two weeks of an intensely hotly debated racial issue with skip gates and the arrest. and so, you know, fox doesn't want to be caught on the wrong side of a racial issue. >> let me ask you the question, lois. do you think this all wraps together that the far right has been questioning the president's birth as american, questioning the legitimacy elected president, even suggesting he ought to get picked up. then going after him on the situation in cambridge, which is murky. and this whole thing with glenn beck saying he's racist. it seems to me there's a piece of this. it's a message saying this guy is not one of us. >> i think you're on to something there. the far right has picked up on these racial overtones. you know, i did a piece on michelle obama, i guess a few weeks ago. it had about 400 comments on the internet. and some of them were so vile we had to take them down. they were so racist. they know they're hitting a core segment of society. and they're trying to inflame

these racial feelings. >> right. >> your thoughts, john? why is party politics -- we know he's african-american. that's fact. manifest from the day we first met him in his big speech. why is it news that they're playing the racial card the way they're playing it? >> well, the birth certificate offers a certain segment out there some degree of reassurance that this country didn't actually elect somebody who is african-american. look, it's not even thinly va l veiled. it's driven on denial by this small fraction of the society that can't except that he's our president. of course it's about bryce rais. >> so it's not about documentation, it's about pigmentation, is that what you're say snoog it's about race and patriotism. it's just a take on what the far right has always done. it's this whole thing about when they call -- they said john kerry looks french and they questioned john mccain's

commitment to his country. it's putting doubt in people's mind about people's loyalty and who they are. >> maybe it's time for the republican party to unhook the caboose, let it go. anyway, thank you. right now it's time for "the ed show" with ed shultz. >> i'm ed shultz. this is "the ed show." good evening, americans. live from 30 rock in new york, it's the ed show on msnbc. righty psycho talker glenn beck calls the president a racist. says he's got a deep-seeded hatred for white people. we're going to take a closer look at the source on this one, folks. plus stephen a. smith is in the house. he'll weigh in. the righties are gaining ground with their bogus talking points on health care reform.

they are lying right to your face. house majority leader sten steny hower responds to our poll at the bottom of the hour. interesting numbers you won't want to miss it. plus, the president hit the trail in a big way. he says he's got a plan to protect you from insurance companies and make their dirty tricks a thing of the past. a former insurance executive who knows how the game is played joins me and he'll explain what the president has got to do to make this thing right. plus "psycho talk" and a great panel. i want you to decide what hate speech really is. but first tonight's "op ed." well, glenn beck. i think we have to consider the source on this one. this guy -- he's one of these guys who throws nasty jabs out there and then goes and hides behind his plastic jesus. yeah h's one of them to. you see, his culture and roots actually come from an f.m. radio shock jock career. nowhere in this background is this guy a credited news man.

does he even have a degree? he's never worked in a news room, never been a beat reporter or been a producer or anchor. his mission is to fire and fire for effect. he appeals to the joe the plumbers of the world. he's one of these flag wrappers. one of these guys that wrap themselves in the flag and then pretend they're so much more patriotic and love the country so much more than you do. now, let's get to this racist thing. this is not a freedom of speech issue. here's what beck said about president obama. >> this president, i think, has exposed himself as a guy over and over and over again who has a deep-seeded hatred for white people. i'm not saying that he doesn't like white people. i'm saying that he has a problem. he has a -- this guy is, i believe, a racist. >> this is not a one-time gaffe. this is a man who called anti-war activist cindy sheehan after she lost her son in a

sting of battle, called her a tragedier who. he asked our first muslim congressman from minnesota, keith ellison if he can prove to him that he's not working with our enemies. fox news has distanced itself from beck's comments about president obama. they put out a statement today saying, glenn beck expressed a personal opinion which represented his own view, not those of the fox news channel. and as with all commentators in the news channel business, he is given the freedom to express his opinions. well, i want to know, how does mr. beck expect people to react when he claims the president has a deep-seeded hatred for white people? this is an ongoing narrative that right wing talkers are spinning to their base. it's the t.e.a. partiers and the birthers. when is it ever going to stop. when is it going to be an end game? i'll tell you when. when the american people are

