Quoting Sarah Palin
Thursday, September 3, 2009 at 03:11PM Sarah Palin never wrote that ObamaCare "mandated" death panels. Tired of the Sarah Palin out-of-context misrepresentations ("I can see Russia from my window") I cite here what she actually wrote:
Friday, August 7, 2009 at 1:26pm
As more Americans delve into the disturbing details of the nationalized health care plan that the current administration is rushing through Congress, our collective jaw is dropping, and we’re saying not just no, but hell no!
The Democrats promise that a government health care system will reduce the cost of health care, but as the economist Thomas Sowell has pointed out, government health care will not reduce the cost; it will simply refuse to pay the cost. And who will suffer the most when they ration care? The sick, the elderly, and the disabled, of course. The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down Syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama’s “death panel” so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their “level of productivity in society,” whether they are worthy of health care. Such a system is downright evil.
Health care by definition involves life and death decisions. Human rights and human dignity must be at the center of any health care discussion.
Rep. Michele Bachmann highlighted the Orwellian thinking of the president’s health care advisor, Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, the brother of the White House chief of staff, in a floor speech to the House of Representatives. I commend her for being a voice for the most precious members of our society, our children and our seniors.
We must step up and engage in this most crucial debate. Nationalizing our health care system is a point of no return for government interference in the lives of its citizens. If we go down this path, there will be no turning back. Ronald Reagan once wrote, “Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we’ll ever see on this earth.” Let’s stop and think and make our voices heard before it’s too late.
America, Healthcare, Palin 
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Reader Comments (38)
LOL
First we have the birther theory denials......
I am beginning to think this Obama school exercise may actually be a stroke of genius- because next week, when he gives his address, he can outline in detail every mad ploy and reaction from the Reich Wingers over the summer months.
Then Sarah also wrote this:
“The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama’s ‘death panel’ so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their ‘level of productivity in society,’ whether they are worthy of health care. Such a system is downright evil,” Palin wrote last week.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20090813/pl_politico/26078
WILL HAVE to stand in front of Obama's "Death Panel" (empahsis added) strikes me as a rather compulsory obligation.
Obama is like junk food - glossy marketing, tremendous promise, cravings. Sold with a slogan and a song, and a great deal of excitement.
But both junk food and Obama leave you ill-nourished, and unsatisfied, and with a dent in your pocket book.
Mahons: get a clue. It's a hypothetical.
Mahons,
For sure, this school thing is actually a sneaky though smart ploy. The Reich wingers will scream 'Hitler' ' to the high heavens, Glenn Beck will teach his viewers how to spell again, Sarah will release another bomb, then next week they deny it ever happened, after they are exposed in the joint sessions address.
While ambivalent about the topic earlier, I have changed my mind- The school 'visit' is a stroke of genius.
Hey Pinky, your quote at 3:07 is exactly what I wrote above in the post. Only I put it in full context. If you're going to bother commenting to me read the post. Otherwise, take your propoganda elsewhere.
The one, and probably only thing, the Obama Admin. does well is a marketing campaign.
The school thing is an infomercial for the Obama Admin. and the Dems.
An utter waste of time and resources. But that's all they know how to do. They do not know how to govern and apparently they are unwilling to learn.
Patty - it is pathetic. But at least she didn't try to utilize her infant. Oops!
Patty:
It's a hypothetical
Where is that indicated? A speaker when presenting a hypothetical usually indicates just that.
So if I say, "Patty beat her mother to death" I can then claim I meant it as a hypothetical, when my claims that "patty beat her mother to death" are shown to be a nonsense and an enormous LIE?
Last week- you, David and others, were writing of the actual existence of death panels; this week, David says they are real, but you say they are hypotheticals ( unidentified).
Patty:
"Hey Pinky, your quote at 3:07 is exactly what I wrote above in the post. Only I put it in full context. If you're going to bother commenting to me read the post. Otherwise, take your propoganda elsewhere"
LOL, sorry you just didn't get it.
