Chris Matthews Falsely Accuses Ron Paul of Saying He’d Let Someone Without Health Insurance Die
Exactly how do anchors on MSNBC get away with routinely stating complete falsehoods without any repercussions?
On Tuesday, Chris Matthews wrongly accused Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul of saying during the previous evening's debate he would let a critically ill person die if the patient didn't have health insurance (video follows with transcript and commentary, file photo):
CHRIS MATTHEWS, HOST: I have to say, I’ve never witnessed such a crackle of enthusiasm for executing people as I heard at the Reagan Library debate last week. I recalled it last night when I heard the clap of applause when Ron Paul said he’d let someone die if they failed to pony up for health insurance.
Actually, that's not what Paul said Monday. Here's the entire exchange:
WOLF BLITZER, CNN: Before I get to Michele Bachmann, I want to just -- you're a physician, Ron Paul, so you're a doctor. You know something about this subject. Let me ask you this hypothetical question.
A healthy 30-year-old young man has a good job, makes a good living, but decides, you know what? I'm not going to spend $200 or $300 a month for health insurance because I'm healthy, I don't need it. But something terrible happens, all of a sudden he needs it.
Who's going to pay if he goes into a coma, for example? Who pays for that?
CONGRESSMAN RON PAUL (R-TEXAS): Well, in a society that you accept welfarism and socialism, he expects the government to take care of him.
BLITZER: Well, what do you want?
PAUL: But what he should do is whatever he wants to do, and assume responsibility for himself. My advice to him would have a major medical policy, but not be forced --
BLITZER: But he doesn't have that. He doesn't have it, and he needs intensive care for six months. Who pays?
PAUL: That's what freedom is all about, taking your own risks. This whole idea that you have to prepare and take care of everybody --
(APPLAUSE)
BLITZER: But Congressman, are you saying that society should just let him die?
PAUL: No.
That bears repeating:
BLITZER: But Congressman, are you saying that society should just let him die?
PAUL: No.
What did Matthews claim?
"Ron Paul said he’d let someone die if they failed to pony up for health insurance."
That's not what Paul said, is it? For the record, here's the rest of the Congressman's answer:
PAUL: I practiced medicine before we had Medicaid, in the early 1960s, when I got out of medical school. I practiced at Santa Rosa Hospital in San Antonio, and the churches took care of them. We never turned anybody away from the hospitals.
(APPLAUSE)
PAUL: And we've given up on this whole concept that we might take care of ourselves and assume responsibility for ourselves. Our neighbors, our friends, our churches would do it. This whole idea, that's the reason the cost is so high.
The cost is so high because they dump it on the government, it becomes a bureaucracy. It becomes special interests. It kowtows to the insurance companies and the drug companies, and then on top of that, you have the inflation. The inflation devalues the dollar, we have lack of competition.
There's no competition in medicine. Everybody is protected by licensing. And we should actually legalize alternative health care, allow people to practice what they want.
Exactly how does Matthews and others on his so-called "news" network continue to get away with such blatant misrepresentations?
As I've said many times, in any other industry in our country, a person would be suspended or fired for such dishonestly or negligence.
Why are journalists not held to the same professional standard as everyone else in this nation?
- Noel Sheppard's blog
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Comments
Paul doesn't want to bomb them to death nor pull the plug
Submitted by lrgon on Tue, 09/13/2011 - 7:47pm.
on those without health insurance.Paul explained his postion satisfactorilly at the debate.
Gooly, geez how did we ever live without Medicare before the collectivists strapped that ponzi scheme on America!
My, my did Americans just die in the street like they do in socialist India today or were forced into gas chambers like Jews were in national healthcare Nazi Germany?
Before welfare and medicare we Americans took responsibility for our own healthcare and did not depend upon others to take care of us. Churches and family played a bigger role than they do today. The state assumes the role of the family and local church and community. As a consequence we have become more dependent upon a government run system that will eventually ration our health care. In fact government is given no role in healthcare or in providing insurance - NONE!
It is written into medical ethics, custom and law...
Submitted by drsamherman on Tue, 09/13/2011 - 7:48pm.
