GOP provision in health care reform used by GOP to terrorize their constituents is dropped

[BirminghamExaminer]

Thanks to Sarah Palin, Chuck Grassley and others, Grassley in a supreme bit of irony announces the 'end of life' provision was dropped from the health care bill; EXCERPT:

Neither the fact that President Obama praised Senator Grassley for working in a bipartisan fashion, or that it was a Republican colleague (Isakson) who put the 'end of life' provision into the health care reform bill in Congress prevented Senator Grassley from lying to his constituents at his own town hall meeting in Iowa this week.

(video)

Though the end of life counseling provision was meant to help the elderly, Republican leaders have focused on the provision and used it to create fear for their own political gain. Even ex-governor Sarah Palin has gotten in on the act. She wrote on her Facebook page that the Republican written provision of the bill amounted to nothing more than "death camps."

Senator Isakson was surprised that his own party was using the provision to frighten Americans into being against health care reform. He cited the Terri Schiavo case as an example where a patient directive would have prevented the pain her family went through as they battled in the courts to decide her fate after being in a coma for an extended time.

In the epitome of irony, Senator Grassley issued a statement on August 13 announcing,

the provision had been dropped from consideration because it could be misinterpreted or implemented incorrectly.

He might have mentioned that he was one of those who had "implemented" the provision incorrectly by using it to frighten the senior citizens in his constituency.

It is ironic that the same people who are frightened by their elected lawmakers at town hall meetings such as Chuck Grassley's are the same people who were appalled that the federal government (under President George W Bush) tried to interfere in an American family's decision about what to do with a loved one during the Terry Schiavo case. It's not merely ironic, it's sad.

(snip)

The great tragedy here is that the people who are showing up at town hall meetings on health reform and shouting that they don't want health care reform are the ones who are most likely to benefit from it. The elderly like Medicare just fine. Veterans who qualify for VA health care benefits have voted it the best health care in the nation. Both are run by the United States Government.

[rurallib]

1. they will still use this to terrorize the older folk that watch FUX.

[The Wielding Truth]

2. The FCC should shut down Fox. If truth were as precious as money..

[BirminghamExaminer]

4. I don't think they can shut down ClusterFox because of the 1st amendment

However it does seem that the FCC might be able to force them to quit calling themselves a news channel. It ought to be Fox entertainment channel for idiots.

I saw something somewhere yesterday that said in some recently released report on hate talk radio that the more hateful the speech is, the longer people listen to it. It's like people who cause wrecks staring a wreck on the other side of the interstate.

I don't know that there's much we can do to stop hate wing radio and hate wing television except keep trying to get the truth out there. And that's difficult since the truth isn't nearly as interesting as a the fire department using the jaws of life to pull a person out of a cube that used to be a vehicle.

[orwell]

3. How does Senator Grassley...

...drop a provision in a HOUSE bill when Congress is not even in session?

I guess it's time to "declare victory" in a war that was never fought...

[BirminghamExaminer]

5. I don't think Grassley himself dropped the provision, he just announced it....

as if it was something people just didn't quite understand (like himself...the freaking moran).