Did anyone hear Larry O'Donnell on the Scarborough Show?

[connecticut yankee]

I was listening in my car and Joe announced that he would be speaking to Larry at 11:20. Unfortunately, I had to leave the car and couldn't listen.

Joe said that Larry would state that passing the Health Care Bill would be "fatal" for the Dems.

Anyone hear it?

[glowing]

1. I think it will without the public option.. Mandating crappy ins coverage

will really piss a lot of people off... The Pukes will campaign on repealing the bill.. Dems lose.

[RandomThoughts]

2. If they are not threating you your not doing it right.

Fear is a tool of the enemy, commonly used, sure sometimes bad things happen, but sometimes good things happen also.

[butterfly77]

3. I heard him this morning but not,,,

on the radio show. O'donnell seems to be giving the repubs their talking points lately..

[babylonsister]

4. Here's a thread about him from this a.m.:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=433&topic_id=219324

[Zywiec]

5. Part of the transcript

JOE SCARBOROUGH: Will Democrats get health care passed?

LAWRENCE O'DONNELL: I'm going to say what I've said all along in my humble approach to this subject. I, having worked on this kind of legislation on the Senate floor, trying to get it passed, and in committee. I do not see how they can do this. Now, and part of that is because it's never been done before. And they have moved into a legislative territory that has never previously existed. The Republicans have not been very smart about trying to describe this. It's difficult to describe. But this is unprecedented, using reconciliation this way. Because what they've done, is that they've abandoned a bill in mid-conference. The Senate passed a bill, the House passed a bill. They were in mid-conference negotiating this bill, in conference, and they said it's going to be impossible for us to pass it now because of Scott Brown, so we're going to abandon conferencing this bill and move over to another legislative vehicle, called reconciliation. To handle something you've already been legislating another way, now, that's never occurred before.

SCARBOROUGH: That's never happened?

O'DONNELL: Never, never, never.

A bit later, O'Donnell made another surprisingly candid comment about the MSM.

O'DONNELL: I have never seen, when people come on this show all year, everybody, the conventional wisdom on this show is the Democrats have to pass something because it will be terrible if they don't because they'll show they can't govern. And the thing they have to pass is opposed by a majority of the public. Fifty-three percent, you know, somewhere in there, maybe more. No one has given me the example of the party that passed the thing the public didn't want in order to win an election. But every single pundit on this show--except for you as far as I can tell--for a year, Democrat and Republican, they all agree, that this has to be done. The group-think in the media about the Democrats have to do this for their own good is virtually universal. And that group-think is joined at some point in the Congress and we'll see if that's the group-think that gets them through to do this.

[Marr]

6. If he said that, I agree with him.

I don't know whether it's because the corporate wing of the party is just completely out of touch and doesn't realize how angry the public will be with insurance mandates and the inevitable aftermath, or if they'd actually like to hand power back to the Republicans, or if they just put corporate servility and short-term cash payouts ahead of their own party interests... but this thing is going to send the Democrats into the wilderness for a very long time.

[UTUSN]

7. I didn't, but I've got mixed feelings about Lawrence:

On the EXCELLENT side, there are damned few "Libs" or media spokespeople for Dems who are so aggressive and intelligent and FEARLESS in confronting Rethugs.

Plus, he was one of the (writers?) and creators of The West Wing and has many other Dem spokes-credits to his name. O.K., fine.


On the negative side, he came out of Patrick MOYNIHAN's shop, whence came many ideas for gutting Social Security and "welfare" programs, meaning cutting the heart out of FDR and LBJ's social accomplishments. AND he partnered with Pat CADDELL, the FREAK whose ONLY credit was being supposedly responsible for Jimmy CARTER's win as his pollster/strategist, and who ever since has been out there RAGGING on any and all Dems and LOSING every political campaign for Dem candidates, and losing EVERYTHING he touches, including the roll-out of the New Coke. Plus CADDELL was one of the nest of VIPERS at Jimmy CARTER's breast---the others being Tweety and the co-founder of the Carlyle Group, David RUBENSTEIN.


Of all the names in this group I like Lawrence O'DONNELL the best, but, but, BUT...

[tularetom]

8. Gee, he doesn't talk like that when he hosts "Countdown"

Do you suppose he is just tailoring his comments for his audience? Telling them what he thinks they want to hear?

Hard to know if this guy really believes in anything.

[stopbush]

9. I think it all depends what time of the day you show up on MSNBC.

Morning til Shuster seems pro-R. Shuster thru Rachel seems pro-D (with the occasional flip out by Tweety and the blank stares of Andrea Mitchell).

And, I think guest hosts for any personality-driven pundit shows are expected to toe the line of the host when they sub. They have to read copy written by the same writers who write for Keith, Rachel & Ed, so the pro-D slant is going to be the same. O'Donnell promotes Keith's perspective when he hosts Countdown, and he offers his own perspective when he's a guest on MJ or Hardball.

Also, O'Donnell has been out of the back room of politics for a while. I've noticed that Ezra Klein and others often have to correct what Lawrence believe is SOP, because the SOP he came up with isn't necessarily SOP today.