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Fox’s Live Desk continues bill length fixation with obsessive (and dubious) War and Peace references

October 30, 2009 4:29 pm ET by Eric Hananoki

Today, Fox News' Live Desk continued the House Republican caucus and Politico's silly obsession with the length and size of the House health care reform bill.  During a span of less than 45 minutes, co-host Trace Gallagher repeatedly told viewers the health care reform bill is so long, it makes the Russian novel War and Peace "look like a short story."

Live Desk at 1:33pm E.T.:

TRACE GALLAGHER:  Well, now to the health care bill that makes War and Peace look like a short story.

Live Desk at 2:10pm:

GALLAGHER:  Well, you thought War and Peace was long?  Try reading the House health care bill, nearly 2,000 pages.  And you're asking what we're asking:  How much is this going to cost you? 

Live Desk at 2:14:

GALLAGER:  Well, are there any speed readers in Congress?  It's a skill that could come in handy as the House takes up the 1,990 pages of the newly unveiled health care bill.  You want context?  Here goes.  There are 400,000 words in the bill that weighs 19 pounds.  It's almost 9 inches tall, it's got more pages than War and Peace.  And oh, by the way, the U.S. Constitution was only six pages. 

We've already noted the silliness of the bill size fixation.  But here's another note of supposed "context" for Gallagher:  According to Amazon.com, English translations of War and Peace clock between 561,093 and 590,234 words - more than the health care bill's reported "400,000 words."  (One report pegs the original text at approximately 460,000 words.)

Tags: Fox News Channel, Trace Gallagher, The Live Desk

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    • Author by pilotshark (October 30, 2009 4:35 pm ET)
      2  
      LOL>>>> well if it was printed on both sides of the paper like lets say war and peace it would only be 995 pages and well just about the same sides as war and peace.
      So that like 202 words per page, dont think fox viewers can read more then 100 words a page they just get confused on what they have read.
      you also have to wonder if these crack journalist there at fox ever read a book with more then 500 pages?
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    • Author by oscar the grouch (October 30, 2009 4:41 pm ET)
      1 2
      Add in the referenced material in the bill and the length increases.
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      • Author by political_left-religious_right (November 02, 2009 12:25 pm ET)
           
        And add the front matter to War and Peace, and its length increases. So what?
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    • Author by bilbo_dies (October 30, 2009 4:48 pm ET)
      3  
      Well, you know they have a point.
      True health care reform shouldn't take a lot of ink.

      Don't want high health bills, don't get sick.
      Don't want the insurance company to cut you off, gon't buy insurance.






      (sarcasm)
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    • Author by terrapin53 (October 30, 2009 4:51 pm ET)
      3  
      but every republican they talk to will know exactly what's in it with no rebuttle from Fox.
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    • Author by mk3872 (October 30, 2009 4:58 pm ET)
      3  
      And this is a problem simply because Repubs can't read more than 30 pages of a bill ??
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    • Author by Max Credits (October 30, 2009 5:09 pm ET)
      1  
      All at Fox News must have given CIGNA's VP an extended standing ovation for his 783 word testimony to Congress last month.
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    • Author by MrPlow99 (October 30, 2009 6:28 pm ET)
         
      Is it possible that it's really only 14000 words long instead of 400000 words? Right wingers can't count very well, after all.
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    • Author by DellDolly (October 30, 2009 9:59 pm ET)
      2  
      GALLAGHER: Well, you thought War and Peace was long? Try reading the House health care bill, nearly 2,000 pages. And you're asking what we're asking: How much is this going to cost you?

      Is there any correlation between the length of the bill and the cost of the bill? Of course not.

      Is there a correlation between the intricacy of providing healthcare to 96% of Americans and all the different delivery methods we have? Yes there is.

      Is there a correlation between the length of the bill and the length of every other bill that goes through Congress - bills that have many pages with little writing on each page and detailed exclusions, limitations and qualifications that are required for accuracy's sake? There sure is.

      But does FoxNews or Rush Limbaugh tell their viewers and listeners any of that? Of course not. They're lying by omission.

      And as a result? We don't get to have the debate our nation should have on this bill because we waste time talking about how many pages the bill is! That's a non-issue. If you want to talk about why bills are so much longer in general than a layman would expect, that's a brief conversation, but let's have it if we need to. If you want an explanation about why we have to be careful with the specific language and citations that make bills long, we can show you a couple of examples where inexact language really screwed up some things - another short conversation.

      They talk about the length to scare people. What, you ask, am I saying that the right is using fearmongering again? Yes, they sure are.
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