Peter Roskam appeared on Fox Chicago Sunday yesterday and, I must say, our Congressman was looking particularly dreamy. The friendly Fox News team quizzed Pete again about the Joe Wilson outburst during President Obama’s speech last week  and Roskam describes the “thud” he felt at hearing Wilson cry out “you lie” to the President when Obama said his plan would provide no coverage for undocumented workers. When I look at the pictures though, I’m pretty sure that the only “thud” Roskam experienced came much later when he saw his picture in the New York Times.  In the picture that showed Wilson shouting, Roskam exhibits no reaction to Wilson. It does look like he’s reacting negatively to the President himself, though not shouting like his buddy from South Carolina. And notice in the interview how Roskam quickly changes the subject when the interviewer comments that, in the picture, Roskam didn’t look at Wilson:

In an interesting post, FDL questions whether the Wilson shout was planned because of the lack of reaction by Roskam. But enough about Wilson.

Roskam only does safe interviews and this one was no exception. Fox gave him free air time to rehash his same tired obstructionist Republican talking points.

Roskam remarks that we need more clarity regarding the issue of coverage for illegal immigrants. I really don’t know how you can get any more clear than the President:

There are also those who claim that our reform efforts would insure illegal immigrants. This, too, is false. The reforms — the reforms I’m proposing would not apply to those who are here illegally.

Personally, I feel undocumented workers should be covered. They are human beings who work hard for us, they pay taxes too, and we are all presently  paying through the nose for ineffective care for them in emergency rooms. Why not provide them with lower cost effective health care while they are among us. But I know that won’t fly.  Roskam seems to think that the paltry 30 million uninsured Americans remaining after you eliminate the undocumented are hardly worth bothering about.

Roskam says that polls show that the majority of Americans are opposed to a public option. But in a recent NBC/Wall Street Journal poll, “76 percent of respondents said it was either “extremely” or “quite” important to “give people a choice of both a public plan administered by the federal government and a private plan for their health insurance.” A CBS News/Nework Times poll in June found that 72% of respondents support a government-sponsored health care plan to compete with private insurers. Even a Washington Post/ABC News poll conducted this month after all the August teabag nonsense shows 55% support. (A poll of Congressmen receiving hefty campaign contributions from the healthcare industry would probably show weaker support). Roskam’s assessment of public opinion is, at best, disingenuous.

Listen to the Fox interviewer helpfully remind Roskam of his principal talking point that a public option “is opening the door to single-payer in the United States”. Apparently Roskam had gone off script. A single-payer plan is not, of course, what the President is proposing:

Now, I have no interest in putting insurance companies out of business. They provide a legitimate service, and employ a lot of our friends and neighbors. I just want to hold them accountable.  And the insurance reforms that I’ve already mentioned would do just that. But an additional step we can take to keep insurance companies honest is by making a not-for-profit public option available in the insurance exchange. Now, let me be clear. Let me be clear. It would only be an option for those who don’t have insurance. No one would be forced to choose it, and it would not impact those of you who already have insurance. In fact, based on Congressional Budget Office estimates, we believe that less than 5 percent of Americans would sign up.

Despite all this, the insurance companies and their allies don’t like this idea. They argue that these private companies can’t fairly compete with the government. And they’d be right if taxpayers were subsidizing this public insurance option. But they won’t be. I’ve insisted that like any private insurance company, the public insurance option would have to be self-sufficient and rely on the premiums it collects. But by avoiding some of the overhead that gets eaten up at private companies by profits and excessive administrative costs and executive salaries, it could provide a good deal for consumers, and would also keep pressure on private insurers to keep their policies affordable and treat their customers better, the same way public colleges and universities provide additional choice and competition to students without in any way inhibiting a vibrant system of private colleges and universities.

Now, it is — it’s worth noting that a strong majority of Americans still favor a public insurance option of the sort I’ve proposed tonight. But its impact shouldn’t be exaggerated — by the left or the right or the media. It is only one part of my plan, and shouldn’t be used as a handy excuse for the usual Washington ideological battles. To my progressive friends, I would remind you that for decades, the driving idea behind reform has been to end insurance company abuses and make coverage available for those without it.  The public option — the public option is only a means to that end — and we should remain open to other ideas that accomplish our ultimate goal. And to my Republican friends, I say that rather than making wild claims about a government takeover of health care, we should work together to address any legitimate concerns you may have.

Peter Roskam loves to go on TV and radio and talk down the democratic efforts to ensure that all Americans have access to high-quality affordable healthcare. What we have never, ever, heard from Roskam in all these  is his alternative plan for providing healthcare to the millions of Americans who presently go without.

President Obama last week outlined an actual plan. It needs some meat on its bones and I’ll admit to skepticism on some points but he’s laid out a path we can follow to address the problem of the uninsured this year.  All we ever hear from Roskam is “no”, “can’t do it”, “won’t work”, “too expensive”. Well the time for “no” is over. If Roskam doesn’t like the President’s plan, he should outline his own plan to provide universal healthcare. Otherwise, Roskam needs to take a heaping dose of STFU and work with the President to enact his.

I have no real hope, of course, that Roskam will do either. The hallmark of Roskam’s brief tenure in Washington has been an appalling lack of concern for those less fortunate than himself. I have no real expectation that he will change now. Not while there is political hay to be made by trying to cause the President to fail.

Healthcare really shouldn’t be so difficult a problem for our country to solve. In case you haven’t already seen it, I highly recommend T.R. Reid’s Frontline report “Sick Around the World” below. Reid shows how five wealthy democracies have tackled the problem and have come up with solutions that, while imperfect, are pretty good, and haven’t resulted in a totalitarian state or economic collapse. All the noise that surrounds the effort to provide universal healthcare in this country is the result of obstructionist Republicans like Roskam manipulating their gullible base into working against their own best interests for political gain and to the benefit of their corporate sponsors.