Fear Of Reform, What The Right Is Selling

( – promoted by buhdydharma )

No one following the health care debate can fail to know the Conservative movement in this nation is doing everything they can to stoke the level of fear of their base in an effort to spread the disease of fear to the nation as a whole and the Members of Congress in particular. Their overall goal is to keep any major changes in how health coverage is sold (which is what we are really talking about in this round of reform) from happening.

“Originally posted at Squarestate.net“

When you post as much as the Dog does you are going to get all kinds of things in your public e-mail. Sometimes it is hate mail,  mostly it is press releases from various politicians and organizations. Since the Dog posts on Liberal and Progressive blogs, the vast majority tends to be from like minded groups. But today the Dog would like share a “press release” from the dark side.

Mr. Barber who has been sending the Dog little nuggets of Rightwing thought for months now is an associate Dean at Liberty University (full disclosure and public shame, the Dog’s step sister was a graduate of Liberty) Law School. He is also a Member of the Board of Americans for the Truth About Homosexuality, an anti-gay group.

Since Mr. Barber sent the Dog this e-mail directly the Dog is going to reproduce it in full, then talk about its failing, also in full.

DATE: August 4, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ObamaCare Likely to Mandate Free “Sex-Change” Surgeries  

Washington, DC – When asked by Senator Orin Hatch (R-UT) whether President Obama’s proposed socialized healthcare plan will mandate taxpayer funded abortion, Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) admitted that it will require “any service deemed medically necessary or medically appropriate.” It now appears that the plan’s “medically appropriate” umbrella is far more expansive than most Americans could have imagined.

In addition to abortion on demand, the weight of the evidence indicates that cosmetic “gender reassignment” surgeries for both U.S. citizens and illegal immigrants who suffer from APA recognized “Gender Identity Disorder” (GID) may also be provided – free of charge – courtesy of the U.S. taxpayer. The current price tag for such a procedure can exceed $50,000.  

Page 972 of the House version of the bill (H.R. 3200) provides for “standards, as appropriate, for the collection of accurate data on health and health care” based on “sex, sexual orientation [and] gender identity.” The Senate draft indicates that the government will “detect and monitor trends in health disparities,” requiring the Department of Health and Human Services to “develop standards for the measurement of gender.” (i.e., officially recognize subjectively self-determined “transgender” or “transsexual” gender identities). It further mandates ”participation in the institutions’ programs of individuals and groups from…different genders and sexual orientations.”  

Matt Barber, Director of Cultural Affairs with both Liberty Counsel and Liberty Alliance Action commented: “There’s a gulf of difference between what Obama and liberals in Congress, and the American people deem ‘medically appropriate;’ especially when it’s ‘we the people’ footing the bill. To force Americans, against their conscience, to fund abortion on demand and to facilitate gender confusion by subsidizing the elective practice of genital ‘sex-change’ mutilation is unconscionable.  

“After hearing Sen. Mikulski’s ‘any service deemed…medically appropriate’ admission, I was prompted to dig a little deeper. I contacted the offices of Sen. Harry Reid, Rep. Charlie Rangel, Rep. Barney Frank and the House Subcommittee on Health. I asked, very simply, for ‘an assurance that the proposed healthcare plan will not allow taxpayer funded gender reassignment surgeries or hormone therapies.’ When faced with the bill’s relevant language, every staffer I spoke with either declined to answer or would neither confirm nor deny that such procedures would be covered.  

“It’s time for the mainstream media to do its job and demand straight answers on this government healthcare scheme. Instead of acting as ObamaCare cheerleaders, journalists need to ask the same questions I did and refuse to take ‘no answer’ for an answer. I also call on the American people to ask their Congressional representatives the following question: ‘Will you pledge to oppose this legislation unless taxpayer funding for both abortion and sex change surgeries are expressly excluded?’

“It’s no wonder that, as Americans find out what’s hidden within this socialized ObamaCare monstrosity, furious opposition to it continues to skyrocket.”  

So, this piece of crap starts out with the lame attempt to tie it back to the pejorative of “Hillary Care” which was used successfully 15 years ago. We have seen this same phrasing on the racist e-mail Dr. MaKalip sent around and got into so much trouble for.

We then get right into the claims that the public option insurance is somehow socialization of medicine, just in the set up. Sen. Hatch had was asking about abortion services, but Mr. Barber, noted homophobe, is using it to set up the fear of the “other” in this case transsexual citizens. He makes a big point of the fact the care provide by public option insurance would be based on medical necessity and medical appropriateness. This is what everyone means when we say decisions would be made by the patient and the doctor, but Mr. Barber is seeing it as something more sinister.

After explaining why it is a bad thing, to him, for this to be covered and how worried he is the language of the legislation mandates equal treatment for all citizens under this plan, Mr. Barber goes and does something that made the Dog laugh out loud, he quotes himself!

Matt Barber, Director of Cultural Affairs with both Liberty Counsel and Liberty Alliance Action commented: “There’s a gulf of difference between what Obama and liberals in Congress, and the American people deem ‘medically appropriate;’ especially when it’s ‘we the people’ footing the bill. To force Americans, against their conscience, to fund abortion on demand and to facilitate gender confusion by subsidizing the elective practice of genital ‘sex-change’ mutilation is unconscionable.  

Now, the Dog writes in the third person, so he is living in a glass house on this, he knows, but what kind of schmo quotes himself as an expert in a press release he writes? That is before we get to the fallacies in his paragraph. First off the program is selling insurance, it is not just giving it away. Yes, some Americans will get subsidies but there will also be premiums which they pay into the system to fund it.

Then there his contention transsexual citizens are somehow mutilating themselves. The Dog is pretty damned sure Mr. Barber has never known anyone who was transsexual; he is basically speaking out of his ass, based on his religious beliefs.

Mr. Barber then goes on to detail how he called some Senators and Reps offices to see if he could get a quote from them supporting his inflammatory contention. He makes it seem like it is a bad thing none of them took the bait. Then he goes on to quote himself some more. He finishes by asserting that issues like covering abortions or gender reassignment surgery under a health insurance plan is responsible for a rise in outrage about Health Care Reform. He offers no evidence of this, just assertions.

As comical as this little turd of a press release is, there is a serious side to this. The Rightwing is ramping up fear. They are blatantly stoking it with lies and aggressive tactics. They see it as a means to an end, but the Dog sees it as something more.

Call the old hound an optimist, but he is pretty sure we are going to get reform with an actual nationwide public insurance option available on day one passed. The nation wants this, and for all the obstruction of a small number of Democrats when push comes to shove it is going to be passed in the Senate by reconciliation. When that happens all of these folks who have been pushed in to a frothing rage are not going to just shut down. Anger does not work like that. There will is the potential for political violence in this tactic. The Right has been primed with eliminationist talk for a solid decade if not longer. This combined with unreasoning fear and rage is a dangerous combination. It is something we need to keep our eyes on, as we go forward. As usual what the Right screws up will have to be cleaned up and fixed by the Left.

The floor is yours.