[Speed Gibson,
Tuesday July 4, 2006 at 3:51pm]
Taxpayers League was Live
The Nihilist in Golf Pants filled in Saturday morning on the Patriot Insider. The NARN went to replays. But Taxpayers League Live (TPL) was indeed live this holiday weekend, with one of their best shows.
Hour one featured local girl makes good Ember Reichgott-Junge. The "At Issue with Tom Hauser" faithful know her from the "Face Off" segment, where she was bested by David Strom and Dave Thompson almost every week. She had to give that up to run for the House of Representatives in the Fifth District. That election, of course, is in September, not November.
I've complained before when guests are allowed to slide their unfounded premises and assertions by without comment or question. TPL has been guilty of that in the past as I see it, but it was Rock-em Sock-em Robots today. Nothing got past David and Margaret, with Ember reeling, ducking, and BS'ing throughout the interview.
This isn't personal, not borne of schadenfreude, not even a guilty pleasure. I just think the public is well-served when an office holder, candidate, or outspoken public figure is shown incapable of defending their ideas and proposals. Not because they are bad people, but because their ideas and proposals are bad. Governor Pawlenty could use a dose of this, too, on some issues.
Reichgott-Junge is apparently trying to be the soccer mom alternative to the DFL-endorsed Keith Ellison in the September primary. She has picked "universal health care" as her primary issue rather than make the case that the DFL convention made a mistake or why she is a better candidate. That's what primaries decide, but she ducked this on the show.
Her view on "universal health care" is the most vague I've heard yet, with no real specifics, unlike Becky Lourey and others. She talks of guidelines and incentives only, and clearly has no vision on how it would ever come together. The only sure thing is that it would cover abortions.
Ember has suffered some personal losses recently, and used them as examples. One of them was on Medicare, but she couldn't explain how or why that government run health care system let them down. This is the key point in this debate in my opinion. Everyone proposing "universal health care" claims to have the missing piece of the puzzle that will fix the shortcomings of Medicare, the Canadian system, the British Health Service, and all the other such socialized systems in world. It's never been done, but they think they can avoid the rationing that has beset them all. Before I vote for you, please show me how!
When ReichGott-Junge trotted out the Emergency Room talking point, Strom countered impressively by noting that we Americans are ER people. We like Urgent Care and Minute Clinics, too, where we can be seen right away or off-hours. We don't have the tolerance for the waiting lines and bureaucratic rules so characteristic of European health care.
These points were further discussed in the second hour, when they interviewed a conservative Swedish economist, which was very informative. Taken together, these were two of the best hours on talk radio this week. Special thanks go to Margaret for her contributions and especially for keeping David on topic!
Hour one featured local girl makes good Ember Reichgott-Junge. The "At Issue with Tom Hauser" faithful know her from the "Face Off" segment, where she was bested by David Strom and Dave Thompson almost every week. She had to give that up to run for the House of Representatives in the Fifth District. That election, of course, is in September, not November.
I've complained before when guests are allowed to slide their unfounded premises and assertions by without comment or question. TPL has been guilty of that in the past as I see it, but it was Rock-em Sock-em Robots today. Nothing got past David and Margaret, with Ember reeling, ducking, and BS'ing throughout the interview.
This isn't personal, not borne of schadenfreude, not even a guilty pleasure. I just think the public is well-served when an office holder, candidate, or outspoken public figure is shown incapable of defending their ideas and proposals. Not because they are bad people, but because their ideas and proposals are bad. Governor Pawlenty could use a dose of this, too, on some issues.
Reichgott-Junge is apparently trying to be the soccer mom alternative to the DFL-endorsed Keith Ellison in the September primary. She has picked "universal health care" as her primary issue rather than make the case that the DFL convention made a mistake or why she is a better candidate. That's what primaries decide, but she ducked this on the show.
Her view on "universal health care" is the most vague I've heard yet, with no real specifics, unlike Becky Lourey and others. She talks of guidelines and incentives only, and clearly has no vision on how it would ever come together. The only sure thing is that it would cover abortions.
Ember has suffered some personal losses recently, and used them as examples. One of them was on Medicare, but she couldn't explain how or why that government run health care system let them down. This is the key point in this debate in my opinion. Everyone proposing "universal health care" claims to have the missing piece of the puzzle that will fix the shortcomings of Medicare, the Canadian system, the British Health Service, and all the other such socialized systems in world. It's never been done, but they think they can avoid the rationing that has beset them all. Before I vote for you, please show me how!
When ReichGott-Junge trotted out the Emergency Room talking point, Strom countered impressively by noting that we Americans are ER people. We like Urgent Care and Minute Clinics, too, where we can be seen right away or off-hours. We don't have the tolerance for the waiting lines and bureaucratic rules so characteristic of European health care.
These points were further discussed in the second hour, when they interviewed a conservative Swedish economist, which was very informative. Taken together, these were two of the best hours on talk radio this week. Special thanks go to Margaret for her contributions and especially for keeping David on topic!