More cut and paste: Fox's Doocy parrots Heritage talking points, claims they came "from a friend"
On August 12, Steve Doocy cited five "really hard" health care questions to ask elected officials at town hall meetings, which he said he received "from one of [his] friends." All of Doocy's questions, however, are virtually identical to the "five questions Americans should be pressing their elected leaders on" posted on the conservative Heritage Foundation's blog.
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From the August 12 edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends:
DOOCY: Now because so many of your elected officials and the president are going to be having these town hall meetings, I actually got from a friend of mine this -- you know how sometimes you get --
BRIAN KILMEADE (co-host): Is this your car dealer?
DOOCY: No, it's somebody else. You know how --
KILMEADE: Is it the guy that helped you with your gutters? That you don't like --
DARI ALEXANDER (guest co-host): Is it your dentist?
DOOCY: No, I got a new gutter guy.
KILMEADE: Really? OK.
DOOCY: This is from one of my friends, and I got a lot of friends who send me stuff, and this is one of those things where if you find yourself in a town hall meeting and you need to ask a really hard question -- that it would be hard for these guys and gals to weasel out of -- ask them one of these five questions. [Fox & Friends; 8/12/09]
Heritage offers "five questions Americans should be pressing their elected leaders on"
Heritage offers five questions for Americans to ask members of Congress at town hall meetings. In an August 4 post on its blog, The Foundry, Conn Carroll, Heritage Foundation assistant director of strategic communications, wrote: "This country deserves a respectful, honest debate about health care. And the hundreds of townhalls Members of Congress will be hosting across the country this August are just the place for that conversation to happen. Here are just five questions Americans should be pressing their elected leaders on over the coming month." The questions Carroll then listed are virtually identical to the ones Doocy said he received "from one of [his] friends."
Question 1
Doocy: "Can you, elected person, promise I will not lose my current plan and doctor?"
Fox News onscreen text:
From Heritage:
"Can you promise me that I will not lose my current plan and doctor?"
Question 2
Doocy: "Can you promise that you and your family, elected person, will enroll in the public plan?"
Fox News onscreen text:
From Heritage:
"Can you promise that you and your family will enroll in the public plan?"
Question 3
Doocy: "Can you, elected official, promise that the health care will not lead -- nationwide health care -- will not lead to higher deficits in the long term, which the president said he has -- stands against?"
Fox News onscreen text:
From Heritage:
"Can you promise that Obamacare will not lead to higher deficits in the long term?"
Question 4
Doocy: "[C]an you promise that government bureaucrats will not ration health care for the patients on the public plan?
Fox News onscreen text:
From Heritage:
"Can you promise that government bureaucrats will not ration health care for patients on the public plan?"
Question 5
Doocy: "[C]an you promise that my tax dollars will not fund abortions?"
Fox News onscreen text:
From Heritage:
"Can you promise me that my tax dollars will not fund abortions?"
Heritage is a "conservative" think tank
Heritage's mission is to "promote conservative public policies." On the "about" page of its website, Heritage states it is "a research and educational institute -- a think tank -- whose mission is to formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense."
Fox News' recent history of passing off conservative talking points without attribution
Fox passes off GOP press release as its own research -- typo and all. In purporting to "take a look back" at how the economic recovery plan "grew, and grew, and grew," anchor Jon Scott referenced seven dates, as onscreen graphics cited various news sources from those time periods -- all of which came directly from a Senate Republican Communications Center press release. A Fox News onscreen graphic even reproduced a typo contained in the Republican press release. The next day, Scott acknowledged that the story was "prompted by a news release from the Senate Republican Communications Center" and apologized for the typo.
"FOXfact[s]" about GOP budget nearly identical to GOP Rep. Ryan's op-ed. While Scott interviewed Rep. Paul Ryan, Fox News aired "FOXfact[s]" purporting to describe facts about the House Republican budget. However, all of the seven on-screen "FOXfact[s]" were nearly identical to portions of an op-ed Ryan published in that day's Wall Street Journal.
Transcript
From the August 12 edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends:
DOOCY: Now because so many of your elected officials and the president are going to be having these town hall meetings, I actually got from a friend of mine this -- you know how sometimes you get --
BRIAN KILMEADE (co-host): Is this your car dealer?
DOOCY: No, it's somebody else. You know how --
KILMEADE: Is it the guy that helped you with your gutters? That you don't like --
DARI ALEXANDER (guest co-host): Is it your dentist?
DOOCY: No, I got a new gutter guy.
KILMEADE: Really? OK.
DOOCY: This is from one of my friends, and I got a lot of friends who send me stuff, and this is one of those things where if you find yourself in a town hall meeting and you need to ask a really hard question -- that it would be hard for these guys and gals to weasel out of -- ask them one of these five questions.
