Ed Shultz, the progressive's newest primetime commentator, ripped into President Obama and Rahm Emanuel on health care reform.
He isn't the first to do it. That came from Jane Hamsher, Matt Taibbi, Glenn Greenwald, Robert Scheer, Cenk Unger, and Keith Olbermann, among others.
He is simply the latest to do it.
Here is the link from Crooks and Liars.
Here is the transcript, via Lexis Nexis:
ED SCHULTZ: Good evening, Americans. And welcome to THE ED SHOW from New York.
Mr. President, pull that chair up in front of the fireplace here. What you say we sit down and have a little talk here tonight? What do you think, huh?
The base is restless. They are wandering in the wilderness, Mr. President. They are looking for your GPS coordinates.
They want to know, where are you? They think we can do a heck of a lot better. Liberals and progressives think that they`re not being treated properly.
Right now, Mr. President, your base thinks you`re nothing but a sellout, a corporate sellout, out that. I know it`s tough audio, but I`m your buddy Ed. I`ve got to tell you this. I don`t think anybody else is.
You aren`t listening to the very people who put you in office, Mr. President. This isn`t about your legacy. It`s about the people in America who need health care now.
Mr. President, I don`t know if you`ve noticed or not, but you have carved out the most important elements of reform. The only people who like this current bill right now, Mr. President, is the insurance industry. They get a bunch of new customers.
Here is what Wendell Potter, a friend of mine, told me on the program last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WENDELL POTTER: The Senate bill is full of loopholes, and the insurance industry knows that. In fact, they`ve made sure that they are in there.
One in particular will allow employers to charge certain workers thousands of dollars more just based on health factors. And it can be obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol. The insurance industry will be able to write the rules. They are not being set in the legislation as currently written.
Look. When you have Keith Olbermann and now Ed Shultz speaking out there is a serious problem. It isn't with us, or me, or those who are speaking out, but, with the administration, the President, Rahm Emuanel, Harry Reid, and every Democratic Senator that is selling out American families.
Wendell Potter knows the industry. He knows how the industry will take these loopholes and use them to screw American families. We are being warned, right now, what will happen under this bill that is being rammed down our throats by Rahm Emanuel.
It is no longer just the "left of the left". It is everyone who is tired of carrying water for what is, essentially, a gift to the health insurance industry.
Kill. This. Bill.
Start over.
Use reconciliation.
Get a REAL bill.