C-SPAN CEO Asks Democrats To Televise Healthcare Negotiations

[bigtree]

January 5, 2010

C-SPAN CEO Brian Lamb last week wrote to Congressional leaders asking that they "open all important negotiations, including any conference committee meetings, to electronic media coverage" as the House and Senate work to reconcile the differences between the House and Senate health care reform bills.

"The C-SPAN networks will commit the necessary resources to covering all of these sessions LIVE and in their entirety," Lamb wrote. "We will also, as we willingly do each day, provide C-SPAN’s multi-camera coverage to any interested member of the Capitol Hill broadcast pool."

Lamb reminded the leaders that "President Obama, Senate and House leaders, many of your rank-and-file members, and the nation’s editorial pages have all talked about the value of transparent discussions on reforming the nation’s health care system. Now that the process moves to the critical stage of reconciliation between the Chambers, we respectfully request that you allow the public full access, through television, to legislation that will affect the lives of every single American."

Specifically, then-Sen. Obama said on the campaign trail that "we'll have the negotiations televised on C-SPAN, so the people can see who is making arguments on behalf of their constituents and who is making arguments on behalf of the drug companies or the insurance companies . . ."


read more: http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2010/01/cspan-ceo-to-democrats-televise-the-health-care-reform-negotiations.html

[Don Caballero]

1. CSPAN should stay out of the political process

They are supposed to be apolitical. They are clearly taking the side of the Repugs lately.

[brooklynite]

3. Why is opening the process to public view "Republican"?

C-Span's role is to document politics without comment. I have no objection to any Government meeting being accessible to those interested.

[Don Caballero]

5. Why didn't they go after Bush's transparency?

CSPAN exists as a public affairs station. They have no business trying to dictate anything to Congress or our President.

[bigtree]

9. Lamb's asking

. . . the president and Congress to live up to their own words - not republican words, but their own.


candidate Obama at a debate in Los Angeles on Jan. 31, 2008:

"That's what I will do in bringing all parties together, not negotiating behind closed doors, but bringing all parties together, and broadcasting those negotiations on C-SPAN so that the American people can see what the choices are, because part of what we have to do is enlist the American people in this process."

"The special interests and lobbyists, he said, "will resist anything that we try to do. ... And the antidote to that is making sure that the American people understand what is at stake."


and on Aug. 21, 2008, at a town hall in Chester, Va.:

"People say, 'Well, you have this great health care plan, but how are you going to pass it? You know, it failed in '93. And what I've said is, I'm going to have all the negotiations around a big table. We'll have doctors and nurses and hospital administrators. Insurance companies, drug companies — they'll get a seat at the table, they just won't be able to buy every chair. But what we will do is, we'll have the negotiations televised on C-SPAN, so that people can see who is making arguments on behalf of their constituents, and who are making arguments on behalf of the drug companies or the insurance companies. And so, that approach, I think is what is going to allow people to stay involved in this process."

[Don Caballero]

10. I love Brian Lamb, he is a fellow Hoosier

but he is wrong to go after Congress and the President on this. If he wanted to get involved in politics he should have done more to go after the previous administration.

[bigtree]

11. he's not 'going after' anyone

. . . he's asking for negotiations to be televised like they promised and offering the airspace and time.

Asking our government and elected officials to do what they promised is still acceptable in this country, isn't it?

[Selatius]

16. Be that as it may, we're talking about the health care bill, not the GWB Administration.

The debate over this bill should be televised regardless of what one thinks of the CEO of C-SPAN. Do you agree with that statement? Or not?

[laughingliberal]

15. I don't know. Perhaps cause Bush never promised to hold negotiations on health care reform on C-span

I'm just guessing here but it would be the last chance to fulfill that promise. A little late since the whole thing's over with now, anyway but would be a token of letting us in on what's going on.

[Captain Hilts]

7. No, they are not. nt

[FBaggins]

12. That's NOT "taking sides"... it's doing their job.

Quite a few here have been making the same call BTW... so it's also hardly the R side.

[kirby]

2. This was an Obama campaign promise too...

I fully agree. The problem is that they do not want the public to see how sausage is made.

[Missy Vixen]

4. Let's have it

We'll see who blinks first, won't we?

:eyes:

[Captain Hilts]

6. Yay Brian! We have a right to watch. nt

[coti]

14. K & R nt

[jbnow]

8. I wish they had done that at the start! It was an idea I really liked

during campaign and he and staff have been rather dismissive of it when asked about it. They all say many have been shown, even that opening meeting, there are just so many blah blah

But the only problem I see now is that they are strongly considering not having a official conference to avoid the certain republican stalls. Through that process it could take months...so they are negotiating off the record...

Oh I wish he had meant that promise. I assured wavering voters of the difference it would make with open committee meetings and public pressure...
Oh Obama. Why'd you go on do that?

[Faryn Balyncd]

13. Great post, BigTree...K&R...Bring in Brian Lamb & his cameras, an then.....

......stuff what the American people are demanding (the Public Option) DOWN HARRY'S THROAT!


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7402961


If Harry, Rahm, Baucus, & the other corporatists want to try to defy the American people, let the cameras roll, and bring them on!




:kick: