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Wash. Times turns news pages over to "euthanasia" fearmongering

November 08, 2009 12:43 pm ET by Media Matters staff

From a November 8 Washington Times article:

During the debate, about 1,500 demonstrators gathered outside the Capitol to protest the bill. Some waved American flags, and others displayed golden "Don't tread on me" rattlesnake flags. A copy of the nearly 2,000-page bill taped end to end stretched from the Capitol, down the steps and across the Southeast Lawn.

Richard Baumgartner, 73, who breathed with the aid of a portable oxygen tank and walked with a cane, was among three busloads of people from Western Maryland at the demonstration.

"If Obama-care goes through, I'd be one of them they'd have the death squad for because of my age and my physical condition," said Mr. Baumgartner, who receives Veterans Affairs health benefits. "This [bill] has something to do with taking away all our freedoms. It's not just health care."

Mr. Baumgartner's remarks echoed a speech Friday by Sarah Palin, who told a pro-life rally near Milwaukee that the liberal mind-set for abortion rights could lead to euthanasia under a government-run health care system.

"What may they feel about an elderly person who doesn't have a whole lot of productive years left?" said Mrs. Palin, the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee. "In order to save government money, government health care has to be rationed. Do you think our elderly will be first in line for limited health care?"

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    • Author by rwmacdonald2091 (November 08, 2009 12:56 pm ET)
      5  
      "If Obama-care goes through, I'd be one of them they'd have the death squad for because of my age and my physical condition," said Mr. Baumgartner, who receives Veterans Affairs health benefits

      You mean a rotten to the core, single payer, government run health care?
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      • Author by Salamandastron (November 08, 2009 4:12 pm ET)
        1  
        Even worse! It really IS socialized medicine! The clinics and hospitals are OWNED by the government; the doctors are PAID by the government! I don't know how much more socialized you can get, but everyone I know who's eligible for VA benefits uses them and is very glad to have them.
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    • Author by The_Cat (November 08, 2009 12:58 pm ET)
      5  
      I feel sorry for Mr. Baumgartner, who has obviously been misinformed by people he trusts to be truthful with him. First of all, under the recently passed bill, his Veterans Affairs health benefits will not be affected. Neither will anyone who currently enjoys Medicare benefits.

      Mr. Baumgartner, my suggestion is to make the people who told you about 'death panels' show you the page in the bill where that panel is created. Funny thing is, they won't be able to. Ms. McCaughey had a chance, on The Daily Show. That alone should tell you something about the media in this country, Mr. Baumgartner, that it took a comedy channel to get the actual truth out.

      In case you've been paying too much attention to Sarah "I Quit!" Palin, people who think abortion should be legal do so because they believe in choice, not euthanasia. Ms. Palin knows very little about either of these topics, or any topic, as she demonstrates every time she opens her mouth.

      For the Washington Times: Shame. You have taken the worst of the fringe, and trumpeted it's hate and lies to detract from legislation that will benefit most Americans. You have sided with hate and propaganda, and turned your back on factual reporting. You are, in short, turning into a print version of FOX Propaganda.
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      • Author by aBeck in 10-O-C (November 08, 2009 3:03 pm ET)
        2  
        I feel sorry for Mr. Baumgartner, who has obviously been misinformed by people he trusts to be truthful with him.


        Yes. There it all is...in a nutshell!
        Mr. Baumgartner and all of the other protestors watching a stream of Republican "servants of the people" taking turns at the podium to reinforce the misinformation. The people they trust to be truthful. Sad, isn't it?
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