LOL
"The Reich wingers will scream 'Hitler' ' to the high heavens"
Congratulation Pinky, you win the prize for "Complete lack of self awareness", for criticising 'Hitler' references in the same sentence as referring to your opponents as "Reich wingers".
Surely the entire Republican hawk policies are justified because of misquoting. You know the whole "Israel must be wiped off the map" bit even though the words Israel, wiped or map didn't actually appear. Rght wingers can misquote as well. The only difference is that they are misquoting in an attempt to start a war.
Read her post, guys.
This is called a discussion of an issue. A hypothetical discussion of what Sarah Palin thinks will be if ObamaCare is enacted. And she cites her reasons for thinking this. (Sowell and Obama advisor Emmanuel)
She says the Dems promise to reduce costs. She then says (citing economist Sowell) that this will not be so. She posits that the govt. will not reduce costs but will chose not to pay certain costs.
No where does Palin say that on page 666, there are Death Panels.
Ross:
"Congratulation Pinky, you win the prize for "Complete lack of self awareness", for criticising 'Hitler' references in the same sentence as referring to your opponents as "Reich wingers"."
Congratulations Ross, for winning the prize again, for seeing what's not written. Where did I criticise the 'Hitler' references?
Patty:
"A hypothetical discussion of what Sarah Palin thinks will be if ObamaCare is enacted. "
Where does she indicate it is a hypothetical disccusion she is engaging in, rather than just another example of plain old Sarah Palin lies and dishonesty?
What you think "Hitler" references are okay?
Ross:
'What you think "Hitler" references are okay'
Yet again, congratulations Ross on winning the prize, for seeing what's not written.
2 in a few minutes might be a record for you?
"Sarah Palin never wrote that ObamaCare "mandated" death panels"
"The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down Syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama’s “death panel”
Sorry, Patty, it's an open and shut case. The evidence is in your own posting of Sarah's words. Contextualising it does not alter the fact.
Now that Ross has trotted off with his 2 trophies for today, back to the topic:
Is this the reason Palin and the Reich wing are now back tracking and denying the death panel comments? She will end up like Mc Caughey?
""Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, whose claim to fame in the current health care debate is helping to spread the infamous "death panel" myth, has been invited to testify before the New York State Senate about how reform will impact the state's elderly.
New York State Senator Reverend Ruben Diaz, a conservative Democrat from the Bronx who is sympathetic to Palin's views, will be hosting a Senate Aging Committee hearing next week on "President Obama's proposed health care reform and the impact it will have on New York State senior citizens."
The witnesses invited include a host of officials from the medical, political, private insurance, and non-governmental world -- each with a clear area of expertise on the topic of caring for the elderly.
Then there is Palin. The former Alaska Governor's health care policy contribution is defined by a brief Facebook message she wrote in early August in which she warned that Democratic reform would create "death panels" tasked with determining who to euthanize, including her child with Down Syndrome.
Palin has not yet accepted or declined the invitation to attend the September 8 hearing, according to Diaz's office. As for why she was invited, Cathy Bern-Smith, a spokesperson for the senator, noted that in another Facebook entry, Palin had referred to "a letter that Senator Diaz wrote to [Rep.] Henry Waxman, (D-Calif.), that was posted on the senator's website."
"There was this Internet conversation going on where she made a comment on her post about something the senator had said," Bern-Smith added. "So we thought, well let's invite her."
Even if Palin doesn't show, the hearing will not lack for controversial conservative figures. Also invited, and confirmed to attend, is Betsy McCaughey, the former Lieutenant Governor of New York and head of the Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths.
McCaughey actually preceded Palin in pushing the death panel myth, while also promoting a host of equally dubious charges against health care reform. She has, for example, insisted that White House adviser Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel wanted to redefine the Hippocratic Oath. She also claimed -- again falsely -- that the House health care bill would "absolutely require" end-of-life counseling for seniors "that will tell them how to end their life sooner."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/02/palin-invited-to-testify_n_275059.html
To be fair she has been misquoted. She never claimed there would be more than one panel, only one.
