Diaz mischaracterizes healthcare reform debate in Star Tribune

by: The Big E

Sun Sep 06, 2009 at 16:12:29 PM CDT

I'll begin with Diaz's attempts to make the Republicans sound less insane than they have been:

The so-called public option is figuring large in the furious national debate, with conservatives likening it to a government takeover of health care, even a step toward European-style socialized medicine.

While opponents have largely backed away from clearly exaggerated claims about government "death panels," the root of the angst remains.

"It's rhetoric," said Kline, who delivered the GOP's national radio address Saturday. "But the underlying fear is real."

Republicans are not "likening" a public option to government take-over of healthcare reform, they are calling it a government take-over.  Diaz is toning down their rhetoric to make them sound more reasonable than they really are.

How does bringing a loaded AR15 assault rifle to an Obama healthcare reform rally add to the debate?  How does equating Obama with Hitler show that a public option is a bad idea?  How does insisting that the Democrats want to create death panels, an outright lie, add to the debate?

Diaz forgives their insanity by claiming they've "largely backed away" from their deather claims?  They have?  Who has?  Can Diaz actually name any Republicans who have?

They would probably point to Rep. John Kline (R-MN), who isn't bat**** insane like Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN), as one of the few who hasn't claimed Democrats want to institute death panels.  But even he claims that the "underlying fears are real."  

Which underlying fears?  That a socialist/totalitarian/fascist black muslim who wasn't born in the USA is President?  That healthcare reform might deprive Americans of their 2nd Amendment right to carry assault weapons to political rallies?  That insurance industry CEOs won't keep the gargantuan compensation packages?

While I'm being somewhat facetious, Diaz let's Kline off the hook with a flippant remark about Republican fears.  Republicans cannot defend the behavior of the health insurance industry and are trying to deflect with their lies and insanity.

The tone was markedly different from an earlier town hall in Lake Elmo, where the two sides tried to shout each other down in front of Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann, an outspoken Obama foe who days later told a cheering crowd in Denver that Americans must "make a covenant" to block the Democrats' program.

"Make a convenant?"  How about the actual quote, Diaz?  

"This cannot pass. What we have to do today is make a covenant, to slit our wrists, be blood brothers on this thing. This will not pass. We will do whatever it takes to make sure this doesn't pass."

It's not just any kind of convenant.  But a blood convenant of slitting their wrists.  This is an idea from someone who is most definitely unhinged.  But Diaz and the editors of the Strib downplay it once more.

Finally, Diaz doesn't discuss how the Republicans have organized around opposing any kind of reform.  Rachel Maddow summarized their opposition the best ... yes, they want pizza, but without anything on it and possibly no crust, either.  Is that really healthcare reform?

Here's Rachel's analysis:

Because Republicans have said that they want health care reform, Democrats have been trying to work with them to come up with a bill that both sides can agree on. We can compromise. Democrats took national health care and single payer off the table from the very beginning because they were sure that Republicans wouldn't want those.

Then they started negotiating down from there, trying to find something, anything that the Republican would say yes to. But just as national health care was unacceptable to them, and single payer was unacceptable to them, the public option is also turning out to be unacceptable to them. And now even the further watered down reform option of co-ops are unacceptable to them.

[....]

That's a really important moment. Senator Grassley is the top Republican negotiator in the Senate on health care and he just admitted to Chuck Todd that even if he personally gets to draft a bill for the Senate to vote on, even if he ends up with a policy to vote on that he thinks is great, he himself might not vote for it.

Mean while Jon Kyl, the number two Republican in the whole Senate told reporters on a conference call today that dropping the public option still won't get any Republicans to vote for the bill.

No matter what is in the bill, Republicans are not going to vote for the bill. No matter what is on the pizza, Kent doesn't want it.

Maybe it's time for Democrats to take the hint. Republicans don't want pizza. Order exactly what you want. Put together the best possible reform bill purely on the basis of what you think the best policy for the country is, and then, forget the Republicans. Focus on getting all the Democrats in line to vote for it.

The Republicans are not here to help. And Kent is not here to make a good pizza order. Take the hint.