Today’s regularly scheduled post has been replaced by this astonishing segment from Ed Schultz on MSNBC:
Ed Schultz show
(I’d love to know why vodpod can’t post videos if the source is MSNBC)
I’ve been feeling discouraged about how the single-payer option has been not just taken off the table but has been erased from the public discussion. It’s been reminding me of the run-up to the Iraq war (and we know how that turned out) when all the demonstrations – all over the world – had no effect at all on public policy.
Well that video is an uplifting blast of optimism. Ed and his guests are fully aware of the hurdles we’re facing in getting real useful Health Care Reform. But, they’re ready for a multi-year battle. Nothing has changed, really. But, that conversation warmed my heart.
This is an Open Thread but, please spend 13 minutes watching this video. I’m really interested in what you think of it. (Who IS Ed Schultz & where did he come from?)
Filed under: General | Tagged: Ed Schultz, Single Payer |
The Confluence 
I can’t get the video to play, Katiebird.
Arrrgh!
Ed On Single-Payer
I took out the embedding code — (grrrr)
Still, please follow the link – it’s worth the trip! I’ve got to learn more about this guy and when IS his show?
I think his TV show is at 6PM. I will never watch MSNBC ever again, myself.
Mike Farrell w/Ed Schultz: “We need single payer universal health care NOW!”
Is this KatieBird?
Quote with video from the show.
Ooopsie, I meant if this was the show you were looking for. 😳
Ed Shultz had his own radio show(Minnesota) and was a heavy campaigner for Obama during primaries at which time he also attacked Hillary relentlessly. He was in fact one of Obama’s most passionate supporters and made numerous appearances on CNN. MSNBC, espousing his greatness while demeaning Hillary in process. I was glad however, to see after watching this video, he is an advocate for single payer healthcare. Having said that I cannot shake from my memory the vile stench he left behind during his offensive tirades against Hillary. At Obama’s last press conference he had a seat in front row. He is without a doubt, simply another “arm” of the Great One, always overly eager to advance Obama’s agenda. Look even a misogynist, hypocritical, Obama pod, can get something right and being an advocate for single payer healthcare seems to be his only redeeming effort.
umm ~ ed schulz was one of the most vile Hillary haters during the primaries….
indigogrrl — I’ve never heard of the guy before today so that’s news to me.. I’m not surprised though since his show is on MSNBC and that’s pretty much what they’re all about.
Did you watch the segment? I’m really interested in what you think of it.
I’m not sure I’m ready to make nice….what a long strange journey…there was a time that AirAmerica played al day long at my shop…. then I couldn’t believe Randi Rhodes and her vile spew…then Ed Schulz drove me away for good…. he made KO sound fair and unbiased on some days…. still gives me the shivers
He is one of the “liberal” radio hosts who attacked Hillary all through the primaries. He’s another one of those guys who used to be a Republican not that long ago.
He was a very conservative republican at that. Original radio show was essentially a right wing rant. Then he showed up on Air America as a liberal democrat. Why not, Kos and HuffPuff did the sane transformation.
Whatever gig that will pay . They followed the money
Ed Schultz treated Hillary (and all women) like complete garbage during the primaries–and now he thinks her most passionate cause has merit? feh…
That’s what I was thinking as I read this this. Maddow, Schultz and what’s her name(no longer affioliated with Air America) were disgusting. I finally turned them off. I still can’t look at Maddow.
Ed Schultz is a Hillary Hating Horrible Person. He was one of the worst on the radio all last year. If Obama shit, Schultz said it was Chanel # 5.
Ed Schultz is another KO clone. Failed jock, radio sportscaster from Fargo ND, former Republican and Hillary Clinton bashing sack of shit. Otherwise he is a worthless opportunist, IMHO.
SHV: I live very close to Fargo. You’re right, but as we say up here he’s 10 lbs of crap in a 5 lb bag. He was pretty much ok as a local sportscaster and how he ever got further than that is beyond me.
I do love a vivid description, SHV 🙂
Ed Schultz was on Air America. He touted himself on that venue as the middle America voice. From what he used to say, I even got the impression that he was conservative. At the very beginning of the primary season, he seemed to be for Hillary. Then he became Mr. Even Steven. Then as Air America Talk Left commentators increasingly threw Hillary under the bus, so did Ed. He was hot on the Obama band wagon very soon. You can see him at Pressers with Potus on the front row seat. This is Ed’s big media debut and it will be interesting to see how long and if he lasts. When I first started listening to him, I really liked him because he was really going after Bush. When he turned on Hillary, I turned on him. And that is what I know about Mr. Schultz/Shultz, whatever.
