Ali Velshi methodically schooled Right Wing Congressman Jim Jordan by refuting his lies with authority as quickly as the Congressman let them out. Velshi is what a journalist looks like in action.
I wrote this article on March 10th, 2017. Now that the GOP is back in control of the House with the possibility of winning the Presidency and Senate in 2024, we must revisit this article to ensure Americans go into the election with open eyes. Most mainstream media journalists are not as thorough, morally bold, or competent on economic matters as Ali Velshi. This interview holds up very well to today’s reality.
Ali Velshi did not fall prey to the Congressman’s well-oiled lies
Ali Velshi did not allow Congressman Jim Jordan to use the airwaves to spout GOP healthcare lies. Imagine if they did that years ago.
“We know Obamacare is a mess,” said Jim Jordan. “Fewer choices. Higher premiums. Higher deductibles. It is a complete disaster.”
Velshi did not let that lie stand.
“I have to stop your there,” Ali Velshi interjected. “I hear this talking point all the time. Under Obamacare, the premium increase has been lower. I heard you guys at your press conference yesterday, sort of mincing words with that one. We do have to acknowledge that there were higher premiums before Obamacare. There were higher premiums during Obamacare. The rate of increase has been slower.”
The Congressman responded as if he did not listen to Velshi.
“Ali, no one is arguing that health care was wonderful before,” Jordan said. “But what we have forgotten in America is what a healthcare market looks like. So think about what Obamacare did. More mandates. More taxes. More regulations. Drive up the cost of insurance. Mandate people buy it, and if they don’t, they get penalized. What kind of deal is that? Let’s actually bring back affordable insurance for middle-class families.”
The Congressman was spewing talking points. If the rate of increase dropped with Obamacare, how can he accuse Obamacare of causing the rise?
“There was never affordable insurance,” Velshi responded. “And I was just saying to Bill Kristol, nowhere on the earth is there a free health insurance market that works. If you could point me to one and say that a free market works, It is just one of those areas where a free market does not work.”
Jordan ignored the question because a functional free market health insurance system does not exist on earth.
“It will work much better than it is working now under a complete government control of health care for goodness sake,” a delusional Jordan said. “Do you think people are satisfied now? How about people in the individual market who went from paying, single people in the individual market went from paying a hundred to two hundred a month to paying five six hundred dollars a month for a six thousand dollar deductible policy.”
“But you know sir that in all those countries, all the developed countries that have single-payer systems or Universal Healthcare, happiness about healthcare is actually substantially greater than it is in the United States. Life expectancy [is also higher].
“Why do they all come here for treatment,” Jordan falsely interjected.
“They don’t all come here,” Velshi fired back sternly. “Republicans say that all the time. They don’t all come here. People in Canada, people in Norway, people in the United Kingdom, people in Sweden, and people in Denmark don’t all come to the United States for health care. Why do you say that?”
“Well because you see it all the time,” Jordan disingenuously replied. “People in Canada come here for extensive surgery. They come here and get it done in the United States.”
“Sir, I grew up in Canada,” Velshi responded. “I live in Canada. My entire family is in Canada. Nobody I know ever came to the United States for health care. I am sure you have a handful of stories about things like that. It is not actually statistically true.“
Imagine if all of our journalists conducted interviews like this.
I came across an article that all the Congresspersons whose states touch on Appalachia must read. It’s titled “Why Appalachia (and the Whole Nation) Needs a Single Payer Healthcare System.”
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