Dylan Ratigan Cuts Loose on Brad Blakeman Over the GOP's Role as the Party of NO on Health Care Reform
By Heather Saturday Sep 19, 2009 4:00pm
I'm no fan of Dylan Ratigan but I enjoyed seeing someone, anyone rip into Brad Blakeman for once. I've just got no use for Blakeman after watching one too many of his interviews on MSNBC. He's a class A jerk, liar and unashamed shill for the Republican Party no matter how wrong what they're doing may be for the country. Ratigan, unfortunately, is determined to push this whole "the left does it too" and "all sides are equal" B.S. during this segment, but it was just about worth putting up with to watch Blakeman flailing in the wind here.
Ratigan: Brad, if you were to look at the opening that seems to be there for the Republicans on the center-right, how they get to a place where they can simply come out in favor of free and fair markets, competition, all of the things that were lacking in these massive industries people are so angry about. The President has made it clear he would like to engage many of those things even if some on the left have said things that are more, that harken back to a previous era. We clearly have a President for a new era and yet I feel like on the left and right we are having old spitball fights. How do we move forward?
Blakeman: Well, for the President to be successful he has to come more towards, to the center, the center-right. That’s where our nation is. And lets face it, for Republicans to seek a nomination they have to get, run to the right and then once they get the nomination, run back to the middle, so the type of rhetoric you’re going to be hearing from Republicans this week as we approach the next Presidential season is that they’re going to talk to their base, whether it’s talk to the values… (crosstalk)
Ratigan: I guess the question is what is their base because if the base simply is epithets and accusations that obviously is not going to be a hugely viable political party and there’s a string of broken systems and broken problems in this country that you would think a healthy opposition could do a good job of keeping everybody honest on and from what I’ve seen so far, and I’ve only been here a few months, it doesn’t seem to be that that happens very often.
Blakeman: Well Dylan as we approach and get closer to the election, you’re going to hear more nuts and bolts of what the Republicans stand for and what they will do. (crosstalk)
Ratigan: Why are you going to wait until the election? Because is that the only thing Republicans care about, getting elected because they could care less about actually creating efficient health care systems, solving too big to fail, dealing with energy… why do we have to wait until an election to hear what these people think Brad?
Blakeman: Because we’re not in power. (crosstalk)
Ratigan: We’re paying taxes. Why do we have to wait until an election?
Blakeman: Because we’re not in power. We can come up with the best solutions and the Democrats would throw us to the side. They have not included…
Ratigan: Oh, nonsense. (crosstalk) Either step up and deal with the problems as a party or get out of the building.
Blakeman: We don’t have the votes!
Ratigan: I don’t care about the votes. This is a debate about ideas. Believe me if you are capable of (crosstalk) ideas, I guarantee you there are Democrats and Republicans who are persuadable to rational thought if you actually care about America and you actually want to solve (crosstalk)… you don’t care about America unless you care to be constructive to the conversation and if all you care for is personal destruction and personal assignation, whether it’s fear from the right or guilt from the left you are all eating this country from the gut, and it’s got to come to a conclusion…. Hang on one second Brad….
Karen Finney then points out that this is not a “center-right’ country and that this tactic of moving far to the right and then trying to move back to the center after everyone seeing you cater to your wingnut base isn’t working out so well for Republicans. She adds that it is pitiful that the Republicans excuse for everything is they can’t help get anything done if they’re not in power.
I would disagree with her statement since it looks to me like they're getting plenty done if you count Max Baucus' crappy health care bill that he was willing to give Republicans all they wanted on without a single vote in exchange for taking their amendments.
Dylan hits Blakeman one more time before the segment is over for his "we can’t do anything if we’re not running the show" nonsense.
Ratigan: The demand from the American people is not to play left right. The demand from the American people as I see it as a journalist right now is to demand that the politicians deal with the systemic problems. I’ve got to go. (crosstalk) We’ve only got two hours a day. Yeah. Thanks. (crosstalk) You can steal our money for another year, we’ll wait for you to win buddy. We don’t need to worry about it until you guys win. This is nonsense.
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Is growing on me. No Ys, not like a fungus.
Id rather watch his show than watch Mourning Slow with Joe the dumber and Nikita. I just can't stomach Nikita any longer.
Sometimes Joe the Dumber actually admits he's been wrong.
