Death Panel Myth Returns! Just in time for Christmas

Sarah Palin

It seems that once the right-wing noise machine realized that they would be unable to stop health care reform legislation in the Senate they reverted to PolitiFacts Lie of the Year, Death Panels, to scare the hell out of people; just in time for Christmas. Palin, Morris, Limbaugh, and Bachmann all jumped on the wagon.

From The Hill on Tuesday:

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) on Tuesday said that the forthcoming merged healthcare bill could contain the so-called “death panels” she first mentioned over the summer.

Palin took to Twitter, saying that the merged bill could be “unrecognizable” from the House and Senate bills:

…merged bill may b unrecognizable from what assumed was a done deal:R death panels back in?what’s punishment 4not purchasing mandated HC?

Then we have Dick Morris on Fox News Wednesday:

The Medicare Advisory Board… is a particularly dangerous thing, because it’s going to set up for Medicare only, for the elderly only, protocols and standards of care where they are going to be saying no, you can’t give this person a hip replacement, they are too old, and no, you can’t treat this person with colon cancer with the best drug available. I know it increases the chance of his dying, but it’s beyond the cost parameters that we are prepared to allow. And this will be done by this federal board, which is really the death panel that Sarah Palin was talking about. That’s an oversimplification, but the basic concept isn’t far wrong.

And we have Rush Limbaugh ranting Tuesday about death panels: “there are death panels back in this bill” which “cannot be repealed”.

And of course, we have our favorite wack-job Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann being interviewed on Glenn Beck’s radio show on Tuesday saying:

“Harry Reid slipped in a provision that made it virtually impossible to repeal part of this legislation.  And it’s the part dealing with the Medicare Advisory Board — what many people have labeled the death panels — because these unelected bureaucracies will decide what we can and can’t get in future health insurance policy.  That’s why they’re called death panels.  And in that particular part of the legislation, Harry Reid writes that we’re not allowed to repeal these boards.  I think that may be subject to a constitutional attack.

And we even have the nuts commenting HERE on TheLiberalOC as well with the same tired crap.

Just what I wanted Santa to bring me this year, a big stinking bag of right-wing crazy.

9 Comments

  1. Technical advice for printing the table of contents for H.R. 3590 the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act:

    Visit: http://thomas.loc.gov
    Click: H.R. 3590 at top of page
    Do not click the print icon.
    Click: “File > Print Review. Make sure you’re printing the 24 page Table of Contents and not the 2,000 page bill.
    Put the Table of contents in a notebook for future reference.
    The controversial section is SEC. 3403 Independent Medical Advisory Board.

    Click: SEC. 3403 Independent Medical Advisory Board
    No not click the Print Icon. (If you do you’ll be printing 402 pages).
    Click: File > Print Review
    Scroll down until you come to SEC. 3501 (about 20 pages) refer to your printed Table of Contents.
    Count the number of pages in Sec. 3403.
    While in Print Review click Print:
    Tell your printer to only print pages 1 thru 20. (On my system it was 20 pages).
    Click: Print.

    Read the above article and click “HERE” to read the comments from the “What Would Jesus Say About Prayers of Death” article. Good Luck. I had to read SEC. 3403 a number of times before I could say that “I think I understand what I’m reading”. GOOD Luck!!!

  2. What do you think Medicare Advisory Boards do? They limit care to save money. Limiting care shortens lives, is there any other way to see that? That is what bending the cost curve is all about, less medical care for those that need it…saving money and not having to pay anything after they die…saving money. This is called a win/win to Democrats.

  3. Kenneth,

    If indeed the panels had the authority to limit care then you would be correct. However, that is not the case.

    But what you describe is the current insurance system we have. And that one is motivated to cut costs in order to maximize profit and cover excess compensation packages for their CEO’s.

  4. Kenneth and Chris, you’re both wrong.

    The U.S. Senate, 58 Democrats, 2 Independents, gave the U.S. President the authority to be the {[( “Death Panel” )]}, in H.R. 3590, Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

    H.R. 3590, (http://thomas.loc.gov) gives authority to the Secretary to implement the recommendations contained in a proposal that is submitted by the President to Congress. ( `(e) `(1) IN GENERAL ) (This is on page 11 of SEC.3403).

