This time it's Wolf Blitzer's turn to allow John Boehner to rattle off those Frank Luntz talking points without calling him out for it. These guys alw
June 17, 2009

This time it's Wolf Blitzer's turn to allow John Boehner to rattle off those Frank Luntz talking points without calling him out for it. These guys always seem to overlook a few simple points. One, just what everyone who has insurance is paying in premiums and just how high that cost is right now. And two, the bureaucrat between patients and their doctors exists already, and it's called the insurance company.

And third, when is one of these "news" men or women going to ask a member of Congress why they're unhappy with their current health care coverage?

BLITZER: Let's talk about some of the domestic priorities under way right now. The president wants health care reform, delivered a big speech on it yesterday. And, in that speech, he said this:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: So, when you hear the naysayers claim that I'm trying to bring about government-run health care, know this: They're not telling the truth.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Are you among those naysayers who are suggesting he wants to bring about government-run health care?

BOEHNER: Well, I think the president is ignoring reality.

The Congressional Budget Office came out with a score on Senator Kennedy's bill, just part of the score -- of the -- of his bill, that says that the public option would cost over $1 trillion, and would cause 23 million Americans to lose their private health care coverage, and only 16 million of which would -- would be covered under the -- the government plan.

And, so, it's not just me and others. It's -- it's very clear that the so-called public option would be subsidized by the government. It would draw people out of the private sector. It would cause companies to just give up their coverage and force people into a government-run plan.

BLITZER: I know you don't...

(CROSSTALK)

BOEHNER: That's not what we -- that's not what we want.

What we want is, we want to work with the president to make sure that all Americans have access to high-quality, affordable health insurance.

BLITZER: I know you don't want a government-run health insurance plan. You want a private-run plan.

What about this proposal, this compromise, in between? Kent Conrad, the Democratic senator, suggesting co-ops, where you -- you band together hundreds of thousands of people, and you create a co-op that's not government run. It's privately run. But it -- but it would potentially do the same thing.

BOEHNER: You know, I think it's worth exploring.

I haven't seen how this would work and what the rules would be. But, clearly, it's an idea that might be able to bridge the differences. But, at the end of the day, we want to make sure that doctors and patients are making decisions about what care is in their best interest, not some government bureaucrat in between.

And, so, if there are ideas out there that will help promote a competitive health insurance system in America that provides access to all Americans to high-quality health insurance, I'm for it.

BLITZER: Congressman, thanks very much for coming in.

BOEHNER: Thanks, Wolf.

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