Bill Scher On The Rick Smith Show: Analyzing The Election

Campaign for America’s Future’s Bill Scher is interviewed by host Rick Smith of The Rick Smith Show, just days before the 2010 midterm elections.

In this interview the two discuss the surprisingly high number of Republican candidates who flatly endorse repealing the many beneficial social welfare programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and unemployment insurance benefits. Scher unpacks such contradictions as conservative fringe candidates who run campaigns accusing Democrats of cutting Medicare while pleading against “government takeover of health care.”

Scher and Scott also talk about how conservatives reject facts on a number of issues but try to win campaigns by pushing American’s anger buttons; an example is the myth that the Reagan and Bush tax cuts for the rich increased government revenues even though there is little proof.

Also, Scher and Smith explain the need for progressive and young Americans to vote in the elections. Even though some argue that Democrats have compromised too much the past two years, no one can discredit their efforts in enacting reform, they conclude. Scher said that people may not be entirely satisfied with the outcomes of the last two years, but they will be hard pressed to find a Democrat who did not take the issues seriously, which is more than what can be said for the Republican bloc that obstructed reform.