Arianna to White House: "Welcome to Reality" (VIDEO)

Arianna appeared on MSNBC's "Countdown" Wednesday to discuss the lack of bipartisanship in the health care reform debate and the resilience of rumors about a government "death panel." She argued that President Obama needs to give up his delusion that both parties and industry interests can all come together to achieve real health care reform. She said the president needs to realize that "there is a whole industry here working against reform and the president needs to stop acting as though everybody's interests are aligned." Arianna added that to accomplish meaningful reform with a public option and the ability to negotiate for lower drug prices, Obama should be saying: "If you are with us, come on board. If you are not, get out of the way."

She also said that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid should call for a vote of censure against Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) for his endorsement of the "death panel" falsehood.

WATCH (Interview starts at 4:30)

Comments

[fred edison]

It's one thing to fight to serve your constituents by giving them the truth whether they like it or not, and another thing altogether to surrender to your constituents and kiss their hairy (or hairless) butts, even when you know full well they're wrong.

Keep rockin' for sanity and reason, Arianna.

[BetteB]

As I see reality, any society that allows for-profit health care is a devolving society. A devolving society will self-destruct eventually. I haven't seen the plan that would show we are evolving as humans with non-profit health care as it should be. This isn't political, this is evolutionary, We must change our beliefs.
Love
Bette

[Cleanerman]

I tell you, I want Arianna to be my President.

[stagebandman]

Agree with everything they both said!

And Arianna looked incredibly hot, too!

[norkas]

Barak Obama knows now there is NO way you can work with Republicans. There is alsi another reality that everyone must except and that is a race issue that may Republicans elected official have. Please do not pretend this statement is not true or you are living in a othere reality with blinders over your eyes. Yes Barak Obama has NO chance of getting this bill or many other bill through because of race and it will make it harder for him to reach out.

Mnay supporters of Republcan politicians have hate for the Pres because of race and i and all of you know that to be a fact. This is not the minority of Republicans but the big majority . Arianna is correct and now Barak Obama reached out and sees what he gets in return which is abuse and agression from Republicans in part because of his color. Now is the time for Barak Obama to bring us a helth care bill we all understand and that protects our taxes against fraud and wasteful spending and let the Republicans go to health.

[BKFactor]

A lot o us are tired of seeing biased and unfair reporting. We are tired of not being told the facts. We all know who is guilty.

We call ourselves Progressives, but we don't use the tools we have at hand. Drop a note or call the FCC and complain. I usually email the Chairman of the FCC. If you think a television or radio host or network has broken FCC rules, report them. If you want the FCC to be more of a watchdog, tell them.

Tell these people what you want and get a whole bunch of people to go along with you.

ColorofChange went straight to the advertisers of Glenn Beck (I signed the petition); that's not enough though. You've got to hit these networks with all the legal tools you have. It doesn't cost you a dime to complain to the FCC.

Don't expect change overnight. You've got to keep it up; and I definitely believe you catch more flies with honey than vinegar (in the long haul). You can annoy people with style and grace. Even if you have to do it over and over and over again (smile).

[pammiethekid]

Great post! this is it, what we do matters. We can second-guess our president like disappointed diners who didn't get the wine they wanted with dinner; sit back, complain, and watch it all slip away. Or we can get to work on the problem ourselves, as you say here. Brilliant. Thank you.

[AnotherAngle]

This is a question for BKFactor. When a fair and balanced reporter claims on national television, that President Obama gives him a "thrill up his leg" when he speaks, is this fair and balanced reporting?

[AnotherAngle]

Did you report Chris Matthews as well?

[BKFactor]

Do you think that is fair and balanced reporting?

[AAKAlan]

Just thought of an interesting parallel.

This whole issue is a disinformation campaign by The Republican Party and its right-wing cohorts not to derail health-care, but to derail Obama so they can grab his job, congress and line their pockets like they did last time.

Here's the parallel: Remember "Weapons of Mass Destruction", with Cheney insisting they still existed a year after they were disproven?

Welcome to the legacy of the Karl Rove playbook.

[kagenin]

You could even go back further, to when the GOP started calling the Estate tax a "Death tax". They drummed up a cadre of the uninformed to vote to scrap a tax the vast majority of them would never have to pay simply because they weren't going to die rich enough to be subject to it.

Here, they're attaching a the word "death" to something that otherwise would be a good thing - counseling about the options you have about the way you want to die, whether to go to heroic measures, no matter how expensive, or if there's a point you want a DNR order to be made, what to do with any viable organs you may wish to donate... this is called a "living will," and it saves your family and loved ones a lot of guesswork should the unimaginable happen and you aren't able to tell them yourself directly.

I had a relative who suffered a massive stroke and was put into a coma. When he finally came to, he made it very clear that no more measures would be necessary, that his time had come, and would like to pass on. Had his wishes been known sooner, like if he had a living will, it would have saved our family an immeasurable amount of prolonged heartache, the measurable financial costs of critical life support aside.