ready to give distinct definition. this guy is a hate merchant. he peddles hate. in this business, folks, we can do all kinds of stuff to get ratings. there's all kinds of stories out there and topics out there. y eel be surprised what we come up with to get ratings but the fact is this man has decided to sell hate on the man you elected to be president of the united states. how sad. now, i want to know what you think. here's our text question for tonight. do you think the right wipg's verb verbal attacks are free speech or hate speech. text 622639. we'll bring you the results later on in the show. for more, let me bring in dr. james peterson, a professor from africana studies from bucknell university. good to have you on tonight. about the time we think we're really making progress, the

first black president gets elected. gets the mandate of the people, sweeping change. we're back to square one with a guy who's thrown responsibility to the side of the road and decided to turn our president into road kill. how do you receive a comment like this? >> well, i'm very troubled by it. i want to say it from the outseth, glenn beck is more of an entertainer than a news man. we need to keep it in that context. but there's so many reasons why this comment is in poor taste. number one, there are actually a small pocket of americans that are deeply troubled by the fact that we have an african-american president. and unfortunately, the rush limbaughs and glenn bleks play to that audience. we have to remember, president

obama's mother was white and he was raised by his white grandparents. to say he hates white culture is ridiculous and idiotic. he's of mixed race heritage. that's what makes him so unique as a president of the united states. but it's very, very troublesome to see the hate mongers out there. and i would hope that glenn beck whether he's an entertainer or a news person would be a little more responsible. it's a thin line between free speech and hate speech, especially when we think about the audiences out there that are deeply troubled by the fact that we have our first african-american president. >> i remember when trent lott made some comments about strom thurmond. if we elected these guys we wouldn't have all the other problems. a broadcaster goes on and makes this kind of declarative statement and doesn't back it up with any examples whatsoever. is this hate speech in your

opinion? >> you know what, ed, it's hate speech for those communities that are going to be incited by it. and again, just a small minority of folk who are deeply troubled by the fact that we have an african-american president. hopefully they can just wait it out far few years but i live in an area of pennsylvania where there are some folk who are certainly against this and feel some ways very personally negative about obama being president. rush limbaugh, sometimes sarah palin, glenn beck, they all speak to that audience. they all make money off of that audience. and only time will tell to whether or not the broader swath of american society can embrace everyone and kind of bring them up to speed with where we are. remember, the majority culture of mainstream white american culture is singing its swan song for the constitution of the american -- of the united states of america. we will eventually be a true melting pot. and for some folk that is really, really problematic. obama represents that kind of

progress and they just can't deal with it. glenn beck is intelligence enough to know where we are. but he's trying to make money. he's trying to make hay, as it were, in the public sphere and he can do so with these kinds of comments. >> thanks for your time tonight on "the ed show." thank you so much. joining me now is tom tankcredo, fo former republican congressman from colorado. if you say the president is a racist, don't you have to come up with some examples? what's your thoughts? >> it's interesting. we throw that world around a lot. i've been called that many times because i'm opposed to illegal immigration. that's in terms of the way people respond to me in the left. so the use of the word racist is, as i say, it depends on -- if you google the definition, and it's really interesting when

you do this. google racism, and the more liberal the organization using that term, the broader the definition becomes. the aclu, the southern poverty law center. they have very broad definitions for what a racist is. and i suggest to you that some of those organizations use the idea that if you stereotype any particular group, if you use a stereotype for them, that's racism. and when the president of the united states stereotyped, which i believe he certainly did, white cops when he went after the cop in gates, that issue there, that affair in cambridge, when he did that, he was stereotyping. he was stereotyping white policemen. >> actually, he was responding -- i think he distanced himself from the standpoint that -- first of all, he said he had a bias to it because he knows the guy, he personally knows the guy. but getting back to -- your

