Health Care

Gingrich: Focus On My 1993 Mandate Support Is 'Political Amnesia' (VIDEO)

Eric Kleefeld | May 18, 2011, 12:09PM

Presidential candidate Newt Gingrich

In another key moment from his interview with Greta Van Susteren Tuesday night, Newt Gingrich said that his 1993 statements in support of the individual health insurance mandate had to be placed in context of the opposition to Hillary Clinton's push for universal health care at the time, when the mandate was being talked about in order to stop government-run health care. And he decried the "political amnesia" that led people to focus on those comments, and forget about his more recent activism against the mandate.

Gingrich made the comments during the same interview in which he said, "Any ad which quotes what I said on Sunday is a falsehood, because I have said publicly those words were inaccurate and unfortunate," regarding his now-retracted comments against Rep. Paul Ryan's (R-WI) proposed budget that would privatize Medicare.

"I do not support a mandate. I am opposed to Obamacare. I am in support of the 26 attorney generals (sic) who have filed suit," said Gingrich. "The Center for Health Transformation that I supported, that I helped found, has been actively opposed to Obamacare for two-and-a-half years.

"That was a clip from 1993, when in fact, the conservative position was to have individual insurance, in opposition to Hillarycare -- because she wanted everybody to be in government -- but let's get that out of the way, okay?"

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Allen West

Allen West: 'Barack Hussein Obama' Is A 'Low-Level Socialist Agitator' (VIDEO)

Eric Kleefeld | April 22, 2011, 12:16PM

Rep. Allen West (R-FL)

Appearing Thursday night on Fox News with Greta Van Susteren, freshman Rep. Allen West (R-FL) had some remarkably tough things to say about President Obama's recent address on the budget deficit and criticism of the Republican budget.

"I am sick and tired of this class warfare, this Marxist demagogic rhetoric that is coming from the President of the United States of America," said West. "It is not helpful for this country, and it's not gonna move the ball forward as far as rectifying the economic situation in our country. And I am not gonna back away from telling what the truth is."

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Wisconsin

Walker On Calling Anti-Union Agenda 'Truly Progressive': 'Well, I Had Fun With That' (VIDEO)

Eric Kleefeld | April 15, 2011, 11:21AM

Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI)

Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI) appeared Thursday night on Fox News, in an interview with Wisconsin native Greta Van Susteren, and stood by his contention from Thursday's Congressional hearing that his anti-public employee union law is "truly progressive" -- though he admitted to having "fun" with the word.

Van Susteren asked: "In your testimony today, you referred to your budget as 'truly progressive.' Were you--" said Van Susteren.

Walker immediately replied: "In the best sense of the word."

"I was gonna ask, were you tweaking the progressives, and were you tweaking Wisconsin history?" asked Van Susteren.

"But it is progressive. I mean, you look at Tommy Thompson--" Walker begin, referring to the former long-time Republican governor of the state, and former Secretary of Health and Human Services under President George W. Bush.

"But why use that word?" Van Susteren asked.

"Well, I had fun with that," said Walker.

"All right, so I figured," said Van Susteren.

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Wisconsin Supreme Court

Prosser: 'We're Simply Waiting Out The Process' (VIDEO)

Eric Kleefeld | April 8, 2011, 10:42AM

Incumbent Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice David Prosser, who came from behind in the vote count Thursday after the Republican stronghold of Waukesha County announced that a data-entry error had resulted in the omission of a whole town and its over 7,000 net votes for Prosser, appeared Thursday night on Fox News with Wisconsin native Greta Van Susteren.

At one point, Van Susteren asked Prosser whether he had called his liberal-backed opponent JoAnne Kloppenburg, who had declared victory on Wednesday, at any time since election day.

"I have not spoken to my opponent. It's not at all anything personal," said Prosser. "It's simply I thought, I'm not conceding, and I'm not congratulating, and I'm not claiming victory. We're simply waiting out the process."

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Wisconsin Supreme Court

Wis. Justice Prosser Puts In Home Stretch Appearance On Fox News (VIDEO)

Eric Kleefeld | April 5, 2011, 11:08AM

Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice David Prosser, who is facing a highly contentious re-election fight in Wisconsin, appeared Monday night on Fox News, for an interview with Wisconsin native Greta Van Susteren. The vote is taking place today.

As TPM has noted, a state Supreme Court election would not normally be national news. But in the wake of Republican Gov. Scott Walker's legislation curtailing public employee unions, and the political protests that gripped the state and attracted national attention, the court race has quickly turned into a proxy political battle. Conservatives are supporting Prosser, and liberals backing Assistant Attorney General JoAnne Kloppenburg. The polls close at 8 p.m. CT tonight.

Van Susteren asked Prosser about a negative campaign ad from a liberal group, the Greater Wisconsin Committee, attacking Prosser's handling of a priest sex abuse case in the late 1970s, when he was a district attorney, in which the priest was not prosecuted. The priest was transferred to another community, and later convicted in 2004 on these original charges. One of the victims has strongly criticized the attack ad against Prosser, not wanting his case to be used in the state's current political battles.

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Health Care

Tom Price: Health Care Repeal Won't Pass, 'But That's Not The Point' (VIDEO)

Eric Kleefeld | January 4, 2011, 1:29PM

Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) has made an interesting public admission: That the upcoming effort by House Republicans to completely repeal health care reform -- which is set to be voted on in the House on January 12 -- will not actually succeed and become law. But with that said, he explained that the vote is still an important step.

Price was interviewed last night on Fox News by Greta Van Susteren, who asked him: "What's the likelihood you'd pass this, and you could even override a veto from the White House? I mean -- and to what extent is this show-and-tell?"

