Continuing his trend of smacking down health care reform opponents, Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) appeared on Good Day, New York with Rep. Scott Garrett (R-NJ) today and called him out on “phony” claims about sweetheart deals in the health care reform bill.
Host Rosanna Scotto asked Weiner whether the Democrats were buying the votes of undecided House members. Weiner scoffed: “I love the cliche, but it’s not true.”
“This idea they’re being bought off,” he continued, “I know it makes for a good story, but in fact sometimes legislation is just a philosophical thing. The Republicans philosophically believe their job is to protect the insurance industry, and we philosophically believe our job is to protect citizens.”
Garrett argued that even President Obama “says that he doesn’t like the special sweetheart deals that are put in this bill.”
Weiner replied: “Vote for reconciliation. We’re taking them out.”
Over Garrett’s objections, Weiner continued: “If you’re against the Nebraska deal you have to vote for reconciliation to take it out. Are you gonna vote for that? No, you’re going to vote to keep it in by voting no on reconciliation. That’s just phony.”
Scotto then asked Weiner whether he will “opt-in for this insurance plan,” and “personally give up the gold-card insurance plan you have now?”
Weiner, frustrated, tried to explain that he gets the same plan as “every federal employee from the janitor to the President,” and that, in fact, “no one can opt into the exchange except if they’re uninsured.”
Garrett responded that Republicans “have tried repeatedly to do just what you’re saying here. To say that Congress should be in the same plan as the American public, and just about every single time the Republicans put that out, guess what happens? The Democrats vote that down.”
Weiner: “What does that even mean? What do you mean ‘the plan for the American public?'”
Here’s the video. The good stuff starts at around 4:15:
