Harris fumbles on health insurance

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Kamala Harris takes heat after saying she's open to eliminating private health insurance

2020 Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris under fire for suggesting private health care plans be abolished under her 'Medicare for All' plan.

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On the roster: Harris fumbles on health insurance - Dems embrace left wing for Trump rebuttal - Dems delay vote on attorney general - Biden’s non-campaign rolls on - Pittsburgh vs. All yinz

HARRIS FUMBLES ON HEALTH INSURANCE 
Imagine if the Los Angeles Rams had to play the Super Bowl against the Patriots and the NFC Championship against the Saints at the same time.

That’s what running for president is like. We think of the primaries and the general election as two different games, but the truth is that whomever Democrats nominate is already auditioning for the general electorate – including loosely attached Democrats, independents and even some Republicans. 

As Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., is finding out today, the demands of the two games are often quite contradictory. Her glib, facile answer to a serious question about health insurance is the political equivalent to a fumble on her own ten-yard line. 

Being the frontrunner isn’t all puff pieces and pep rallies.

In an interview with CNN, Harris was asked about the downstream consequences of her proposal to make Medicare, the entitlement program which provides health insurance for Americans age 65 and older, available to every citizen, regardless of age.

The proposal is the key policy of one of her rivals, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and has become a litmus test for liberal activists assessing the 2020 Democratic contenders. It would also blow the bottom out of the private, employer-based health insurance which provides coverage for about half of all Americans.

Employers generally hate having to be in the insurance business and many, especially those with large workforces, would be delighted to be able to shunt that responsibility over to Medicare. They chip in for extra coverage or otherwise defray costs and get to kiss goodbye one of the biggest hassles for companies in labor-intensive businesses. That reduced pool of customers would make insurance more expensive for those that remain in the private sector, which would cause more employers to follow suit, and so on and so on. 

Proponents and opponents of the proposal agree on where the road would end: the demolition of the system as it has mostly existed since the 1960s. They disagree about how quickly or chaotically that would happen and certainly are at odds about whether that is good or needful, but agree that it would begin the end of health insurance as we know it.

Asked about this consequence, Harris was dismissive to the point of blitheness.

“The idea is that everyone gets access to medical care and you don't have to go through the process of going through an insurance company, having them give you approval, going through all the paperwork, all of the delay that may require,” Harris said. “Who of all us have not had that situation where you have to wait for approval and the doctor says, ‘I don't know if your insurance company is going to cover this.’”

“Let’s eliminate all of that,” she added. “Let’s move on.”

Now, we want to be generous of spirit here and assume that Harris was blowing off another part of the question and entirely ignoring the downstream consequences. The elimination of the insurance that covers something like 160 million people isn’t something even the most oblivious politician would do. 

But that phrase “let’s eliminate all of that” will now be stuck to her until she comes to the end of the trail. John “I actually did vote for the $87 billion before I voted against it” Kerry knows what we’re talking about.

As the excellent and useful polling from the Kaiser Family Foundation shows, Democrats enjoy a substantial advantage on the question of health insurance and health care. That’s traditionally a better issue for the Blue Team and the Republicans’ 2017 ObamaCare debacle erased the considerable damage that the original passage and enacting of the law did to the Democratic brand.

Buuuuuuttttt… 

Here’s Kaiser: “Net favorability towards a national Medicare-for-all plan (measured as the share in favor minus the share opposed) … ranges as high as +45 percentage points… Yet, on the other side of the debate, net favorability drops as low as -44 percentage points when people hear the argument that this would lead to delays in some people getting some medical tests and treatments. Net favorability is also negative if people hear it would threaten the current Medicare program (-28 percentage points), require most Americans to pay more in taxes (-23 percentage points), or eliminate private health insurance companies (-21 percentage points).”

Everybody wants a unicorn. Nobody wants to have to clean all that glittery manure out of the stall. 

Republicans know this and will absolutely hammer Harris or any Democrat on the subject. The scaremongering around ObamaCare will look like kids’ stuff compared to what is said about the big government health insurance program backed by a self-described socialist Senator from Vermont. It’s a fact.

