Chris Matthews lies, "Ron Paul would let someone die if they did not have health insurance."
Submitted by Gus G on Wed, 09/14/2011 - 10:06Chris Matthews said, "The crowd cheered when Ron Paul said he would let some one die if they did not have health insurance."
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036697/vp/44509650#44509650
At the 1:10 min mark
The is a total lie and he should be called on it. Dr. Paul said he never turned anyone away if they needed health care.
What is ironic,the comedian Jon Stewart got it straight later in the evening.
Please send Chris Matthews an email demanding he retract his statement.
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Wrong Location of Comment
Sorry, guys. I thought this comment would be a reply to a comment. I logged in clicking "log in" below a DPers name to reply to that person. Moderator, if you want to delete this comment, please know I welcome you to do it.
Thanks,
ABBA
School's fine. Just don't let it get in the way of thinking. -Me
Total fallacy - government-funded health care vs. death
So, the 30-year-old man in the example doesn't have a family that could help him out? It's never stated one way or the other in the question.
He doesn't have any friends who might be able to, say, help him raise the necessary funds for a procedure? Does he attend a place of worship?
Why is this kid, who has a "good job," such a hermit all of a sudden? And if he is a hermit... would anyone be the wiser if he did end up dying? Wolf Blitzer certainly wouldn't care about it.
The fact that those criteria aren't even addressed shows that this is a totally fallacious question in the first place; nothing more than an argument from pity.
"Of two evils, choose neither." -Charles Spurgeon
Read my daily libertarian-oriented column at Freedom Bunker: http://freedombunker.com/author/chris-bacavis/
CNN is taking a shot a Ron...
this afternoon. They are trying to trap him up in what he did to help Ken Snyder from his campaign who passed away at 49 a couple years ago.
"Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is argument of tyrants. It is the creed of slaves." William Pitt in the House of Commons November 18, 1783
"I have one word for you...predator drones. Oh, you think I'm kidding?" Obombya
Ron Paul worked for $3 an hour
at a church hospital - and never turned anyone away.
Great interview here on the subject with Larry King:
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2009/10/29/intervi...
Excerpt:
Paul: "...But we don't have a history in this country of this happening, even before government started managing health care. I practiced medicine in both circumstances in the early '60s. We didn't have managed care, and I worked in a Catholic hospital.
I made three dollars an hour and nobody was ever turned away and there were many, many church hospitals and you had Shriner hospitals and a lot of free care was given.
Today, even with managed care, they complain about, oh, somebody doesn't have health insurance and somebody's going to die because they don't have health insurance. But, really, people don't get turned away.
I mean, accidents happen. Man's imperfect. For the most part, anybody, including anybody illegal, can go to the emergency room and they always get taken care of. They just don't get thrown out in the street.
KING: Are you saying you like the current system?
PAUL: No. I probably dislike it as much as Michael Moore does. But he's complaining about it being part of capitalism. It has nothing to do with capitalism. This is corporatism. The corporations -- I agree with him, corporations run things.
The drug companies' lobbyists, the insurance companies' lobbyists, the hospital manager companies' lobbyists, the AMA lobbyists, and that's all managed care and we have a system where money and bigness influences the government. But that's corporatism. That's not capitalism. What we want are free markets.
KING: OK. How do you change that?
PAUL: Allow free markets to work. There's an example of free markets, and I might have even heard it on CNN today, of the example of somebody that was going to be charge 100,000 dollars for surgery, and they went to Singapore and got it for 25,000 dollars. And the main reason they gave what they could afford to do it was that they didn't have horrendous malpractice payments to make, and there was a market. There was a market.
So the patients are leaving this country. They're going to India. But that's the market working. So we have put our charity hospitals out of business. At the same time, because of inflation and management and all the mischief of government, we have pushed these prices up.
Pumping money into a system doesn't improve quality. It increases prices. Look at our educational system. We pump in money, prices go up, the quality of education goes up. The quality of medicine has not gone up by just pumping more money in.
KING: Lyndon Johnson once said, the probable answer is that a government's going to have to be half capitalistic and half socialist. You have to have some. Social Security is socialism. You have to take care of those who don't have. Pure capitalism can't work. Would you agree with that?
PAUL: No, not really. It's sort of like I practice OB/GYN, I never tell my patients they had a touch of pregnancy. You're either pregnant or you're not. You either have government intervention messing up the markets or you don't. You either believe in freedom and believe in voluntary choice.
