Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Right-wing paranoid delusions: We are better than that.

From the Progressive Republican's article Nightmares
and Dreamscapes
:
----------------------------------------------------
In a conference room. Maybe seven or eight government employees in their late 30s-early 40s. They’re wearing suits from Ann Taylor, or Men’s Wearhouse sitting on one side of a conference table that looks like it came right out of the Office Depot catalog In one hand they’re holding cups of coffee, or cans of Diet Coke (or some other caffeinated drink - they’ve been working late the last couple of nights) , the other hand busily hammering the keyboards of their mid-tier laptop computers, jotting down notes, trying to capture what the lady on the side of the table is saying.

Across the table is a woman in her mid 60s. Her blouse and pants recently purchased from the local Wal-Mart, her shoes from Payless Shoes. She’s nervously playing with her purse handles as she shuffles her feet. She’s not sure how to answer this last question. She should have been prepared for this question. She was…until just this second.
“We’d all like to get out of here today, Ma’am, so please answer as best you can,” the Committee chair sighs as she asks the question for the third time, “When you the government no longer finds you insurable…” she pauses, not for effect, but because she still can’t believe she has to ask the question.
“…how do you want to die?”
Chilling isn’t it? Cold, bureaucratic evil, like a scene out of the film CONSPIRACY. If certain right wing celebrities are to be believed this won ‘t be that far from the truth should Barack Obama’s health care plan pass both House of Congress.

But they are not to be believed. This is a a nightmare scenario crafted by self-styled leaders of the Republican Party. This is the kind of thing that has to stop.


Let’s be honest: Obama’s Plan is a bad one. It’s costly beyond comprehension. It adds bureaucratic roadblocks to an already excessively bureaucratic process. And, despite all the costs, it only provides additional care for a small percentage of the nation’s uninsured.
It’s a bad plan with any number of weaknesses that Republicans can point to as reasons we should be vehemently against it. Is it necessary to make things up about it?

Who is helped by devising scenarios like the one described above? Does Sara Palin making up spooky stories about Obama’s DEATH PANEL, really add weight to the argument against the real plan?

Does comparing the health plan to Nazis [limbaugh-20090806-hitler.flv] like friend of the blog, Rush Limbaugh, has done?

No. This type of rhetoric serves only to cheapen the debate.

Yes, Democrats spent a large portion of President Bush’s Presidency engaging in these very same tactics. Whether it was calling the President a Nazi for the War in Iraq or shouting down Republican members of Congress, the extreme left showed their true colors by acting insane on the public stage in support of their various causes. We justifiably condemned them for that behavior. We don’t need to turn around use those same tactics.

Not when we have the facts on our side. House Republicans have made some very clear arguments why they are against the current bill :

…was unnecessarily rushed through the Committee without proper understanding or even a reading of the bill by Members;
The massive spending and tax increases will damage an already reeling economy;
Americans will lose coverage they have and like;
The bill gives the government control over Americans’ personal health decisions
Clear, cogent arguments from the men and women we have elected to represent us in Congress. This is what we should be basing our resistance on. Not the overblown rhetoric of extreme right-wing celebrities. We have more sense than that.
-----------------------------------------------------------

I couldn't have said it better myself. People screaming "socialism!" "Nazis!" "Communism!" "Death Panels!" or other such nonsense are detrimental to the cause.

Stick to the facts: this plan sucks. We need a better one, not false and crazy accusations.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

I totally agree with you James. I find some of these myths to be damaging to the credibility of our argument. Especially when the bill is in itself a loaded gun.

While I don't believe these myths, I do believe that if this passes, it would take nothing to change it the way the government wants. It may not include abortion or illegal immigration, but that doesn't mean that it won't be put in there after it goes through Congress. So while these may not be accurate the fears may be legitimate.

ablur said...

This is a very frightening bill with vast open areas to be decided by who ever is place in charge of it. The bill is but a skeleton but the very framework is more then enough to force people to stand up and say NO.

Perhaps you would be interested in my recent post, Who Should Decide?

James' Muse said...

I've added you to my blogroll, ablur.

Pamela Zydel said...

James: Very good post. The rhetoric lately has made my head spin. I haven't been feeding into the myths; just trying to get through the bill with all it's confusing terminology. Which in and of itself is a problem. If our reps had read it and could answer the questions that could've squelched some of these myths then maybe there wouldn't be so many untruths out there.

But like Jennifer said, if it would get implemented that doesn't mean that some of these fears wouldn't come to pass. Once government gets their foot in the door they are known for squeezing their entire body through!

Yes, we need a better plan. But who the heck is going to come up with it?

James' Muse said...

Honestly, I think our Republican reps and senators are just as much to blame for sitting on their butts and doing nothing but say "no." Just like they did with the budget. They need, just as they did then, to come up with an alternative bill. We pay them for this kind of thing.

Other mouthpieces, like Rush and Palin, should be at the forefront of alternatives and shooting down the bad parts of the bill, instead of shouting out these crazy things.

Its a shame, really. Those in charge of the Republican party really could've done something, but they chose to pander to hysteria instead of solutions. Got them some notoriety, I guess, but nothing lasting has been done on the part of the Republicans so far.

(O)CT(O)PUS said...

I just saw this at the Huff Post moments ago:

Woman Shouts "Heil Hitler!" At Jewish Man Praising Israel's National Health System (VIDEO)

Link:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/18/woman-shouts-heil-hitler_n_262554.html

This incident, and the appearance of guns at town hall meetings, are meant to intimidate and silence people. It also exposes a sad fact: This "freedom to dissemble" is bringing out the worst elements ... racists, bigots, anti-Semites, white supremacists, and the latent violence of extremist groups.

I don't hear or read any condemnations of these behaviors from colleagues on the right. As the saying goes, "The enemy of my enemy is my friend." As former President Bush used to say: "You are either with us or with the terrorists." And I say: "Either you condemn this uncivil behavior or you are part of it."

If former colleagues on the right fail to speak up and condemn this stuff, then I have no more reason to trust them.

James' Muse said...

Well Octo, I hope you count us among those that DO condemn such behavior.

(O)CT(O)PUS said...

I certainly do, James. Whether one agrees or disagrees with proposed healthcare reforms, this is almost besides the point.

Lets just say democracy is not been well served when hooligans take over. There are times when a Godwin fallacy is no longer a fallacy ... and these are such times.

Pamela Zydel said...

Other mouthpieces, like Rush and Palin, should be at the forefront of alternatives

James: I really don't listen to Rush, maybe catch him here and there while driving in the car. But hasn't he recommended alternatives? As far as Palin, yes, I DO think she should be out there with alternatives. She still has such a strong following, people WOULD listen to her. Just like my last post. Rather than list all the negatives...give us something POSITIVE! What is wrong with this country when all we concentrate on is the negative? I'm so sick of the news because all I hear is pessimism.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
James' Muse said...

Lib basher: Please read my comment policy. You are trying to incite and not adding to the topic at hand. Thus, you were deleted.

Pamela Zydel said...

James: I had to reiterate my blogging policy and I added a picture of a trash can. I'm using it and not even notifying those who go in there. It's just rude that people don't follow the rules. I'm off topic, I know, and I'm sorry, but maybe if others read this they will get the HINT!

James' Muse said...

Its fine, Pam. Someone just decided to come here and bash another commenter. So he got deleted. You were just responding to what I said, so you're fine.

Anonymous said...

Lets call it as it IS..

Check this out.
My (sitting on the fence friend!)

http://www.zombietime.com/zomblog/?p=621