News Roundup for 8/5/09

You want this to be a govt. program?

-Headline of the day-
"Reagan Admin. Economist: 'Just Wait Until You See Medicare and Medicaid Done... By the Government.'"

Give that a moment to sink in. Appearing on CNN, Reaganaut economist Art Laffer said -- with a straight face -- "I mean, if you like the Post Office and the Department of Motor Vehicles and you think they're run well, just wait until you see Medicare, Medicaid, and health care done by the government."

Medicare and Medicaid... by the government! Yikes!

Speaking of right wing dumbasses who have no idea what the hell they're talking about, here's a fun quiz -- who said these dumb things?

"Down in Washington they're playing with Social Security like it's some kind of government program!"

"My opponent seems to think that Social Security is a federal program. I believe that money is yours and you should be able to invest it yourself."

That's right, it was George W. Bush. Maybe these guys should bone up on what government actually does before they dive right in and try to "fix" it. (Think Progress)


-Speaking of Bushisms-
They're like candy... you have to have more. Here's a few from the same source:

"The Holocaust was an obscene period in our nation's history. I mean in this century's history. But we all lived in this century. I didn't live in this century."

"One word sums up probably the responsibility of any Governor, and that one word is 'to be prepared'."

"A low voter turnout is an indication of fewer people going to the polls."

"It isn't pollution that's harming the environment. It's the impurities in our air and water that are doing it."

"It's clearly a budget. It's got a lot of numbers in it."

"I promise you I will listen to what has been said here, even though I wasn't here."

"The woman who knew I had dyslexia -- I never interviewed her."

God, what a dope. I could spend all day with this stuff... (NaomiHall.com)


-Shut up, whiner!-
The Democratic National Committee is running an ad attacking their Republican counterpart for holding up health care reform with right wing mobs. Well, the RNC showed them! According to the report, "At the end of the video, the DNC instructs people to call the Republican National Committee to express outrage. Callers who dial the RNC's main number to voice their concern about the DNC's charges are told to press 1, which sends them to the DNC's main switchboard."

"The RNC is inciting angry mobs to shout out legitimate discussion at public events across the country and now they want to ignore people who deplore their tactics," says dem spokesperson Brad Woodhouse. "Republicans don't want to have a discussion about the future of health care reform -– they want to shout out -– and now completely ignore -– anyone who disagrees with them."

This is a story with two morals; one, if you call the RNC line, don't press 1. Two, the GOP doesn't give a fuck what you think. Now shut up and eat your status quo, drone. (CNN)