Political debate done right

Written By: - Date published: 12:37 pm, September 7th, 2009 - 3 comments
Categories: health, us politics, video, youtube - Tags: ,

The last video I posted had Democratic Congressman Barney Frank taking the fight to a woman in the audience of a townhall meeting who had just compared the proposed health care reforms to Nazism. He finished by saying: “trying to have a conversation with you would be like trying to have a conversation with a dining room table”.

Here’s a video of a politician, Al Franken, who appears to specialise in such conversations. Impressive.

From DustyTrice.com:

“I got to witness something really special. About a dozen tea party activists had staked out Sen. Al Franken’s booth, and confronted him loudly when he arrived. But within minutes, he’d turned an unruly crowd into a productive conversation on health care. The discussion went from insurance reform, to the public option, to veterans benefits, to cap and trade. He made a few laugh and even told a touching story that moved a few to tears. A whole lot of common ground was found.”

3 comments on “Political debate done right ”

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  1. Ron 1
    7 September 2009 at 8:04 pm

    He definitely has a way with a crowd. The huge difference I notice in this conversation is that Franken is allowed to speak and explain his point without getting interrupted constantly. I suspect this discussion simply couldn’t place anywhere in the media in this country except maybe on the Sunday morning programme on NatRad. Henry wouldn’t let him do it. Mary Whatshername on NatRad afternoons wouldn’t. I think there are several politicians who could sustain this level of dialogue if they were given the opportunity.

  2. RedBack 2
    7 September 2009 at 11:52 pm

    Its been funny here in the UK. All 3 of the main UK political parties were pretty much united in their condemnation of the American right when they used the UK’s much cherished NHS as an example of what happens when you, heaven forbid, dare to give the entire population free at point of access healthcare. Getting people to pay to see the GP here in the UK would be an election breaker. Even the “lets privatise everything thats not nailed down” Tories understand that most Brits find the whole idea of credit card healthcare repugnant and rightly so. A well known outspoken (short hand for self promoting) Tory MEP pretty much got immediatly slapped down by his own party leader for appearing on Fox news claiming that if he had the power he would get rid of a state funded health system in the UK. What a f**** idiot.

    But back to the clip yes Al Franken is a genius. He has that unique gift of making some the most ardent righties see how stupid their baseless arguments are. His books are a must read. “Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot and Other Observations” is a particular favourite. NZ does have politicians who can argue at the same level. Pity that doesn’t fit a tabloid news format.

  3. Pascal's bookie 3
    9 September 2009 at 8:23 am

    Check this out: