firedoglake.com/fdl-fact-sheet-the-truth-about-the-health-care-bill/

[DoTheMath]

10:27 PM on 03/20/2010

"PHILLLIPS: And we're going to destroy the best health care system for the other people." This completely unsupported claim is at the heart of the anti-reform fear-mongering campaign. People fear change because they are afraid things will get worse for them. The only people for whom things will really get worse are the people who profit from the current chaos we call a health care system.

People who think it's OK not to be covered because they are healthy, people who think they are covered because they haven't needed to use their insurance, people whose rates haven't YET exceeded what they can afford, people who haven't YET lost their coverage because they haven't yet lost their jobs and their employers haven't yet dropped their coverage -- all these people are vulnerable to fear-mongering because they think they have something to lose. The fact is that most of them either do not really have what they think they have, or they are more likely to lose the health care they have if reform does NOT pass.

[BettyTC]

06:50 PM on 03/19/2010

Toward the end of the interview, Phillips asks ..... where are the supporters of Health Care Reform?.... And claims we are afraid .....?

I've got news for Mr. Phillips. He and is astroturf crowd should be very afraid. Our work as progressives is not over. We will make sure that those that oppossed this reform do not return to Congress. We want legislators who will govern with us .... not against us. We will get single payer. It is inevitable.

Our values are consistent with an America everyone cherishes. One where we all have access to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. All of that is predicated on our health. Health is freedom.

[denicci1977]

12:47 PM on 03/20/2010

Supporters of health reform have been rallying around too and very outspoken. Too bad the media would rather cover people carrying Obama joker signs and teabags on their foreheads.

[ObamaSupporterPete]

02:46 AM on 03/26/2010

We want to make a better way for more people. What kind of sensational news is that? Look over there, there's a lady wearing a hat with teabags hanging off the edge. Isn't she clever. She's at a tea party protest, get it? Why report the facts of the legislation rather than acting as an echo chamber for the lies and distortions. There can be no reasoned debate until you can agree on your parameters. When someone believes in death panels and and eligibility boards that don't exist, how do you have discussion and debate? I'm flummoxed as to why we let them make so much noise. If you claim there are things in the bill that aren't you shouldn't be allowed into the discussion. Free speech is very important, but so is not being untruthful about legislation and accusing the President of being an alien, or a socialist, and a communist (he can't be both at the same time, BTW). How can a lie stating that the stimulus was an absolute failure and then going home and handing out big honkin' checks for projects funded by the stimulus be not recognized for what it is?

[SteveMarlin]

05:22 PM on 03/19/2010

" Blogger Tom Elia notes that in an interview on MSNBC's "The Daily Rundown," Jim Clyburn--the No. 3 House Democrat, behind Steny Pelosi and Nancy Hoyer--explained exactly how ObamaCare is going to save the taxpayer money.
Chuck Todd: Can you explain how you get a trillion dollars in deficit reduction? I mean, the CBO didn't make it very clear. Do you feel like you understand how it is this bill somehow reduces the deficit by a trillion dollars in those out years?
Clyburn: I think I do. What we are squeezing out of this system--remember, Medicare is a big part of this. We're extending the life of Medicare by nine years, and if you're taking the waste, fraud and abuse out of this, the savings that you get there will come as things grow. Savings will grow. You look at the community health centers. Savings will grow more in out years than in the first few years. So I believe--well, that's my assessment, and that's the way I'm explaining it to members. I hope I'm right.

[SteveMarlin]

05:25 PM on 03/19/2010

Continued

"Savannah Guthrie: But Congressman, you know, speaking of actually the first 10 years, I think when ordinary Americans look at this and they hear this is a bill that will cost $940 billion but will reduce the deficit $138 billion, they don't understand how those two things go together. Can you just explain how you have to spend almost a trillion dollars to save $138 billion?
Clyburn: Well, because--sure. If you look at, as I said, the kind of savings that you build into the system, what it will save the federal government when you get people into these private insurance plans--the cost-shifting, all of that, out of the system. So if you got 32 million people coming onto insurance plans, that's 32 million people coming out of emergency rooms; that's 32 billion [sic] people that you don't have to pay for in all the cost-shifting that takes place in the system. When my wife had bypass surgery, I looked on her bill. We paid $15 for one aspirin. Then that takes all of that out of the system, and that's how you get that kind of savings, when you multiply that by the number of people that are getting primary care out of emergency rooms, you won't be doing that. That's the kind of stuff.""


