Mike Huckabee sticks his foot in his mouth over remarks about the late Ted Kennedy
Yesterday, on his syndicated radio show, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee claimed that under the current Democratic healthcare reform proposals, recently deceased Senator Ted Kennedy would have been told to “go home to take some pain pills and die.” That controversial remark came during the memorial and funeral services for the Democratic icon. Huckabee accused Democrats and liberals of exploiting his death in order to get their healthcare reform legislation passed. The governor went on to say that Ted Kennedy would have wanted to process to be bipartisan and that both sides should sit down to craft legislation.
Well it seems lately I have had to take on many from my own side of the political aisle. Mike Huckabee should not have said that and I think it is classless and tasteless to say such things as people are trying to mourn Ted Kennedy. I’m also disturbed by the fact that Huckabee appears to be endorsing the “death panel” argument put forward by Sarah Palin just a few weeks ago. No version of the bill contains “death panels” and I think it is shameful to try and frighten people into thinking that there are. There is no euthanasia, there are no death panels, and people will not be told to “go home and die.” As I have said before, the bill is an awful bill that should not be passed, but at least argue the facts of the bill. It costs too much money, the national deficit is rising, there are concerns over rationing, and people do not want a larger government.
Mike Huckabee needs to apologize to Kennedy’s family for saying what he said on his radio show. He is a reverend himself, so he should know what families go through during times like these. The Republican Party needs to craft their own proposals and start making a public push for what they would like to see. Americans do not like the Democratic proposals and that point needs to be emphasized. I fully expect many on the left; some already have, to use Kennedy’s death to force passage of this bill. That is reprehensible and no bill should be passed for someone’s memory. Why should we go against the will of the country, just to pass a bill that the left wants? We shouldn’t, and any Democrat that does that will be in for an uncomfortable autumn and winter. It is time to start over, in the spirit of bipartisanship.
Here is the clip from Mike Huckabee's remarks:
Comments
I've said time and again that many, probably most, Republicans are not the hateful fearmongerers like their party leaders. Your article proves that point. Thank you for putting human decency and common sense before party loyalty.
Raleigh Progressive Examiner
It's funny how Huckabee is trying to be controversial and make outrageous remarks against the Democrats healthcare plan by saying doctors would have told Teddy to go home and die. But last time I checked isn't that what Teddy did? I know he was receiving treatment but the majority consensus knew he was going to pass away soon and it wasn't that much of a shock when he finally did. RIP Teddy.
Pat- I listened to the clip and didn't hear it. Huckabee said "Did he...go home to take pain pills and die? Of course not. He freely did what most of us would do. He chose an expensive operation and painful followup treatments..." Nowhere did Huckabee say that Kennedy would have been told to do so. If the left is jumping to conclusions and propagating that argument, it's a lie.
I think Congress should be forced to pay for the same health care that the Average Person has before they politicize things. They're currently not impacted, and that = out of touch (no matter what their positions on health care policy may be).
Huckabee didn't directly say Kennedy would have been ordered to go home and die. He said that under the present system, Kennedy had the ability and the choice to ask for full treatment. Huckabee's implication is that under the reformed system, Kennedy would not have had that choice.
Though he didn't come out and say it, like, say, Limbaugh would have, the message was plain.
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