Just look at this disaster with the Swine Flu vaccine. They took over the whole project. We pump in billions of dollars. And they come up with shortages. The distribution is lousy. And they're talking about forcing people to take them in places like New York. And who -- nobody's even proved that it's necessary yet. We have still a lot of deaths from ordinary flu far surpassing Swine Flu. So central economic planning in anything fails, and especially in medicine it fails."
CNN saying
almost the same thing today. Only playing the short clip of DR Paul first Response instead of playing the full reply. They did this several times today.
Absolutely ludicrous
First off, it sounded like only 2 or 3 people cheering Blitzer's question anyway and Dr. Paul CERTAINLY did NOT say yes. Aren't medical doctors in the business of saving people? Chris Matthews, you outdid yourself this time. That is such a blatant lie, even non-supporters who saw the debate would know you were lying and become curious why you'd go there.
Umm Don't doctors take
an oath? That oath does not include wether the person can pay or not. It was a stupid question and of course Chris made it worse by lying. If a 30 yr old man were hit by a truck and their was a doctor on the scene would he ask for the guys insurance information before trying to save him? Give me a break !
"If a 30 yr old man were hit
"If a 30 yr old man were hit by a truck and their was a doctor on the scene would he ask for the guys insurance information before trying to save him? Give me a break !"
Um, yes! It has happened before. Why do you think EMTALA was instated? Why do you think there was so much controversey over patient dumping and credit checks?
"That oath does not include wether the person can pay or not"
Wow, what a statement! This isn't 10th century England, where the concepts of oaths and honor provide any kind of reliability.
Plan for eliminating the national debt in 10-20 years:
Overview: http://rolexian.wordpress.com/2010/09/12/my-plan-for-reducin...
Specific cuts; defense spending: http://rolexian.wordpress.com/2011/01/03/more-detailed-look-a
People were saying the same
People were saying the same thing on a Yahoo article and here's what I posted there:
I see many comments here that seem to indicate that if there was government mandate, those without money insurance would have no choice but to die. Did you just read the headline and not listen to Paul's full response? He (a doctor) said that before the days of medicare and such, he never turned a patient away. Oh, and his son Rand Paul, also a doctor, also performs medical work for free:http://www.wkyt.com/news/headlines/Sen_Paul_performs_free_surgeries_in_Kentucky_128162148.html?ref=148
In a free society, you are not forced by government do to anything, and that includes paying taxes for the supposed benefit of someone else. And when you have more money to yourself, you have more freedom to do voluntary and charitable work. Think about it - if suddenly you longer had to pay income tax or property tax or payroll tax, would you be more likely or less likely to donate your money and/or time to charitable causes? I invite anyone reading this comment to view a couple videos that discuss how in the book Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqeville stated that not only are civil associations (such as those who would like to provide healthcare for the needy) good for self-government, they are a necessary component of it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoG-5sJdb5o
example: Hearthside Cats - a group of concerned cat owners that provide shelters for stray cats and do a superior job to government pounds:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSv1XG2dwyQ
And no, it's not just cat lovers that provide care - see voluntary health care for the needy in action here in the U.S.:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWnSjKrWSdw
And imagine how much more common that would be if we weren't forced to pay taxes (at gunpoint, if necessary) for the supposed good of others.
we snowballed the wrong guy.
Should've been matthews.
I really can't stand a liar.
I really can't stand a liar. Sad that he has to MAKE CRAP UP to sully Dr. Paul. All the other candidates don't have to have lies made up about them or what they said, as they have a litany of stuff that could be used.
Ron Paul or Bust
The government is heavily
The government is heavily involved in the regulation of automobiles and roads.Yet 32,708 people died in 2010 in auto accidents.The point is no matter how much government involvement there is,people are going to die.To minimize deaths we need to maximize liberty and not by regulations,mandates,taxes and bureaucracies.
The time is coming that the people need to decide if they want to continue in the experiment of centralization,welfare/warfare state or live in a free,responsible,prosperous society.
13 No servant can serve two masters; for either he shall hate the one, and love the other, or else he shall lean to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and riches. - Luke 16
I need to remember this when
I need to remember this when i get into it with the "regulate the market" crowd under the illusion that the economic corruption we witness on an on going basis is due to the awful free market capitalists. My retort of 'We don't have a free market' doesn't work, but examples of gov't imposed regulations' failures, such as your 'roads' example is a powerful one that can't be ignored. Far more people drive cars than trade futures, options, puts, commodities, where market manipulations are most obvious.
bumped. :)
What this shows is that Chris
What this shows is that Chris Matthews would let someone die if there were no big daddy socialist health program to take care of someone. The answer to the question when someone asks “would you let someone die if they had no health insurance,” is to ask back “Would you let someone die if they had no socialist government health coverage?”
