Robert Reich Video Featured on Hannity
Morgen on October 14, 2009 at 9:34 am
Last week I posted a video I had produced featuring Robert Reich in 2007 acknowledging some uncomfortable truths about the Democratic agenda for health reform. With the holiday weekend it’s been sort of a slow burn, but the clip really started to gain momentum after Instapundit linked it on Monday (thanks Glenn!). Turns out that Hannity played a snippet of it last night on Fox right at the beginning of his “Hannity’s America” segment. Watch:
If you missed my original video you can see it here. It’s going to be interesting to see if Reich ends up responding to this clip in some fashion. No doubt this will be yet another example of us right wing nut-jobs taking something out of context. Just a coincidence I’m sure that what Reich said is the “truth” coincides with some of the major concerns conservatives have about the Democrats’ health reform bill.
Also, an apology for the lack of new material here on VS that past couple of days. John and I have both been distracted with some other things – including something that we will be making an exciting announcement on later this morning. Well, exciting for us anyway. More to come…
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Excellent post on this subject over at the Belmont Club:
October 14, 2009 @ 10:16 amhttp://pajamasmedia.com/richardfernandez/
This is a great example of you right-wingers taking an opponent out of context in order to defame his character.
And then Faux News picks up on it. What a surprise.
Obviously the only moral thing to do here is to:
A) Cut taxes to the rich
B) Obstruct any attempt to get healthcare to the poor
C) Defame anyone who objects to A or B above.
How constructive.
This is why I have all but stopped contributing to this blog – you have nothing constructive to contribute.
Only whining. No solutions, and no interest in any point of view that doesn’t validate your own position.
How boring.
October 14, 2009 @ 2:19 pmWe did not take him out of context. We provided a link to the full statement and provided the correct context to the excerpt, including time, place and intent.
The context was…this is what a politician would say if he were truly honest, hence this is what is really true but which no one dares to say (for obvious reasons).
Calling it “defamation” is just…I was going to say unbelievable, but the fact is it’s typical. Please explain how quoting someone’s own words (on tape!) is defamation. Unless you’re arguing that he defamed himself, I don’t see it.
The fact is, we are contributing and this post is an example of it. We’re just not contributing to your side of the argument. That’s what you don’t like.
Who said anything about cutting taxes to the rich? As for getting health care to the poor, the poor already have access to health care. The question is whether we want a tremendously expensive government takeover of the system in order to give health insurance to 15-20 million people. There are other options for cutting costs which don’t require a massive new unfunded mandate/entitlement program. For the most part those aren’t being considered.
October 14, 2009 @ 2:49 pmJust saw your site mentioned on Fox News (congrats on that)…
Great site!
Added to my “frequent reads” and also linked to one of your vids to kick off a discussion on our Facebook page.
October 15, 2009 @ 5:41 amPaul Susac? Robert is that you?
October 15, 2009 @ 5:58 amThinkin’,
Thanks.
BTW, was that the same clip above (where you saw us mentioned) or something else?
October 15, 2009 @ 7:38 amI went to that site Geoffrey. Here is a quote, “Although Reich is liberal he is also incorrigibly intelligent and his remarks were framed as a speech by a hypothetical candidate, who for perverse reasons, could only tell the truth. His main point was that the truth was untellable.” ……….For perverse reasons could only tell the truth? Now telling the truth to the American people as you campaign is perverse? The truth is untellable? Who says? The author of that blog? What about transperency and an “honest debate” on health care the dems say they want? They can have an “honest debate” without telling the truth? That idea in its self is perverse.
October 15, 2009 @ 7:46 amNope, not Robert,
Propaganda is not just about what is said, it is also about who it’s said to. If you tell a room full of Christian conservatives that we need more God in the military, that’s an obvious statement. If you tell a room full of UU church members the same thing, then ‘them’s fighting words.’
