Joe Scarborough mocks Axelrod's claim that "they took on the insurance companies"

[TeamJordan23]

Couldn't agree anymore with Joe. Markos and Tavis Smiley also agree with Joe that this bill is a big win for the insurance industry and not real reform.

Scarborough: Health Insurance Stocks Reached 52-YEAR High On Friday

On Sunday's Meet The Press, MSNBC host Joe Scarborough was asked a simple question about health care: What has President Obama achieved? His answer: "He has made a lot of people with insurance stock a lot richer."

"This is great for insurance companies," he explained. "They were going to reform the system neither side wanted to take on the insurance companies. Neither side wanted to get rid of anti-trust exemptions. Neither side really pushed hard to allow you or me or anybody here to buy across state lines. And as Howard Dean said -- and this is a devastating fact -- insurance companies' stocks reached a 52-year high on Friday after this so called reform bill got its 60th vote. So David Axelrod, who I love and respect, but David Axelrod kept saying 'we took on the insurance companies, this is real reform, they're against it.' Really? I don't think so."

Can watch video here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/12/20/scarborough-health-insura_n_398520.html

[joeybee12]

1. It's starting to scare me who I'm starting to agree with...n/t

[eleny]

2. Isn't that the truth!

We're coming at the issues from different directions, though. We want better HCR while they don't want it at all. So there's comfort in that.

Btw, I'm glad Dean pointed out that McCain, in an attempt to spin, mischaracterized Dean's position.

[ShortnFiery]

8. +2

:scared:

[spiritual_gunfighter]

24. It is scary indeed

although we know why people like John McCain and Joe Scarborough are piling on the President, what Scarborough said this morning was completely correct unfortunately.

[butterfly77]

36. Scarborough needs to shut up...

he enjoys it too much and he loves to look into the camera as he is doing it. I believe he is trying to set himself up to run for President. By the way is their anymore information about the dead girl found in his office?

[BklnDem75]

39. Can you point me to this company?

Which health insurance company is at a 52 year high?

[Fire1]

40. I want to know that, too! n/t

[chill_wind]

26. We don't need Scarborough to tell us what we already damn well know.

But he's not going to miss a chance to remind America every morning.

[jefferson_dem]

28. it should. nt

[jonnyblitz]

35. you war escalation apologists agree with some scary people

as well.

[ErinBerin84]

3. I agree with his point on that,

but honestly, Joe hasn't really offered anything except the usual, bs talking points against the public option on Morning Joe during the whole health care debate . Just like how he bitches about how the White House should focus on "jobs, jobs, jobs", but when someone asks him what HE would do about it, he sputters "lower taxes", etc. Joe has been playing faux liberal all week on this. He wants to pretend he is outside the Republican party, but he really parrots the same things they do for the most part. But there was a funny moment on Morning Joe the other day when he tried to claim to Howard Dean that the tea party movement polled higher than both Dems and Republicans, and Dean just kind of rolled his eyes and laughed and said that he saw the way the NBC/WSJ poll asked that question, painting the tea partiers as some well-mannered group of conservatives and not people who want to bring guns to town hall meetings, and Joe just moved on and sipped his coffee.

[CTyankee]

4. He does this every time someone directly confronts his dubious statements.

He did it last week when Chris Hayes of The Nation rebutted him on the "Fannie Mae/Freddy Mac is responsible for the financial crisis" meme the pubs love so much (along with "poor people getting mortgages they couldn't afford"). Chris laid it out for him and Joe suddenly changed the subject!

[ClarkUSA]

5. What's next? Quoting Pat Buchanan?

:rofl:

[IndianaGreen]

18. Pat Buchanan was right about NAFTA, as was Dennis Kucinich

DLCers made a lot of money out of NAFTA while the rest of us saw our factories closed and our jobs moved to Mexico.

Thanks a lot!

[shraby]

6. Since when did Joe Scarborough ever speak the truth?

Most I've ever heard him spew are right wing talking points with elaboration. He has no credibility.

[Tom Rinaldo]

7. Is it true that Insurance stocks reached a 52 year high or Friday?

You have a right to your own enemies list, but not to your own facts. Deal with them.

[Egnever]

16. Stocks raise on emotions not reality

the reality is that the news stations are psuhing the meme that this is great for the insurance companies as are many here on DU. What do you expect the stock to do?

Meanwhile there was an MLR cap put into the bill that deffinately wont please the insurance companies. Theres a lot of uninformed screaming going on right now but this bill is definately not just a huge give away to the insurance companies.