Harris and other Democrats have glommed on to Sanders’ plan as a bumper-sticker solution. And given the fact that the number of uninsured Americans is climbing and voters are increasingly anxious about the situation, Democrats certainly are right to want something the sounds generous, simple and direct.

But as Barack Obama learned and then Donald Trump said, “Nobody knew health care could be so complicated.” Lolz.

Voters don’t like surprises and deeply mistrust any change that involves their policies or care. Democrats loved being able to run in 2018 on “saving ObamaCare” or “protecting your insurance.” It will be less fun to say exactly what they want to do.

And that goes double with a plan that involves millions of Americans potentially being dumped into government-run health insurance and new pressures it will apply on doctors who already dislike the complexity and measly rates of Medicare.    

It tells us a lot about how Harris’ background in California politics is insufficient preparation for the national version. But it also tells us even more about the dangers ahead for Democrats as Sanders to continue to exact his revenge on the party that passed him over in 2016. If he succeeds in sticking his party with this one, Democrats will kiss off millions of votes from the very group they need so much: Suburban, middle and upper-middle class moms who are very skeptical about Trump.

The lesson of ObamaCare is that American voters are compassionate and want to make sure everyone has access to care. But the moment that plan affects those who already have coverage, it gets chilly out there real quick.  

THE RULEBOOK: CHA-CHING
“When the demand is equal to the quantity of goods at market, the consumer generally pays the duty; but when the markets happen to be overstocked, a great proportion falls upon the merchant, and sometimes not only exhausts his profits, but breaks in upon his capital. I am apt to think that a division of the duty, between the seller and the buyer, more often happens than is commonly imagined.” – Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 35

TIME OUT: SHOOTING HOOPS TO MOVIE SHOOTS
Variety: “NBA Star Kyrie Irving will star in and executive produce a currently untitled horror movie with Imagine Entertainment about an Oklahoma hotel that has a reputation of being haunted. Imagine Entertainment has preemptively optioned an upcoming Players’ Tribune article, an oral history of experiences from NBA stars who have stayed at the Skirvin Hotel in Oklahoma City. The hotel is frequented by traveling NBA teams, but some players refuse to stay there because of its reputation. The hotel was opened in 1911 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. … The project is being developed as a horror film blending scares, satire, wit and social commentary inspired by the folklore of the Skirvin Hotel. The hauntings are believed to have started in the 1930s when the hotel’s owner had an affair with a chambermaid which led to her tragic demise.”

Flag on the play? - Email us at HALFTIMEREPORT@FOXNEWS.COM with your tips, comments or questions.

SCOREBOARD
Trump job performance 
Average approval: 41 percent
Average disapproval: 55.2 percent
Net Score: -14.2 points
Change from one week ago: up 1.6 points
[Average includes: Quinnipiac University: 38% approve - 57% disapprove; Monmouth University: 43% approve - 53% disapprove; NBC News/WSJ: 43% approve - 54% disapprove; ABC News/WaPo: 38% approve - 58% disapprove; Fox News: 43% approve - 54% disapprove.]       
DEMS EMBRACE LEFT WING FOR TRUMP REBUTTAL
WaPo: “Democrats have tapped Georgia’s Stacey Abrams to deliver the response to President Trump’s State of the Union address, Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced Tuesday. Abrams narrowly lost the state’s race for governor in November after a lengthy dispute over blocked votes. She will address the nation in a prime-time speech shortly after Trump finishes his address to a joint session of Congress next Tuesday night. ‘She is just a great spokesperson. She’s an incredible leader. She has led the charge for voting rights, which is at the root of just about everything else. … I’m very excited that she’s agreed to be the respondent to the president,’ Schumer told reporters. Abrams’s political future is the source of much speculation. Earlier this month, she met in Washington with Schumer, who is seeking candidates to run against Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.) in 2020.”

