Susan Collins Wants To Kill Your Grandmother

Filed in National by on July 30, 2009

The newest silly GOP talking point about healthcare reform is about the provision requiring hospitals to provide end-of-life counseling to people who wanted it. This proposal has turned into a strange and silly Republican talking point about encouraging euthenasia. Guess who first proposed this?

Even by conservative standards, the argument is insane. It’s extremely common, and has even “made its way into the standard conservative critique of the Democrats’ reforms,” but it’s not in any way grounded in reality.

Those on the right pushing this may not care about the facts, but maybe they care about partisanship?

[I]t turns out a GOP Senator, Susan Collins, sponsored a virtually identical initiative this spring, before this became an anti-reform GOP talking point — and praised it as necessary to improving our health care system’s “care for patients at the end of their lives.”

This sharply undercuts the GOP and conservative claim — unless, of course, you believe Collins backed an initiative she thinks could lead to mass government extermination of the elderly. Though this talking point has been debunked multiple times, conservatives and GOP leaders like John Boehner continue to employ it with abandon.

Yes, the not-so-radical idea Republicans hope to exploit was crafted, sponsored, and touted by a sitting Republican senator.

As health care reform comes closer and closer to becoming reality, Republicans are becoming more unhinged and dishonest. I’m not sure I can take a full month of this silly scare-mongering with serious stress relievers.

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Opinionated chemist, troublemaker, blogger on national and Delaware politics.

Comments (10)

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  1. anon2 says:

    Listen to the local shock jock moron of the century Rick Jenson. He wants to bring us a “different point of view”, and then brings out the CATO Institute????

    Cato Institute debunked the New England Journal of Medicine on its reporting of those who had health care going bankrupt. No idea who debunked it….the Cato Insitute.

    Progressives are battling back the neo con’s like Carper and the Blue Dogs! They will never support any plan without a Public Option.

    When Carper comes to back home, we need to go to those town halls and confront him on his campaign contribtutions from the insurance company. We need to ask Carper to name one country in the world that has a “health care co-op”. It will cost $600Million just to start a “pool”! If there are not enough people in your “pool” you will be paying out of pocket. All these ridiculous machinations to defeat the possible or real reform is unconcionable.

    This debate has nothing to do with health care reform, ALL of it has to do with the takedown of Obama and set up the neo con reBiblicans for the 2010 elections. Lets call a spade a spade.

  2. In the past this site has pointed to Collins as a breath of fresh air as a moderate in a right wing GOP. Now she is the anti Christ?

    The Obama and Dem proposal is bad policy. However, it is wise to have end of life death discussions but it is bad to have the government to do this sort of thing.

    The government would do this to limit coverage not anything to do with personal health.

    Mike Protack

  3. Do you lack simple reading comprehension skills Mike? I think Collins’s proposal is a good, sensible proposal and is based on best practices. It’s the Republicans who are using it as a silly talking point despite the fact that a Republican proposed it.

    I don’t like Susan Collins, BTW. She’s a mushy centrist. Mushy centrist = screwed-up legislation.

  4. Does anyone know – does Tom Carper have any townhalls scheduled?

  5. LMAO you think Carper would hold a Town Hall after what Castle has been through? Fat chance.

  6. anon2 says:

    Am sure Carper will be out and about. He will probably get a few of his friends together (you know those corporate types who give him millions to screw the citizens)! We should keep an eagle eye open and find out where he is…we can have our our fun with that Virginia carpetbagger.

  7. anon2 says:

    Any Bill that does not provide “at minimum” a Public Option with “reimbursement rate at the Medicare level”, based on Medicare rates, not NEGIOTATED RATES is unacceptable. Rep. Weiner (NY) a member of the Energy and Commerce committee says, “progressives have enough votes to BLOCK the Blue Dog deal! Sweet Jesus.

  8. Rebecca says:

    Obama warned them not to bet against him on this. He carried Delaware with 62% of the vote. I’d think very long and hard about this if I were Senator Carper.

  9. Frieda Berryhill says:

    “think very long and hard about this if I were Senator Carper”
    No Rebecca he has stopped thinking a long time ago, he just followed the money. Go to his website and search for his “war” chest.It’s all there.

  10. realdeal says:

    Do you really think putting Susan Collins name on it will redeem it among conservatives? You guys really are in left field. Next you will think Castle belongs to the John Birch Society.