definition of racist here, because we have got a statement from a broadcaster on a network who says that the president has a deep-seeded hatred for white people. come on, tom. that's just not calling somebody a racist. >> i certainly can't say that. i do not know if he has a hatred for white people. i can say that his statements, and by the way, his appointment of someone i do believe to be a racist, sonia sotomayor for her racial views, that could be used as an indication by some that he is, indeed a racist. because it's depending on what you use as a definition. for liberals, that definition is very broad and he could be captured by that. >> it's very sad that you're throwing it at us this way when you say a deep-seeded hatred for

white people. if someone said tom tancredo had a deep-seeded hatred for the latino community, how would you feel about that? >> i would be afronted by that but listen, when you talk about a hate speech, this is an interesting speech also. how you define that is a very important thing for the united states of america for us in law making, policy making or for you in the media. because some of the things you say, ed, i think honest to god, some of the things you said in your introduction, some of the things you called him. >> he's a hate merchant. wait a minute now, tom. there's a lot of ways to get ratings in this business. he has chosen to label the president as a person who has a deep-seeded hatred for white people. now tell me how that advances the country? >> you have chosen to attack people. >> absolutely call them.

>> it's for ratings. >> look, here's the bottom line here. there is someone out there who is using freedom of speech and hiding behind that to be a merchant of hate and to push the issue of people that is simply not true and he cannot back it up with any instances. and your reference to sonia sotomayor was a reach. why did any republicans vote for her, tom? >> well, they had their reasons. >> so you've got republicans that are voting for a ris is. >> are you going to let me answer or not. >> you're saying you have republicans voting for a racist. >> yeah? big deal. they want votes. ed, you can not use your line of discussion here in terms of the way people talk on television, the kind of language they use. i'm telling you, you could be hung on your own pitard on this. you get pretty wild there and

sometimes you can go off the reservation. >> tom, don't worry, i'm not going to put you in "psycho talk" for that one. good to have you with us. let's bring in journalist and commentator stephen a. smith. jennerically speaking where do you stand on all of this rhetoric. when a guy comes out and says the president has a deep-seeded hatred for white people. >> it's highly inappropriate. i completely agree with the professor in bucknell. you just weren't talking about barack obama a racist. you were calling the president of the united states. you were being dismisive of the position he holds and the integrity that comes along with it. and this is also the same glenn beck who went on "the view" and said i'm an entertainer, i'm not a reporter. the facts don't particularly matter to me. so there you have it. >> isn't he abdicating his

responsibility to throw out something like that? and there are rapid followers out there on the hard white wing that respond to this kind of stuff. >> he's abdicating his responsibility and he's definitely fanning the flames. because he's one of those people who genuinely feel that small minority may feel. that's what you can't escape in all of this situation. this guy has the pulpit to say what he wants to say to whomever he chooses and the people who follow him, evidently, he believes that's an audience that would be receptive to what he's saying. therefore he said what he had to say. this shows you how unhealthy this country potentially is. >> president bush was labelled by some as a racist. he responded to it. here's what he had to say. >> i heard, you know, a couple of people said bush didn't respond because he's a racist or alleged that. that's absolutely wrong and i reject that. frankly, you can call me anything you want, but do not call me a racist.

>> should the president of the united states respond at this point? >> i don't think barack obama should respond to something -- i don't think he should dignify it with a response at all. this is just glenn beck sounding off. in the case of george w. bush, it was highly appropriate for him to do so. we were talking about the aftermath of hurricane katrina, the lives lost. it was a much more serious matter. a lot of people felt like he mishandled that entire situation. this is small time compared to that. >> this is the same pattern. these are the t.e.a. partiers. they want the man to fail and now they're labelling him as a hey racist. >> but in fairness to the people with the t.e.a. parties, you have people who want him to fail because they believe he's making a move towards socialism. whether they're correct or not is ir relevant. that's entirely different than labelling them hate mongerers. >> birds of a feather flock together. >> i don't want to get that extreme. glenn beck and what he said and the audience he has is entirely