This clip is being used as defamation by both you and Faux News because he is being taken out of context. That is, both you and Faux are deliberately taking him out of the context of a room full of open-minded clear-headed grownups, and being put on the air for a bunch of “bubba’s with guns” who only hear “people are making financial decisions about killing me” and who frankly don’t have the maturity to recognize an ethical dilemma when they see one.
This is how the right wing propaganda machine gins up controversy over minor bullshit issues. Every medical decision is also a financial decision. Reich is dramatizing this fact. He is also making the point that saying this openly is often political suicide. And what are you doing with this clip – trying to use it to assassinate his character. How surprising!
What you and Fox are disingenuously doing is you are willfully ignoring the fact that right now the for-profit insurance industry is making EXACTLY THESE DECISIONS RIGHT NOW. But do you discuss this fact? Hell no! That doesn’t fit your agenda.
I would expect this behavior of Fox news, but I have come to expect better of you John. Oh well, wrong again.
Here is the story NO ONE is talking about. We are NOT debating whether or not we have government run the health insurance industry. We are debating which branch of goverment will run our health insurance industry.
We live in an age where out-and-out bribes are legally conducted in Washington. It’s called “lobbying.” This use of financial power has made the business sector into a defacto form of government (this is one definition of fascism, but that’s the subject of another thread).
The real question being debated is will the Corporate Branch of government continue to run our health insurance as a for-profit system or will the Congressional branch of government run it as a not-for-profit system?
The lie you are telling with this propaganda move is the lie that corporations are not in the exact same game as the government – controlling resources and people. Reich understands this. His audience understood it. I believe you understand it too, John (I’ve made the point often enough). But you leave this little fact out, because your loyalty is to your worldview and not to your nation.
Typical conservative Republican – you think that capitalism and Christianity and are America. Wrong again.
October 15, 2009 @ 2:35 pmBlah blah slogan blah propagranda blah blah right wing. Corporate branch of the blah blah lobbyist blah blah insurance profits blah blah.
October 15, 2009 @ 3:07 pmIn other words there is one “truth” for educated people and another for common people.
I wish all liberals were as willing to expose their elitist views. Democrats would be lucky to have control of 20% of the seats in Congress.
October 15, 2009 @ 3:14 pmSusac, you got my hopes up high when you said you were going to stop “contributing” (I use the word loosely) to this blog. Your long-winded, unctious epistles are barely tolerable. By the way, wasn’t Robert Reich is the Wizard of Oz?
October 15, 2009 @ 3:17 pmSee, now this is just the sort of douche-y behavior I am talking about – someone makes a point that you can’t refute and instead of being reasonable and altering your views, you simply attack the character of the speaker.
Heaven forbid that any new information or points of view ever change your mind. That outcome is simply unacceptable isn’t it?
I can’t help it if you can’t handle the truth. If some people are just too stupid and immature to use ethical judgment that doesn’t make me an elitist. It makes them assholes.
I’ll let you decide which category you fall into.
October 16, 2009 @ 10:28 amThere is not much intelligence required in ethics. More, consistency and a firm base to stand on. Most people just get by on what their parents taught them, and common sense.
Paul, you do realize that the things you say are usually totally generic and so cliche? Altering your viewpoints? Attacking Character? Unnaceptable to change your mind? These things could be said about you, as well. But you would dismiss them. Why should anyone listen to it from you? Blah blah blah.
October 16, 2009 @ 1:46 pmSusac, just go away if we annoy you so much. You won’t be missed. I find most of your postings reaching the zenith in mongoloid reasoning. Just kidding. Most of them just lack substance. When refuted, he throw a hissy fit. Just loeave. Trust me, no one will miss you.
October 16, 2009 @ 7:52 pmI’m not proof reading what I type very well. Just loeave? LOL. Hey Susac, just more evidence of us ignorant conservatives. One more reason to leave VS! Please make it come true. We’re begging you here.
October 16, 2009 @ 7:56 pm