He has a big ego and a big mouth. If he is for single payer, then good for him but who he is really for is whatever will give him good ratings.
Wow – there was no sign of any of that in this show.
Not that it matters but Ed was not on Air America. He was with the Jones Group or something like that.
If memory serves, Al Gore and Hillary Clinton helped raise the funds to start Ed’s career. The mission was to use radio to get Tom Daschle re-elected. He failed.
Then Ed and Tom turned against the Clintons. They are just like Obama, Madonna, Perez Hilton, and Camille Paglia – the ultimate uber-opportunists.
F*** them all.
you’re right ~ I moved to a different online radio show station after the Randi Rhodes incident…. I kept searching out liberal talk that wasn’t koolaid saturated!
Schultz works for the same company as Stephanie Miller, another person I used to really like but will never listen to again.
His show was owned and produced by Jones, but many, if not most AA stations ran his show. Same difference. And he was vile in his remarks against Hillary and was one of the reasons I stoped listening.
Well, maybe Air America doesn’t produce his show, but that’s where I used to hear Schultz before he was koolaid boarded.
They still air his show at noon.
Actually, I did listen to Ed on Air America Talk Left. I think that he was with Jones as you say but had a time slot on Air America. Or Jones had a time slot on AA. Anyway, I definitely picked his show up on my XM AA channel.
He wasn’t on AA per se, but many AA affiliates picked up some non-AA shows like his and Stephanie Miller’s. Our affiliate (when we had one) did.
Ed was a Republican and even during the worst most dark and terrible days of GWBush, Ed would often side with W. He was all wishy washy on FISA, torture and gave W a big pass.
Back then lib talk radio was new and hard to find. He was about as left as Arlen Spector or McCain. He was never a progressive. He fell face first into the koolade bowl.
He ranted for a week nonstop about the Hillary’s sniper tale .
He’s a phony blowhard.
As bostonboomer said, I do not listen to these “progressives”.
Schultz and Miller showed who they are.
Of course we all know what Randi Rhodes is.
Obama says he is for helping consumers but he is not lobbying the congress to pass credit card reform and mortgage relief. Obama can say what he wants.
It does not matter if he does not lobby the congress for it.
Perhaps his donors on Wall Street have something to do with his actions.
Max Baucus, the Dems. and Single Payer; no mystery, just follow the money:
“Senator Max Baucus, Leading Architect of Health Care Reform, Received More Industry Contributions Than Any Other Democrat
WASHINGTON D.C. — Health insurers and pharmaceutical manufacturers contributed $5.5 million to the top 10 recipients in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives during the last two election cycles – a period in which health care reform dominated political discourse, according to the nonprofit, nonpartisan Consumer Watchdog.
Health insurers contributed $2.2 million to the top 10 members of the U.S. Senate and House. Drug manufacturers contributed $3.3 million to the top 10 recipients in each legislative body. In all, health insurers and drug manufacturers contributed $24,220,976 to the current members of Congress in the last two election cycles.
Senator Max Baucus (D-MT), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, who has become the leading architect of health care reform in Congress, received more campaign contributions from the pharmaceutical and health insurance industries than any other current Democratic member of the House or Senate. Senator Baucus received $183,750 from health insurance companies and $229,020 from drug companies.
At last week’s White House summit on health reform on March 5, Senator Baucus said that the insurance companies and drug companies had told him they would help drive a solution.
(snip)
http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/patients/articles/?storyId=25468
Obama protects War Criminals and Baucus protects HMOs and Drug Companies…
Does anyone else besides me remember that after Obama’s selection by the party bigwigs, Hillary asked Harry Reid if she could lead a senatorial subcommittee on health care reform? Reid shot her down, ostensibly because Teddy Kennedy wanted to make health care reform a monument to himself and didn’t want Hillary taking any credit for change. So was Max Baucus Kennedy’s hand-picked lieutenant to lead the charge? Unlikely. Obama knew Kennedy was/is dying so it was easy to promise him anything in return for Kennedy’s support earlier on, but with the Senate Finance Committee in charge of “health care reform” it’s pretty apparent that the incumbency protection racket in D.C.–otherwise known as Congress–doesn’t see this as a social issue, but rather as a financial issue. Would you rather have universal health care or wars in Iraq and Afghanistan? I think we know where Baucus and Obama stand.
It’s no secret that the Medicare Modernization Act moved medicare in a decidedly privatized direction with a major demonstration project set for 2010 where they will be testing a “voucher” system.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0509/22509.html
Very interesting…and nothing until July.