"It's not show-and-tell," Price replied, saying that it would be "fulfilling a promise to the American people," that they would vote to repeal it.

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Newt Gingrich

Newt Gingrich: Julian Assange Is An Enemy Combatant (VIDEO)

Eric Kleefeld | December 1, 2010, 11:04AM

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA)

Former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA) has joined in on the conservative hard line against WikiLeaks head Julian Assange -- saying that he should be treated as an enemy combatant. In addition, Gingrich has added his voice to those praising Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, if only as a means of damning President Obama by comparison.

During an appearance last night on Greta Van Susteren's show, Gingrich was asked about Assange's statement that Clinton should resign, due to the practice of having diplomats gather intelligence.

"Two quick thoughts: The WikiLeaks guy should be in jail for the rest of his life," said Gingrich. "He is an enemy of the United States, actively endangering people, and he's gonna get a lot of folks killed. And I think that's a despicable act, and we should treat him as an enemy combatant, and as an absolute enemy of the United States."

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Eric Cantor

Cantor: I'll Tell Obama He Was Repudiated In Election (VIDEO)

Eric Kleefeld | November 30, 2010, 10:42AM

House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA)

Appearing on Greta Van Susteren's show last night, incoming House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) offered a preview of how today's summit at the White House might turn out -- and it won't exactly be friendly.

Van Susteren asked how they would react if President Obama doesn't agree to their demand to prevent any and all tax increases -- that is, to preserve the soon-to-expire Bush tax cuts, as they apply to the top income brackets.

"Well, I mean, Greta, we're going to the White House tomorrow to say to the president, look, you know, we've had an election that, frankly, I don't think many of us have experienced in the time we've been here in Washington that's been so dispositive," said Cantor.

"There was, as Paul said, an outright repudiation of the direction that this administration's been taking us over the last two years. So it is where -- it is up to the president to say, look, we're not going to agree on everything. But one thing we can agree on was that this election was about the people saying it's time for Washington to deliver results, and priority one's got to be more jobs for more Americans."

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Mike Huckabee

Huckabee Dings Republicans For Howling Over Cost Of Obama's India Trip (VIDEO)

Eric Kleefeld | November 8, 2010, 12:41PM

President Obama and Former Gov. Mike Huckabee (R-AR)

During an appearance on Greta Van Susteren's Fox News show on Friday, former Gov. Mike Huckabee (R-AR) made a very interesting comment for a potential Republican presidential candidate: He defended the Obama administration on something, specifically against right-wing attacks that the India trip is too costly.

As we've reported, many on the right have complained that Obama is spending more money -- $200 million per day -- than the nation spends daily on the war in Afghanista. "No basis in reality" was the way Deputy White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest described that claim in an email to TPM.

"Presidents always get in trouble when they take a trip. It doesn't matter whether they're Democrats or Republicans. The Republicans whine when the Democrats go, and the Democrats whine when the Republicans go," said Huckabee.

"It's an expensive trip. But the reality is, it costs a lot of money to take a president and all the necessary security, especially in a country like India, where there have been a lot of terrorist bombings and things have to be carefully managed."

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AK-SEN

Lisa Murkowski Asked: Do You Like GOPer Joe Miller? (VIDEO)

Christina Bellantoni | October 12, 2010, 1:45PM

This video clip says it all as Sen. Lisa Murkowski battles Republican nominee Joe Miller and Democratic nominee Scott McAdams. Murkowski (R) has mounted a write-in campaign to fight to keep her seat even though Miller defeated her in a GOP primary this summer.

Fox's Greta Van Susteren interviewed all three candidates yesterday. Each gave their standard political talking points with three weeks to go before the election. The kicker was her close with the senator.

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Karl Rove

Rove: Obama Should Use November Defeats To End Stimulus (VIDEO)

Brian Beutler | August 26, 2010, 3:23PM

Karl Rove

File under "Where this is headed."

Democrats are pretty clearly going to lose some seats in November. And, if this Fox News clip last night is any indication, Republicans will use that defeat to press Obama to abandon what remains of the stimulus bill itself and other job-creating strategies.

Here's what Karl Rove told Greta van Susteren last night: "there needs to be an event that causes -- that gives them, gives them the excuse, gives them the opportunity, whatever verb or noun you want to attach to it, to shift gears. And that moment's coming. It's in 60-some-odd days. It's called the November election."

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NV-SEN

Reid: 'The Polls Are Fine' (VIDEO)

Eric Kleefeld | April 6, 2010, 10:23AM

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)

Appearing on Greta Van Susteren's TV show last night, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) insisted that he is doing just fine in the polls. So is this true? The short answer is "no."

"How come your poll numbers are so bleak here in Nevada?" Van Susteren asked. "I mean, you are the most powerful senator, you're the Senate majority leader. And as I looked the polls, the most recent ones are probably a month old, but they're bleak."

"Well first of all, they are not as bleak as a newspaper here tries to make them. We're doing fine. The polls are fine," Reid replied. "I'm not going to get into a poll battle, because the only poll that matters is the one in November."

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Health Care

Stupak: Pelosi And Hoyer Haven't Talked To Me (VIDEO)

Eric Kleefeld | March 16, 2010, 11:16AM

Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI)

In an interview aired last night on Greta Van Susteren's show on Fox News, Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI) said that the top Democratic leadership have not approached him about the health care bill.

"Has the Speaker come to you since I last spoke to you last week," said Van Susteren "or even Congressman Steny Hoyer, anyone come to you in the top leadership and talked to you, said down and said, you know, What's your problem?"

Stupak's answer: "No."

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