But to go through all the bs he spews to get those few moments of honesty just ain't worth it. I suppose he is getting through to some moderate GOPers though. But they get snowed anyway. And Nikita, geeezzz, there's an insult to all thinking women if there ever was one.
So, Dylan Ratigan seems to be filling the void. When he was on Mourning Slow, I was not to impressed with him. Granted, I didn't watch very often. But he seems to be on the right track with an interview like the one above. Lets hope he keeps this kinda thing up. We need some journalism , real journalism now more that ever.
Cause we all know what has been happening for the last few decades.
I'm not trying to take anything away from Rachel Maddow or Keith Olbermann. And there are a few more people calling out the bought and paid for politicians. With the state of the media today, we need more people actually questioning the talking heads. The more the better. Because there is still so much at stake. The future of this country depends on it. For too long, the media didn't do their job.
So I say Thank You Dylan Ratigan. Don't stop. Keep calling out the bs from both parties.
His show got off to a slower start....but it is definitely getting better...especially this last week....I am beginning to like his style more and more...check out this clip:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31510813/#32876221
" With the state of the media today, we need more people actually questioning the talking heads. The more the better. Because there is still so much at stake. The future of this country depends on it. For too long, the media didn't do their job [and they still don't].
So I say Thank You Dylan Ratigan. Don't stop. Keep calling out the bs from both parties."
It is the MSM who gives voice to the wingers like Limpball and Gl-eck. The MSM could be focusing on the real Repugnants (the elected ones) instead of the irrational loud mouths, who will say anything as long as they get paid big bucks to do it. They do not care about anything except their wallets and their ratings. If we want a rational discussion in this country, we need a rational media.
I don't watch TV, so this is my first exposure to Dylan Ratigan. Since this is the only basis for my judgment, I have to say that he does a good job of calling BS when he hears it. I hope he continues.
Holy f'ing plastic baby jebus this guy just tore them a new a hole.
About time someone in the media said the truth. You go Dylan!
I will be looking for more from this guy. Maybe even his own show on last placed MSNBC.
Gotta luv them lover spats.
http://images.quickblogcast.com/72745-63839/2...
Frankly I find them awkward without wearing shoes to bed.
why in the 12 years the Republicans WERE in power they never bothered to address this issue, since his excuse seems to be "we’re not in power" and "We don’t have the votes!"...
Don't you remember? They supported voluntary private accounts, which ignores the many millions who cannot get catastrophic medical insurance -- it was a non-starter even when the GOP had their majorities. They blamed lawyers for defensive medicine, and pushed tort reform so the AMA and hospitals and insurance companies would have even more power and profits. And they passed Medicare Part D for seniors, donut hole and all, that ballooned the deficit and was a giant giveaway to big Pharma. The GOP has positions, but they dare not say they totally oppose anything that will address costs, coverage, efficiency, or how health care costs prevent us from addressing the deficit or medicare insolvency.
I rarely catch the program but was working from home two days this week and caught this exchange. He talks tough but he's a republican first,in my opinion. he occasionally challenges Republicans but only to get them on board with his right, maybe moderate, ways. His pushing "free markets" and "comptition" is him pushing a "sell across state lines" talking point that I think he was pucshing ealier this week. He's a schill, a clever one. See his comment about "..center right. thats where the country is." He's a republican a-hole, someone check my accuracy.
you'll see, he was on Morning Joe to give the appearance of balance, he's really a joke.
We do need some sanity on the right. The neocons and religious freaks have taken over that party and will start weighing on the corporate D's with donations, because they do have a lot of money. It would be nice to see a little libertarian in their party to curb things like the shredding of the Constitution that was done by Shrub and is being carried on by Obama.
Sometimes Ratigan is on point, like this time. But, other times I don't think he gets it. I think he is internally torn between his love for Wall Street and the realization of the corporate corruption of politics.
I don't know anything about DR but this is precisely where the conversation needs to go. The fact that their brain only works when they have power is stupid defined. They can get out every other damned thing they want to say with no problem but the constructive stuff can't get through? Bullsmit, they are just vaccuous.