[BklnDem75]

25. I'm curious

Which insurance stocks had a 52 year high?

[ShortnFiery]

Even a broken clock is correct twice a day. He's spot on and it's way CREEPY! eom

[treestar]

9. The dead intern guy?

who has been mocked on DU countless times? At least back when it was Democratic Underground.

[eleny]

10. Did you expect Axelrod to bring up the fact that the insuance stocks reached a new high?

:rofl:

Of course someone from the other side would point out that fact. Now ask yourself why the stocks went up in value.

[treestar]

29. I'm not enough of an economist to be able to explain that

But it is likely to be far more complex than your obvious reading of it. :rofl:

[HopeOverFear]

11. Joey Scab, the new hero of DU!

:sarcasm: (but not really)

[Tom Rinaldo]

12. Is it true that Insurance stocks reached a 52 year high on Friday?

You have a right to your own enemies list, but not to your own facts. Deal with them.

[HopeOverFear]

14. I don't have an enemies list. You do, however.

an JOe Scarborough is no longer on it. Deal with that.

[Tom Rinaldo]

19. Since you seem so certain...

Who is on my enemies list and how do you know?

Let's see, you call Scarborough "Joe Scab" but then say you have no enemies list. So who have I been more scornfully derisive to than you have been to "Joe Scab", since you know all about my enemies list and know exactly how to define one yourself without putting Joe on it?

[HopeOverFear]

21. *looks at camera*....*walks away*

[Tom Rinaldo]

27. figures. Look up the difference between a critic and an enemy some time. n/t

[Egnever]

17. WTF does the price in the stock market have to do with anything?

[Tom Rinaldo]

23. People chose to buy the stocks that believe will be most profitable to own

Records aren't set easisly, that's why they get attention when they are broken. So record stock prices for insurance companies on Friday means something happened on Friday to make speculators spend their cold hard cash on health insurance company stocks, believing they can make more money sharing in the certainty of that industry's pending profits than they can most anywhere else.

Where do you think those profits come from? The market seems to believe that the pending deal is very very good for private health insurance companies. So much for the myth that Democrats bargained hard with that industry and are causing them any pain.

[treestar]

30. there's a possible logical fallacy there

post hoc, ergo propter hoc, or something.

[Thrill]

13. Its the biggest disappointment. No fight at all

[IndianaGreen]

15. As did Markos Moulitsas and Tavis Smiley

Obama is fighting a 2-front war in pushing his Xmas gift to the health industry.

[BeyondGeography]

20. There is wisdom contained in stock prices?

Don't be a fool.

[chill_wind]

22. Yep, us "liberals" in DC have handed the RW/corp ho media the daily ammo.

Did DUers here really think they wouldn't use it? Get used to it. LOTS more of that every day between now and 2010.

[TheKentuckian]

31. Look, they left them with an anti-trust exemption

that means they are absolutely not taking them on. You don't take someone to task by allowing them the legal ability to fix prices and limit competition.

Once that was forced out you're left with a very weak argument that you are doing jack shit to take anyone on. I don't see how the lip service can be bought. You have a mandated for profit service that the government says can do what it pleases.

We aren't setting anything straight.

We say they have to cover everyone but they can charge whatever.

We say they can't continue to cancel policies but leave an exception that is the same excuse they use now for the practice.

We say you they can't place caps but then say they may have "reasonable" caps

The only hard and fast rule with a penalty is that we have to pay them.

The only real hope of controls is on the exchange but if you're most people then you'll pay for whatever your job offers, hope for the best, and like it or lump it.

[impik]

32. We use Joe Scarborough now to kick Obama?

Unbelievable.

[Odin2005]

33. This POS bill is a PR gift to the teabaggers.

It does nothing but confirm the fears of Americans of a Libertarian bent that the government is out to get them.

KILL THE BILL!!!

[gardenista]

34. Never thought I'd live to see the day when a link from that liar would get rec's

[butterfly77]

37. Why is Tavis there ...

is it to fight for the rightwing?

[mstinamotorcity]

38. Hold on a minute

Does Joe Scarchump have a copy of this bill that has not been voted on yet. All i know is lately every time i look around they seem to keep putting morning joe in my face all day long,as if he is now the moderate voice of the republican party. Once we have a chance to find out what is in the whole bill then we will make some more assessments. And if some of the things that they are saying about this bill is true we can blame some of this on ourselves for letting blue dogs get in the way.And as far as Joe goes dead woman found in office,dead woman found in office.