Apparently CNN thinks as little about wasting their viewer's time as Tennessee Rep. Marsh Blackburn thinks of wasting her constituents' time with utterly meaningless votes that are going nowhere to repeal the Affordable Care Act. They actually had this flame thrower on there for the better part of the show. Richard Socarides rightfully called Blackburn out for exactly what she and her fellow House members are doing, which is purely political theater.
Par for the course with their unwillingness to ever admit they're wrong or lying about anything, Blackburn refused to admit that's what they're doing was theater, but then proving his point, said she wished they were taking those votes every single day. If there's one thing Republicans are good at, it is theater because they sure as hell don't care about actually governing. And they continue to prove it with stunts like this one.
Things got a little heated with the back and forth, but that's nothing new for Blackburn.
ROMANS: All right, Congress is back to work this morning after a Fourth of July recess. In just two days, House Republicans plan to call a vote to repeal the president's health care overhaul law.
But it's mostly symbolic, a symbolic vote because any repeal effort would likely die in the Democratic-controlled Senate. And of course, the Supreme Court has ruled on this, it is the law of the land, health care reform.
Yet Republicans want to fight it to the bitter end and I'm wondering, should Congress people be spending more time helping constituents comply with the law rather than continuing all of this uncertainty?
BLACKBURN: Well, when you have 2,300 new regulations and 158 new federal bureaucracies that is are created by this law, then there's a lot of uncertainty and a lot of we don't know exactly how it's going to be.
ROMANS: Do you have people in the back office who are answering the phone calls saying if you have fewer than 50 workers, small businesses, don't worry, it doesn't apply to those who have fewer than 50 workers?
BLACKBURN: We have all sorts of information on our web site, Facebook.
ROMANS: So you're going to help people comply?
BLACKBURN: Yes. It's the law of the land.
ROMANS: We're going to make this not come true, not here is how we're going to help you get your business --
BLACKBURN: Our goal -- our goal is going to be to get this off the books. Here is what we want to do --
SOCARIDES: This is like a piece of theatre, all right. This is not going to get through the Senate.
BLACKBURN: Let me tell you this is not a piece of theatre.
SOCARIDES: So you're just doing it to make a point.
BLACKBURIN: No. It is not a piece of theatre because what the American people want to hear Congress say is that Obamacare was a mistake.
SOCARIDES: So you're making a statement.
BLACKBURN: It gives us --
SOCARIDES: Political theatre in an election year.
BLACKBURN: Not at all. It gives us the opportunity to start fresh with a clean slate. There are five things that people want --
SOCARIDES: You don't think this is going to be repealed, right? The Senate is not -- the Senate is controlled by the president's party, the president's signature legislation.
BLACKBURN: Richard, don't get started --
SOCARIDES: Well, you are making a point. That's my only point, you are making a point. You'll agree you're making a point. You're not doing this to repeal it.
BLACKBURN: I'm doing it to repeal it and get rid of it. I think it is the worst thing --
SOCARIDES: But you realize you only going to make a point.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is why you put me between them.
BLACKBURN: The thing is this. The most important step of any journey is the first step.
SOCARIDES: That's good.
BLACKBURN: We are once again going to go back and repeal this bill. It's terrible -- and we're going to do it again.
SOCARIDES: How many times?
BLACKBURN: We're going to do it again.
SOCARIDES: How many times?
BLACKBURN: I wish we could do it every day.
SOCARIDES: Every day. We're going to do it every day. You heard it here, the Republicans leadership. We're going to vote to repeal health care every day instead of working to put America back to work. I think that's a great -- listen, I'll take it.
BLACKBURN: Well, look at one of the things that is prohibiting jobs growth. Number one issue, jobs, the economy, health care, our national security, we're talking about all of these this morning. And when you talk about an inhibitor to getting people hired, the Obama care --
ROMANS: But wait. One point, I just have a real question -- not that your question wasn't real, but I'm just saying -- strike that from the record, counselor. But isn't it creating more uncertainty?
BLACKBURN: Not at all.
ROMANS: When I talk to small business people they think this is going to crush them and I say, wait a minute, you have fewer than 50 employees, but they're hearing --
BLACKBURN: But it does affect them.
ROMANS: They're hearing their Republicans representatives say -- give me an example.
BLACKBURN: A constituent last week, they have six employees in their company. Their health insurance went up 54 percent this current year. Next year, it is going to go up another 56 percent. They had to let one employee go.
ROMANS: Health care costs and premiums have already been going up.
BLACKBURN: And --
ROMANS: With or without health care reform.
BLACKBURN: When they talk to their insurance provider, the insurance provider says because of the new regulation that are going to be contained in Obamacare, this is what is happening to your insurance costs.
ROMANS: So how did you counsel them?
BLACKBURN: I do not counsel them. That is not -- when they contact us to get provisions or information, we give that to them. But there are five things they want to us do, to get rid of this and put in its place.
ROMANS: We'll talk about those when we come back because we're going -- speaking of paying the bills, right to a commercial break.
