Hello Everyone:

The purpose of this post is NOT to debate the health care issue. I have already made my position on that issue very clear in this separate post:

http://securingamerica.com/ccn/node/17784

CNN VIDEO: John King explained why Obama is having problems passing health care

Submitted by Mitch Dworkin on July 22, 2009 - 7:57pm.

The purpose of this post is rather to explain exactly why Keith Olbermann does NOT have the power to back up the threats that he is making to the Blue Dog Democrats in Congress who he does not like!

Here is the Countdown transcript of Keith Olbermann insulting Blue Dog Democratic members of Congress and making threats to them that I do not think he can back up in his "Special Comment:"

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32284299/ns/msnbc_tv-countdown_with_keith_olbermann/

'Countdown with Keith Olbermann' for Monday, August 3
Read the transcript to the Monday show

Guests: Sen. Bernie Sanders; Chris Kofinis, Dan Gross

KEITH OLBERMANN, HOST: "We don't need to call the Democrats holding this up Blue Dogs. That one word "Dogs" is perfectly sufficient.

But let me speak to them collectively, anyway. I warn you all. You were not elected to create a Democratic majority. You were elected to restore this country.

You were not elected to serve the corporations and the trusts who the government has enabled for these last eight years.

You were elected to serve the people. And if you fail to pass or support this legislation, the full wrath of the progressive and the moderate movements in this country will come down on your heads.

Explain yourselves not to me, but to them. They elected you. And in the blink of an eye, they will replace you.

If you will behave as if you are Republicans-as if you are the prostitutes of our system-you will be judged as such. And you will lose not merely our respect. You will lose your jobs!

Every poll, every analysis, every vote, every region of this country supports health care reform, and the essential great leveling agent of a government-funded alternative to the unchecked duopoly of profiteering private insurance corporations.

Cross us all at your peril. Because, Congressman Ross, you are not the Representative from Blue Cross..."

Here is the Countdown video link to watch Keith Olbermann's entire "Special Comment" (the threats that he made to Blue Dog Democrats in the transcript above happen toward the end of this video):

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036677/vp/32277034#32277034 (13:26)

Olbermann: Legislators for sale
Aug.3: In a Special Comment, Countdown’s Keith Olbermann slams members of Congress for acting more in the interests of their health industry campaign donors than their constituents who so clearly favor health care reform.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036677/vp/32277034#32277034 (13:26)

Here is a separate link to Keith Olbermann's "Special Comment:"

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32276889/ns/msnbc_tv-countdown_with_keith_olbermann/

Olbermann: Legislators for sale
Members of Congress are failing to represent their constituents in the health care fight

SPECIAL COMMENT

By Keith Olbermann
Anchor, 'Countdown'
msnbc.com
updated 8:19 p.m. CT, Mon., Aug 3, 2009

Here are my five points to explain Keith Olbermann's faulty reasoning, why his bark is much stronger than his bite, and his lack of power to back up the the threats that he made to Blue Dog Democrats:

1) Keith Olbermann needs some lessons about polls and how that a liberal Democratic candidate cannot win in a very conservative state or district just like how a conservative Republican candidate cannot win in a very liberal state or district under normal circumstances:

A) This recent CNN poll shows that the country is closely divided on the health care issue:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/08/05/health.care.poll/index.html

Poll indicates generational split over health care

updated 10:11 a.m. EDT, Wed August 5, 2009

By Paul Steinhauser
CNN Deputy Political Director

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- "Americans appear split over President Barack Obama's health care proposals, according to a new national poll...

Fifty percent of those questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey released Wednesday morning say they support the president's plans, with 45 percent opposed..."

B) When the poll numbers for health care reform were higher in July, only 41% of people "say a new law needs to be passed this year:"

http://www.gallup.com/poll/121883/Most-U.S.-Want-Healthcare-Reform-Vary-Urgency.aspx

July 24, 2009

Most in U.S. Want Healthcare Reform, but Vary on Urgency
Thirty percent favor new law, but not necessarily this year; a quarter oppose new law at any time

by Frank Newport

PRINCETON, NJ -- "Seven in 10 Americans favor the passage of new healthcare reform legislation, but less than half (41%) say a new law needs to be passed this year...

The data show that about 4 out of 10 Americans generally agree with Obama -- that a new healthcare law needs to be passed this year. But that leaves the majority of Americans who do not agree, either because they believe a delay is acceptable, or because they don't believe such a law is needed at all..."

This means that some of the people polled who are in favor of health care reform also "believe a delay is acceptable."

C) Nationwide polls are just that, nationwide. Nationwide polls usually vary in different areas of the country as John King of CNN mentioned when he was visiting Benewah County, Idaho (a Blue Dog Democratic area) and said "Cheryl Halverson is the county Democratic chairwoman and says what sells in New York or San Francisco will likely fall flat here:"

http://securingamerica.com/ccn/node/17806#comment-348311

CNN Video: John King's documentary about Blue Dog Dems in Idaho:

Submitted by Mitch Dworkin on August 3, 2009 - 4:24am.

