Kimmel Attacked After Saying Everyone Should Have Access To Healthcare Like His Newborn Son Did

[babylonsister]

https://mediamatters.org/blog/2017/05/02/jimmy-kimmel-attacked-after-saying-everyone-should-have-access-healthcare-his-newborn-son-did/216251


Jimmy Kimmel Attacked After Saying Everyone Should Have Access To Healthcare Like His Newborn Son Did
Blog ››› May 2, 2017 6:30 PM EDT ››› ZACHARY PLEAT


Several conservative media figures attacked late night TV host Jimmy Kimmel after he shared the story of his newborn son’s successful recovery from surgery to correct a heart defect. Kimmel used his personal experience to explain why insurance coverage of pre-existing medical conditions, which is lacking in Republican lawmakers’ latest attempt to replace Obamacare, must be included in any new health legislation.

On May 1, Kimmel launched a tearful monologue about his son’s birth the previous week, when two heart defects were discovered and one was fixed with surgery. Kimmel then used his son’s condition to criticize President Donald Trump’s proposal to cut $6 billion in funding from the National Institutes of Health and pleaded with Americans to support health insurance laws that cover pre-existing conditions.

Conservatives soon began their attacks on Kimmel for daring to speak about politics. Washington Times columnist Charles Hurt wrote an especially vile piece titled, “Shut up, Jimmy Kimmel, you elitist creep,” stating that Kimmel’s monologue “went horribly awry” for talking about “grubby, dirty politics.” Hurt described Kimmel’s plea to provide healthcare to children as a “slobbering wet kiss to federal bureaucracy,” and called him a “dirty, self-absorbed, narcissistic exhibitionist.” He also demanded Kimmel, “shut your fat trap about partisan politics and go care for your kid, who just nearly died, you elitist creep.”

Washington Times news writer Cheryl Chumley likewise criticized Kimmel for continuing “the left{’s} … uncomfortable habit of slinging around tears to get what it wants,” writing that Kimmel “loses the support” of people like herself who feel for a newborn child with a health problem, but believe that the “emergency care before Obamacare” was sufficient:

Where in America did newborn children not receive the health care they needed?

What hospitals in the country cruelly tossed a child into the street — a newborn child born with a heart defect — and called out, as the door slammed shut, “No health care for you!”

Fact is, Americans received emergency care before Obamacare. Fact is, too, Americans also received treatment from insurers for pre-existing conditions after a certain amount of time had passed.

Maybe they received bills in the mail for the emergency care, and for co-pays and deductibles for other medical services received — but not as large as the bills taxpayers and insurance holders alike are receiving now, post-Obamacare. Pre-Obamacare, the system was more free market; post-Obamacare, it’s a spread-the-wealth, subsidize the poor system.

The Daily Caller’s Jim Treacher also apparently had a problem with what Kimmel said, posting a reader poll on his blog about whether it was appropriate for him to use “emotional coercion for political purposes on a national comedy/variety program.” On CNN, political commentator Margaret Hoover criticized Kimmel's approach, saying it "massively confused the politics at hand and the policies at hand" before falsely claiming that high-risk pools would be successful in covering patients with pre-existing conditions under the GOP health care bill.

[titaniumsalute]

1. Why are Republicans so anti-life?

I mean yes they are pro-life for a fetus and fuck you from the day you are born. I just don't get it. They even hate pre-natal vitamins.

[eShirl]

11. They aren't "pro-life;" it's never about promoting life for them.

They are only anti-abortion and pro-"I-got-mine-so-fuck-you."

[maddiemom]

79. Also, any women who has sex other than to produce a baby is a slut...

if she gets "caught," it serves her right.

[dalton99a]

17. They go to church and fantasize about killing everyone - young and old - outside their tribe

[Girard442]

32. That's what's supposed to happen to the "unrighteous".

Says so right there in the Book.

Historical Jesus, if there was one, actually deserves some credit for trying to smooth some of the sharp edges, although not with much success, it seems.

[Soxfan58]

63. Once they are out of the womb

Repubs dont care if they live or die.

[Yavin4]

68. That's why everyone should stay as a fetus and never come out of the womb. n/t

[yardwork]

2. What nice people. /nt

[lastlib]

60. loving, sincere, compassionate, caring, selfless.........

[keithbvadu2]

77. Compassionate conservatism

[global1]

3. Proving Once Again That The Deplorables Are Really....

DEPLORABLE!!!!!