Here is how I read Radigan. He was in the business part of journalism and worked for CNBC and was caught up in that atmosphere. It is easy to get swallowed up into any ideology when it is all around you all the time and you are getting paid and everything is seemingly nice. When the economy absolutely went belly up and there was absolutely no debate about the reason, the rose colored glasses didn't help Ratigan any more. He started calling it the way it really is instead of the way his Republican colleagues at CNBC see it. They told him that he should move to MSNBC or move out the door. He is a likable guy to watch and that is why they gave him a choice (I think). He still has the capitalist gene but he may be coming around. This video could become the norm. I sure hope so because he took this guy to the wood shed in no uncertain terms!!! It would be nice to see Tweety do this a few times.
What's this crap about having to move to the center?
Obama got elected by promising to enact Progressive legislation not for promising to pander to the right wing and corporate big wigs.
It never ceases to amaze and sadden me how American Liberalism has to continually justify it's own existence.
Give em hell Dylan!
So Blakeman says the problem is Obama and dems fault for the current situation, eight months into his presidency and he hasn't fixed the economy yet, the economy mr Blakeman that your republicans broke in the first place. Oh yes, but NOW let us talk about reaching across the aisle and finding some common ground to the discourse... Bull Crap! the only time Bush and Co. reached across the aisle was to smack a democrat, and where was all the change for America under Bush? you guys had eight years and all three branches of government to work with. Where was the health care debate then? where was the outcry for wasteful spending? where was CENTERIST AMERICA then? - Nowhere. Your republican buddies ravaged this country to the bone, you guys took our money, you took our good name and you took our legal system and flushed it down the sewer!
I hope to God I never see another republican president ever again.
Just the sight of this POS always nauseates the living hell out of me. Why in the world do we need to keep seeing these facist shills? What makes a punk like this an "expert" or knowledgeable about a single goddamned thing?
Can we now start talking about REPEALING the Anti-Trust Act against the Insurance Industry. Also start Nailing this Worthless Scum on why do they get us to pay for their Health Care but REFUSE to protect the very people that see that they are protected.
Less and less of the rupukulans more and more disgrace they dug the hole now lets bury them.
They lie.
In the Senate, the Dems negotiated and accepted GOP proposals in Baucus' health care legislation. And then the Republicans walked away. And the Dems continue to let it slide. Why didn't Baucus just take out whatever it was that the Republicans added?
If the Republicans offer amendments, and the Dems accept them, the least they can do is to vote for the bill that they have managed to water down. Nooo--- we accept their add-ons, and then instead of stripping them as a big old "Go Cheney Yourself" we pass the legislation as amended.
I am not a parliamentarian, but it seems like if we aren't going to get their votes, we shouldn't accept their changes. This is not the way compromise works. One side goes along with the amendments and then in the end the other side is laughing and not making an effort to help it get passed anyway.
25% of the country votes republican. How does that make it a center right country?
When it comes to republicans the last eight years they believe that whatever they make up becomes the truth!
No matter what kind of war or how many people are killed wounded, or how many lives are destroied, the republicans keep right after the thing they want! Personal profits!
They could care less about what happens to you or your family. They don't give a shit about the country or god or anything else but the dollar bill!
I do not see how anyone can come to any other conclusion!
republicanism is a mental illness! 25% of America is stark raving mad.
The Republican party seems to think that the American people forgot who were partners in crime, walking lock step with the Bush/Cheney administration, that got this country into this mess in the first place. Now all of a sudden they are talking values and conservatism, PLEASE!!! It's like the parents took two kids with them to the fields and left their 2 selfish brats at home to keep the house and when they return the brats had eaten over half their food. When the two responsible kids wanted to eat, the brats started screaming, NO, that 's all we have left, we need to save it!
Republicans are gambling that American people will forget their past sins and give them a do-over! Are you kidding me! Regardless of what they say about Obama and his policies or that crazy crap about socialism, I would venture to say that atleast 70% of the country would rather vote him back in because he's sane,rational and not crazy' before they put these foxes back in charge of the hen house. No freaking way!!! They are relying on old politics and those days are gone!!
The democrats cant anything done because they are wasting time trying to work with the vile republicans. Please the republicans still control every debate and could get their ideas out if they wanted to or had any. The republicans have no ideas so instead they choose they to combat facts with lies and stupidity because that’s who the republicans are, lairs and nitwits
BLOCK AND BLAME REPUBLICANS
To the shill "wait till the election" right wing dumbass I would ask what were the signs held up at the Republican National Convention? Anyone? Bueller? I believe they said "Country First"
Blakeman is an arrogant ass and needs to be put in his place more oftne.
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