That's the kind of stuff - great. I am for it now.

[robphilnz]

02:57 PM on 03/19/2010

ctd. . .

Yet this was a spectacularly Christ-like moment, as the crowd mocked and taunted a lone man on the ground, a man condemned to death with Parkinson's Disease. And not one Christian in the entire crowd, because they would have tried to stop the mob, or stood between him and the crowd, to show the love for others - showing the love which Jesus taught as the essence of all of his teaching.

They all appeared happy and satisifed, and very self-righteous: they should feel utterly appalled and dismayed.

Hatred is their God; Beck is their prophet.

[robphilnz]

02:59 PM on 03/19/2010

oops! out of order. Read next post first.

[Chris Holdread]

03:54 PM on 03/19/2010

if there is a god or christ then glenn beck is the anti christ

[robphilnz]

02:56 PM on 03/19/2010

A man who exercises his free speech, while quietly sitting on the ground holding a placard, is an affront to people who proclaim their adherence to the Constitution and the Bible? And Phillips is their apologist?

This has got to be one of the ugliest scenes of screaming, uncaring America that I have ever witnessed. The crowds screaming and cheering while the lions in the ring kill those who have a different "faith" to the crowd - a desire for health care change. Unbelievable ugliness for all the world to see, completely contradicitng the "Greatest Nation on Earth" concept that these sorts of people so often claim, I am part of the outside world viewing this.

Those "people" in Columbus, Ohio, acting as they were, are the pus of humanity. What a disgusting, demeaning way to treat any man who disagrees with you. One man: one mob: mob rules.

"Christians" have been saying on this site that Christianity will assist whomever asks for help, that goverment intervention is not required,.yet (as I suggested in an earlier post), it took only moments for someone to be spitting in his face "nothing here is free" while another throws a bit of money at him (and who could touch anything "given" with such disparaging hatred); not even a glimmer of humanity nor empathy, let alone Christianity.

[robphilnz]

02:58 PM on 03/19/2010

ctd, , ,

Yet this was a spectacularly Christ-like moment, as the crowd mocked and taunted a lone man on the ground, a man condemned to death with Parkinson's Disease. And not one Christian in the entire crowd, because they would have tried to stop the mob, or stood between him and the crowd, to show the love for others - showing the love which Jesus taught as the essence of all of his teaching.

They all appeared happy and satisifed, and very self-righteous: they should feel utterly appalled and dismayed.

Hatred is their God; Beck is their prophet.

[Paintio]

02:48 PM on 03/19/2010

When he's obnoxious (always) and lame ya'll call him Tweety and a fool. When he's effective then it's Chris and go gett'em Mr Matthews.

I kinda feel the same way, but I think us and we are a little silly sometimes.

[Westof405]

02:27 PM on 03/19/2010

Philips health reform argument uses the same tactic right wingers use against gay marriage-that giving rights to one group takes them away from others.

This bill does not, as Philips claims, destroy what people already have; it just makes insurance available to more people at a reasonable price. He also makes the same "death panel" argument that is a proven lie.

We do not have the best health care system in the world. We have doctors who will sell you the best care if you can afford it, but we do not have the best system, because that care is unavailable to 47 Million Americans without any insurance and millions more who have insurance, but not enough to cover the costs of certain treatments.

If you have insurance, but have a $5000 deductible and high co-payments, how is that helpful if you don't have the $5000 in the first place? You could still wind up bankrupt if you get sick or seriously injured.

To paraphrase Oscar Wilde, the motto of the GOP is this: "It is not enough that I succeed, the rest of you must fail." Until we have a single payer system like the UK or Canada where everyone is covered, but those who want to can supplement their care with private insurance, we will not have anything remotely resembling a good health care system.