different than right wingers who have a problem with president obama's policies. >> it's the conservatives who always come out and say i think you should disavow yourself from the cindy sheehans of the world. they do this all the time. do the conservatives do they embrace? and that's where this goes. >> certainly they should speak out about it. but let's be fair. i don't think the conservatives have a corner market on extremism. we can see extremism to the left sometimes, too. but clearly, they need to address the situations as it pertains to glenn beck and disassociate themselves and distance themselves to it if they definitely want to kater to that audience and show mainstream america, you know we are not this far gone. >> stephen a. smith good to have you on with us. president obama says he has a plan that will protect you from insurance company abuses. i'll ask a former insurance industry bigwig if he thinks the president can really beat the suits at their own game. plus, new numbers coming out

from nbc news and "the wall street journal" poll. new numbers. they are interesting. where the american people stand on all of this health care stuff. and house majority leader s te -- steny hower will join us. undefeated professional boxer floyd "money" mayweather hathe fastest hands boxing has ever seen. so i've come to this ring to see who's faster... on the internet. i'll be using the 3g at&t laptopconnect card. he won't. so i can browse the web faster,

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>> some folks specifically said on the other side, the more we delay, the better chance we have of killing the bill. because what happens in washington is the longer it takes, the more the special interests can start getting in there and trying to knock it down. we will not sign a bill that isn't right for the american people. and i'm for the public option. >> that's president obama in raleigh, north carolina, today. i wish he would have said i won't sign a bill without a public option, but i'm glad to here he's got the words back in the stump speech. the spt worried, of course, that the delay is going to help the lying machine just go out there and kill reform. august is going to be crucial.

i agree with him. that's why i wanted the congress to cancel their break, to stay in washington, get this thing done. go to reading class, whatever you have to do. the profits these insurance companies are making, folks, they're obscene. they're out of this world. they're bilking patients, then using the money to lobby against an affordable plan that the president has been advocating all along, but making people think government health care would lead to rationing, wait lists and euthanizing seniors. joining me now from the center for media and democracy, a former vice president for the insurance giant cigna. good to have you with us tonight. did you ever think that it would get to the level where they would be saying that we're actually going to kill people under a health care plan. that's basically what they're saying. >> yes, i did anticipate that

and i do believe it. buzz it is just part of the scare tactics that have been planned for quite a long time. and they've been a central part of a health insurance industry campaign to kill any kind of reform over the past several years. >> do they have a war room? do they pay attention to polls? do they pay attention to the way the american people are receiving all of this? and are they organized with the way they want to attack it? >> absolutely. they've been anticipating this and planning for this a long time. they knew this was coming. they're very well organized. they poll on a monthly basis to find out where the public's opinions are. and they do an enormous amount of research into what maeszages resonate with the public. that's how they come up with the language they come up with to scare us with. >> how do you think the obama administration should counter all of this, and advocates who want real reform. how do you fight back on it in your opinion? >> i think you need to counter what they're saying, call them

out. and call them lies because they are lies. and make sure that people understand who's paying for them and where they're coming from and a lot of these people saying them are shils for the hill. further i would counter it with truth tactics because i think the truth of our american health care system is far scarier than any scare tactics or false scenario the opponents could paint. the americans are just a layoff or business failure away from being in the ranks of the uninsured and more and more of us are going to be in the ranks of the underinsured from the health care industry continues to be in control of the health care system. >> soo is it fair to give a definition in this manner about the insurance industry right now that they are ruthless, they will do whatever it takes to defeat this? >> absolutely.

the public option is one thing they pulled out all of the stops. and the evidence is they're winning a round or two. they certainly won the round of making sure that nothing was voted on on either floor of the house or senate before the august recess. the fact that the senate finance committee might be voting out a bill without the public option is a huge victory. yesterday, the share price of the seven largest for-profit companies rose dramatically because wall street investors believed that there was increasingly less likelihood the public option would be included. aetna's stock was up more than 12%. >> because it looks like the public option is in trouble in some corners. >> exactly. and the investors applaud that. >> mr. potter, great to have you with us tonight. thanks so much. >> thank you. >> do whatever it takes. you know, chuck noll put that up on the locker room one time and put dwit -- do whatever it

takes. that's where that industry is right now. john boehner says he doesn't know one doctor who supports the health care bill. i'll find one and maybe you can get your head examined in your own state of ohio.