She should probably sue. After all it would be a shame to waste all those "contributions" to her legal fund.
btw talking of rightwing lunatics (and let's face it these days who isn't?) look at the latest Glenn Bek (as we must presumably call him now) episode. I can't make up my mind whether he is genuinely this crazy or just pretending to be for the money. What does the (non-death) panel think?
And she cites her reasons for thinking this. (Sowell and Obama advisor Emmanuel)
And of course her reason for citing Emmanuel is the gross misrepresentation of his words by Bachmann and Betsy McCaughey, among others. Although in a world where "have to" doesn't mean required maybe a discussion of how to decide who gets a transplant when there aren't anywhere near enough organs for everyone who needs one actually does mean a system for killing all AARP members.
Jimmy
I don't think those choices are mutually exclusive.
Oh My Glenn 'bek.'
Now that is scary, and not for the reasons Glen thinks.
Pinky
"The Reich wingers will scream 'Hitler' ' to the high heavens"
How is this to be taken if not critising those who would "scream "Hitler" to the high heavens"
and Ross in his 4:05 asked a question. I think you saw something that wasn't there :op
Palin made a very good point about the death panel possibility/probability with ObamaCare single payer bill.
It hit home. And the Left have nothing to say except: there is no Death Panel! It's not mandated! Show me where it's mandated! Palin's a liar! Hitler! 3rd Reich!
What a bunch of crybaby nonsense. Conservative are the 3rd Reich? I think Obama's advisor Ezekiel Emanuel shows a few more Hitlerian tendencies than the Right.
"Level of productivity to society?" This certainly reminds me of Hitler's death camps. Not you? Who's wearing the swastika? Not Palin certainly. Not the Republicans. Not the Conservatives. I think It's Ezekiel Emanuel, Obama's guy.
If there is rationing is it correct to target the elderly as Obama's advisor, Ezikiel Emmauel would suggests?
What do you think of "level of productivity" as a criteria, versus Palin's criteria "human rights and human dignity?"
Have you read David's post below? Any concerns? Second thoughts?
Patty,
Palin unhinges the Left - that's why she is so wonderful. She was bang on the money with her comments and since we now have DOCTORS in the British socialised system are stating that bureaucratic directives HAVE and WILL lead to un-necessary deaths. It's simple really - socialism kills.
Patty
You are twisting the argument. You were the one who said Sarah said nothing about death panels, buts she did, it's there in black and white , in the passage you quoted.
I do agree though that Pinky should stop using the term Reich wingers. Nothing in modern day British or American politics justifies any Nazi comparisons left or right and we should leave such terminolgy out of these debates.
A Preview of Tommorrow's Post from Patty - "Sarah Palin never said she was from Alaska!"
'death panel possibility/probability'
LOL Now it is a death panel possibilty/probability and not a hypothetical?
Patiently waiting for Ross and Aileen to come in and dissect Patty's decrying, then usage of 'Hitler.'
Of course, 'Hitler and Reich' are over the top descriptions for Conservatives- but we are not dealing with Conservatives in the likes of Patty, we are dealing with the lunatic fringe.
'death panel possibility/probability'
LOL Now it is a death panel possibilty/probability and not a hypothetical?
Patiently waiting for Ross and Aileen to come in and dissect Patty's decrying, then usage of 'Hitler.'
Of course, 'Hitler and Reich' are over the top descriptions for Conservatives- but we are not dealing with Conservatives in the likes of Patty, we are dealing with the lunatic fringe.
Colm, LOL. Yes it seems that treating them in kind, is annoying them. I should stop then?
Patty:
"I think Obama's advisor Ezekiel Emanuel shows a few more Hitlerian tendencies than the Right.
"Level of productivity to society?" This certainly reminds me of Hitler's death camps. Not you? Who's wearing the swastika? Not Palin certainly. Not the Republicans. Not the Conservatives. I think It's Ezekiel Emanuel, Obama's guy."
Ross? Aileen? Colm?
Pinky
OK I can accept in the to and fro of debate the throwing around of such terminology in a tongue in cheek fashion , but in all seriousness, Patty is not a lunatic or a Nazi, she is just strongly fixated on her particular viewpoint but Is not a 'fascist' or any other nasty fringe devotee.
