On Wednesday’s broadcast of Fox News Channel’s “Hannity,” Democratic strategist James Carville and Daily Caller editor in chief Tucker Carlson, along with show host Sean Hannity, debated the lackluster rollout of Obamacare.
This appearance with Carville and Carlson was their first joint appearance since CNN’s “Crossfire” went on eight-year hiatus in early 2005.
Carville argued that the House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing earlier in the day featuring Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius had actually been a positive politically for Democrats since it made the Republican look like aggressors.
HANNITY: Who is responsible, James?
CARVILLE: I would play that — as a Democrat, I hope they play that hearing 24/7. I just —
HANNITY: No, you don’t.
CARVILLE: Of course I do. The idea of those guys sitting there, beating up a woman saying, “Look, it’s my fault. I take responsibility. I’m sorry this happened.” And the truth of the matter is on Nov. 30 it will work or it won’t. If it works, they all will look stupid. If it doesn’t work, she’ll look stupid. We’ll know on Nov. 30.
HANNITY: Tucker, we already know the website — by the way, the year is 2013, Tucker. The fact that you can spend hundreds of millions and not get a website working — that ought to scare every American.
CARLSON: Well, it’s also 2013 and we can evaluate a woman’s performance based on performance, not whether she’s a woman or not. This is not a case of gender politics. They’re not being mean to the girl. She’s an adult. She’s a cabinet secretary. And by the way, to say that I’m accountable but not really. I’m not going to resign, as she should — look, the flaws of Obamacare are so much deeper. The bottom line in one sentence is this is a massive transfer of wealth from the poorest segment of the society, young people, to the richest, old people. That’s won’t work in the end.
This debate continued on for two segments with disagreements as to whether or not the current reports of health insurance cancelation were actually justified to be called “health insurance.” But at the end, Hannity, Carlson and Carville agreed to disagree with promises to come back in a year to see who was right and who was wrong.
Watch (Part II):
CARLSON: I think James is a more sensible man than he puts on. And I think in his heart he’s thinking I can’t believe it’s fallen to me to defend this disaster. But again, this is just a snapshot in time. This is not going to work. I don’t think anyone in the administration thinks it’s going to work. And you are hearing Democrats, the more honest ones, saying, ‘Why didn’t we just expand Medicare and Medicaid in the first place?’ I bet you my car in the next year the conversation will have moved on. Obamacare is just going to be like a stop-gap thing for some people caught in the middle. But the national health care solution according to the left will be to expand Medicare and Medicaid. They are popular entitlements. They are bankrupting the country, but that’s where they are going. Mark my words.
HANNITY: James, I want to say one last thing.
CARVILLE: OK, go ahead.
HANNITY: I actually feel sorry for you tonight.
CARVILLE: You don’t have to feel sorry for me.
HANNITY: I do.
CARVILLE: I think it’s going to work. And I think it’s working in Massachusetts. It’s working in California.
HANNITY: James —
CAVILLE: It’s working where it is — we disagree. You know what? We got the tape. You say it’s not going to work. I say it is. I’ll be back on the show a year from now. One of us will be right. One of us will be wrong.
HANNITY: All I can say is as Americans see their — get their rate shock and Americans get plans canceled and see the president’s promises aren’t worth the paper they are printed on, there’s going to be a lot of angry people out there.