[amuse bouche]

41. It really is the perfect name for them

[Renew Deal]

4. Cheryl Chumley doesn't care about newborn children with health problems

And that is the point. She's just upset that people notice that the official position of the Republican Party is that newborns with pre-existing conditions should never be coverable. Cheryl Chumley Is the kind of person that thinks newborns with health conditions should have taken better care of themselves.

[roamer65]

5. Absolutely pure selfishness.

That is what is at the core of being a true Dumpanzee deplorable.

The planet would be better off without them.

[Dustlawyer]

24. I bet they call themselves "Good Christians with family values!"

As long as it is only their family. If Kimmel was an average American and there were pre-existing conditions his son would not receive the 2nd and 3rd surgeries, that's how it works.

[Vinca]

6. Proving once again that "pro-life" has an asterisk attached to it. *In womb.

[ehrnst]

10. I just call it "pro-enforced childbearing." (nt)

[Phoenix61]

51. I've always thought pro-birth had a nice ring to it

Of course, after your born you're on your own.

[ehrnst]

62. I think "birth" focuses more on the baby - which they are not really.

Childbirth describes the act of giving birth, and only applies to the woman.

They are "pro-anything that will serve as a negative consequence to a woman that has sex and doesn't want bear a child"

[Virtual Burlesque]

78. That's why several people I know refer to their position as ...

... pro forced birth.

[PA Democrat]

7. Wow. That is disturbing on so many levels.

People DIED waiting for coverage for preexisting conditions. Medical bills were the primary cause of personal bankruptcy. Emergency rooms don't perform chemotherapy or life-saving surgeries. The first thing you get asked when you show up at ANY hospital is how you are going to pay.

And the majority of these hypocrites will claim they are "pro-life."

[madaboutharry]

8. Where does so much hate come from?

What is wrong with these people?

[eShirl]

9. Ignoring everything else wrong with these Washington Times bloviations,

what in the hell about what Kimmel talked about was elitist? I mean WTF, it was exactly the opposite.

[Dustlawyer]

26. He is "elitist" because he wants care for the less fortunate.

[dalton99a]

12. They want to keep healthcare a privilege, like wealth

[lastlib]

30. They want it to be a function of wealth.

Something you have to earn by labor (service to the masters), and then you can only get what you can pay for. In GOPeeWorld, compassion correlates to checking account.

[bdamomma]

37. exactly

some Repigs believe healthcare should not be a right but a privilege, I say fuck them.

They come right out say it, saying Americans don't know how to take care of themselves. Like

[spanone]

13. the right is a ton of pig fuckers.

[CurtEastPoint]

20. Mrs. Hinkle!

?t=1m47s

[spanone]

23. Bwahahahahaaaaaa!!!!!!

[lastlib]

31. No self-respecting pig would fornicate with those creatures.

Can't we find a lower animal? Sea urchins?

[3catwoman3]

49. Tapeworms have no redeeming...

...characteristics. Sea urchins are at least pretty to look at.

[OnDoutside]

14. Kimmel loses the support of people like herself ... I doubt he EVER had her support. Despicable.

[Warren DeMontague]

15. Yes, there should be no emotion involved in kicking millions of people off of their health insurance

It's jus' bizness, see.

No, emotion should be reserved for that in life which is truly meaningful; the soul-affirming counting of cold, crisp, lovely lovely green stacks of bills, and the tear-inducing moment of life-affirming joy when you look at a brokerage statement.

[duncang]

16. Add Joe Walsh to the list

A tea party congress critter from Illinois who went to being a radio talk host after his loss to Tammy Duckworth.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Walsh_(Illinois_politician)

He's catching it on twitter right now. Mostly about his court problems on child support.

[jaxind]

18. Hey Chumley re:Cancer

Hey Chumley, how does an emergency care visit help a child who, let's say, has cancer??!

[eShirl]

33. duuuuaow... Gee, Tennessee!