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0908/02/sotu.01.html

STATE OF THE UNION WITH JOHN KING

Interview With Christina Romer; Interview With John McCain

Aired August 2, 2009 - 09:00 ET

JOHN KING, HOST: "Cheryl Halverson is the county Democratic chairwoman and says what sells in New York or San Francisco will likely fall flat here.

CHERYL HALVERSON, DEMOCRATIC CHAIRWOMAN: We're westerners. And westerners are more independent. This is a hunting and fishing place. People don't want to give up their guns. So we tend to be more self- reliant or think that everyone should be more fiscally conservative..."

I definitely think that Keith Olbermann needs the exact same lesson that Ed Schultz needed:

http://securingamerica.com/ccn/node/17806

A lesson for Ed Schultz about Blue Dog Dems: Accept them or risk losing Congress

Submitted by Mitch Dworkin on August 1, 2009 - 5:50pm.

Only a Blue Dog Democrat like Rep. Walt Minnick can win in a more conservative district like Benewah County, Idaho. Liberal Democrats like Ted Kennedy and Nancy Pelosi would have no more of a chance of winning in Walt Minnick's more conservative Congressional district than someone as conservative as Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) could win statewide in New York or in Nancy Pelosi's very liberal San Francisco Congressional district. That is a main reason why the saying is true that "All politics is local."

So Keith Olbermann has to ask himself if he will accept Blue Dog Democrats so he can get much more of what he wants in the big picture of things with Democrats keeping control of Congress OR he can allow vulnerable Blue Dog Democrats who won in more conservative areas in 2006 and 2008 to lose the next time they are on the ballot which will result in him getting much less of what he wants in the big picture of things IF the Republicans win back control of Congress. That means the Republicans will get back all of the committee chairmanships and they will be the ones who are setting all of the agenda in Congress. These are Keith Olbermann's ONLY two choices whether he likes it or not!

2) Keith Olbermann does NOT have the ratings, the power, or the name recognition to back up his threats about Blue Dog Democrats in Congress losing their jobs if they do not play ball his way:

While I think that Keith Olbermann behaves like a far left wing Democratic version of Rush Limbaugh, he only has a small fraction of Limbaugh's ratings and power!

Rush Limbaugh has been "number one" on talk radio being the most influential according to Talkers magazine with 20 million-plus listeners a week:

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0704/10/acd.01.html

ANDERSON COOPER 360 DEGREES

Aired April 10, 2007 - 22:00 ET

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: "Don Imus is popular, of course, but, in talk radio, he's actually not the most influential. Here's the "Raw Data."

According to "Talkers" magazine, Imus ranks 14th as the most important radio show host in the nation. Howard Stern is 12th. Number five is Ed Schultz, at four, Laura Schlessinger, three, Michael Savage. Two is Sean Hannity, and, at number one, Rush Limbaugh..."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyU7Cs9eVrE

Rush Limbaugh: Barbara Walters' 10 Most Fascinating People (05:22)

LandofDaFree
December 04, 2008

"Rush Limbaugh was interviewed as part of Barbara Walters' Ten Most Fascinating People special for 2008 on ABC. Walters said "20 million people a week listen to Rush Limbaugh, the most powerful and successful conservative radio talk show host in the country."

Keith Olbermann's latest ratings show that he only has a nightly audience of just over 1 million people:

http://tvbythenumbers.com/2009/08/07/cable-news-ratings-for-thursday-august-6-2009/24395

Cable News Ratings for Thursday, August 6, 2009
Posted on 07 August 2009 by Robert Seidman

8PM – P2+ (25-54) (35-64)

Countdown w/ K. Olbermann– 1,070,000 viewers (326,000) (569,000)

Comparing Keith Olbermann's ratings, power, and influence to Rush Limbaugh's is like comparing an average high school basketball player to Michael Jordan playing basketball at his best. That is why no elected Democrat who I am aware of has to fear Keith Olbermann like how many elected Republicans fear Limbaugh and apologize to him if they upset him because of how many people who he controls:

http://www.dccc.org/content/sorry

I'm Sorry, Rush

"Republicans who've dared to criticize Rush only to beg for his forgiveness..."

3) As proof of point 2, Blue Dog Democratic Senator Ben Nelson was able to accuse Keith Olbermann (and others) of "distorting the public debate on critical issues with bias and misinformation," of giving "inaccurate and incomplete information," calling them "entertainers (who) tell them what to be angry about today," and also called them "a shouting head on TV" which Olbermann did not like:

http://www.journalstar.com/articles/2009/04/18/news/local/doc49e91c36bc9c6379122757.eml

By DON WALTON / Lincoln Journal Star
Friday, Apr 17, 2009 - 07:19:22 pm CDT

"Radio and TV talk show personalities are distorting the public debate on critical issues with bias and misinformation, Sen. Ben Nelson said Friday.

Too many Americans “get their news from entertainers (who) tell them what to be angry about today,” Nelson said.