This has nothing to do with euthanasia.

[BetteB]

If the reality that we do not die, that this experience as BetteB will end, but the consciousness that I am will continue, were allowed to be public knowledge all the power of the threat of the concept of death would vanish, and we would no longer be controlled by it.
Love
Bette

[LaurenMarie984]

OR you could go back to FDR when he introduced SocialSecurity as part of the new deal and he was called a communist.

Karl is not an inovator, they've been spewing hate for a long time

[emstrem]

Lets see, I have excellent health care, a pre-existing condition, my country is in the throes of a recession that would cost us taxpayers $$$billions more to finance a new health care system (and people making over $250k per year will NOT be able to finance this...wak­e up), I have low deductibles for the medicine I take (which costs my insurance company in excess of $35,000 per year, and that is just for the shots I take three times per week, my co-pay is $5.00 per month).

After talking to my neurologist I'm of under the impression that if Obama gets his way, things will change, (my GP feels this way too). I just suffered from double vision because of my condition, and my doc sent a nurse out to my house within 3 days with a steroid-drip treatment to remedy this situation, no wait, no hassle, expensive as hell, but the double vision is cleared up. I am not willing to give up what I have because the rest of the country was too stubborn buying foreign products instead of MADE IN THE USA Goods all along when all of this could have been avoided, and now you want something from me,,,Tough s**t!!

[AAKAlan]

Well, at least I give you credit for being open about being a self-centered S.O.B.

I worked all my life and lost my health insurance when I was laid off and COBRA ran out. Even under COBRA, I was paying more than $600/month for a truly lousy health coverage (my drugs were cheaper from Wal*Mart than they were with my co-pay!).

I'm glad you have wonderful coverage with traveling nurses. What about the almost 50 million Americans who have NO coverage, including the 14 million currently unemployed?

Your answer to them, "Tough s**t", is about as hearless, crudel, selfish and un-American as any I have ever read.

As long as you have what you need, the h*ll with the rest of the world?

Go crawl back under your rock.

[Cleanerman]

I agree with you, AAKAlan. But, a lot of people in America think as "emstrem" does. It is getting where callous, selfish pronouncements are the American creed to many. I am proud I am not part of that America. I want to be the part of America still left that has a social conscience--and that America sorely needs to be expanded. We need a social conscience that promotes a better quality of life and a more productive one---that would mean universal health care be a reality.

I do agree, as far as the economy goes, the country should work towards producing things at home and creating real jobs in the U.S. "Emstrem" has a point there. America needs to produce more at home and import less.

[BKFactor]

I'm really happy that you are satisfied with your health insurance company. Do you participate in your company's health care plan?

The President said that 2/3 of the cost would be in cleaning up waste, fraud, and abuse and correcting inefficiencies in the system.

1/3 would be paid by those making over $250,000 a year; also if you choose the public option, you might have to pay a premium. Those who fall below a certain income level would receive a subsidy.

This system has to be fixed or your company may decide not to carry the same plans (too expensive). They may even stop offering health insurance plans or your premium may jump over 200%.

What concerns me in your statement is you putting the blame on people who bought foreign products. Little bit more complicated than that my friend.

And let me give you another point of view. My insurance would be a lot cheaper if I didn't have to accommodate someone with a pre-existing condition who has to take expensive drugs as you do and their care is a lot more expensive.

Argument cuts both ways. Let's come up with a compromise that works well for most people.

I'm for the public option and I also want the government (the tax-payer) to stop paying subsidies to insurance companies. Let the insurance companies stand on their own, cut executive pay and go back to the days of being non-profit or mutual health insurance companies.

[surferjay]

Some facts- Fifty million uninsured, fifty million under insured, 75% of Americans want a single payer program, 53% of Republicans want a single payer program, one million bankruptcies and 18,000 dead a year because of lack of health insurance and care. We are 37th in the world in health care quality. The Canadians get twice the health care at half the cost we do. Sixty to seventy cents of every health care dollar go to the health insurance and pharms! The health insurance corps have ripped us off for trillions of dollars- get rid of them like every other industrialized country has, we do not need them! The health insurance corps are spending over one million dollars a day to defeat single payer. The pharms charge us the highest cost for drugs in the world- reign them in like every other industrialized country has! I used to sell health insurance for California's biggest company and the profits were obcene and the tactics criminal! We will save money and people in the long run if a single payer program is adopted.

[BKFactor]

Thanks "surferjay". Appreciate the post.

[LaurenMarie984]

So by having a neurological disorder, *that's* supposed to give you credibility???

"I hove holes in my brain and I don't want to give up the bliss of not not having any braincells left".

R OfL!!