...that in the absence of a written advanced directive ("living will"), health care professionals MUST provide life-saving and/or sustaining assistance to any patient in a life-threatening situation to the highest possible level commensurate with the professional's scope of license and practice WITHOUT regard for ability to pay. There is absolutely no argument that any hospital, public, private or anywhere in-between would do otherwise. If the patient requires a service that is not available in the hospital (a cardiac catheterization, for example), then the duty is to stabilize and transport to a facility where such necessary services are provided and in turn they must must also follow by giving life-sustaining and life-saving assistance.
Chrissy must have. . .
Submitted by rickbren on Tue, 09/13/2011 - 7:56pm.
. . . a warm wet tingly running down his leg.
Chris Matthews practices the Big Lie
Submitted by kata on Tue, 09/13/2011 - 7:59pm.
Somewhere out there are 565K extremely misinformed people... and 30 or so bloggers with something to write about the next day.
What to do?
Submitted by telecaster on Tue, 09/13/2011 - 8:00pm.
If I were Ron Paul I'd sue the SOB for libel, defamation and generally being an lying ignoramus. If he can't be jerked of the air for absolute insipid stupidity and idol worship, sue him off the air. The next best thing would be to break his nose....that might help focus his attention a little better.
Santa Rosa Hospital in San Antonio - wow - that hit home . .
Submitted by Gary Hall on Tue, 09/13/2011 - 8:02pm.
. . Hey Dr. Paul, that's where I was born . . but about a decade earlier.
On the topic at hand -- Paul should demand to go on Matthews crank show, and serve witness while Chris Matthews apologizes to Paul, and to the American people, for lying.
I see an early morning phone call tomorrow.
(;~/ gary
ABC and Yahoo News both have this
Submitted by exLib on Tue, 09/13/2011 - 8:14pm.
I read early today on "The Ticket" at Yahoo News.com a story about how what implies is the entire crowd erupted into cheers at Paul's quote to "let him die".
ABC News has the same story prominently positioned at the top of their web page.
Neither story mentions what actually was said, and both imply that it was the entire crowd saying "let him die", the crowd cheers, and then erupts into laughter.
Absolutely disgraceful reporting.
It must be the same crowd....
Submitted by bigdaddy on Wed, 09/14/2011 - 12:36am.
...that spit on and utilized the "N" word around those hapless congressmen and women as they skipped merrily into the Capitol to approve Oblamercare...
chris mathews has no shame.
Submitted by right of way on Tue, 09/13/2011 - 8:17pm.
more liberal lies.
On the "let him die" bit.
Submitted by Gary Hall on Tue, 09/13/2011 - 8:18pm.
I'm listening pretty carefully.
I hear one clap - that's one person clapping once.
I hear one, "yep," by a male.
I hear one loud, "yea," by a male.
Seems to be one sound by a female further in the distance.
There is no audience cheering, applause, etc.
All over the national media and the blogosphere, this is being presented, in addition to Matthew's libel, that the audience was widely applauding and/or cheering their approval.
From a quick google search:
blog - "Tea Party audience applauds Paul's 'let them die' debate."
Huffington Post -
Alan Grayson Blasts Tea Party Debate Audience's Reaction To Health Care Question: 'It's Sadism' [..] "HuffPost asked Grayson what he thought of the crowd cheering for the death of the uninsured man."
LATimes - Got it right, but still showcased it. "“Yeah,” came the shout from the audience. That affirmative was repeated at least three times."
ABC News - "The Note:" The headline: "Tea Party Debate Audience Cheered Idea of Letting Uninsured Patients Die"
Slate: ""But, Congressman, are you saying the society should just let him die?" At that point, the rabble erupted in cheers and whoops of "Yeah!" "This was indeed an appalling, mob-mentality moment—more medieval [..],"
Well - no surprises there.
Great analysis NS - and the video work too.
(;~/ gary
Tingles is so stupid
Submitted by Richard.Halavais on Tue, 09/13/2011 - 8:24pm.
