BuzzFlash Honors

House Republicans

Over the past several months, the one thing that Republicans consistently said they agreed upon when it came to Democratic healthcare reform was the idea that insurance companies should not be able to deny coverage based on preexisting conditions.

Think Progress illustrates here that House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) is practically addicted to repeating the phrase whenever someone challenges him with a healthcare question:

While leading GOP opposition to health care reform over the past few months, Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) has simultaneously insisted that Republicans believe in helping Americans with preexisting conditions get health care. Currently, "in 44 states, it's legal for health insurers to deny coverage to people who have previously been sick, or charge them more for treatment."

"And so there are a number of things that Republicans believe are essential," Boehner told NPR in September. "We believe that making sure that people who have preexisting conditions have access to affordable health insurance." On Fox News last week, Boehner said that Republicans wanted to focus on helping "those with preexisting conditions."

...In a blog post in June, Boehner wrote, "Quality health coverage must exist for every American, regardless of preexisting health conditions."

Boehner's not the only one who seems to have Preexisting Conditions Tourette Syndrome. In delivering the Republican rebuttal to President Obama's address on healthcare reform earlier this year, Rep. Charles Boustany (R-LA) outlined four basic tenets of reform "where we can agree." The very first one is that "all individuals should have access to coverage, regardless of preexisting conditions."

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BUZZFLASH MEDIA PUTZ OF THE WEEK

Fox "News"

For reporting that is an embarrassment to the profession of journalism, and for being beholden to corporate paymasters rather than the citizens of America.

The MSM loves to tell us that there is Fox "News" with O'Reilly, Hannity, and Beck and then there's Fox "News" on the rest of the time. Fair and Balanced.

Hmmm, well, based on what we've seen lately from the "news" part of Fox "News," their argument is as thin as the pastrami in a New York City deli.

Chris Wallace is seen as the legitimate face of Fox "News." After all, Wallace, son of a real journalist in Mike Wallace, has hosted "Meet the Press" on NBC and was on "Primetime Thursday" on ABC. Certainly, Fox plays that up when accused of news bias.

Here was the chance, the ultimate chance, to toss a few hard questions to Rush Limbaugh, prove the naysayers wrong, show them that Fox has a real news department.

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WINGS OF JUSTICE

Al Franken

Stirring the pot is something Republican politicians are already good at doing and where Democratic politicians are catching up. We recently profiled one newcomer who has set a tone in a brash style in Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL). But as we are learning from this week's winner, sometimes you can be quieter and still be effective at stirring the pot.

Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) got a very late start this year. Wasn't his fault. The people of Minnesota wanted to be really, really, really sure he was the winner. But it certainly hasn't taken him long to get established.

And there was speculation, er, obnoxious rhetoric from the right-wing that the Senate would be nothing but jokes with Franken in the chamber. Funny coming from senators who say some very amusing, yet not purposefully funny material when they act "senatorial."

Those who have followed Franken or heard him on Air America radio know that the modern version of Al Franken was very serious and very knowledgable.

And yet, even when Franken was known for his comedy, there was always a quieter, subtler nature to his humor.

Calling attention to Halliburton's practices hasn't got the progressive realm very far in the mainstream picture. But Sen. Franken called attention to Halliburton in a way where others fell short.

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Joe Lieberman

You're probably already aware of why Gawker might be referring to Joe Lieberman as "a sanctimonious, thin-skinned, self-satisfied monster. And a pious, amoral scumbag. And a narcissistic, deluded underminer who represents everything that is wrong with the United States Senate. And a war-mongering, concern-trolling religious zealot. And, generally, a bastard. And probably a racist."

His de-facto defection to the Republican Party on the healthcare reform bill in the Senate has been widely explored this week. Many have pointed out that Lieberman has to straight-up lie in order to defend his intended vote against the public option. It make sense that he'd need to lie, lying down with the GOP as he is.

This video from two different campaign events in 2006 archived by DailyKosTV shows Lieberman touting his support for universal healthcare and a public option as a reason to send him back to the Senate. You can watch the mash-up here, but we've taken the liberty of culling the relevant text below, with our own emphasis:

On July 6, 2006, Lieberman promised "the people of Connecticut, I can do more for you and your families to get something done to make health care affordable, to get universal health insurance.

Then, on Oct. 23, 2006, he said that he had already "offered a comprehensive program. Small business health insurance reform, plus something I call MediKids to cover all the children in America on a sliding fee basis up until the age of 25. MediChoice to allow anybody in our country to buy into a national insurance pool like the health insurance pool that we federal employees and members of Congress have." Lieberman also promised to "cover 95 percent of those who are not covered now, and... reduce the pressure on rising costs for all the millions of others."

So, Connecticut voters, how's that working out for you? Oh, you say the guy you sent to Congress is standing in the way of all those things? And that his name is Lieberman too?  What a coincidence!

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BUZZFLASH MEDIA PUTZ OF THE WEEK

CNN

For reporting that is an embarrassment to the profession of journalism, and for being beholden to corporate paymasters rather than the citizens of America.

Not to kick a cable news channel when it's down, but the news this week that CNN is running fourth in key demos in prime time is timely, given its recent lack of accountability in not disclosing a key conflict of interest in the health care reform battle. Sure there are many reasons why CNN is losing viewers that quickly, but it would be fun if there was a correlation between behavior and success.

Alex Castellanos is a regular CNN contributor, but one of Castellanos' secret identities is being the media buyer for one of the ad campaigns bankrolled by America’s Health Insurance Plans, a major industry trade group fighting strenuously against health care reform. Castellanos was responsible for placing more than $1 million of AHIP advertising in five states.

