The video is quite long. He gets some interesting questions.
Here is a good write-up from Huffington Post.
Dean says he is not a "shill" for biotech...says he is a shill for health care. Say media is using GOP talking points.Speaking about health care on Tuesday, Gov. Howard Dean said the media "hate that they can't take down Obama, so they're using every Republican talking point to try." According to Dean, health reform is "doing very well." Dean, a physician who is closely involved with the issue politically, emphasized the importance of a public health care option to compete with private insurers. A bill without such a provision is "not worth passing" as it would not control costs, he argued, at a conference hosted by Campus Progress in Washington, D.C.
"Let the American people choose" between private and public medical care, he said, claiming that a public option would force private insurers to get their act together.
Dean accused Republicans of being "enemies of reform" and didn't take kindly to Sen. Jim DeMint's admitted desire to kill the bill as a way of hurting Obama. On passing the bill, he said "if we have to do it through reconciliation, let's do it."
Private insurance is "not only expensive, it's killing the country," he said. "It's a job crusher and we're losing jobs to Canada -- let alone China and India -- because businesses are crippled by health care costs."
Asked about James Love's allegation on HuffPost that Dean was a "shill" for biotech, Dean laughed it off, defending the importance of the industry but saying "I'm a shill for real health care reform."
He reminds the group that votes can speak louder than money....that if a politician is in the pockets of industry it is because we are not speaking loudly enough.
He should never be accused of being a "shill" even if we disagree with him on a topic. I have seen him on CNBC in situations where they pit 3 against him who are loud mouths and right wing. He pretty much holds his own.
More quotes from
The New RepublicOn private insurers: "If they don’t change, then they should go out of business.”
On the public option: "The reason we need a public option is to teach Americans that there is a better system, a system like Medicare. ... If it doesn't have a public option it's not worth passing."
On public option compromises: "Co-ops and trigger mechanisms are not real reform. Let’s not spend $600 billion of our money on something that’s not real reform."
On progress in Congress: "Last week is the best week for health care we’ve ever had. The truth is, we’re doing pretty well. The bill has passed three committees of reference that matter."
On budget reconciliation: "I think we should use reconciliation, because frankly the Republicans are not interested in helping."
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