I hate to break this to Hannity but if America is being given the middle finger on this health care bill, it's because it got watered down by business interests, not because of the way the Democrats may get it passed. Hannity was in full conniption fit mode on his show with it looking more likely that the bill might finally become law.
And Kirsten Powers is right. When Bush did something the public didn't like such as invading Iraq, he was just standing by his convictions, but now that it's Obama, he's giving the public the middle finger. Rather ironic given that George Bush is the only president I can think of that has actually flipped anyone off on camera.
Transcript via Nexis Lexis.
HANNITY: You know what, Kirsten, I look at this absolutely insane idea that we're -- the House is going to vote on a rule and the rule will say that the House in fact voted on the Senate bill when they didn't vote on the Senate bill. So they can backdoor sneak this, ram it down our throat, ignore all history, ignore all tradition, undermine the traditions.
They're doing it because they can't pass the bill. So they're bribing senators on the one hand, then they're using tactics that they condemned on the other hand. And then beyond anything we've ever seen.
You're a Democrat. Do you condemn this?
KIRSTEN POWERS: No.
HANNITY: No! Of course. Dumb question.
POWERS: I don't think that there's -- it's not a radical thing to be using reconciliation, first of all. Reconciliation has been used for lots of things that are not straight budget things. No matter what Republicans tried to say.
HANNITY: Kirsten, stop. We're not -- wait, wait.
POWERS: And what -- Sean!
HANNITY: Stop, stop, stop. We're not talking just about -- what they're doing. You've got to be clear here. They are going to have House members vote on a rule change to say they passed a Senate bill that they never passed so then they'll have the cover to say well, I voted for the rule change but I didn't vote for Senate bill.
You're telling me -- you're comfortable with that?
POWERS: I'm telling you I'm comfortable with what I understand is going to happen, which is that they will vote for the Senate bill and then in reconciliation there will be changes made.
HANNITY: They're not voting for the Senate bill.
POWERS: And the things -- and the things that you complain about are the types of things that are going to be taken out in reconciliation. The cornhusker kickback and all these things that you don't like and I don't like either.
GASPARINO: Kirsten --
POWERS: So you know -- sorry?
GASPARINO: Just from a pure economic standpoint, do you think we should be remaking 16 percent of GDP? A big part of the economy of reconciliation? I mean it's so absurd --
POWERS: I'm just curious -- was this a concern of yours when we went to war in Iraq?
GASPARINO: Mine?
POWERS: I mean I don't understand suddenly finance is such a big --
GASPARINO: Sixteen percent, 16 percent of the economy --
POWERS: Big concern for you.
GASPARINO: -- is a huge concern and especially if you read some of this stuff.
POWERS: No --
GASPARINO: Some of it -- you know what this reminds me of? This reminds me of the assumptions the Wall Street firms made back in 2006 about the housing market that it would never go down. The housing market would never go down. They put it in their little calculators and guess what? We got 2008, every firm insolvent.
POWERS: Look, this is --
GASPARINO: And this is a major issue, I think.
POWERS: I think that this is a moral issue. I think that people should have health care. And the same way people thought we should go to Iraq because it was something that we needed to do and --
HANNITY: Wait a minute. Wait, wait.
POWERS: -- cost be damned.
HANNITY: This is the problem.
POWERS: We'll spend whatever we have to spend on it. And you know, we just have a different moral view.
HANNITY: Wait a minute. Whoa, whoa. Stop.
POWERS: My view is that we should spend the money --
HANNITY: Hang on.
POWERS: -- on this.
HANNITY: Kirsten.
POWERS: And by the way it's going to reduce the deficit.
HANNITY: Kirsten, this is the point, though. You think this is a --
POWERS: What?
HANNITY: You -- regardless of what the -- the American people have heard this for a year. The American people have rejected it. You're ignoring three --
POWERS: Sean --
HANNITY: Well, hang on. They're ignoring three major electoral losses. You're ignoring by almost 3-1 the voices of the American people. We've got the Gallup Poll, the Rasmussen poll --
POWERS: And how is that any different?
HANNITY: -- the last two days. His lowest approval rating since he's been president.
POWERS: Sean.
HANNITY: And yet he's still going to find some parliamentary trick and maneuver to giver it to the American people. It's like giving the American people the middle finger.
POWERS: But Sean, I'm really interested to know -- I really want to know how this is different than when George Bush pursued -- going to Iraq - -
HANNITY: Because -- I can answer that.
POWERS: -- that people did not support.
HANNITY: You brought that up.
POWERS: And you said oh, he stands by his convictions.
HANNITY: No, no, no.
POWERS: And now Barack Obama is standing by his convictions.
HANNITY: No.
POWERS: And pursuing this.
HANNITY: No. No.
POWERS: And you don't like it because the Americans don't like it?
HANNITY: Read the Constitution. The Constitution lays out the process for which bills ought to be followed in a very specific language because of separation of powers issues. Ask any attorney like my buddy Mark Levin. But they lay out very specifically.
The president constitutionally is also the commander in chief. If you look at the resolution authorization, use of force, which he's using here, it was overwhelmingly passed.
GASPARINO: Wait a minute, if you read this -
(CROSSTALK)
POWERS: But that wasn't my point, Sean.
GASPARINO: Kirsten, let me make this point. If you read this, there's no guarantee it's going to reduce the deficit. Read --
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: Go to the language.
GASPARINO: Read the stuff about --
POWERS: Well, you know, you guys like to think the CBO numbers when you want to say it's going to be expensive but then when it says it's going to reduce the deficit then you don't like the CBO.
HANNITY: Hang on a second.
(CROSSTALK)
GASPARINO: I mean there's assumptions about that, you know, doctor visits. There's a million assumptions in here which they point out as assumptions. They talk about stuff that's not added. That they didn't take into consideration like, something like $60 billion worth of stuff involving cost, administrative costs that are not taken into account.
And I'll tell you, Kirsten, when you deal with assumptions and you deal with calculators -- and by the way, they are predicting this over a 10 or 20 year period. I mean that is incredible guesswork when you're talking about 16 percent of the economy.
The question is, is it worth rolling the dice this much? Should we be starting small? Should we be starting with tort reform? Should we be going for the whole enchilada right now?
POWERS: Tort reform -- I mean --
GASPARINO: When you're dealing with such massive amount of assumptions here on a lot of money.
POWERS: But you're using the CBO -- we're talking the CBO report and now you're saying that we can't rely on the CBO. I don't follow that.
GASPARINO: Well, I'm saying you can't rely on --
POWERS: You know --
(CROSSTALK)
GASPARINO: I'm only saying you can't rely on the CBO for two reasons.
HANNITY: They make assumptions.
GASPARINO: Because they make a lot of assumptions and they're assuming stuff and we're -- we're changing so much on the economy on guesswork. And I think that's a real problem.
