Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) on Sunday frustrated Fox News host Chris Wallace by interrupting a segment slamming President Barack Obama's health care reform law by reminding him that Republicans in Congress wanted to shutdown the government if the law was not defunded.
Wallace began the segment on Fox News Sunday by suggesting that the president had lied when he said that people could keep their doctors under Obamacare.
"I agree we should have this debate, but we shouldn't connect it to a government shutdown," Kaine explained. "That's the fundamental disagreement between the two sides here... We have to look at the delay the provision, the delay provision says everything that goes into effect beginning October 1 gets delayed for a year."
Wallace complained that the interview was like "herding cats" as he moved on to his next question based on the premise that insurance rates for a 27-year-old in Philadelphia would skyrocket from $73 each month to $195 each month under Obamacare.
"That's not what the president promised," Wallace said.
"I don't believe everything an insurance company says. I'm sure and insurance company says this is because the Affordable Care Act," Kaine pointed out. "These are the people that were kicking people off policies and turning people away from policies because they have pre-existing conditions."
"Again, very important questions, but we shouldn't be wrapping these questions up with the threat of government shutdown," the Virginia Democrat added. "And that's what's fundamentally wrong about this debate."
"I understand that, sir, and the shutdown is a different issue," Wallace interrupted. "We've talked about that. I want to talk about Obamacare."
"I'm going to keep bringing it up because there's only side that is linking Obamacare with the shutdown of government," Kaine insisted. "On our side, we say, let's have the debate. Let's have the debate about immigration reform, other important [issues], but let's not wrap it up with a government shutdown."
"I think you've made that point," Wallace observed.