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show" in "psycho talk" tonight. maybe we should change the segment to "stupid talk." john boehner is sticking with the gop just say no line to health care. now he's saying the house health care bill, no good. doesn't work. doctors don't like it. check it out. >> well, i have yet to talk to a doctor who is supporting the plan that's moving through the house. and for the american medical association to come out in support of this plan, even though i would think a great majority of their doctors are opposed to it strike mess as inconsistent at best. >> he hasn't talked to any doctors supporting the health plan. congressman, you need to get out a lit bit more. maybe get out of the tanning parlor or off the golf course and talk to a few folks. the grassroots organization doctors for america, they support the major components of the house bill. doctors do that, including the

public option, by the way. that's a bunch of doctors supporting the house bill. we got that? they have, let's see, almost 14,000 members nationwide. 360 of them even live in boehner's home state of ohio. now, you might think 130 health care organizations also support the bill, that's a number you have to take under consideration. we made a list. if you don't get out and talk to a whole lot of folks we can help you out with phone numbers because i've got them. i could even set up a conference call. you don't have to say anything, john. you don't have to say a word. all you have to do is listen to what's actually out there. it's not doctors who are balking reform. it's the gop and their buddies in the insurance industry and the house minority leader implying that doctors don't support the house health care bill just because he hasn't taken the time to talk to any of them, that is "psycho talk." coming up on "the ed show"

the house majority leader steny hoyer joins me. four blue dog democrats stepped forward today and said they're onboard. i'll ask the majority leader how he's going to deal with that and the american people. and glenn beck calls the president a racist. right wing crazies says the president wasn't born in the usa. and i want to know what you think about the right wing verbal attacks on president obama. i want you to text a free speech, b hate speech. right there. the number is 622639. we'll bring you the results later on in the show. stay with uh us. house. and now, with the cash for clunkers program, a great deal gets even better. let us recycle your older vehicle, and you could qualify for an additional $3500 or $4500 cash back... on top of all other offers.. on a new, more fuel efficient chevy. your chevy dealer has more eligible models to choose

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>> this is the end of the first

half and the score is pretty much tied. i said yesterday the republicans are winning this health care fight in the sound machine. that's true right now. americans are a little confused. they want more information. they want to know where the democrats stand. but the country wants action. check this out. 94% of the people say they will be concerned if congress cannot pass a health care reform bill. bottom line, 56% support the president's plan. more people than not want a public option. we need to get this done, folks. we know congress is ready to take a break. we'll call it half tame thyme. then you come back on the field and you've got to get ready to get this thing one. news today -- blue dog democrats and house leadership got a little bit closer to an agreement. joining me now for all of that is steny hoyer.

thanks for being with us tonight. >> are you losing the pr war on health care in this country? >> i think the american public has been watching a part of the debate both in the senate and the house and they see a lot of different opinions. but i think they understand and that poll reflects it that a, they want a health care reform bill. 94% of them you say are concerned that we won't get the job done. i want to assure them we're going to get the job done. and as you said, a little earlier, we made significant progress last night. the energy and commerce committee is back at the table marking up their bill. they're the third committee, the final committee to mark up the bill in the house. then we expect to take the month of august dork a lot of hard work, look at this, have the american public look at this.

give us their input. we expect to come back here after halftime and score a touchdown for the american and give them health care they can count on. >> this is going to be a brutal halftime. the grassroots in this country are going to have to get together and get after it and let the congress know what they think. now, under president obama's plan, this was one of the questions. my health care plan would be same or better? 50% are scoring it that way. 39% of the american people think it would be worse. what's your response to that? that's a high negative number, isn't it? >> it is a high negative number. the right answer is it's going to be the same or better. and if you don't have it now you're going to have an option. if you lose your job and lose your insurance, you're going to have an option. you're going to have a guaranteed health care insurance option available to you. at a cost you can afford.