[willbodine]

When is someone going to say this:? "We already have death panels. They are called health insurance companies.­"

[DrP]

I don't know how middle-class and even lower-income families can afford routine care for their children, let alone treatment for illnesses. I had my first routine, preventative care physical in three years last month (I am very healthy and never need to see a doctor, but thought I "should" have a physical since I am 56 years old) and I just received the last bill. Because of my deductible, insurance paid for nothing and my bill was nearly $300. For a routine physical. My employer pays nearly $5000 for a single individual policy for me (no dependents, partner is on Medicare). I can't imagine what they are paying for the employees with families. The $5000 is paying for a catastrophic plan because I will never meet my deductible. I read an article today about one of my state senators telling the gathering at one of his town hall meetings that employers would drop private insurance if they had to pay a $750 - $1000 tax for employers to use the public option. As if that is a bad thing? I would absolutely love that! Then, my employer (a small private college) could lower tuition, give the faculty raises (first time in 3 years) and reinstate the retirement contribution.

[HoustonBlue]

I am a self-employed, middle class person. We pay $10,000 in premiums and deductibles (it's 10% of our income in a good year) for a family of 2 adults and one child. Put another way, the insurance company takes $10,000 of my money before reimbursing a single claim. My policy excludes a number of illnesses/­conditions­. I don't have any money left over for savings, even for my teenager's college education. God forbid one of us ever gets really sick because the insurance company will find some way to deny treatment, most likely by raising my premium to the point I cannot afford the coverage anymore. We have no dental insurance, so I haven't been to the dentist in years. This is not sustainable. I would be one of the first people on a public plan. Insurance companies have had years (since Hillarycare) to reform their ways, innovate, come up with new and affordable products, and do all of the other things businesses and industries do to compete. They haven't done a thing...th­ey continue to milk their policyholders and play God. Throughout this debate, they've been silent. That tells me they're playing hardball with legislators and/or they are confident that nothing will change for them. If they want to compete against a public plan, there are plenty of ways to do it IF THEY WANT TO COMPETE.

[changeself]

obama's handlers are trying to leave a way out either way:

if the reform bill fails, they will blame the blue dog dems and the gop, for the people's consumption.

[AnotherAngle]

This is the reason that Republican support is so crucial. When and if health care reform passes, and in the years to come we are all discussing what a miserable failure it is, the dems need to have some republicans to stand beside them and take some of the blame.

If not, the dem party will be forever toast.

What a blissful thought! : )

[Keith52]

Ummm... I can't count the number of times during the Presidential campaign I said OBAMA, WAKE UP AND GET ANGRY Get real!!! But in the end, EVERY SINGLE TIME, I found my self saying, "wow he really handled that like and adult, he got what he wanted by letting his opposition shoot themselves in the foot." This could be a similar situation. He is giving the GOP enough rope to hang themselves. If Obama does not convince America that he really did try to work in a bipartisan fashion he will not get a mandate because he will be accused of "ramming policy down America's throats."

[pammiethekid]

I love this! You are so right. He is not so much a sprinter as a long distance runner who knows how to pace himself. I have watched him so many times when he came out with a much more patient response than I wanted, but it worked, like you say. And I know now that I need to watch and learn.

[Poorsarah]

Excellent truthful reporting by Arianna Huffington. Hmmmm....t­elling the truth is rare these days!

[Quaere verum]

IIt is absolute evil to spread vicious rumors and lies... I am so sick of the LIES in the media...

An uneducated populous,

too ignorant to complete 5 MINUTES of research..­. Too damn lazy to 'Seek The Truth', Too damn willing to be led by their noses.... right over a cliff and into the abyss with the LEMINGS...­,

is a very serious problem for the U.S. Irresponsible lawmakers and a prevaricating media are an extremely dangerous combinatio­n...

It does none of us any good to feed the ignorant with disinformation and propaganda­... It does none of us any good, to talk around the TRUTH of the subject refusing to call the ‘Conspiracy’ to dis-inform, and propagandize, by any other name but 'Conspiracy'.

We waste our time 'lying' to one another, and so we can expect to have nothing more in our lives than the increasing volume of the CHAOS that WE are creating.

This CRAZY world gives me a brain-ache.

Wou..!! Wou...!!

- "To Seek The Truth"

[helpusa]

Thank you, and well said Arianna. It is starting to feel like getting this health-care reform through will take a magician. In the last two days, not only am I seeing only negative comments on the main news stations, but that people are turning sides just because of all the lies being aired and of the enormous amount of money spent by the insurance companies lobbying against reform. Never underestimate the stupidity of the American public to support policy that is against their own best interest. If the gift is not shoved at them whether they like it or not ( like Social Security, like Medica), they will stomp and holler not to be given the gift. .

Please H E L P.

[Cleanerman]

So true. People do not want to be logical, it seems. And, yes, it appears magic will have to happen if meaningful health care reform takes place.

[LifeInProgress]

I miss "Good night and good luck."