Apparently, Soledad O'Brien's idea of a balanced discussion is
three-to-one Democratic majority. Three out of the four guests she
hosted on Wednesday's Starting Point to discuss the ObamaCare hearings
were Democrats, and the CNN host did not press them to defend the health
care bill's constitutionality.
Her questions simply focused on the state of the legislation and the
implications of the Supreme Court decision, teeing up the Democrats to
defend the bill and downplay the chance that the individual mandate will
be overturned.
O'Brien's
guests were Senator Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer
(D-Md.), Obama 2012 deputy campaign manager Stephanie Cutter, and lawyer
Gregory Katsas who is arguing against the ObamaCare mandate.
The liberal CNN host asked simple questions like if the guests agreed
that Tuesday's Supreme Court hearing was a "trainwreck" for ObamaCare,
and "Can the bill live without the mandate?" Nowhere did O'Brien ask her
guests to defend the actual constitutionality of the bill in the face
of scrutiny from the Supreme Court justices.
O'Brien's questions also teed up the Democratic guests to give their talking points.
"So what are the political implications?" O'Brien asked Democratic Whip
Steny Hoyer of the decision. Hoyer lectured about how many parts of the
bill are popular and that the Republicans have not offered an
alternative plan to provide affordable health care for uninsured
Americans.
O'Brien asked the same question of the deputy campaign manager of
President Obama's re-election campaign, who responded that the bill was
constitutional and that striking it down would bring negative
implications for many Americans.