Obamacare Fear-Mongering Hall of Fame: Death Panels and More

[DonViejo]

by Jamelle Bouie Sep 30, 2013 5:45 AM EDT

The law was going to build a ‘private army.’ It was the largest tax increase in the ‘history of the world.’ As the Obamacare exchanges prepare to open for business, Jamelle Bouie has the most outlandish false claims.

In their push to shut down the government over the Affordable Care Act, conservative Republicans have cast the health-care law in near-apocalyptic terms. Lawmakers such as Louisiana Rep. John Fleming have called Obamacare “the most dangerous legislation ever passed in Congress.” Likewise, during his extended speech in opposition to the law, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz declared it was “driving up health-care costs,” “killing health benefits,” and “shattering the economy.” Indeed, after nearly four years, there is a treasure trove of hyperbolic, over-the-top soundbites about it.

As Republicans wreak havoc in their effort to repeal the law, it’s worth looking at the most extreme statements they’ve made about the dreaded Affordable Care Act

“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.”

This, from Sarah Palin, came during the summer of 2009, when Congress was debating the proposal that would become the Affordable Care Act. It’s where we get the term “death panel,” a grossly distorted reference to the Independent Payment Review Board, an organization created to reduce costs in Medicare and the broader health-care system. The important thing to remember, however, is that there’s nothing in the Affordable Care Act that forces doctors to use one procedure over another or that takes away care from the elderly or the infirm.

“A clause hidden in the Obamacare bill, which is now law, gives Obama the right to form a private army.”

We can thank Saturday Night Live alum Victoria Jackson for this claim, which quickly made its way through the fever swamps of the right wing...

full article
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/09/30/obamacare-fear-mongering-hall-of-fame-death-panels-and-more.html