David:
"Palin unhinges the Left - that's why she is so wonderful."
To the contrary, it looks like the 'lefties' in New York State are very anxious for her to accept the invitation to speak on her knowledge of Death Panels- which lest we forget may or may not have been hypothetical speech, or indeed, a possibility/probability.
One thing we have discerned from the debate is that the death panels Palin spoke of so confidently, were and are not an ACTUALITY- which makes her and her misinformation pushers, liars.
Colm,
Treatment 'in kind' is perfectly justified.
The important thing is surely not what Patty said, nor what Palin said, nor even what Obama and his proposed healthcare bill says (in terms of the exact choice of their words).
Of course there is not going to be an actual panel of people entitled "The Death Panel", who would get together for a meeting with an agenda entitled "This morning's choices for Ward B: Agenda Item One: Patients Jones, Rutherford, Ellis and Crane - which one do we kill?"
Palin's use of the term "death panel", to my mind, refers to the overall outcome (or, one of the inevitable outcomes) of introducing widespread socialised healthcare - an outcome which to all intents and purposes will be the same as if there was indeed such a panel. It refers to committees and state-run admin departments etc, making decisions across the board, based purely on the need to ration costs.
It's already happening here, with our national health service. We have the NICE (Good grief, How C S Lewis would have squirmed to know that there is now an organisation in the UK which shares both the name, and many of the same sinister characteristics of his evil fictional creation!) which arbitrarily decides which life-saving (or cancer-slowing) drugs the NHS can and cannot buy.
Off the top of my head, I believe that one of the drugs which NICE (at least, initially) wouldn't allow the NHS to buy, is something which has been proven to slow the progress of kidney cancer. "Effective, but too costly", they called it. (I think they may have since reversed their decision on that particular drug, but I'm only citing one drug out of many). And the thing is, in our socialised system, it's not as if the patient even has the opportunity to offer to pay for it themselves if the NHS won't do so. That's not allowed, comrade. If the state says it's too costly for them, then that means it's too costly for you, bud.
There's probably no precise "death panel" as such involved in such state-run decisions, but the point is, there might as well be - the outcome is the same. That is what Palin is trying to get across.
Palin made a very good point about the death panel possibility/probability with ObamaCare single payer bill.
It hit home. And the Left have nothing to say except: there is no Death Panel! It's not mandated! Show me where it's mandated! Palin's a liar!
What else is there to say? What was in the bill was that if people wanted, they could meet with someone to talk about what their preferences would be in the event they were incapacitated, and it would be covered by their insurance. The horror! It had nothing to do with anyone making decisions about the person's care except the person him/herself. I would think that's exactly what conservatives would want, which explains why it was put in the bill by Johnny Isaakson, a republican senator from Georgia.
What a bunch of crybaby nonsense. Conservative are the 3rd Reich? I think Obama's advisor Ezekiel Emanuel shows a few more Hitlerian tendencies than the Right.
"Level of productivity to society?" This certainly reminds me of Hitler's death camps. Not you? Who's wearing the swastika? Not Palin certainly. Not the Republicans. Not the Conservatives. I think It's Ezekiel Emanuel, Obama's guy.
If there is rationing is it correct to target the elderly as Obama's advisor, Ezikiel Emmauel would suggests?
You might have a point if that was what he had suggested. You might want to actually read his words, rather than Palin's and McCaughey's (being generous) misleading summaries about them. Or rather than listening to Rush, who's as full of Hitler comparisons as anyone these days.
David,
"we now have DOCTORS in the British socialised system are stating that bureaucratic directives HAVE and WILL lead to un-necessary deaths. "
Actually you apparently have doctors (well one doctor, maybe two), plus a small entourage that could fit in a phone booth - claiming that doctors decisions have and will lead to unnecessary deaths. Because nothing about those directives compels the medical staff to get it wrong.
Of course there will also be doctors - probably the same ones - making the same decisions and responding to similar directives from insurance companies in an all-private system but never mind, eh.