Republicans may block Trump from another shutdown - Politico: “Senate Republicans can’t stomach another shutdown. After weathering 35 days of a partial government closure, the Senate GOP is dreading the possibility another one will hit in less than three weeks — a sentiment that could prevent President Donald Trump from closing the government again. … Most GOP lawmakers dutifully stuck with Trump in public as the partial government shutdown dragged on. But privately, Republican support began to crack as their polling and the economy both suffered. After a half-dozen GOP senators defected last week, Trump dropped his demands for border wall money before a full-scale revolt unfolded. … But while White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Monday that Trump ‘doesn’t want to go through another shutdown,’ she declined to rule it out if Congress doesn’t come up with a border security plan to Trump’s liking. Neither did House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), a close Trump confidant.”

Perdue says Trump wants ‘simple’ border wall deal - WaPo: “Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.), who lunched privately with the president Sunday at the White House, also indicated that Trump is prepared to act on his own should a new committee on Capitol Hill struggle to come up with an agreement on the wall that satisfies him. Trump is mulling the prospect of issuing a national emergency declaration to start wall construction without congressional approval — a move that will almost certainly face an immediate challenge in the courts. ‘He wants as simple of a solution as we can get,’ Perdue said in an interview Monday. While the president would like a more sweeping immigration package at some point, Perdue said Trump acknowledges ‘that’s just not realistic in three weeks.’”

Pergram: ‘Why Democrats are unlikely to budge on next round of border security negotiations’ - Fox News: “Does anyone really think we won’t be back here in three weeks, trying to avert another crisis and fund the government? … If the president agreed to re-open the government after achieving nothing and Republicans started taking the blame, why does the president think the matrix changes in mid-February? Democrats gave nothing. They have very little to lose in the next round. … The key to the three-week window is a conference committee, a blend of bipartisan House and Senate negotiators, charged with forging a border security agreement before Feb. 15. Otherwise, we might be right back where we were. … There’s a reason the government shut down in the fall of 1995 during an epic standoff between President Bill Clinton and House Speaker Newt Gingrich re-opened later, and then shut down again. The sides thought they were on a track to resolve their issues. But they weren’t.”

DEMS DELAY VOTE ON ATTORNEY GENERAL
WaPo: “A planned Senate Judiciary Committee vote on William P. Barr’s nomination to serve as attorney general has been delayed for a week, as Democrats continue to raise concerns about whether he would allow special counsel Robert S. Mueller III to finish his probe and publicize the results unimpeded. The delay … is the latest reflection of the deep partisan tension surrounding Barr’s nomination, most of which centers on Democrats’ desire to protect Mueller’s probe from being unduly constrained. The committee postponed its vote on Barr as one of 46 nominations the panel was scheduled to vote on Tuesday but decided to delay until its next meeting. In both his public testimony and his written answers to senators’ questions, Barr has repeatedly refused to give senators any firm guarantee that he will release Mueller’s report to Congress and the public free of redactions.”

Whittaker: Mueller report ‘close to being completed’ - WaPo: “The head of the Justice Department said Monday that special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s Russia investigation is nearing an end, the first official acknowledgment that the probe ensnaring President Trump may soon reach a conclusion. Acting attorney general Matthew G. Whitaker made the comment during a news conference to announce indictments against a Chinese technology firm. Asked about his view of the Mueller probe in light of critical comments he made while working as a television pundit in 2017, Whitaker said those statements were offered while he was a private citizen. ‘I have been fully briefed on the investigation and I look forward to Director Mueller delivering the final report,’ Whitaker said. ‘I am comfortable that the decisions that were made are going to be reviewed. . . . Right now, you know, the investigation is, I think, close to being completed.’”

Dems get antsier waiting for end date of Mueller probe - Politico: “Before taking power, House Democrats vowed to give special counsel Robert Mueller the space needed to finish his work. Just four weeks in, however, sticking to that pledge is proving difficult. The possible clashes will be on display Tuesday morning when the new House Democratic Caucus meets for the first time to discuss Mueller’s investigation into President Donald Trump’s ties to Russia, a probe with no clear end in sight and ever-expanding subplots. For Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her committee chairs, the uncertainty surrounding the special counsel’s work presents a major challenge for keeping their liberal, rabble-rousing members in check… For now, the Democrats say they are proceeding on two tracks: Letting Mueller pursue criminal charges like the ones unsealed Friday against longtime Trump associate Roger Stone; while lawmakers get to work examining whether anything the president has done rises to ‘high crimes and misdemeanors’ definition for impeachment.”