That’s so any piece ‘o crap will ram though , unread , natch, since congress will want to go on thier all important vacation…and a great drum beat for the vacation god will sound though out …. Hurry hurry!!
Other commenters are correct. Schultz established himself as a jerk quite awhile ago. Katrina Vandenheuvel has also become a legend in her own mind with no record to support that view. Eric Massa, on the other hand, was in a congressional fight to obtain his seat where he depended heavily on the blogosphere for help and funding, and where the blogosphere, for once, was right in supporting this man. What the health care fight needs is more people like Massa who, in his own words, says that as a cancer survivor there isn’t much worse he can be threatened with in D.C.
By the way, Glen Ford over at Black Agenda Report has an excellent article on Obama’s hypocrisy regarding this health care change charade that’s currently going on.
I watched the clip. It was a good shout out for SPUHC. I am really glad to see that there are people out there willing to pound the pavement and shake the cage. What amazes me about this clip tho’ KB is how all the advocates on there neatly gave Obama a full pass. Baccus is the bad guy and, of course, Obama has nothing to do with the spuhc absence at the table. They refuse to see that it is Obama who called them all to the table; he has decided that he is going to have to make nice with insurance and big pharma to get something on health care. And the latter are looking at where Obama has auto and banks and all of a sudden, they are at the table bowing and scraping because they do not want to go the way of Chrysler, GM and BofA, C, etc and lose it all or a very big chunk of it. They will literally, pay to play and pay in this sense means cost savings and cost savings means——yeah, cuts in our care and coverage.
That phenomenon happens with every issue. It is always someone else’s fault: Geithner, Summers, Biden, Hillary et. al. NEVER BO, though he is supposedly the ultimate authority and involved in every magnificent detail. All the credit for the good things, and none of the responsibility. Must be a nice gig. (Plus he gets the “copter”)
It’s not that they refuse to see Obama’s role, jadzia. They know damn well how the players line up – these aren’t exactly innocents in an innocent land. They’re full fledged DC Krapbuki players.
Do you have this link, Katiebird?
Vodpod videos no longer available.
ed schultz caused me to throw one of my flip-flops at the tv when he was on LKL one nite.
he\d said something like, “there’s 3 parties, – the dems, the repubs and the Clintons”., and i lost it.
The moral of the story here is that sometimes those we have come to think of as jerks may say something worthwhile. I have even heard Obama do and say things that I approve.
I was interesting to me to learn about the money connection to Baucus. Why do they have to do it—whoever is in power—they always get into getting big bucks from the very people they are supposed to regulate or investigate.
It is surreal. The Dems, like Bush and the drug coverage for medicare, will do a UHC package that will hand insurance and pharma a huge pay-off and we will get a few crumbs, an outrageously costly program and a future bill that will become another “entitlement cash booby trap” at some future date. So much for longevity and what that is worth.
But the Dems will get a long term cash cow teat to such for cream and green.
Katie,
I watched the video. It’s nice to know someone is talking about single payer. I cringed when Shultz kept asking everyone, “do you trust the president?” though He sounded like a schoolboy with a crush on the teacher.
I saw Bush III today back up, turn around and head for the hills on the release of photos of prisoner abuse. It was a dumb idea to release them anyway if they were photos of actions that have been investigated, people punished etc.—although it is tempting to try to think of how we could pin all this stuff on Cheney and make him go away for good.
He must have gotten a call from his cousin Dick Cheney.
I think the NBC companies won’t allow their videos to be shown anywhere but their websites.
I also remember vile Ed and his WWTSBQ mania. Jerk!
Regarding Ted-I just read an excerpt from a new book about him. When he was diagnosed with brain cancer, he convened a panel of experts from around the country to decide on his course of treatment. He went with the surgery even though it was only expected to give him a few months of life. Must be nice to be rich, famous and have good insurance!
It plays at the vodpost site & on facebook.
I think most people feel the same as me – nobody gives a rats ass what Ed Shultz says or does anymore. Same camp here, listened to what he had to say until for whatever reason, he turned on the best hope in the race.
Hey, if Schultz can shame Obama into backing UHC, I’ll take it!
You’re presuming that Obama has a sense of shame. I sure don’t.
He may have no conscience, but if Big Eddie can deliver more $$$$$$$ than the health care lobby, he might listen. Tall order, though.
(nodding) Me too.
If Ed Shultz is shilling for Single Payer you can be sure it’s kabuki theatre.