it's important to all the people who have inshuns. by the way, we're playing a lot of our premium dollar that aren't in the system. for everybody to be in the system and pay up just like automobile insurance. we think that's a step forward for the american people. president obama's health care plan is, 4 % say it's a bad idea, 36% sate's a good idea. that 22% not sure and no opinion. aren't these the folks you have to win over to make this thing work? and how are you going to do that? sounds like you're going to have to go on a major pr campaign. the insurance industry is ruthless, winning at all costs, fighting back on any kind of reform. what about that high number of 22% of the people not sure where you stand. >> ed, under the current system,

insurance profits have gone up 426%. salaries of executives, as a result, of course they're going to defend the status quo, but the american public in that 56% and 94% number know that the status quo is not good for them. they're worried about losing their job, losing their insurance, costs going up. the insurance company, when they get sick, not letting them sign up for another year for insurance. their child or wife has a pre-existing condition and can't get insurance. they want us to do it and we're going to do it. >> how much of a loss is it that there's not going to be a vote in the house before the recess? >> i don't think that's a loss. we're going to get it out of committee. we'll have all three committees and people can take a breath, look at what we've done, look at where we are. the senate is not going to move its bill.

i think it's a step forward to get it out of committee this week. we're going to get this thing done. >> you've got to get this thing done. steny, thanks for all your hard work. for more, let's bring in our panel tonight. laura flanders is host of gri grittv.org. what do you make of these numbers? >> i'm concerned but what do you expect when the lobbyists are spending $1.4 million a day to try to get the public to misunderstand. you're one of the few helping the public understand what's in the bill. >> is steny hoyer spinning? >> are they losing the pr battle? >> it's temporary. the grassroots is going to make the difference.

people need to hear from their constituents. the house needs to hear from their constituents. the only thing killing people out there right now is the status quo. >> sam stein, the president has been out on the campaign trail. this has been his conversation piece for the last three weeks. barack obama losing ground, what's happening sneer. >> what i found remarkable in the poll numbers is that as the president tried to extend a bipartisan hand, much to the chagrin of aggressives he's become more of a partisan figure. more people are disinclined to support his health care plan despite the fact that he's been open. more people aren't sure fit's going to improve or keep coverage the same. even though he reteenly says you can keep the coverage you're with. it's clear through these numbers the president and the white house are losing this public relations battle and the president himself is getting damaged by it in the process. >> how do the conservatives and republicans play these numbers. what do you think? >> i think republicans are going to look at this and say okay, how can we get a plan that the american people like that is

actually going to fix the program without actually having expanding costs, not going to cost more than trillions of dollars, not going to add to the deficit and not force people into a government plan. i think they'll get a plan that works that way, not force sbeem a public omgs. -- option. i think they're going to cut a plan in the senate that's going to hit the insurance companies but not create a new government program. >> i am not a fan of the co-op. i think that's a cop out. >> i know you're not, but i bet that's what happens. >> i don't think. i respect your opinion and everything. i know that conrad is a heavyweight and so is baucus. but the american people didn't here anything about a co-op on the campaign trail. when does the president say no to cop, this is not what i campaigned on? >> at least he said public option yesterday.

we need a robust public option. it would be easier if the republicans got behind single-payer public health care. >> that's not going to happen. >> i think the public option does have a chance. the senate health committee has got put the hammer down. and then of course nancy pelosi and steny hoyer has to put the hammer down and the ways and means committee has to explain how to pay for this. sooner or later, the american people are going to worry about okay, who's got the ching to take care of this. >> again, barack obama, has to a certain extent extended his hand out to republicans. he's been willing to cut down on the size of the public option. he's now floated the idea. what has he gotten in return? very little popularity. you see his plnumbers plummetin.

