Former New York Governor went on Fox 7 Austin's morning show to discuss his opposition to health care reform. Sitting opposite him was State Representative Garnet Coleman. It's almost not a fair fight, as the video below shows:
For those who don't have time to watch the whole thing, here's what happens: Pataki starts off with two minutes straight of talking points. They are the same as every member of the Party of No says every day. Then Rep. Coleman got to speak. Here's what he said, along with Pataki's immediate affirmative response:
Garnet Coleman: This bill stops the prevention of people having health care coverage for their preexisting conditions. And clearly Texas benefits, because we get $190 billion over the next ten years. Our costs within the 10-year period of the authorization of the bill is $1.5 billion, and less than $13 billion in the next ten years after the Medicaid expansions start in 2014. So this is a good bill for Texas and a good bill for America.
Clearly, if you are a parent and you have children, your children can stay on until your own health coverage until they are 26 years old, and many families like that. And the other pieces that are extremely important are that people will have an opportunity to have insurance that have never have, and that's clearly a benefit. Plus, there's something called recision, where people are working, they have health insurance at their company, and all of a sudden they are kicked off their health insurance only because they have an illness that supposedly costs more money than the employer or the insurance company is willing to bear, and that's just not right.
Interviewer: Governor, let me ask you -- is it not fair to say get the bill through and tweak it as they go, the basic provisions seem to be sound?
George Pataki: No, the basic provisions are not sound. The Representative just very eloquently laid out three very good provisions in this bill, and that's why we're saying repeal it and replace it with real health care reform. Pre-existing conditions should be dealt with -- you are correct about that. The ability of an insurance company to just drop someone because they might all of a sudden become expensive is wrong -- that should be contained in health care. Having children stay on logner is a good provision that should be a part of health care reform as well.
Well which is it, Governor? You can't say none of the provisions are good -- and then go through and list all of the provisions Rep. Coleman laid out and agree with them. I know hypocrisy is the strong suit of Republicans and their talking points, but I mean -- wow!
Meanwhile, after his morning interview, Pataki joined almost all of Texas' most prominent Republicans -- including Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst, Attorney General Greg Abbott, Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams, and Senator Dan Patrick -- for a "Repeal and Replace" health care reform rally.
The crowd -- with all those prominent Republicans -- was in the tens of tens:
