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In these clips Jon Stewart does a great interview of the "death panel" originator Betsy McCaughey. As Stewart correctly notes McCaughey never actually referred to them as "death panels" but she did advance the myth that mandatory end-of-life consultations would force seniors to "pull the plug."
In the interview McCaughey first tries to squirm away from her original argument. Originally, McCaughey argued that page 425 of the health care reform bill mandated end-of-life consultations. Now that people like FactCheck have de-legitimized her claim McCaughey now claims that other provisions implicitly mandate the end-of-life consultations. McCaughey then struggles in being able to substantiate her claim with any actual references to the bill. Some may argue that McCaughey was not given time but given that this is her signature issue you would think she would be able to quickly provide evidence for her claims.
Throughout the interview McCaughey time and time again relies on very remote connections that require a complete twisting of the language of the bill. When McCaughey finally finds the language she says mandates care the provision actually does not even encourage end-of-life treatment. Stewart does a great job of going through the actual language of the bill in showing how McCaughey's arguments simply do not make sense. McCaughey's appeals to her Ph.d. in "constitutional history' to say she must be right. First, not every constitutional history scholar knows how to correctly interpret current statutory language. Secondly, Stewart demonstrates that the actual language along with common sense demand an opposite understanding of the bill.
Watch the following clips yourself and provide your own comments on McCaughey's claims.
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Betsy McCaughey Pt. 1 | ||||
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| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Betsy McCaughey Pt. 2 | ||||
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Comments
I think Barney Frank presciently and unknowingly responded to McCaughey's remarks when he asked a woman at his Town Hall meeting in Swansea, MA, earlier this week, "What planet are you from?" Clearly, Betsy McCaughey comes from some alternative universe where words don't mean the same things they mean on this planet-- Ph.D. in "constitutional history" or not. (Which also makes me wonder about the credentials of her degree granting institution...but that's a whole other story.)
Jon Stewart on health care how does being an actor make you an authority?
What’s next Johnny Carson sends health care message from grave on Ouija Board Game?
Bravo Jon Stewart! When CNN had her on first, the journalist let her run her busy mouth without asking barely any questions, and none of them challenging. That's how these stupid lies get around unchallenged.
Sad that a late night comedian is needed to shed light on such a critical controversy. Who is going to cover in depth the fact that Republicans were for "death panels" before they were against them?
GW Bush' 2003 Medicare prescription drug bill, which boasted support from 204 GOP representatives and 42 senators, offered funding for “counseling the beneficiary with respect to end-of-life issues and care options”—a provision very similar to the current proposal. All the brouhaha and lies are part of the Republican "death wish" for health care reform.
G,
He never claims to be an authority.She does. And yet he schooled her by reading what it actually says instead of making up what you want people to think it says. Sorry if that upsets you. The reality has a liberal bias, has for some time now.
Moonie Betsy McCaughey's Waterloo, Fired by Corporate Death Panel
truthiest.blogspot.com/2009/08/moonie-betsy-mccaugheys-waterloo-fired.html
Betsy McCaughey, Adjunct Fellow at Moonie Hudson Institute (Hudson created Discovery Institute, the Moonie Creationist propaganda factory, and in the same Washington DC offices where Moonies created the SEPPtic Tank of Fred Singer) has been fired as Board Director at Cantel Medical Corp.
Responsible for creating the BIG LIE about govt DEATH PANELS going to kill grandma, made famous by Sarah Palin, Betsy McCaughey met her Waterloo on the Jon Stewart Show, August 21, 2009. This follows less than one week after famous Astroturfer and Chronic Liar Dick Armey met his Waterloo, and was forced out of DLA Piper PR company for similar frauds.
The END TIMES for liars has come, with big names dropping like flies. It's only a matter of time before David H. Koch does the perp walk and beats Bernie Madoff's sentence length.
Robert Moon is spamming The Activity Pit again: twi.cc/lAlq
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