Andrea Mitchell, an NBC person, has been asking folks this morning on her show whether President Obama is doing a good enough job in dispelling the misinformation (lies) being spread about the health care reform act. No longer is the President simply responsible for health care reform. He is somehow responsible for the lies of the opposition. That disturbs me.
She spent a good bit of time on it, asking several people. It seems to me her formidable journalistic skills might be better spent on explaining or exposing the truth of the proposals. But she is representative of the media, which apparently have collectively decided that what people think about an issue is the main story. And a lot more fun. The issue itself is somehow secondary. And a lot more work.
Sunday's post featured the lie that the health care reform proposal created "death panels" or in less severe terms, some type of mandatory counseling during which the elderly and disabled would learn the limitations of treatment based on their age and disabilities. It is still a lie.
The featured lie for today is that under the proposal you will no longer get to choose your physician. Another lie. There is nothing in the bill or any other proposal being seriously considered that mandates or even suggests any reduction in the patient's ability to choose their own doctor.
It is just not in the bill. It is a lie. A lie calculated to keep things the way that they are.
So here we go again. We "liberals" or "progressives" are going to be so dang open-minded we won't stand up and insist on a significant health care reform bill. We will listen to all sides. And before the conversation is over the vote will have been cast and the opportunity for meaningful change will have passed. Not only will it have passed, but the weak legislation that will pass will become a barrier to any progress in the foreseeable future. No one will want to revisit that political hot potato.
A significant bill will provide an option to private insurance. It is the only thing that will effectively keep costs down.
Write, call, email or tweet your congressman now. When someone lies, call them on it. This is too important to too many people.
If I'm lying, tell me.
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