BIDEN’S NON-CAMPAIGN ROLLS ON
Politico: “Joe Biden brought his not-yet-a-campaign campaign to Florida’s biggest liberal bastion on Tuesday and said he’s ‘a lot closer’ to deciding to run for president in 2020 and plans to make ‘the decision soon.’ Biden made his remarks about his future plans during a question-and-answer portion of an event billed as ‘An Evening with Vice President Joe Biden’ at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, which had so many people in attendance that Biden said even his daughter wondered about 2020. … Tuesday’s event, one in a string of public appearances by Biden, had all the rhetorical trappings of a campaign speech for a Democratic candidate. He made sure to play up his civil rights bona fides, recounting stories of how he opposed segregation as a kid and then a lawmaker. He referenced in passing how he almost always ‘voted with labor’ unions.”

Bloomberg takes on Trump’s business record - Fox News: “Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Tuesday took aim at President Trump during his first public stop during a two-day trip to New Hampshire, accusing the president of being a failure in both business and government. And the billionaire media mogul who’s seriously considering a run for the Democratic presidential nomination said if he made it to the White House, he’d put his philanthropic foundation into a blind trust. At the start of a speech he delivered on climate change at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics, the environmental and gun safety advocate said that Trump ‘failed at business and now I think it’s fair to say he’s failing at governing.’”

Flake will not challenge Trump in a 2020 - Fox News: “Former Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., announced Tuesday morning that he will not challenge President Trump in a 2020 Republican primary. Speaking on CBS – where he has signed on as a contributor – Flake said that he still believes that some Republican needs to challenge Trump in the primaries, but that it won’t be him. ‘I have always said that I do hope that there is a Republican who challenges the president in the primary. I still hope that somebody does, but that somebody won't be me. I will not be a candidate,’ Flake said on ‘CBS This Morning.’ … Flake himself fueled those rumors in November by saying he had ‘not ruled it out.’ But on Tuesday Flake said that it will be an uphill battle for any Republican trying to challenge Trump.”

PLAY-BY-PLAY
Q Poll: Voters trust Pelosi more with important issues than President Trump - Quinnipiac University

U.S. Treasury to borrow big bucks to finance deficit - Bloomberg

Stone pleads not guilty to Mueller charges in federal court - Fox News

Another one? ‘An Obscure White House Staffer’s Jaw-Dropping Trump Tell-All’ - The Atlantic

Trump to sit down with CBS News ahead of Super Bowl - Variety

AUDIBLE: SO YOU DON’T WANT A SIGNED BOOK?
“Don’t help elect Trump, you egotistical billionaire a**hole.” – A heckler yelled at Howard Schultz’s first stop on his book tour.

Share your color commentary: Email us at HALFTIMEREPORT@FOXNEWS.COM and please make sure to include your name and hometown.

PITTSBURGH VS. ALL YINZ
Sports Illustrated: “Not everyone is pleased to see Tom Brady in yet another Super Bowl. Like in Pittsburgh, for instance, where the Patriots-Steelers rivalry lives on even though the Steelers missed the playoffs this year. During yesterday’s late afternoon news on KDKA, the Pittsburgh CBS affiliate, the station ran a chyron identifying Brady not as ‘Patriots quarterback’ but as ‘known cheater.’ … If the Patriots end up winning on Sunday, there will be a non-zero number of fans at the championship parade wearing anti-KDKA T-shirts. [Sports Illustrated has] reached out to KDKA to ask whether multiple people signed off on the ‘cheater’ chyron or if it was a rogue editor’s joke and whether they’ll be reprimanded.”

AND NOW, A WORD FROM CHARLES…
“Stupid but legal. Such is the Trump administration’s travel ban for people from seven Muslim countries. Of course, as with almost everything in American life, what should be a policy or even a moral issue becomes a legal one.” – Charles Krauthammer (1950-2018) writing in the Washington Post on Feb. 9, 2017.

Chris Stirewalt is the politics editor for Fox News. Brianna McClelland contributed to this report. Want FOX News Halftime Report in your inbox every day? Sign up here.