The very fact that people like Chris Matthews or others would even ask a question like “would you let someone die if they had no health insurance?” reveals the mindset of Chris Matthews and those like him. Only those that are willing to let their family, friends and neighbors die could even conceive that people are just going to be left to die absent socialist government health programs. Compassionate people have no problem eliminating socialist health programs because they know they would never allow family, friends and community to die, and they know that these centralized elitist command and control programs do far more harm than good. The only compassionate position is to oppose such centralized socialist programs
Let it not be said that we did nothing.-Ron Paul
Stand up for what you believe in, even if you stand alone.-Sophia Magdalena Scholl
It also shows he has a low
It also shows he has a low opinion of Americans when it comes to helping one another.
Just another whig party member with contempt for the constitution,liberty and self-government.
13 No servant can serve two masters; for either he shall hate the one, and love the other, or else he shall lean to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and riches. - Luke 16
Matthews is one of the pied
Matthews is one of the pied pipers of fear for the "left",just as o'reily,hannity,limbaugh are for the "right".
It's the same tune day after day,election after election,generation after generation...
13 No servant can serve two masters; for either he shall hate the one, and love the other, or else he shall lean to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and riches. - Luke 16
Ditto
Absolutely right JeffD. It is outright leftist fearmongering pure and simple, and no different at all from the neocon version of "we must bomb, invade and occupy entire foreign nations or our way of life will be wiped out because they hate us for our [diminshing] freedoms."
Let it not be said that we did nothing.-Ron Paul
Stand up for what you believe in, even if you stand alone.-Sophia Magdalena Scholl
In my experience, hospitals
In my experience, hospitals and doctors are happy to treat a person without insurance if that person agrees to pay for the care. Paying with cash is not required. A credit card is ok. For a big bill you can get a loan to pay the hospital, then pay back the loan over time like with a car or expensive vacation. For a really big bill, it would be more like a house - but people manage to pay for houses. (There is even a tax deduction if your medical bills exceed a certain percentage of your income.) If you don't want to pay then go bankrupt and the debt will be wiped off. If you don't want to take the risk of going bankrupt, then buy major medical insurance as Dr. Paul recommended in the debate. If the well-off 30 year old in the hypothetical was too cocksure to buy insurance, then he would have paid off the loan or gone bankrupt. So what? There is no way any hospital would refuse to treat in a case like that.
"I'd let someone die if he didn't have health insurance."
Chris Matthews comes immediately to mind.
He blatantly lied. Ron
He blatantly lied. Ron clearly said NO. Did he bother to even watch it?
For the record, I didn't like
For the record, I didn't like RP's response. He basically made the Democrats's argument for universal healthcare when he talked about how we have forgotten that people are responsible for their own health care, the healthcare of their community and neighbors.
Let me give you a situation. A young man is walking down the street when he is hit by a car. The car driver dies. The car driver has nothing to his name; no auto insurance and no family on top of that. The young man is in critical condition, and a credit check shows there is no way he would be able to pay for his care out of pocket. Does the hospital have the right to deny him care?
If you think they don't have the right, why?
If you think they do have the right, would you be OK with it if we lived in a society like that? If not, then who is going to pay the hospital when they take care of the guy?
Plan for eliminating the national debt in 10-20 years:
Overview: http://rolexian.wordpress.com/2010/09/12/my-plan-for-reducin...
Specific cuts; defense spending: http://rolexian.wordpress.com/2011/01/03/more-detailed-look-a
Bottom Line
I personally will help pay for this man to live and I think many others would too.
There are many charities helping those in need and I believe our society is a compassionate one.
Never, never should anyone be *forced* to pay for someone else's health care or anything else.
Moreover, all doctors take a Hippocratic Oath, which would suggest that they would help the man and worry about payment later.
The last point is that healthcare should not be a federal issue, but a county or state issue.
You already pay for the
You already pay for the uninsured when they get free treatment. It makes costs go up, and that is reflected in your insurance bill.
"Moreover, all doctors take a Hippocratic Oath, which would suggest that they would help the man and worry about payment later."
Are we then being hypocritical by forcing doctors to take the hippocratic oath? Are we being a little naive in assuming that every physician follows his oath like it was a medieval code of ethics?
"The last point is that healthcare should not be a federal issue, but a county or state issue."
So are you saying that you don't want the federal government to make someone pay for someone else's healthcare, but you don't mind it if an individual state or county does the same?
