Senator Tom Coburn Threatens To Block Health Care Bill For 9/11 Responders

Hi everyone. Sanjay Gupta is again holding down the anchor chair for Anderson Cooper. Tonight was a pretty meh show, so I'm just going to hit on a few things. Me thinks a lot of the 360 kids are already on their holiday break.

• Tom Coburn must have no shame. There's not much more to say. For him to claim there was no committee debate when he's on the damn committee and didn't show up to the hearings...I can't even. He wants to run out the clock in the Senate. Unfortunately, that also means running out the clock on people's lives. I've been trying to be nicer lately, but you know what? Tom Coburn, you're a douchebag.
  

• On a happier note, Anthony Weiner is one awesome mofo. I can't even tell you how many times I have watched that clip. The way he slams down the mic and walks away is just beautiful.
  

• For discussion we were joined by Dana Loesch by phone and Steve Kornacki. Once again, 360 puts a stain on their credibility by failing to hold their guests accountable. Said Dana regarding Coburn:

Well, and I think what Coburn's doing is, he's being legitimate in his hesitancy, believe there is not a single person to whom I have spoken, nor I myself, concerning perspective on this, believe that that the people who committed heroic acts on 9/11 and that were there, our first-responders, no one in their right mind believes that they shouldn't have help with dealing with what was the worst terrorist attack, worst at on our country's soil.

(crosstalk)

But the thing is, is that, even though it's a great cause, the right cause, that doesn't mean -- and I think that the people who are going to be helped from this, they deserve a little bit more than having a piece of slipshod legislation be thrown in. And one of the biggest concerns that I know Coburn has, as well as a lot of other Republicans, is that this remains unfunded. They have no idea how they're going to fund this.

And my suggestion is let's find something to cut immediately, so that, A, we can make sure these people get the help they deserve, and, B, let's make sure that the people who have been injured and are dealing with bad health issues and are dealing with bills, make sure that they can get funded, and that what they're receiving doesn't get looted by people who are committing fraud.

And we saw such a precedent already go down this month with the passing of the second Pigford settlement, because there's a ton of fraud in that. So, I think those concerns are legitimate. And no one's arguing that this shouldn't be done. They're just saying, you know what? Let's make sure that these people get the help that they need...

• Wow. First of all, totally not surprised that she's backing Coburn on this. But slipshod legislation? No idea how to fund the bill? Are you kidding me? The entire first segment of the program was about keeping Coburn honest and Sanjay just lets her make these statements with no push back? He even talked about funding in that prior segment. Yeah, Coburn doesn't like how they plan to fund the bill, but that's very different than implying there is no funding plan. The fact of the matter is that there is a plan to fully fund the bill. One wonders if Dana had these same concerns about tax cuts for the wealthy.
  

• And WTF with bringing up the Pigford settlements? Didn't 360 already cover that and determine there wasn't much fraud? I really hope they follow up on this statement. Consistently inviting on a guest who has a less than stellar reputation when it comes to the truth, and then failing to hold said guest accountable is not good journalism. Actually, it's rather pathetic. 360, you've really upped your game this year when it comes to fact-checking. Please don't let that all be undone by letting your guests spout bullshit.
  

• If you thought Loesch was bad, next we were played a clip of Philip Greaves, author of that pedophile guide. Gross.
  

• Then something interesting happened. Sanjay said this: "His book is no longer available online on Amazon, in part, I will tell you, because 360 was out front on this story, trying to hold Amazon accountable for selling it and others similar material." Next thing I know, we're being segued into a replay of the Andrew Shirvell interview. WTF? Last night I joked about the 360 kids finding a way to give us some Silver Fox face time, but this is kind of ridiculous.

• The theme here, obviously, (besides killing time) is that 360 kept people honest and got results! And I'm fully on board with giving out the cookies, but the whole keeping them honest thing is kinda their job, so this self pat on the back feels a bit tacky. Besides, that's my job (but only when they're good!).
  

• Tom Foreman previewed his look back on 2010. We heard from Anderson Cooper, Jack Gray, and a bunch of other people I don't particularly care about. But I'll still probably watch. Shame-faced.

• Julian Assange got the RidicuList treatment, which I basically agree with, but man, what a hot mess of random references, huh? Sometimes I wonder where the hell this segment is going. Always an interesting ride though.
  

• The show wasn't too great. Nice opening and then it was all downhill from there. The Loesch issue really does make me think less of them. Are you listening, Charlie Moore? Are you listening, Ken Jautz? Yeah, probably not, but with the sinking ratings they need every viewer they can get.
  

Why Won't Republicans Support The Heroic 9/11 First Responders?

This is just going to be a short post to highlight some video. As we all know, the Republicans have been childishly filibustering legislation in order to ensure that the rich get their tax cuts. One of their victims included the James Zadroga bill, which would have provided health care for ailing 9/11 first responders. Yes, the very same party that has spent years exploiting the tragedy is now turning their back when heroes of that day actually need them. Simply immoral.

To their credit, the House has already (finally) passed the bill (though mostly on party lines). Now that Obama and the Democrats have conceded the tax cuts issue, and the nation's wealthy has been promised their millions, one would assume that the Senate would be more than happy to vote again for the responders. Well, one would assume wrong. Apparently, the Republicans' new excuse is the cost of the bill and fear of fraud. This is consistent with the times they filibustered the Iraq supplemental spending bills due to those same fears. Oh, wait.

Championing the responders' cause more than perhaps anyone in the media has been Jon Stewart, who has been expressing righteous anger over this for months. Thursday night he used his last program before holiday break to go at the issue full-bore, proving once again he is more than just a comedian. Unsurprisingly, the Zadroga bill was then featured prominently on many of Friday's newscasts, including AC360 (though they failed--wrongly, in my opinion--to mention Jon's coverage).

Below is 360's first block, which is entirely dedicated to the responders. They did a very nice job summing up the situation, as well as calling out the Republicans on their hypocrisy. I particularly enjoyed that they played a good portion of Anthony Weiner's impassioned speech he gave when the bill was initially defeated in the House. "The gentleman will sit! The gentlemen is correct in sitting!" An interview with Weiner from today is also included.



The Daily Show's first segment from last night. Jon at his finest.



In an uncharacteristic move, the show's second segment featured a somber Jon interviewing four actual ailing 9/11 responders.



A bonus related Daily Show clip that aired back in August. Some more Anthony Weiner awesomeness.



AC360 also covered the story of Paul Waggoner (aka Little Paul), an American aid worker jailed in Haiti after being accused of kidnapping a boy and turning him into a zombie. A truly bizarre and scary situation.



Finally, the RidicuList took on Dr. Jennifer Morse, founder of the Ruth Institute, which is affiliated with the National Organization for Marriage. She wants to take back the rainbow. You know, from the gays who apparently stole it for their evil gay pride. What follows is a cornucopia of rainbow references and puns. These segments are amusing, but I do wish Anderson Cooper would at least slow down a bit. It's pretty obvious he doesn't write these, and when he rushes, it comes off as if someone literally just handed him the copy. Strangely, one of my favorites has been the one that featured Steven Seagal because our anchor really owned it with his deadpan snark.



The show was good. Happy holidays to those of you skipping town already. I plan on posting for at least the first part of next week.