Republican Rep. Todd Rokita (R-IN) and CNN’s Carol Costello spar over Obamacare and the continuing government shutdown, ending with Rokita slamming Costello.
COSTELLO: Do you know how much it costs every day the government is partially shut down? You’re costing taxpayers millions and millions of dollars.
ROKITA: I understand that and Obamacare is going to cost the children of tomorrow two trillion dollars just over the next ten years. So Obamacare hurts this economy, Obamcare hurts this country much more — much more than any government shutdown.
COSTELLO: I think most Americans would say ‘fight that fight separate from the federal budget. Don’t partially shut down the government. Don’t make things worse by fighting the same fight over and over.
ROKITA: Carol, we seem to be going round in circles.
COSTELLO: Right. We’re going in circles. Right. That’s what you guys are doing.
ROKITA: No. You’re part of the problem. The media is part of the problem, as well.
COSTELLO: Oh, come-on. That’s so easy. That’s so easy.
ROKITA: Carol, y0u are beautiful but you have to be honest as well.
You can watch the clip below, courtesy of CNN.
As reported by Politico, Rep. Rokita’s office issued the following on his behalf:
“At the end of a spirited and very important debate, I was simply keeping it from unnecessarily ending in an unfriendly or contentious way. I intended no offense to Ms. Costello.”
Politico also reports that Costello issued her own statement:
“Congressman Rokita seemed frustrated by my pointed questions about accepting a paycheck while hundreds of thousands of government workers are not getting paid. It seemed to me Congressman Rokita was trying to deflect these questions with “flattery.” At that point in the interview it was obvious to me the interview was no longer valuable to my viewers. And, no, I do not think it’s appropriate for a sitting Congressman to use such tactics in any interview with a journalist.”
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