    ` (e) Implementation of Proposal-
    `(1) IN GENERAL- Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary shall, except as provided in paragraph (3), implement the recommendations contained in a proposal submitted by the President to Congress pursuant to this section on August 15 of the year of the year in which the proposal is so submitted.

    ` (4) NO AFFECT ON AUTHORITY TO IMPLEMENT CERTAIN PROVISIONS-
    Nothing in paragraph (3) shall be construed to affect the authority of the Secretary to implement any recommendation contained in a proposal or advisory report under this section to the extent that the Secretary otherwise has the authority to implement such recommendation administratively.

    `(5) LIMITATION ON REVIEW- There shall be no administrative or judicial review under section 1869, section 1878, or otherwise of the implementation by the Secretary under this subsection of the recommendations contained in a proposal.
    ……………………………………

  5. Sources in Washington DC have told the LaRouche PAC, that part of the section that sets up the “Independent Panels” that are there to cut costs, which both Ken and Robert CORRECTLY points out is a MURDER POLICY a HITLER POLICY, despite Chris P.’s lying denials, ALSO states that these panels CAN NEVER BE REVOKED BY ANY CHANGE OF LAW IN THE FUTURE!!!!!!!!!!
    So, Chris do you agree with that FASCIST BULLSHIT AS WELL?

    Also, sources have told LaRouche PAC, that the final draft of the REID BILL DID NOT INCLUDE the CLAUSE that says the law CAN NOT BE REVOKED!!!!
    Someone, who apparently had access, MADE SOME MIDNIGHT CHANGES, which WE ARE TOLD, MEANS THAT MOST IF NOT ALL SENATORS DID NOT READ THE BILL THEY VOTED ON!!!!!!!!!!

    The idea that a law cannot be opposed or changed by a future Congress is CLEARLY UNCONSTITUTIONAL!!

    What is your statement on that, Chris? Are you willing to concede that there may be some skullduggery going on here, that you and everyone else need to find out about, REAL SOON???? Awaiting your reply, Gerald Pechenuk, LaRouche PAC

  6. Chris,
    Still awaiting reply to above: WE ALSO HAVE FOUND SO FAR, 14 places in the bill where decisions made by the \ Medical Indepedent Advisory Board\ contained in the bill ARE UNAPPEALABLE!!!!! Especially THE ONES THAT ARE MADE BASED ON COST-CUTTING!!!!! Are you a Holocaust Denier, Chris? I am Jewish, and this is where the Road to Auschwitz comes from and leads to!! So, just admit this Senate Bill Sucks AND KILL THE BILL!! NOW!!!
    Helping the Enemies of the US ( \THE BRITISH EMPIRE,\ whom we fought the AMERICAN REVOLUTION AGAINST) Pass this BILL TO DESTROY US AS A CONSTITUTIONAL REPUBLIC is TANTAMOUNT TO TREASON on the part of any elected official who supports this monstrosity!!!

  7. The Health Care panel will allow rationing, plain and simple. History is repeating itself, it will not be long before Logan’s Run and Soylent Green becomes reality. What the government giveth it can also take away ( society acceptance of abortion has led to the genocide of millions of Americans), there is plenty of free cheese in every mousetrap.

  8. Chris,
    This bill is a destruction of the US Constitutional System being carried out by a foreign power, the British Monarchy, through agents of influence in the US, like Rahm Emmanuel and Harry Reid. The bill says once it is passed it can never NEVER NEVER NEVER be revoked!!!! This is PURE TREASON!!!
    What are you going to do about it? Join With LaRouche PAC to CRUSH IT!! KILL THE BILL!!!!
    P.S.- You STILL HAVE NOT ANSWERED. All the progressive DEMS ARE COMING OUT AGAINST THE SENATE BILL!!!! Howard Dean, Dennis Kucinich, Louis Slaughter, Barbara Lee, Lynn Woolsey, just to name a few!!

    Are you planning on selling out or are you going to fight what YOU YOURSELF actually called another BAILOUT FOR THE INSURANCE COMPANIES?

Comments are closed.