[Bernardo de La Paz]

19. "Emergency room care" is the most expensive for taxpayers form of health care. Duh, Chumley. . nt

[still_one]

21. This is where it sure would be Karmic justice if these assholes were subject to a terrible health

consequence, and their health insurance wouldn't cover it. Unfortunately, the hate overpowers these ignoramus selfish assholes, and it is doubtful they would change their perspective:

When Michael Moore Paid For Jim Kenefic's, Medical Premiums Anonymously to cover his stricken wives illness, he initially responded with the following:

“Someone e-mailed me and asked if an ‘anonymous’ benefactor could offer to pay my first year’s premiums – $12,000. I opened a whole new account at my bank, waited for it to clear, checked twice with bank personnel to make sure it wasn’t a scam, and waited a full 60 days before spending the money. At that time, I started drawing on it and paying the monthly premiums until it was gone.”

“[The money] was like manna from heaven at that time. … My business was almost dead, my wife was very, very ill, and I was racking up a few little health problems of my own. That money made it possible for us to begin to turn our lives around.”

........

"So after all this uproar over Michael Moore baiting him, how did he respond to the million dollar question of “why did you take the money, then?” Well….

“I’m not an idiot. I know when to say yes to something, even if the string attached is obvious. What kind of moron turns down a free 12 grand?”

So he hates Michael Moore, he hates the fact that Moore only did this to make him a puppet, but he’ll take his “free” money. Wow, this is almost too much irony to handle.

This is what separates liberal from conservatives. While Kenefick’s conservative supporters did virtually nothing to help, a liberal was generous enough to donate the money to help an individual in need."

http://addictinginfo.com/2015/07/25/that-time-michael-moore-paid-for-his-critics-medical-premiums-anonymously/

This is the mindset we are dealing with

and while this may sound cruel, those right wing assholes who do not believe that healthcare should be a RIGHT, deserve any misfortune that happens to them

[procon]

22. In their alt reality, "Lord of the Flies" is standard for today's Republicans. nt

[ehrnst]

25. Everyone else in your insurance pool is obligated to pay for your goddamned health care, Joe.

Including taxpayers when you were in office.

THAT IS HOW HEALTH CARE COVERAGE WORKS, ASSHOLE.

[lefty2000]

27. Media Matters Hyped Story

Based on the story itself, I was relieved to learn that Jimmy was not "attacked." He was slandered, he was maligned, lambasted, excoriated. I am not sure what the right word is, but it is not "attacked" which could be misunderstood. For just a moment, I thought he might have been attacked. Media Matters should not sensationalize what conservative commentators say. Let them "hang" themselves with their own rope.

[babylonsister]

55. People can be attacked with words. I disagree that

MM hyped this. The quotes are there and it sounds like a verbal attack to me.

[Renew Deal]

69. The dictionary disagrees with you

http://www.dictionary.com/browse/attack

verb (used with object)
1.
to set upon in a forceful, violent, hostile, or aggressive way, with or without a weapon; begin fighting with:
He attacked him with his bare hands.
2.
to begin hostilities against; start an offensive against:
to attack the enemy.
3.
to blame or abuse violently or bitterly.
4.
to direct unfavorable criticism against; criticize severely; argue with strongly:
He attacked his opponent's statement.
5.
to try to destroy, especially with verbal abuse:
to attack the mayor's reputation.
6.
to set about (a task) or go to work on (a thing) vigorously:
to attack housecleaning; to attack the hamburger hungrily.
7.
(of disease, destructive agencies, etc.) to begin to affect.
verb (used without object)
8.
to make an attack; begin hostilities.
noun
9.
the act of attacking; onslaught; assault.
10.
a military offensive against an enemy or enemy position.
11.
Pathology. seizure by disease or illness:
an attack of indigestion.
12.
the beginning or initiating of any action; onset.
13.
an aggressive move in a performance or contest.
14.
the approach or manner of approach in beginning a musical phrase

[Augiedog]

28. I thank my lucky star every day that I am NOT a republican. The abject self hatred is amazing.

[sharedvalues]

29. Washington Times should shut down

Those columns are more than embarrassing, they are hateful and have no place in America.
Move the Washington Times to an autocratic country where such hate supporting the regime will be embraced.

[underpants]

34. You have to be a heartless bastard to watch that and have criticism

Wow. What a bunch of assholes.

[randr]

35. Kimmel poped the lid off the can of crap the Republcians have kept sealed

He made it very clear, for once, what the debate is really about. I hope Democrats can pick up on this as it gets to the heart of the debate. Kimmel made very clear that the Republican health plan is all about denying care to people they look down on.

[sinkingfeeling]

36. One word: deplorable.

[ecstatic]

70. That's it in a nutshell. Such a perfect description

of selfish, ignorant, heartless people.

