Dick Morris At It Again

League of American Voters, brought to you by the Swiftboat folks (think Dick Morris), recently sent an email plea for contributions.



The email: ===============================================================

Dear Friend:

Are Obama and his friends taking you as a fool? You have to wonder what they really think about the intelligence of the American people. Obama repeatedly has out-and-out lied about his healthcare plan.

Here are just 5 of the big whoppers.

Lie #1: 'You Keep Your Doctor, You Keep Your Insurer'
This is a complete fabrication.  Under plans Obama has backed in the House and the Senate, almost any business can opt their employees into the "public option" — the government health plan.
That means you could lose your insurer. And if your doctor is worth his salt, you'll lose him or her as well.
Why? Because great doctors probably will not want to get the very low rates the government will pay private doctors who are part of the new government system.
So, without your consent, you very easily could lose your insurer and your doctor.

Lie #2: The Elderly Will Not Face Rationing or Medicare Cuts
More baloney.  In fact, just last week, The New York Times, a very liberal and very pro-Obama newspaper, admitted that fears of rationing for elderly patients are "not irrational."  The truth is that Obamacare would almost 50 million new patients to government care.  Who would pay for it. You would!
Seniors on Medicare will be the first hit.
Here's what the Times reported: "Bills now in Congress would squeeze savings out of Medicare, a lifeline for the elderly, on the assumption that doctors and hospitals can be more efficient."  This means that faceless bureaucrats will decide the type and quality of your care.  It is a very dangerous thing to give your life and well-being over to government bureaucrats!
Imagine if you or a loved one is older than 80 years and critically needs heart surgery.   Instead of getting the heart procedure, you or that loved one could be informed that you are simply too old.  We at the League of American Voters have been warning of this danger and have a powerful TV commercial exposing the risks to seniors.  You can see the ad by Going Here Now

Lie #3: There Will Be No "Death Panels."
More lies. Sure, they don't call them "death panels" in the legislation, but that's what their job will be. These committee members will set guidelines with which faceless bureaucrats will make decisions about you and your healthcare.  They will decide who lives and who dies. They decide who gets critical procedures and expensive medicines.
Again, according to the New York Times, the Democratic plans call for saving money by creating new oversight committees. The Times says that Medicare and insurers would be expected to follow "advice from a new federal panel of medical experts on 'what treatments work best.'”   Again, this very liberal paper concluded: "The zeal for cutting health costs, combined with proposals to compare the effectiveness of various treatments and to counsel seniors on end-of-life care, may explain why some people think the legislation is about rationing, which could affect access to the most expensive services in the final months of life."  Expose the lies — Go Here Now.

Lie #4: The Obama Plan Contains Costs Absolute nonsense. The Obama plan will cost more than $1 trillion in new federal outlays, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. This past weekend, Sen. Joe Lieberman claimed that most of this cost comes from adding 50 million people, currently uninsured, to the government health system. But as Lieberman pointed out, we just don't have the money to do this right now. You can add only so many people to the government system by cutting medical care to seniors on Medicare and raising taxes.  Democrats clearly plan to do both.

Lie #5: Illegals Are Not Covered by Obamacare
President Obama has stated time and again that illegal aliens are not covered under his new plan. Still, Democrats say they want to add almost 50 million uninsured. Yet almost one-quarter of these uninsured are illegal aliens.  None of the Democratic plans excludes illegal aliens. In fact, when Republicans proposed an amendment to the House plan to block illegals from getting free government healthcare, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her minions soundly defeated the motion.

Many, many lies are emanating from Washington today. This is why the work of the League of American Voters is so critical now. Dick Morris, the famous Fox News analyst and campaign strategist, says the League is the No. 1 organization today fighting Obamacare. "Every American who wants to stop Obamacare should join with the League," Morris says. "They have the best strategy to stop it from becoming law."
Just two weeks ago, the League's powerful new TV ad went on the air. Thanks to your help, it's already running in 12 states — and it is affecting millions of people. We believe it is one reason some Democrats are starting to retreat. But our job is not done. We must fight the lies. We must expose the dangers of Obamacare to all Americans. Please act today by joining the League and donating to us today. To Donate Go Here Now Thank you.

Sincerely,

Bob Adams
Executive Director

P.S. Our TV ad, which Dick Morris crafted, is so effective that ABC News refused to run it. If you take a moment to watch the ad, you'll see why. It simply tells the truth, in the words of a respected medical doctor. Take a minute to watch it — and most importantly, help us continue this battle! To Watch the Ad and Donate — Go Here Now

END OF EMAIL========================================================================

My responses:

#1 Employers currently can change your plan between private corps. without your permission. Public option simply provides another option.

#2 The NY Times article states it is an assumption that doctors and hospitals can be more efficient, not that beaurocrats will make one's decisions for them. With cross-provider patient history sharing and other such reform inclusions, yes, there is efficiency to be had. Simple partisan nonlinear conclusions and scare-mongering comprises this "lie defense".

#3 Beaurocrats will recommend treatment that is shown to be effective, not mandate it. What is the problem of an option to follow the advice of a federal panel of medical experts as to what is the most effective treatment?

Key words are, "think the legislation is about rationing," The paragraph speaks to misperceptions about the cost-cutting, effective treatment analysis and end-of-life care factors. Nowhere is it stated or implied that bureaucrats will decide the type or quality of care.

#4 Here's the OMB quote: “The size of the fiscal gap is precisely why we must enact fiscally well designed health care reform now,” OMB director Peter Orszag said. Plans are for medical cost cutting versus medical care cutting.

#5 Illegals already get free health care in hospitals' ERs. Also, HR 3200, specifically bars coverage for illegal immigrants. Section 246 forbids payments “on behalf of individuals who are not lawfully present in the United States.”

This video begins with another out-of-context quote: "...explicitly limiting patient access to treatments" The full quote is, "IF OR WHEN the Administration's speculative cost-cutting measures under universal health care fail to produce savings, government will start explicitly limiting patient access to treatments and services as too expensive. " Speculation on the part of the WSJ as to what will happen IF OR WHEN cost-cutting measures produce their results.  BTW, the WSJ is, of course, a Rupert Murdoch (Fox News) publication now.

League of American Voters proved they are nothing but a fear-mongering lie factory. Get jerks like this out of the debate! Who the heck do you think is funding their effort, which they try to portray as grassroots?