WASHINGTON (CNN) - Former Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean told CNN Sunday that former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin had deliberately made up charges that the Obama administration’s health care bill would lead to euthanasia.
“About euthanasia, they're just totally erroneous. She just made that up,” he said. “Just like the ‘Bridge to Nowhere’ that she supposedly didn't support.
“There's nothing like euthanasia in the bill. I practiced medicine for a long time, and of course you have to have end of life discussions - the patients want that. There's nothing... euthanasia's not in this bill.”
Dean was referring comments Palin made late Friday in a post on her Facebook page. In her post, the former Republican vice presidential candidate said President Obama’s health care plan would create a “death panel” that would weigh whether her parents or son Trig were “worthy of health care.”
She discounted the administration’s view that the president’s plan would cut health care costs, saying the only path to lower costs was less treatment.
"And who will suffer the most when they ration care?" she wrote. "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."
Palin has mostly steered clear of interviews with reporters since leaving office last month. "Democracy depends on you. That is why our troops are willing to die for you," she told the media in her farewell speech. "So how about in honor of the American soldier, ya quit making things up?" She spent several days last week in New York, meeting with her book publisher.
Watching the Opposition rant, and disrupt these Town Hall meetings,
reminds me of the Brownshirt activity in Pre Hitler Germany- Basically –They stereotype and demonize and propagandize their ignorant followers into Anti- Anything mobs. Its almost a joke hearing these people warning about the Socialist Takeover- When their Collecting Socialist welfare checks, food stamps, social security etc. and utilizing our present Socialized medicine programs of Medicaid and Medicare- You Couldn't do a better job of proving them dumber than rocks then they indeed prove themselves !!!
Palin joins the crowd of Repub liars! They will do anything to torpedo the Health Care Bill just as they have on behalf of the Drug Companies for decades. She joins Rove, Rush, Hannity, O'Reilly, Coulter, Savage and other right-wing, goose stepping buddies.
The Repubs ought to be ashamed of their activity that will send the Repub Party down the toilet of history.
This registered Repub is disgusted! Panic has obviously set in at GOP headquarters.
Every time I read about Palin it reminds me of the damage that John Mc Cain has done to the Republican Party. I hope that the voters do their their part in 2010 to elect a new senator with brains.
"And who will suffer the most when they ration care?" she wrote. "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."
To those who say she didn't use the term "euthanasia", you're right. She couldn't spell it, so she said "death panel".
Anybody believe or got respect for Dean? If you do your not to stable your self!
Mir: Please see my earlier (11:02) post for a description of end of life counseling. It is about having paperwork and such in place so your desires/wishes are followed when you are incapicated and unable to communicate them. Hospitals already have staff that discusses this with patients upon admission. Having this paperwork in place and up to date is very important.
Palin is a religious nut! Who cares what her preachers have told her to think?
AND for WIlliam his birth certificate HAS been produced and studied by many of scholars.. BUT hey I"m sure you know better.. wait isn't part of your argument that Hawaii wasn't a state 48 years ago.. LOL.. you people should seriously worry about things that matter! EVEN if his mom had him in CHINA he would STILL BE A US CITIZEN!!! It is his birth right.. you people are pathetic.
Everything Obama is doing is unconstitutional. Non of this is what the founding fathers intended. They tried to create a national gov. that was small and that allowed the states more control. Obama and his hacks are trying to grab as much power and control as they can. They will pay in the next election cycle. People think that its a right to have health insurance. Where in the bill of rights or the constitution does it say that all americans should have the gov. pay for their health care. Where does it say that your employer should pay for your health insurance. If you want health insurance you should pay for it yourself instead of trying to take more of my tax money. Its not my job to pay for everything those less fortunate thinks they are owed. If you want something change your circumstances, get off your butt and do it for yourself. Stop running around with your hand out waiting for the gov. to fill it.
Does everyone out there with health insurance understand that your doctor does NOT get paid what he charges?
Do you all understand that he DOES NOT get to decide what specialist you see or what lab tests you get?
Do you understand that your insurance company decides who you can go to for what reason and how many visits you get?
If you think this is untrue I dare you to ask your doctor if the insurance companies he is FORCED to contract with so he can see his patients pays him what he charges.
Ask him how much he writes off per year per his contract with your insurance company.
Ask him how many people he employs in his office to obtain referrals and authorizations so you can go to a specialist who also contracts with your insurance company. That specialist doesn't get paid what he charges either. But I bet you pay a copay everytime you see your doctor don't you. So you pay, the doctor writes off part of his charge and the insurance company makes the decisions. And you don't want health care reform because why???
Howard Dean chastising Sarah Palin? How much funnier and bizarre can American politics get?
They're both fringe wackos- who cares what they think?
Brian @ 10:59 a.m.
...represents the amoral, greedy, self-centered, willful ignorance of the right wing ideologues...
...spouting the CARDINAL LIE:
"We (Americans) have the best health care system in the world"...
...what a crock!
If Brian spent less time digesting right wing talking points from his drug addled DITTO master, he'd know that our system is broken...
...If Brian didn't hate and fear our President (who isn't "like" Brian) he could have an open mind, and seriously entertain the notion that someone wants to FIX this PROBLEM, and NOT take away Brian's "privilege"...