[world wide wally]

38. When did it become so patriotic to love insurance premiums anyway?

[Beartracks]

81. They confuse "free-market" with "freedom" because...

... it has the text string "free" in it.

===================

[lunasun]

39. Deplorable

[GeorgeGist]

40. Cheapskates ...

are ALWAYS REPUBLICAN.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

42. Republicans gonna republic. nt

[HughBeaumont]

43. "post-Obamacare, its a spread-the-wealth, subsidize the poor system."

Said like that's a BAD thing.

[LakeArenal]

44. And they all drank some warm milk, and slept soundly on their bed of money.

[Gothmog]

45. These attacks are so sad and are in such poor taste

[VigilantG]

46. Again and again...NO SHAME!

Disgusting pigs!

[Initech]

47. These people are absolute monsters.

And the GOP got their underwear in a wad yesterday over what Colbert said. Give me a fucking break. These people are so fucking heartless and cruel.

[wolfie001]

48. RePukes want you to beg on kickstarter

They really are fucking despicable. Yes, I'm talking about those fucking Drumpf supporters.

[Demsrule86]

50. Even with Obamacare, there are peopel who can't afford the care provide for their loved ones...

and millions don't have insurance since the evil GOP did not expand healthcare and some states have capped Medicare too...I have no doubt there were people at the hospital who could not afford to save their kids' life or were ruined by the attempt. Hospitals only have to stabilize by. They do not have provide expensive care. Thank you Jimmy Kimmel...you are wonderful to call the evil ones out.

[Mike Nelson]

52. Deplorable...

...Rich is the only pre-existing condition they care about.

[Nanjeanne]

53. Not only are they heartless selfish creeps-they also don't understand the concept of

Last edited Wed May 3, 2017, 11:44 AM - Edit history (1)

INSURANCE.

[ThoughtCriminal]

54. Conservatives like this surely do not believe in an afterlife

with judgement.

[karynnj]

56. Just means they know how compelling his honest story as told was.

Not to mention, it brings front and center what medical services mean - life or death and, emergency services notwithstanding- there are millions of stories that are not as public, but for which passing the Republican bill means leaving people to die or live marginalized lives. Here, if Kimmel could not pay and did not have insurance, this care might still have been done -- but what of the two future medical operations Kimmel spoke of. Optimally, they should be done based on when the son's health defines - meaning they will not be emergencies, if all goes well. THAT is when the fact that they are a pre-existing condition comes into play.

As to "emotional coercion" --- what the hell was everything Trump did with regards to refugees and immigrants? That was far more emotion and disregarding the facts.

[Saviolo]

57. Related to what Russell Brand talks about:

They're accusing Kimmel of being elitist for standing up for the rights of people less fortunate than him. Er... what? Not that you can argue with facts to these mouth breathers, it just bounces off their closed little minds without making any impact whatsoever.

This comment is particularly telling:

Maybe they received bills in the mail for the emergency care, and for co-pays and deductibles for other medical services received — but not as large as the bills taxpayers and insurance holders alike are receiving now, post-Obamacare. Pre-Obamacare, the system was more free market; post-Obamacare, it’s a spread-the-wealth, subsidize the poor system.

Do they really have no figures on the number of lives ruined by sudden emergency care costs? By families bankrupted by an illness or their car being hit by a drunk driver? Once again, facts will have no effect on these people.

[Neema]

64. Yep. I saw something similar during the whole Colin Kapernick "debate."

White people: "Black people should protest peacefully!"
*Black person sits quietly during national anthem*
White people: "No not like that."

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

83. Nice. Russell Brand is a clever guy. n/t

[knightmaar]

58. Narcissistic Creep?

"That bastard wants all babies to have the same level of care his baby had. What a selfish prick!"

You know, I don't think these people know what words mean.

[Neema]

67. I was puzzled by that as well. I mean, any criticism of Jimmy's heartfelt monologue is

beyond ridiculous IMHO anyway, but "narcissistic creep" is a head-scratcher. They're just throwing out random insults at that point. They probably just keep an insult generator app open on their phones.

[knightmaar]

72. Some damn seriously twisted mental gymnastics.

"Logic"
Kimmel wants healthcare for all.
Kimmel's son gets sick.
Kimmel's son gets healed because Kimmel has a rich man's health plan.
Kimmel cynically uses his son's illness to stump for healthcare for all.
Therefore, Kimmel is selfish.