i think he's more willing to work with republicans. others think he's working way too much with republicans. >> it is. it's overboard. >> no offense, i don't want to work with you on health care. >> that's the problem. you have to work with me. if you want the votes you have to work with me. >> we've been too nice to you throughout this. >> 51 vot0-1 vote passed medica. >> today, one of the righty fell off his rocker. that's right. he jumped onboard the birther bandwagon, folks. you may be surprised how many people actually believe this junk. well, we'll take an inside look at the lunatic fringe later on "the ed show." two medium cappuccinos, you're ready for the mid-morning rush thanks to a good breakfast. one coffee with room, one large mocha latte.

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>> get your cell phones out. do you think the right wing's verbal attacks on president obama are a, free speech or b, hate speech. i'll have the results coming up later on the show. also the blue dog democrats are finally coming around on public option. but i want to know if they took a bite out of real reform. that's next in my "playbook." take 2 extra strength tylenol every 4 to 6 hours?!? taking 8 pills a day... and if i take it for 10 days -- that's 80 pills. just 2 aleve can last all day. perfect. choose aleve and you can be taking four times... fewer pills than extra strength tylenol. just 2 aleve have the strength to relieve arthritis pain all day. whether you consider it a cruiser or a clunker, you could turn it into cash. get to your dodge, chrysler, and jeep dealer, and get up to double

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the finance committee has been holding up health care reform for the last month. today the chairman finally announced a draf of the finance committee bill. it does not include a public option. it's co-op. democrats who support the co-op

idea say it would put the power in the hands of the consumers not the government. critics say it will keep the power and the money in the hands of the insurance companies. i want to get the real deal on the co-op versus the public option. joining me now for the details is jean cummings good to have you with us. we got the details last night. what are the big points about a co-op being pushed by the finance committee. >> the co-op is less expensive and doesn't involve the government. that's one of the big pluses for them. and then also there are successful models out there. co-ops are owned by people who belong to them. they need to get enough critical mass so the co-op can attract negotiations between the

insurance agencies and the prices. gm and ge can really negotiate with the insurance companies. that's part of the difficulty. >> that's a good point. it could be an a state level, could be on a regional level to inkplud a number of states. they would go out and negotiate the rates, but the start-up i'm hearing would be about $6 billion. you compare that to wall street, the kind of none -- money they got. >> we'll have to see all the details in the plan to see where that money would come from. but ultimately they want to put a system in place to sai money. if you want to build a new system it's going to cost you to build it. >> here are some of the numbers. the handling of the health care issue, president obama, 46% disapprove, 41% approve and 13% not sure.

gosh, after all this talk we have a bunch of disapproval out there. and now with a co-op, is this going to be hard for people to grasp. there are a lot of details, what do you think? >> i think those polls are going to stay pretty murky through august until there's sol stil resolution. we're still three major steps away from one final bill that the public might be able to try to absorb and decide whether it likes it or not. but the process right now is ugly. it is sausage making and i'm sure there are plenty of people out there who don't get it or are angry their side isn't winning and so those pole pols are going to be -- they'll be murky for a while. right now, the situation is so fluid. >> thanks, jean. i appreciate your time tonight. i'm going on vacation next week. i've got a reading assignment. i'm going to read the senate health bill because it's got a public option in it and i'm going north of the border far critical assign. on all of that.

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>> let's bring in our panel sam, why wouldn't the president

respond to this kind of rhetoric out there. he gave a big speech on race during the campaign to respond to the reverend wright controversy. he's been accused by a major broadcaster on a major cable network of having a hatred for white people. >> i think the answer stems back to what happened when the gates issue initially arose. that was a press conference designed to focus the attention on health care. about 50 minutes in and they're about to get out the door and the skip gates question came in and everyone was concerned with racial profiling, what did obama do? elevating glenn beck to the level of president, it doesn't do them any good at a time they want to focus the country's attention on health care. they raised rush limbaugh in the past and dependent want to do it with beck. >> sit important for republicans to distance themselves from