Plan for eliminating the national debt in 10-20 years:
Overview: http://rolexian.wordpress.com/2010/09/12/my-plan-for-reducin...
Specific cuts; defense spending: http://rolexian.wordpress.com/2011/01/03/more-detailed-look-a
"You already pay for the
"You already pay for the uninsured when they get free treatment. It makes costs go up, and that is reflected in your insurance bill."
You don't understand the fundamental principle of nonaggression that is central to libertarianism and Dr. Paul's philosophy, that outlaws use of force (or fraud) unless in self-defense. If a doctor chooses to perform work for free, then this principle is not broken, even if he (and/or the insurance company) raises prices to others. This is not so when the government forcibly takes money from people to pay for it. When charities, churches, and community groups compensate the doctor or hospital with money from voluntary donations, this principle is not broken. That is not so when the government pays for it.
As for your last paragraph, I would not support it, but it would be constitutional.
They do have the right
A hospital of course has the right to refuse to do anything they don't want to do, just like anyone else.
I'm okay to live in a society like that because I believe that even though hospitals have that right, they won't exercise it, especially those owned by charities (non-profits) or local governments (chiefly counties). But private for-profit hospitals are unlikely to refuse to provide health care too. But even if they do refuse, no one has the right to force them to do it.
"Know what you know, know what you don't know, and understand and appreciate the distinction."
Minarchism
track
Healthcare isn't as cheap as
Healthcare isn't as cheap as it was 50 years ago, when even a private hosptial could afford a small write-off or a church could treat the healthcare needs of the poor with tithes. Healthcare is much more expensive, and they don't have the resources. Hospitals that are owned by local governments who treat people for free get compensated with tax payer dollars...who is paying that?
"But even if they do refuse, no one has the right to force them to do it."
Then repeal EMTALA.
Plan for eliminating the national debt in 10-20 years:
Overview: http://rolexian.wordpress.com/2010/09/12/my-plan-for-reducin...
Specific cuts; defense spending: http://rolexian.wordpress.com/2011/01/03/more-detailed-look-a
Health care is so expensive
Health care is so expensive because of government involvement
Ridiculous. Government
Ridiculous. Government involvement does not help, but to point to it as the primary (and in your case only) cause is ludicrous. Facts should form your politics; politics shouldn't shape your facts.
Your line of thinking is taking us down the same path as Bush saying they "hate us for our freedom!"
Plan for eliminating the national debt in 10-20 years:
Overview: http://rolexian.wordpress.com/2010/09/12/my-plan-for-reducin...
Specific cuts; defense spending: http://rolexian.wordpress.com/2011/01/03/more-detailed-look-a
No it isn't. Government
No it isn't. Government mandates, regulations, licensing, Certificates of Need for hospitals, lack of interstate competition, third party spending of health care (both by the government and by employers, which the government creates incentives for rather than individual policies), etc. all drive up the cost of health care. There is no free market in health care. There is no price system. That is why it is so expensive. Why are you a Ron Paul supporter? If you support him cause he's antiwar and pro-civil liberties, but don't like his economic policies, then that's great, and I'm glad you see that he's actually sincere on those issues, unlike the Democrats, but I think you should really try to understand free market economics. I suggest starting with the Austrian school economists, such as Ludwig von Mises, F.A. Hayek, and Murray Rothbard, as well as their modern descendants, such as Tom Woods and Bob Murphy.
I don't have the time to go
I don't have the time to go into every specific point, but I will make the case that you can look at countries like Singapore, Switzerland, Taiwan, Germany, etc. where government regulations is HUGE; much bigger than it is in the US. Yet their healthcare costs are much, much cheaper. The primary difference seems to be residents of those countries live healthier (also due to government regulation, since the governments there have banned a lot of the junk we allow in our food).
I am not saying we should go that far (benefits do not outweigh the price of the choice), but I do think politicians need to make Americans face the fact that we need to live healthier. Heck, Michelle Obama tries to get kids to eat healthier, and the right-wing media destroys her for doing it.
A media pundit (I forget who), says his solution would be like how we treat cigarette companies, in a way. We tax them, and then use the money to make the public aware about the dangers of smoking. Don't ban cigarrettes, but make sure every American knows how bad they are. Do the same with GMFs and HFCS. Don't ban them, but fund PSA's that make people more aware of what they are consuming.
Plan for eliminating the national debt in 10-20 years:
Overview: http://rolexian.wordpress.com/2010/09/12/my-plan-for-reducin...
Specific cuts; defense spending: http://rolexian.wordpress.com/2011/01/03/more-detailed-look-a