Scott Ott lays it out:
…Palin does not allege that the health care reform bill contains the phrase “death panel” or that it openly advocates euthanasia. Sarah Palin’s charge has legs because:
1.) The only way to save money in a government-run health system is to ration care.
2.) The majority of health care expenditures for most people come near the end of life, and thus the elderly present the greatest opportunity for cost savings.
3.) Special-needs people, like Palin’s son Trig, who has Down’s Syndrome, also require spending — another opportunity for economizing.
4.) The government, and too many in our society, believe …
a) infants in the womb to be less worthy of protection than Michael Vick’s dogs,
b) Trig Palin’s life to be Sarah’s foolish choice, and
c) the elderly to be a burden on society.
5.) Other governments which run health care operations have a track record of delaying and denying coverage based on the limited supply of medical professionals and equipment, as well as cost-containment considerations.
6.) The end-of-life counseling language appeared in a section of a bill on cost-containment.
7.) The American people don’t trust politicians, and would rise up in unified opposition if the federal government had a plan to take over and run little league athletics, let alone health care, which does involve life and death decisions.
8.) Americans love freedom.
The reason why the “traditional” media has failed to knock down what Kurtz, et al, see as spurious “death panel” allegations is because journalists and politicians ignore the real facts and the legitimate concerns of the American people…
The left and the MSM (I know, same/same, these days) took note of the fact that the various health care proposals all lacked the phrase “death panel” and figured that this destroyed Palin’s assertion. What the left/MSM failed to note is that we’re a bit wiser than they give us credit for – and Sarah Palin just leaves them in the dust. This is because the MSM/left rates intellect by college degrees and where they are obtained – we rate intellect by what someone uses their brains for. The very well educated Obama uses his to advocate a 1,000+ page health care plan he’s never read – Palin used hers to note that some of the provisions in the unread-by-Obama bill would turn the screws towards euthanasia as a means of controlling health care costs under a “public option”. Obama applied mindless repetition of leftist talking points – Palin applied common sense.
In addition to Palin’s superior application of mental aptitude, there is also Palin’s superior political grasp – while Obama and his Democrats convinced themselves in spite of their own campaign rhetoric to the contrary that America had turned left in November of 2008, Palin realized that the government-created financial meltdown was the very last straw in the public’s willingness to trust the government. A government which causes people’s houses to go down in value by 20-50% is not a government which should run something as vital as health care. Obama and his Democrats didn’t even notice that they first had to restore trust in government before advocating such a major overhaul. Palin realized that with government this mistrusted, it would be easy to hammer Obama’s plans with a public already doubtful about Obama’s grand plans.
As we head towards the 2010 and 2012 political seasons, it will be interesting to see how this all plays out – the MSM is still fighting hard for Obama, but all this may end up doing is destroying the MSM and Obama at the same time. Meanwhile, in Palin, Cantor, Giuliani, Romney, Gingrich, Jindal and many others, the GOP is showing that it clearly has the intellectual and political tools necessary to win – all that is lacking, for the moment, is a clear plan of action.
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