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Rep. Perry fights Chris Matthews on Obamacare

Want to understand partisan rancor in Washington? This is a must-watch.

As debate continues on Capitol Hill over the continuing resolution passed by the House of Representatives to keep the government from shutting down, politicians from each side of the aisle are talking to media, trying to get their point across.

Rep. Scott Perry (R-York), who represents the fourth district, voiced his support for the defunding, or delaying, of the Affordable Care Act on MSNBC’s Hardball with Chris Matthews during a Thursday interview. In addition to talking about the looming potential for a shutdown, Matthews briefly brought up Perry’s stance on offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.

MSNBC Perry“That reasonable set of demands [directed toward the President] includes getting rid of Obamacare for a year, it includes putting in the Keystone pipeline,” Matthews said. “When you look at that list of ten things, it looks like it was written by the oil industry.”

“I’m surprised that you read any of it, first of all,” Perry fired back.

After the response, Matthews abruptly ended the interview, saying that Perry had made a cheap shot toward him as a journalist.

“You know what you can do with that? You can be excused, because you just accused me of not doing my job,” Matthews said. “I wish you hadn’t made that last remark because it was a cheap shot. I was fair, you’re in bed with the oil industry.”

Prior to the abrupt end to the interview, Perry criticized Matthews’ use of the phrase “Congress holding the country hostage,” claiming that if the government shuts down, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and President Barack Obama are to blame.

“Chris, those are your words that the country is being held hostage,” Perry said. “This is a negotiation by an attractable president who will negotiate with Syria, who will negotiate with Putin, who will negotiate with Iran, but won’t negotiate with 50 percent of his countrymen.”

Matthews also questioned Perry’s belief that the Affordable Care Act was failing, saying that the main part of the law has not yet gone into effect.

In response, Perry said that slavery and prohibition are examples of things that were once legal, but later repealed by the government.

The House of Representatives voted Friday to continue to fund the government, while delaying the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, for a year. The Senate will debate and discuss the bill when they return to session Monday.

8 Responses

  1. I watched the complete interview when originally broadcast. Scott, did you think you could out Russert Chris Mathews on his own show? Did you take a cue on how to prepare from one termer Joe Walsh? Did you think an antagonistic and augumentative stance was your best option on nationally broadcast television? And no, National Prohibition is not a valid example of holding up the federal government to try and repeal a law. If you had made an attempt to explain why oil industry amendments were added to the bill, the interview would have been longer and more enlightening. No, instead you took a really cheap shot at someone who was obviously more prepared than you and you were cut off. So what, right? A snow ball will have a better chance for a call back from a program host who is from PA than the Congressman from York Co., PA. Way to go Congressman you told him.

  2. If anyone should be accused of not reading something it should be the Republicans who had several years to stop the Affordable Care Act before it became a reality – The time to stop it was BEFORE it became law. And the fact that Republicans can’t read isn’t a good enough excuse to cry about it later like they are doing now – They had plenty of time to do their job and didn’t because “the document has too many pages”. Not good enough! They are acting like kids that didn’t get their way and they are hurting the people of this country. Such a SHAME.

  3. Congressman Perry should have asked Chris Matthews the status of his disgraced brother, Jim, former Montgomery County Commissioner.

    Scott Perry has been deployed on multiple occasions, serving our country nobly both in uniform and as an elected representative. Chris Matthews is hardly qualified to question the character of anyone, let alone a man of Scott Perry’s caliber.

  4. Matthews cannot handle those who deny his hip shooting infallibility. He can assail with impunity those who behave like him – why not ? – and those who make the mistake of trying to be reasonable with him. That is the nature of his pulpits in the era of McLuhan.

    Recall, in terms of assessing credibility, the extraordinary thrill Matthews admits to experiencing when viewing the undoubtedly viewable and voluble man now President. Such confessions are good for those who seek truth as they are on notice about poor Matthews.

  5. Ironic, represents Gettysburg and is in whole hoc on the House Republicans conduct a “Picketts Charge” against a CR. Senate Republican, bonafide conservative minds, and even some House Republican have warned that this tactic would not work.

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