First of all: Can you, elected person, promise I will not lose my current plan and doctor? Yes or no. Can you promise that you and your family, elected person, will enroll in the public plan?
KILMEADE: And so, in other words, ask the elected official if they're going to go along.
DOOCY: That's right. Can you, elected official, promise that the health care will not lead -- nationwide health care -- will not lead to higher deficits in the long term, which the president said he has -- stands against.
And can you promise that government bureaucrats will not ration health care for the patients on the public plan? And finally, can you promise that my tax dollars will not fund abortions?
These are five questions to ask. And this particular spam said if anyone is a no, tell them to vote no on the new health care plan. OK, that's one point of view; if you've got another point of view, email it to us right now at friends@foxnews.com.
The only time i give him Credence is when i "Cut The Cheese"
Each time i look at Doocy, he's sporting that "Fox Smirk"
I can even imagine that ignorant expression on his face as he drives to Work.
Speak truth to power.
Mr. News
(channeling my inner Ricky Ricardo):
"You got some 'splainin' to do Doocy"...
Yes.
You fail yet again, Commode Boy.
Sure, he added a few of his own words. But he still managed to get the exact same wording used.
Do you know the odds of that being a coincidence?
(snaps fingers)
Question 1: Obama has clearly stated that if you like your plan, then you do not have to change anything.
Q2: They already are in a program similar to the public option (with few exceptions, I mean the government is their employer).
Q3: I've heard Obama say that if congress puts on his desk a plan that will add to the deficit, he will not sign it.
Q4: They'll do a better job than the current rationing of health care done by insurance companies to ensure higher CEO compensation. Will the public option be perfect? No. But some unforeseen kinks in the system will not result in the rationing of Health care for anyone.
Q5: I don't know the answer to this one. Then again, I have no problem with tax dollars funding abortions.
Asking 5 questions does nothing to formulate any policies based on anything. It seems to me that the 5 questions are meant to obfuscate rather than elicit a thoughtful response. They might as well ask "when did you stop beating your wife".
If I could ask 5 thought provoking questions that I really would like to see addressed by my representatives and on any heathcare reform legislations:
1. What about mental and/or substance abuse healthcare treatment including medications and drug/intervention treatment programs - will they be included in the reform legislation?
2. What about dental care to include dentures be in the legislation?
3. What about eye glasses and will that include contacts, prescription sunglass or laser surgery?
4. What if we disagree with the doctor's diagnosis or lack thereof, can we get a second opinion?
5. What happens if we get ill when out-of-state (vacationing or for work)?
Those 5 questions and a dozen more I can think of off the top of my head are more important to me than whether or not my representative will promise to enroll in the public plan, which has nothing to do with me or my health.
There may be some common ground on what kind of malpractice can result in a lawsuit - like limiting accidents beyond the control of the hospital, acts of nature, equipment failure (ok to sue the mfg but not the hospital if they operated the equipment correctly) etc. But malpractice reform would do little to the overall cost of medical costs and it is a good way to get hospitals to remove dangerous doctors and/or nurses and to police themselves.
Hopefully, they never will be, but if they are, they'll change their tune.
By which Right GUARD means, of course, "the profit margins of health insurance companies"...
Also, who is being rewarded? And who is being punished? You folks have a strange idea that taxes are punishment, that ensuring a decent quality of life for poor citizens somehow degrades the quality of life for everyone else. It's a patently false premise.
Let me correct what you think my "folks" think and how your premise is invalid. Taxes are not punishment if they are collected and respected and spent wisely and with caution, prudence and care. They are necessary, everyone knows that, but they are not a golden ticket to soak those who you do want to punish for being successful by increasing theirs to levels that stifle economic growth which hurts everyone, including those who pay no taxes.
As for ensuring a decent quality of life for everyone, that is not the function of our government. That is our citizen's responsibility, except for children who are their parent's responsibility. What is the function of our government is to remove barriers and obstacles that prevent people from the opportunity to pursue a decent and quality life, you know the pursuit of happiness.
I hope that clears it up for you.
People please beware of Right On's tactics. It's not to engage in discussion but to distract and derail discussion. He knows dam well this isn't about Doocy asking questions!
You and I have been having the same argument for years now. So have many others here.
This isn't about questions asked or not asked but about manipulation of the public's perceptions by the insurance and health industry lobbyists.
Tangent -> Isn't is so stereotypical that cons will fight against a bill that is meant to help all Americans while turning a blind eye to the bottomless pit of defense spending every year.
Man I couldn't agree with you more. We spend over 10x more than all the nations of the world on this defense monster and it's growing and growing and eating us up!
The last question weeds out the Fundies.