...but, the ONLY thing that matters to America's Brian(s) is that HE has health care...
...Brian needs to experience poverty, disease, and loss of HIS safety net...
...THEN maybe he can make an informed decision, and offer "constructive" ideas/opposition on this issue...
As a Canadian I can't believe the garbage that is thrown out there to try and scare the American people about health care... I would rather have to wait a couple of weeks to see a specialist (and that is only because of a shortage of doctors) not because of the health care system and know that I don't have to worry about whether I can pay for it or not than to listen to all the special interest groups scared that they will not make as much money if health care is reformed.. I say let all the republicans cancel their health care and transfer it to those who don't have it and see if they still are in favour of no health care for the poor..
I'm not understanding his usual hysteria...where in that Palin quote did she say anything about euthanasia? Just like you and I, Mrs. Palin is free to post what she wants to on her Facebook page. The fact that you Democrats are still salivating over her every word, just shows you continue to have this unnatural fixation on her. Don't complain about her being in the news; you all are the ones who keep putting her there!
Palin and the Republi(cons) are RECKLESS, EXTREME, DANGEROUS and UNPATRIOTIC.
Palin is nothing more than a frog with lipstick!
Sara Palin is a christan woman and would not lie. I think she is telling the truth on something the goverment doesn't want you to know!
Palin making stuff up, never. She isn't exactly known for her intellect.
palin is an ignorant woman that does nothing but rambles and rambles and rambles, she should do us a favor and disappear to a remote island where will not hear dumb fabrications anymore
William, you are an idiot.
If there is a "death panel" forming to do in all us unproductive members of society, I'll step up and take my place in line. After working my whole life at a large global corporation and having eight years of Bush sucking the life out of me I'm pretty sure I'd qualify.
What a joke, Paulin says an ignorant thing like that and people actually believe her. Maybe we need to add ignorant people to the list as well.
X
End of life care is not referring to euthanasia, it is referring to DNR and other issues concerning end of life care. Anytime anyone goes into the hospital or has a new doc, they are supposed to be asked if they want to be DNR classified. This has been around for years and years. You can and will be able to change this status at any time but the new bill is saying is that it will be mandatory to update this every 5 years.
What Palin needs to do is research what she is saying and stop the games. She is a Rush wanna be and like Rush she is only hurting the GOP.
In her facebook posting, FORMER Governor Winky actually includes a video of Rep. Michele Bachman as reference material to back up her arguments. Palin and Bachman are two peas in a pod. They are both competing for the "dimmest lightbulb in the room" award. It's a toss up as to who wins.
It's not true what the republicans are saying, they are all fabrications and you should no longer bother making an ass out of yourself acting out. Well don't stop, because I find it very very entertaining and funny all this childish stammering you are doing. My kids are smarter than you!
There WILL BE a health care bill no matter if you like it or not. When that happens and you see nothing happened to you what will you complain about next??
FEAR MONGERS, that's all you have ever been and that's all you will ever be.
Republicans have only one direction = backwards and old ways.
For those of you that are thinking purely along party lines, both right and left, you need to understand the facts. The fact is the 70% of Medicare spending supports 10% of the Medicare population. This is the population that is in the last year of life. Taken more broadly, about 1% of the nation's population accounts for 30% of the nation's healthcare spending. No attempt to cut growing healthcare costs will be successful without closely examining the root causes of these "disportionate" statistics and finding a way to manage them more closely. What does this mean? It means that a plan to manage expenses will have to have some sort of limit to the care provided at or near the end of life. This means the elderly, the terminally ill and the critically injured. These are the sorts of things that should be in the national dialogue and should be examined closely. If we just rush through legislation, these are the types of issues that will get by us until it's too late. The debate we are having in these blogs shouldn't be about Palin or Dean, it should be about what do we as a nation think is fair in terms of a national standard of care, especially near the end of life. What should the public be expected to pay for and what latitude should insurance companies have in making these decisions? You should be screaming about this, not about how much you hate Palin. If you choose to ignore the details, believing that your politicians (left or right) will do what is best for the entire country, then you are a fool and deserve what you get.
I think it is funny how people care commenting on something they have not had the privilege to read. I am unsure how many in Congress or the Senate have been able to read the whole 500 pages, but it is interesting that as the bill has been sitting with our representatives longer more information is coming out, and where there is smoke there is usually fire. I have recently been told by a few Physician colleagues that the hospitals they work for are telling them that FOR EXAMPLE; if they have a patient that has a cancer recurrence, the treatments will be limited under the new plan and if it does not go into remission again after a certain number of treatments they are to send the patient to Hospice. They have also told me that upon a cancer recurrence, the patient will have to sign a DNR order (Do Not Resuscitate), which while not euthanasia, is similar in the fact that if you are deemed "broken" according to the Obama Medical System, you are unworthy to save if you have a heart attack because you already have something that may kill you. Who knows whats true, but we are uninformed and Mr. Obama tried to get a bill through Congress and the Senate without people being able to read the whole document, it seems likely there are things in there which we would consider "a removal of our rights". Call your congress person and ask them to explain the bill – that is where the truth lies.