Nelson pointed the finger at personalities on both the right and the left during a speech to the Nebraska Public Policy Center on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus.

Sen. Ben Nelson speaks at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln on Friday. Too many Americans “get their news from entertainers (who) tell them what to be angry about today,” he said. (Jacob Hannah)

Both Jon Stewart on Comedy Central and conservative radio icon Rush Limbaugh “slant the news to fit their agenda,” Nelson said.

Then he added Bill O’Reilly, Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity of Fox News and Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow of MSNBC to his list.

“There’s a lot of inaccurate and incomplete information out there thanks to talk shows from either the left or the right,” the Democratic senator said.

“Facts often get in the way of a good rant,” Nelson said.

Far too many citizens who complain about government or a specific issue are doing so with a lack of accurate information, he said.

Citizens need to be “accurately informed and actively involved,” Nelson said.

But they won’t be adequately informed by “a shouting head on TV,” he said.

“Responding to the talking points of either extreme is not the way to enact good public policy,” Nelson said..."

The worst that Keith Olbermann could do to Ben Nelson for saying this was to give him "Worst Person in the World" in this Countdown video:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036677/vp/30356188#30356188 (03:44)

Senator compares Olbermann to FNC hosts
April 22: Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., expressed his disappointed that many Americans receive their news knowledge from angry "entertainers." In Worst Persons in the World, Countdown's Keith Olbermann defends himself against the Senator's claims that he and Rachel Maddow have the same talking points as "Jon Stewart, Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly, Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036677/vp/30356188#30356188 (03:44)

Here is the Countdown transcript of the part about Ben Nelson:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30372388/ns/msnbc_tv-countdown_with_keith_olbermann/

'Countdown with Keith Olbermann' for Wednesday, April 22
Read the transcript to the Wednesday show

Guest: Jonathan Landay, Jack Rice, Janis Karpinski, Elizabeth De La Vega, Howard Fineman

KEITH OLBERMANN, HOST: "But first time for COUNTDOWN‘s number two story, tonight‘s worst persons in the world...

But our winner, Democratic Senator Ben Nelson of Nebraska. “Too many Americans, he said in his speech in Lincoln, quote, “get their news from entertainers who tell them what to be angry about today.” Entertainers, he says, like Jon Stewart, Rush Limbaugh, Bill O‘Reilly, Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow.

“Responding to the talking points of either extreme is not the way to enact good public policy. There is a lot of inaccurate and incomplete information out there thanks to talk shows from either the left or the right. Facts often get in the way of a good rant.”

You‘d know, senator. Thanks for the opportunity to tell you you don‘t know what the hell you‘re talking about. I am fed up with this equating of what we do here to circus performers like Limbaugh and the Fox crowd..."

There was nothing else that Keith Olbermann could do to Ben Nelson for saying what he did. As I said in point 2, many elected Republicans have apologized to Rush Limbaugh for making comments like this about him while no elected Democrats who I am aware of have ever had to apologize to Keith Olbermann for upsetting him!

4) Keith Olbermann saying to Blue Dog Democrats "You were not elected to serve the corporations" has nothing to do with what he can or cannot do to them even if it is true. True or not, how does this have any effect on what Keith Olbermann can or cannot do to Ben Nelson or to any other Blue Dog Democrats?

5) Blue Dog Democrats have White House protection right now:

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0809/25900.html

Rahm Emanuel warns liberal groups to stop ads

Tags: White House, Democrats, Rahm Emanuel

By JONATHAN MARTIN | 8/6/09 7:37 PM EDT

"White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel warned liberal groups this week to stop running ads against Democratic members of Congress.

The powerful top aide to President Obama made his feelings known at the weekly closed-door strategy session of an array of progressive organizations, according to two sources who were there..."

Obama has far more power over Democrats being the leader of the party than Keith Olbermann does. White House support for Blue Dog Democrats only weakens people like Keith Olbermann, Ed Schultz, and Rachel Maddow even more whether they like it or not. Keith Olbermann is a pawn compared to Obama just like how RNC Chairman Michael Steele is a pawn compared to Rush Limbaugh which is very ironic in my opinion!

In conclusion, Keith Olbermann in my opinion definitely does NOT have the power to back up the threats that he is making to Blue Dog Democrats. I think that Keith Olbermann either realizes that my points in this post are true but he is using these threats as political "red meat" to feed to his activist audience for ratings purposes or he is truly ignorant and blind as to what the facts really are!

Mitch Dworkin

http://mitchdworkin.com/
Check out my new political website!

http://www.securingamerica.com/

http://securingamerica.com/ccn/node/16039
RESOURCES: Speeches, Articles, and Career Highlights to help define Gen. Clark!
Submitted by Mitch Dworkin on July 7, 2008 - 2:51pm.

http://www.securingamerica.com/ccn/node/7191
Listen to Gen. Wes Clark fight for Dems on Sean Hannity's radio program: An excellent example for all of us to follow and what we all need to be doing to help fight back against extreme right wing Neocon smear propaganda!