John Oliver and Lisa Loeb eviscerate Oregon over its monumental ObamaCare fail

(Image credit: HBO)

last updated 8 January 2015

Consider this part of the Portlandia backlash? On John Oliver's inaugural episode of his HBO show Last Week Tonight, Oliver and delightful 1990s one-hit wonder Lisa Loeb tore into Oregon over its disastrous website's failure to enroll Oregonians in insurance plans as part of ObamaCare. As Oliver and Loeb note repeatedly, this was a big embarrassment for Oregon, and an expensive one. Although it may be a bit harsh for Loeb to call residents of the Beaver State "stupid Oregon idiots," I guess Oregon has made its bed and now it has to lie in it (or at least put a bird on it). Still, I'd have thought a Dallas native like Loeb would be a little more understanding about caricaturing an entire population based on a TV show. [Warning: Oliver drops one F-bomb — as is his right on HBO.] --Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.