Newsreaders should be able to add 2 and 2 and get at least close o the right answer. Tingles is consistently so far off we need Hubble to even find his answer. Truth, honesty, fairness, none of it matters to these liberals. Lie, cheat, steal to make their phony point is all they know, it's what they practice.
Like all liberals, he figures
Submitted by gnubi on Wed, 09/14/2011 - 10:37pm.
Like all liberals, he figures everyone knows he means well so normal standards of conduct don't really apply to him. Phhhhhht.
the diabetic rectal orifice should....
Submitted by jmigyanka@msn.com on Tue, 09/13/2011 - 8:31pm.
........eat more sugar and pasta so he can be readmitted to the hostpital.
http://www.diabeteshealth.com/read/2009/03/25/6131/msnbcs-chris-matthews...
The problem with the "safety
Submitted by deerjerkydave on Tue, 09/13/2011 - 8:40pm.
The problem with the "safety net" of socialism is it eventually runs out of money. Like a good pyramid scheme it leaves the few at the top rich and the many at the bottom with nothing and feeling entitled. Just look at Greece. America is only two or three years away from that according to a number of experts.
An alternative and popular theory is that freedom will do a better long term job of caring for the poor and needy. But these radical leftists can't even respect conservatism as an alternative theory. Did America's freedom make it great or was it big government socialism?
------------------------
"The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the Federal Government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State Governments are numerous and indefinite. -James MadisonI can't stand this type of question.
Submitted by Kingfish17 on Tue, 09/13/2011 - 8:45pm.
This type of question should be thrown back in Blitzer's face:
"Mr. Blitzer, what if the young man in your example had health insurance, but it was determined that it would cost $100 Trillion Dollars to save his life. Where do you draw the line? At what monetary amount do we say that it's a collective responsibility, but when the cost goes too high as to adversely effect everyone, and we can no longer afford to pick up the tab without destroying the nation as a whole? Does everyone in the country, kick in everything they own, and effectively destroy their own lives, in order to save this man's life?"
"You can’t go take a trip to Las Vegas...on the taxpayer’s dime." Barack Obama
BLITZER: But he doesn't have
Submitted by HypocriteHater on Tue, 09/13/2011 - 9:29pm.
BLITZER: But he doesn't have that. He doesn't have it, and he needs intensive care for six months. Who pays?
Ron Paul should have immediately stated that the PATIENT pays! What a concept! If you decide not to carry health insurance on yourself and you become seriously ill and need expensive medical care to save your life, you setup a payment plan with the hospital to pay it off in installments if you can't pay all at once.
For crying out loud, only you can decide how much your own life is worth to you. The rest of us shouldn't have to be taxed to pay for your medical bills because you were too stingy to pay for your own health insurance policy. And like Paul said, there are private charity groups that can offer assistance.
This perfectly sums up how dangerous this increasing dependence on government is: A government big enough to give you everything you want, is big enough to take away everything you have.
Bravo, HH. If we taught
Submitted by gnubi on Wed, 09/14/2011 - 10:29pm.
Bravo, HH. If we taught personal responsibility at home and at school, things would be a lot different today.
Maybe crissy was in the middle of a tingle
Submitted by hbnolikeee on Tue, 09/13/2011 - 10:28pm.
and so he misheard.
I agree, it is time to take
Submitted by LAM SON 719 on Tue, 09/13/2011 - 11:30pm.
I agree, it is time to take one of these MSM libtards to court and expose him.
Shove
Submitted by grammajane on Tue, 09/13/2011 - 11:41pm.
tons of emails to BSNBC like millions did to the NYT after that hideous statement by Krudman.
We all die, it is just a fact
Submitted by Dan The Man 2 on Wed, 09/14/2011 - 12:04am.
We all die, it is just a fact of life. So the debate is not whether we die or not but how much care and at whose expense do we get before we are let to die.
Rhetorical question?
Submitted by Beukeboom on Wed, 09/14/2011 - 9:50am.
Noel asked, "Exactly how do anchors on MSNBC get away with routinely stating complete falsehoods without any repercussions?"
Most likely it's because the management at MSNBC are just as much of a bunch of dishonest, ethically bankrupt liberals as their hosts.