Since this is an open thread, also in that excerpt-Caroline fully expected Paterson to give her Hillary’s Senate seat when she asked. She apparently went into a rage when he dithered about it. She was so angry for several weeks that her children became concerned and confronted her. That got her attention because she is the boss in her family and is not often questioned. Afterward, she withdrew. She really does think she is Princess Caroline!
I am so over the Kennedys. Have been for years and years. They’re masters of public high pretensions and private lowdown tactics, not to mention pushers of their own less than honest myth.
I am tired of the Kennedy’s and the Bush’s. They are the dynasties. Both believe that the world must bow to them.
What has Caroline done to be handed a senate seat?
She did not even have the decency to go though an election.
As for Ted, his ego controls him.
Reality is that LBJ pushed Civil Rights while JFK spent his time with the ladies (LBJ was too), but Johnson still did his job while Kennedy did not. JFK was too busy positioning himself for the run in 1960 (most likely because of his father).
There is much mythology and little truth surrounding the Kennedy family legacy.
I’m so sick of people like Ed. If he really cared about his phony man of the people schtick, he wouldn’t have taken part in the witchhunt. Instead, he says $&@” health care, I’m in this for me. Fine, Ed, your audition worked, you got your cable show, now you can pat yourself on the back and talk uselessly till you’re blue in the face about health care. Don’t let the fact that you personally did everything you could to ensure UHC was DOA stop you, O Principled One.
Give ’em hell Ed!
&
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Is anyone watching the Lost season finale?
Yep
What do you think? My head is spinning.
Is it basically like fate vs. Free will, the final showdown? It looks like fate is winning.
*sighs* why does anyone ever listen to Jack? Talk about Messiah complex…
I LOVE JACK. Sawyer should have jumped in and saved me the trouble of having to watch his @ss next season.
If Jack or Sayid dies, I’m not watching anymore. Other than that I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOST!
I don’t get the appeal. I find his voice really annoying, and he’s always making everybody do stuff they don’t want to do, and it’s always a disaster. I hate how he always has to be in charge and Kate is supposed to be this strong character but she never gets to be anything more than just Jack’s adoring helper, backing up his next stupid plan.
And I’m still betting on fate.
Ok, off the lost finale… And on to serious buzinesssss.
I just watch the video. Where to begin… Ok let’s pass the obots disapointment (Ha!) and the : The President has the final say.(Wrong! this is America, still, and the People has the final say). and on to the matter at hand.
The principle of single payer is a myth. People who contribute are the payers, the gov is just the manager. And when health care become a right and not a priviledge, the gov jumps from money manager to ATM. Right now every single single payer system in the world is failing. Care provided is substandard, waiting list, no prevention, bandaid cure and skyrocketing costs. I know I lived in one, and most of my family still live in one.
Let me tell you what you won’t hear from the pundits. Brits even they have only little money cross the Chanel to be seen by doctors in France during their private service hours. That’s how substandard the English cate is. And the French system, besides being operating on the brink of bankruptcy permanently, has TWO speeds. The official one, where you pay little and get the minimum and the “private”one where you pay much much more on your own, but where there is no waiting list (convenient would you say when you’re in line to receive chemo!!!), appointments available within days or weeks at the most, and not months or years in the public system, top facilities not overcrowed, dangerous, and understaffed.
Yeh that’s the big little secret nobody talks about. In the countries where there is no alternative, people break the bank to travel abroad and get better care. And in the countries where alternatives are allowed, the public system is so bad, that people as soon as they can afford it, chooses to go private even though by doing so they pay twice : once through mandatory conributions to the public system and a second time on their own.
Now, let me be clear, the assurance of medical care even as bad as it is in the public system is better, much better than nothing.
But Universal is not the solution. Universal is a monstruosity of red tape, bureaucracy, delays. It’s a hungry monster vaccuming money and giving very little for it.
What is the solution is what in reality Universal is in all the countries which have it. A minimum safety blanket.
So let’s call it what it is. Let’s consider what governement managed care seems to only be able to produce (a minimum safety net) and let’s go at it accordingly.
I would love to see our system based on Medicare, which, even within some of its newfound (since 2002) restrictions, provides generous, easily accessible care, for the most part. (It used to be better until Bushie’s health insurance buddies go their hands on it)
Also, our representatives in DC have their own government health care plan, with which they all seem very happy, so that could be another alternative.
The VA and the Armed Services offer healthcare as well, which used to be excellent, but after Rummy’s years have been gutted.
