March 21: 7 Best Moments from Sunday Talk

Karl Rove: Beware of “Bernie Madoff” Accounting

With the health-care vote hours away, anti-reform pleas reached fever pitch Sunday morning, with opponents pointing fingers and issuing borderline-melodramatic warnings. On ABC’s This Week, Karl Rove parroted John McCain in accusing the plan of using "Bernie Madoff-style accounting," arguing that reform will bankrupt the country.

Rep. Van Hollen: No “Armageddon” if Bill Passes

Hell might freeze over when lawmakers successfully pass health-care reform, but at least we won’t experience hell on earth. Not according to Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Chris Van Hollen. “The world’s not going to come to the end,” he assured skeptics on CBS’ Face the Nation, noting that the hysteria over its impact is overblown. “There’s not going to be these death panels. In fact, [Americans are] going to begin to see the benefits.”

Orrin Hatch: America Is (Gasp!) Becoming “Europeanized”

First there was the demonization of French fries, now this: On CNN's State of the Union, Senator Orrin Hatch warned that—if passed—the health-care bill will mark a shift toward the “Europeanization of America,” arguing that Americans are scared about its economic impact on the county. “The American people sense it, they feel it,” he told Candy Crowley. “They know that we can’t afford this.”

Rep. Wasserman-Schultz vs. Chris Wallace: Define “Bribe?”

On Fox News Sunday, Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz and host Chris Wallace got into a bit of a kerfuffle when Wallace suggested that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi used taxpayer money to “buy” votes for the health-care bill. Despite the more notorious provisions being removed, Wallace listed several other expenditures in the bill for specific states, which he suggested amounted to special deals. Wasserman-Schultz disagreed with his characterization by claiming what Wallace saw as bribes were actually “competitive programs” that applied to multiple states. You say “kickback,” we say “democracy in action.”

John Boehner: If Health Reform Passes, We’ll Repeal It!

Haven’t heard enough debate over health care yet? You might be in luck. On MSNBC’s Meet the Press, Rep. John Boehner vowed: If the Democrats' bill passes, Republicans will repeal elements of it. Specifically, Boehner promised to fight both the plan's individual and employer mandates and changes to Medicare Advantage. When host David Gregory pointed out that the Republican version of the bill would cover far fewer uninsured Americans, Boehner echoed Karl Rove, shouting that the Dems’ bill will “bankrupt our country!”

Michael Steele: “Idiots” Saying “Very Stupid Things” Not a Reflection of Tea Party, GOP

Later on Meet the Press, Michael Steele said that the recent dustup over Tea Party protesters using racial and homophobic slurs wasn’t necessarily a reflection on the GOP, nor the Tea Party as a whole. But he still had some harsh words for the rogue contingent of the party: “There’s a fine line between engaging your donors and your activists to get them fired up… and saying something, as we heard yesterday, that are racial epitaphs [sic] and anti-gay language.”

David Plouffe to Karl Rove: Define “Mission Accomplished”

This weekend marks the seventh anniversary of the Iraq War, but pundits and lawmakers had other things (well, one other thing) on their mind Sunday morning. On ABC’s This Week, however, Obama campaign manager David Plouffe invoked (perhaps subconsciously?) one of the war’s most notorious missteps: Responding to Karl Rove’s argument that Democrats are doomed if health reform passes, he told the former Bushie to take down his “Mission Accomplished” sign. Rove did not react well.

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