David Gregory, GOP Shill Helps Romney Set Up a Big Lie About Healthcare

[McCamy Taylor]

If Romney Flops on HealthCare for Pre-existing Conditions and the News Does Not Report It.....does the American independent voter utter a big sigh of relief and say to himself "Romney's just like Obama---but white"?

In a story from Associated Press featured prominently in today's Fort Worth Star Telegram, voters are assured that Romney will keep key provisions of Obama-Care, including insurance for those with pre-existing conditions and coverage for kids up to age 26 on their parents plans. We know this because that is what Romney told David Gregory on Meet the Press yesterday. Slick move, given that the only thing most folks object to about the bill is the requirement for coverage.

"I'm not getting rid of all of healthcare reform. Of course, there are a number of things that I like in healthcare reform that I'm going to put in place," Romney said. He cited coverage for people with medical conditions and new insurance marketplaces.

http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/09/09/4244456/obama-romney-spar-over-healthcare.html

Sound too good to be true? It is. The health insurance industry grudgingly agreed to accept folks with medical problems in exchange for the mandate. If the mandate is struck down---the centerpiece of the Romney/Ryan campaign---Blue Cross and the rest want nothing to do with your diabetes, hypertension, cancer. In the current health care marketplace, insurers make money only one way---by collecting money from the healthy and refusing to cover the sick.

Not surprisingly, when pressed on this point, the Romney campaign did a back flip that would have earned then 10s if there were an Olympics for flip-flopping.

In reference to how Romney would deal with those with preexisting conditions and young adults who want to remain on their parents’ plans, a Romney aide responded that there had been no change in Romney's position and that "in a competitive environment, the marketplace will make available plans that include coverage for what there is demand for. He was not proposing a federal mandate to require insurance plans to offer those particular features."

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2012/09/within-hours-mitt-romney-takes-back-everything-he-said-about-preexisting-conditio#13472967122231&action=collapse_widget&id=1485197

The author of the Mother Jones piece goes on to write:

It would also be nice if the mainstream press reported the fact that Romney doesn't plan to make sure those with preexisting conditions can get health coverage just as loudly as they reported his original misstatement. I'm not holding my breath.

Too bad most independent voters do not read Mother Jones. I decided to check around and see what other news outlets decided to cover the "flip" but not the "flop."

Not surprisingly, Fox News is absolutely delighted that Romney wants to let those with high blood pressure buy insurance. In an article titled Romney, Ryan sound bipartisan tone on taxes, health care we are told

Romney said: "There are a number of things that I like" in the law. The Republican presidential nominee said he wants to make sure people with pre-existing conditions can still have guaranteed coverage.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/09/10/romney-ryan-sound-bipartisan-tone-on-taxes-health-care/

Fox does not mention that Romney's solution is to let the insurance market decide. As we already know, writing policies for those who actually need health care does not make money---and the market goes where the money is.

The Washington Post, aka the NeoCon News is rooting for Brother Jeb in 2016. Therefore, I was not surprised to see Romney's flip flopping get coverage at that paper.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/wp/2012/09/10/who-would-be-left-out-of-romneys-preexisting-conditions-plan-about-89-million-americans/

Then, there are the other 89 million. Some are young; some are old. Some didn’t have coverage for four years; some only dropped for a month. But they all have something in common: They would be unlikely to be protected under the type of preexisting conditions ban that Romney has proposed.

Let's just hope Americans read the Business Section of the WaPost. The Fort Worth paper posted the initial "flip" on its front page.

Yahoo News has a video feature entitled "Romney's position: Protection for pre-existing conditions" that is basically the Fox News piece. Meaning it is lies, lies, lies.

http://news.yahoo.com/video/opinion-15749653/romney-s-position-protection-for-pre-existing-conditions-30551131.html

The high holy of newspapers, the New York Times has this to say in an article entitled Romney, Easing, Says Health Law Isn’t All Bad

“I’m not getting rid of all of health care reform,” Mr. Romney said, while emphasizing that he planned to replace the president’s plan with his own. “There are a number of things that I like in health care reform that I’m going to put in place. One is to make sure that those with pre-existing conditions can get coverage.”

Be sure to read this part, too:

At one point, Mr. Romney said the speech last week by the country’s previous Democratic president, Bill Clinton, had “elevated” the party’s convention in Charlotte, N.C.

In other words, Romney has no beef with white Democrats. That's why he is running on the "I'm the same as Obama---but white!" platform.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/10/us/politics/romney-adopts-softer-tone-in-critique-of-obama.html

How does a Big Lie like this work? Get enough Republican shills in the press to report it, and a bunch of basically apolitical independents will hear it. And once they hear it, it will get stuck in their brains. And once it is lodged in their brains, they will believe it. And no matter how much you argue, no matter how much contradictory evidence you present, they will insist that their belief trumps your data. So, Democrats who do not want independent voters to go to the polls this fall convinced that Romney is just like Obama---but white need to nip this one in the bud right now. Let's hope the mainstream media will be as obliging to Dems as they have been to the GOP.

[catbyte]

1. I thought of that too. Sleazy bastards.

[Esse Quam Videri]

2. Since the media will not do their jobs

Obama is going to have to expose this in the debates. Mittens will have nowhere to hide.