One Rich White Guy Supports Working Americans – Sort Of

September 20, 2009

September 16, 2009, Bill O'Reilly, on his Fox TV show was discussing health insurance with Nina Owcharenko, Deputy Director for the Center for Health policy Studies, a part of the National Heritage Foundation a conservative and Republican think tank firmly committed to no public health insurance plan.

O’REILLY: The public option now is done. We discussed this, it’s not going to happen. But you say that this little marketplace that they’re going to set up, whereby the federal government would subsidize insurance for some Americans, that is, in your opinion, a public option?

   OWCHARENKO: Well, it has massive new federal regulation. So you don’t necessarily need a public option if the federal government is going to control and regulate the type of health insurance that Americans can buy.

   O’REILLY: But you know, I want that, Ms. Owcharenko. I want that. I want, not for personally for me, but for working Americans, to have a option, that if they don’t like their health insurance, if it’s too expensive, they can’t afford it, if the government can cobble together a cheaper insurance policy that gives the same benefits, I see that as a plus for the folks.

http://www.nowpublic.com/world/bill-oreilly-endorses-public-option-health-care-reform

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/9/17/783109/-OReilly-backs-government-health-insurance-option

O'Reilly comments show he firmly believes the public option is dead and he triumphantly likes that. By mentioning the poor, presumably the “working” poor, he is implying a humanitarian side which he lacks. He is definitely pandering to conservatives and makes a public offer to help the poor so he can feel better about not supporting a broad based national health plan for every citizen.

He is having his cake and eating it too.