[Bellanova]

02:42 PM on 03/19/2010

"This bill does not, as Philips claims, destroy what people already have"

Indeed, and that's another point on which Matthews should have opposed the fearmongering Phillips.

"Until we have a single payer system like the UK or Canada where everyone is covered, but those who want to can supplement their care with private insurance, we will not have anything remotely resembling a good health care system."

Totally agree.

[KevinFletcherTweedy]

02:27 PM on 03/19/2010

What no interviewer seems to ask is WHO IS FUNDING these slick sham-wow salesfolk like Tim Phillips? If the "followers" of this "front" knew that they were being recruited to give voice to their fat cat funders they might think twice about their support. So far, few news organizations beyond Rachel Maddow have dug into the registration details to unmask where the money is coming from that pays folks like Phillips. Learn, baby, learn

[Paintio]

02:50 PM on 03/19/2010

Like you said Rachel has been all over the funding from day one. National Treasure that woman, just like Moore said.

[Bellanova]

02:15 PM on 03/19/2010

Matthews did a good job here, but should have confronted Phillips on the "government takeover" insanity.

On a related note, how low are we willing to sink as a country? As some commenter below remarked, the image of a group of grown-up, healthy, well-dressed, middle-aged white men proudly harrassing and mocking a disabled gentleman who's immobile and sitting on the ground, is tough to stomach or forget. This is compassionate conservatism in action. Those are the Republican values demonstrated for all to see. What civilized society on Earth is willing to tolerate and condone this kind of behavior? One determined to self-destruct perhaps?

These men must have families -- what would their wives, mothers, children think of this behavior? (Unless of course their parents and spouses fully subscribe to the same "values.") And what kind of husbands, sons, and fathers are they? This is not an isolated behavior. Acting this way takes a special kind of heartlessness that permeates a person's relationship to the world in general, including his own relatives.

Sad, and frightening. We condemn bloody conflicts in other parts of the globe, but we have the makings of our own right under our own noses, where it's become permissible -- nay, expected with pride -- to harrass, and, by extension, deny the right to existence to those who are weak and needy and not "like us." This is the apartheid mentality on full display. Or compassionate conservatism, if you will.

[bardgal]

02:21 PM on 03/19/2010

Right ON sister! fanned!

[je7374]

09:46 AM on 03/20/2010

I would really like Hardball to find the guy that tossed the money and see if he had the guts for an interview.

[awa611]

07:03 PM on 03/21/2010

Did you notice the guy on the left of the screen standing there with his baby strapped to him? I mean, one of the most hateful scenes I've seen for quite some time, and a father allows his child to be around these hateful people. And he, in the name of his baby's future, didn't have the courage to step between these guys and ask them to stop. What a role model!

[everonward]

02:13 PM on 03/19/2010

I've seen Philips before and he's slippery as an eel. Kudos to Matthews for giving it a shot, but you can't shame someone who doesn't have a conscience.

[georgiaR]

02:11 PM on 03/19/2010

I laugh everytime I hear Chris Matthews say that Fox is a mouth piece for the Repblicans. He & MSNBC are mouth pieces for Obama

[Subtext]

02:19 PM on 03/19/2010

Completely wrongheaded comparison.
MSNBC has a couple left-leaning commentators, period. Matthews is a one-time Democrat who spent the last ten years kissing Tom Delay's hind-quarters. Joe Scarborough? Scarborough is a conservative if he's anything beyond an opportunist.
MSNBC is owned by GE, part of the defense industry - they're constantly putting on commentators to drum up military spending.
Moreover, MSNBC does not invent political news, or back tea parties, or invent controversies.
Fox, on the other hand, is a 24-hour propaganda machine for one political party - the exact thing we were told as kids that they did in 'Red China' or behind the iron curtain - the exact thing Orwell warned us about.

[Bellanova]

02:20 PM on 03/19/2010

There is a difference between being a mouthpiece for selfishness, greed and insanity, and being a mouthpiece for forces that oppose them. Not all values are created equal.