If you're enough of a narrow-minded prick that you don't draw any connection between "healthcare for all" and "Billy's illness", then it looks like Kimmel is manipulating his Billy's illness to promote a political goal.

What's stupid is that "Billy's illness" and the resulting healing is directly applicable to "healthcare for all."

[tavernier]

59. MSNBC panel just had a discussion on that.

They all agreed that these responses were not going to endear the public to the repubs, and anger many.

[Grins]

61. "Maybe they received bills in the mail...not as large as the bills taxpayers & insurance holders pay

"Maybe they received bills in the mail for the emergency care..."

Maybe? Care to go to Vegas and bet me some real money on that one?

"...but not as large as the bills taxpayers and insurance holders alike are receiving now, post-Obamacare."

A 30-year old woman had a cardiac arrest and was rushed to a hospital. Ten days in a coma and technically dead. She lived. Then she got a $254,000 bill from the hospital. And she WAS INSURED! But because the hospital she was taken to was an out-of-network hospital, she was not covered. She almost died again. Facing bankruptcy she had to put off getting married until her financial situation is resolved.

A teacher cut his finger and went to the emergency room to ask whether he should get stitches. The nurse practitioner determined no stitches were necessary, and no X-ray were required. For that he was hit with an $8,200 bill for the emergency room visit, PLUS $180 for a tetanus shot, PLUS $242 for sterile supplies, PLUS $8 for some antibacterial ointment, PLUS hundreds of dollars for the services of the nurse practitioner. Almost $9,000. For a band-aide.

A mother in Texas thought she had strep throat and went to a local clinic where she was treated with an injection and given a prescription for antibiotics. Her bill: $8,196. For a shot and a prescription (just for the prescription, not the drug itself - that was extra.)

An Arizona woman was stung by a scorpion soon could not walk and had trouble breathing. She went to the hospital that charged her $39,652 - per dose - for the antivenom. She received two doses during her three-hour stay (i.e., $79,304.) Her insurer paid the hospital $57,509. The hospital then demanded she pay the $25,537 balance, PLUS another $1,302 for the hospital's emergency-room physician (i.e., $26,839.) (N.B.: The antivenom for which she was charged $39,652 a dose? It is made in Mexico where it costs - $100 per dose.)

$254,000 for being taken to the wrong hospital. $9,000 for a band-aide. $8,196 for a shot and prescription. $26,839 for two shots and three hours of observation.

So tell me again about those bills that are "...not as large as the bills taxpayers and insurance holders alike are receiving now, post-Obamacare."

[turbinetree]

65. Maybe its time to make phone calls and write letters to the advertisers of these firms

since its is after all about money for there survival ..


FUCK THESE ASSHOLES

Think if someone were to call the "Washington Times" and ask if Ms. Chumley , Charles Hurt do you know how many premature babies that are born and die in this country in fact?

Here google she and he would come up with this fact:

http://www.marchofdimes.org/mission/global-preterm.aspx


And guess what Ms. Chumley, Charles Hurt, if the baby dies, you still have to pay the bill, ever think of that reality, and just gotta ask do you donate to the March of Dimes?

[JI7]

66. Late Night Comedy has been better at Exposing truth about Trump

Than most of the msm.

[Leith]

71. Reichwingers Are Vicious Idiots

How can anyone attack a father who nearly lost his newborn son and is facing future operations?

And that father wants all families to get health care as good as his family got - how the fuck is that elitist?!

I will never understand that kind of person. I don't even want to.

[niyad]

73. so demanding health care for everyone is elitist? really?

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

74. So much for the pro-life claim by the Repukes

Or family values for that matter.

[dhill926]

75. fuck every last goddamn one of 'em....

[Warpy]

76. IOW, he should have sucked it up and let his baby die! It was defective!

That's what these miserable excuses for human beings are saying.

People should be boiling tar and collecting feathers for these men.

[Beartracks]

80. "coercion for political purposes on a national comedy/variety program"

Isn't that Limbaugh's excuse: "I'm just an entertainer!"

What's good for the goose, you conservative elitists.

=============

[WinstonSmith4740]

82. I'm willing to bet...

These are the same "people" who howled when Hillary called them "deplorable". They are truly horrible excuses as human beings. I'm not even sure they would change if the kind of stuff Jimmy Kimmel was talking about DID happen to them or someone they loved. They worship Ayn Rand and money. Period.