Hhowever, as a nurse who works with patients with, and without, insurance, I work with many veterans who prefer to get the bulk of their care, even though they have private comprehensive insurance, through the VA.
There are several government blueprints in place for UHC. Of course it won’t be perfect, but far better than being uninsured, or at times even worse, being “covered” by insurance companies which are bent upon NOT paying for care, ask anyone who’s been denied a claim after being told it was covered.
Happens all the time.
We knew we were going to hear all about the “horrible” care that those who live in the many, many countries with UHC must endure, however, those who can’t access ANY care, or those who are supposedly covered only to find themselves in debt for thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars, might disagree.
P.S. “Sicko” is quite eye opening, in this regard.
The principle of single payer is a myth. People who contribute are the payers, the gov is just the manager. And when health care become a right and not a priviledge, the gov jumps from money manager to ATM. Right now every single single payer system in the world is failing. Care provided is substandard, waiting list, no prevention, bandaid cure and skyrocketing costs. I know I lived in one, and most of my family still live in one.
How exactly is this different than private healthcare in the US? And for the priviledge we also get to pay more or have no healthcare at all. I take it you are not one of us 50 million uninsured. And goodness knows how many more are underinsured.
Now, take a poll in Europe and Canada and see how many people would like to trade for our healthcare system. Not many.
We spend more percapita than any other nation and we have a shorter life expectancy and worse health than any of the countries who have UHC.
\Medicare happens to be an excellent system which if it included all the young and healthy people for the same premium would be a better option than any private insurer.
We ALREADY have socialized medicine in this country..children poor people, old people government workers and teachers all LOVE their coverage.
What you are discribing is government healthcare, where the doctors etc work for the government. That is NOT how single payer works.
Healthcare should have the profit motive removed and we will all be better off.
I refuse to watch msnbc because of the misogyny of the pundits. It’s gotten really ugly and over-the-top. As for Ed his ratings are in the toilet and I’m lovin’ it that all of msnbc’s prime time shows are sinking. Check out the media bistro site that shows the Nielsen ratings for the cable news shows.
http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/ratings/
What in the world is HLN? Hungarian Living Network? Hula Lovers Now?
headline news network, an affiliate of CNN.
Ed Shultz took over the time spot that David Shuster bombed in. And he’s a rock solid 3rd place every day just like Shuster was.
Speaking of the Obama channel formerly knows as MSNBC, Olbermann and his frat boys fans are really into bashing Carrie Prejean and her “breast implants”. Would someone please ask some plastic surgeon to send KO a set so he can play with them and quit obsesing for the runner up in some stupid damn beauty pageant?
Somerby at the Daily Howler takes KO to the woodshed once again for this behavior in the section titled: THE ANSWER DOES LIE IN THE WORLD OF BILL WOLFF
http://dailyhowler.com/
I’m so committed to single-payer that I will Sleep with the Enemy — Schultz has a lot of support among Obamaphiles and CheetoDittoHeads, so it’s not that I’ve forgotten about his treatment of Hillary. It’s just that single payer is a HUGE battle and we need all the allies we can get.
I really had no idea he was so anti-Hillary but, I’m inclined to agree with you.
In fact, I’m not sure how we can get Universal Health Care for Everyone without Single-Payer. AND I don’t see how we can get THAT without the support of a lot of people we don’t like.
When you get an infection and go on antibiotics the doctor always says “make sure you finish them”. When you only take a few days and stop the infection comes back WORSE and now the anti-biotics are ineffective. It’s a nightmare and I have been through it.
What Obama and his corporate bosses are doing with healthcare is like not taking all your pills, in the long run it will make things much much worse.
But what the hell, we got a cool black president.
T/U, Katiebird, for bringing this up. I had been ignoring Schultz’s show, thinking he was going to be just another MSNBC blowhard.
I clicked past there these past couple days, and each time he’s be rational and very on point. Today, interviewed Bernie Sanders. on health care legislation. Asked if there were any talk among Dems defining a “public option.” Sanders said he wanted Medicare for All, but said there absolutely not clarity.
Schultz said the public was owed a definition from Obama. Damn straight!
(Do Rachel or KO bring Sanders on? I don’t watch them anymore, so don’t know.)
Schultz also seems, from the brief times I’ve seen him, to discuss political issues as one intelligent, well-read adult speaking to other intelligent, reasonably well-read adults. He doesn’t seem to have to smirk and mime, make fun of boobs and boobies. he makes the issues the important thing!
Now, perhaps I’ve just caught him during some good moments? Any feedback would be appreciated.