Joe Scarborough Wasn't Shocked or Awed by Single-Payer Logic

I'm amazed at all the people here that actually believe the Joe Scarborough was somehow convinced or left speechless. Joe isn't an idiot, and the question of what value insurance companies bring to the table has an obvious answer: insurance companies are vehicles for sharing risk. Joe knows the answer--he was just enjoying having a Democrat say out loud that they wanted to get rid of insurance companies because he knows the idea is political poison. His reaction was just a way of getting his guest to say over and over that they wanted to get rid of insurance companies.

Don't get me wrong, I'm no fan of insurance companies (http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x6357923). I don't think insurance companies do their intended job of sharing risk very well, and I think we'd be better off without them. However I know the politics of this and so does Joe.

You are giving him a lot of credit. It's his show. Anyone with an opposing view or a good argument, and Joe is unable to defend his side without resorting to his old fashioned conservative views. He hasn't left the 90's yet and his glory days in Congress.

for a free market purist: what do insurance companies do besides add costs to health care? That's the question that shocked and awed Scarborough. But I'm sure you're right that he was not converted, despite having the piss whipped out of him. Politicians and meida stars aren't usually people of high principle, after all. Scarb. et al. are driven by electable and fundable positions. It doesn't alter the fact that Weiner shot a whole through Scarborough's center and made him see daylight for a long five seconds.

the fact that Medicare and the single payer option are also vehicles for sharing risk and doing it cheaper and more efficiently. One thing I found fascinating was Joe remarking that single payer would mean the government taking over the payment component of health care, seemingly acknowledging it would not be a government takeover of health care.

Office that is. ;-)