Healthcare

Bathtubs

Can you tell that the cable news networks get much of their ad revenue from the healthcare industry? The boner ads alone must account for half of all their commercial inventory.

On MSNBC, the tone is to basically paint the public option and healthcare reform in general as a major struggle -- as an expensive pipe dream that's pretty much doomed to failure.

And bluegal reports that on CNN, John King is making with the hackery by implying that MoveOn should stop "attacking" Senator Landrieu with radio spots. First, here's the radio script:

ANNOUNCER: Why is Mary Landrieu opposing the president's plan to provide health care choices for all Americans, including the option to join a high-quality public health insurance plan? She did receive $1.6 million in campaign contributions from the health care industry, the same industry that's now spending millions to stop the president's plan. Call Mary Landrieu.

As far as I'm concerned, this doesn't go far enough. I would outright call her a corrupt sell-out. But John King thinks it goes too far:

...before there's even a bill to vote on, she's being attacked on the radio. Should the president of the United States, the leaders of the Democratic Party tell moveon.org to save its money and get off the radio?

WTF? The cable news guys should just broadcast from a pair of bathtubs on the beach.