CNN has said it would subsequently disclose Castellanos' connection. Though mysteriously, the cable news channel didn't apologize for not disclosing Castellanos' conflict.

If the MSM, especially TV news, wonders why people trust the news less and less, having egregious conflicts of interest -- especially on the hottest topic in the news -- is one good place to start.

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WINGS OF JUSTICE

Rich Stockwell

Sometimes, a spark is all you need.

When Keith Olbermann was preparing an entire episode of "Countdown" devoted to a Special Comment on health care reform, producer Rich Stockwell suggested using the episode to raise money for free clinics and hold them in key states where Democratic senators were still on the fence over the public option.

Olbermann went on the air that night and called for people to respond to help set up the free clinics. As of last week, nearly 17,000 contributors gave $1.2 million.

The episode dealt with numerous problems with the health care crisis in the United States. Olbermann sprinkled a generous helping of his own saga with his father who has been receiving medical care after a fall. But as good as the hour was, it would have been hollow without the opportunity to do something about this.

Those on the left have watched the people screaming on their televisions about "socialist health care" and other such nonsense. But doing something so basic and so concrete such as setting up free clinics in crucial battleground states made more visible the suffering from ordinary Americans who aren't being theoretical when asked about whether the United States has "the best health care system in the world."

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Rick Perry

Each GOP hypocrite seems to have his or her own particular set of weakness, be they related to family values, sex, taxes, religion, military service, sex... You name it, there's a hypocrite for that! And for secessionist Texas Gov. Rick Perry, it's all about the Benjamins.

When Perry rejected stimulus funds that would help the state pay for unemployment benefits this spring, he had a healthy cadre of other obstinate governors behind him. But then he realized that -- oopsie daisy! -- Texas needed that $550 million to pay out unemployment benefits. So he applied for a loan from the federal government in order keep the program functioning. Because goodness knows where his re-election campaign would be now if he just stopped writing checks to his needy constituents.

Did someone say re-election? Fire up the hypocrisy mobile!

Yes, Perry is at it again. In a fierce fight against Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) for the Republican Party nomination for the gubernatorial race, Perry decided to hit her where he figured it would hurt most: fiscal responsibility. Perry accused Hutchison of being a Washington big spender with all the millions of dollars in earmarks she brings back to the loan lone star state. Ugh! How dare Hutchison properly fund state programs! That is not the Texas way!

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BUZZFLASH MEDIA PUTZ OF THE WEEK

Ruth Marcus

For reporting that is an embarrassment to the profession of journalism, and for being beholden to corporate paymasters rather than the citizens of America.

"For entertainment purposes only" is the warning you get when you watch TV ads for psychics. This warning is certainly implied every time Fox "News" Channel comes back from commercials.

But the MSM by and large ignores the warning and bends over backward to swear that FNC is just like any other news outlet.

In the White House vs. Fox "News" battle, many MSM defenders came forward to Fox's rescue. But Ruth Marcus of The Washington Post set a record per word in her 388-word essay for excessive ignorance as to what Fox News does.

Marcus starts with concern over the White House:

It makes the White House look weak, unable to take Harry Truman's advice and just deal with the heat. It makes the White House look small, dragged down to the level of Glenn Beck. It makes the White House look childish and petty at best, and it has a distinct Nixonian -- Agnewesque? -- aroma at worst.

Does Marcus even know what is going on outside her window? This isn't The Washington Post investigating Watergate in the 1970s, diligently pouring over every bit of information, making sure they can print it. This is Fox "News" making stuff up, starting rumors, and engaging in activities that every journalism organization in the world should be protesting.

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WINGS OF JUSTICE

Sam Pullen

Sam Pullen's fight with the health care system has sparked a considerable amount of publicity in recent days. But this fight has been going on for over a decade. And this focus is what caused Pullen to spend the last few days in jail.

When Pullen was a teenager, his mother was diagnosed with cancer. She needed a bone marrow transplant. Blue Cross/Blue Shield said the treatment was "experimental." So his mother, Leanna Bell, staged a one-woman sit-in until the insurance company agreed to pay for her treatment. She got the treatment, which extended her life for a couple of years.

Pullen was arrested last Thursday, October 15, in Los Angeles in a protest that would, in Pullen's words, "demand that insurance companies immediately grant approval for treatment of all their members with life-threatening conditions."

After the arrest, Pullen refused to give his name, so he stayed in jail. Pullen resolved to stay in jail until Blue Cross would agree to meet to talk. Pullen stayed in jail until Monday where, against his will, he was released. The charges were dropped.

Pullen's spark clearly comes from his mother, but there is the current crisis hanging over our heads like the sword of Damascles. Who knows who might be next to suffer a similar fate?

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John Boehner

Everyone once in a while, the corporate media asks just the right questions, the ones that make pointing out conservative hypocrisy a piece of cake. This week, our thanks go out to CBS news for doing just that. Their article published Tuesday titled "Why GOP Leader Opposes Hate Crimes Protections for Gays," comes up with the answer that we'll summarize as "because he's a bigoted hypocrite." And the two-facedness is twofold.

House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) recently spoke out against the Hate Crimes Bill passed in the House earlier this year, so CBS decided to call up his office and ask why. Turns out Boehner thinks that -- since gay people clearly choose to be gay -- it's like they're choosing to be hated upon by creeps like him. So why should Congress pass a law to protect those self-loathing freaks, right?

But Boehner totally respects hate crimes legislation that protects people based on their religious choices, according to his office. Apparently, Boehner came out of the womb as a fundie Christian troglodyte, and he feels like his right to practice his discriminatory religion should be protected by federal law.

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