Saturday, August 29, 2009

Life Imitating Art

The only thing better than the invention of television was the television remote control. It's a window on the world, a time machine and a peephole all within a few channels. I like t.v. It asks nothing of me other than a little alternating current and a cult-like devotion to all it has to offer. There isn't a situation I can't relate to something I saw on t.v. I'll even throw out a quote or two from M*A*S*H or The Office to illustrate something going on in my day. My wife is a good audience and we've shared many punch lines together. Saturday Night Live has had many faux-presidential skits that we remember and refer to from time to time. Recently, one skit from the 2000 presidential election came to mind after listening to ever shrinking Republican party ranting (a more gentle way of saying lying) about "death panels" and "death books" in their craven mission to abort health care reform before it comes to life. Whoever said Republicans were against abortion? You could say the Republican party was one big death panel but that would be rhetorically hyperbolic and I wouldn't want to do that.

Moving on. One memorable line from SNL in 2000 came out of a "faux debate between George W. Bush and Al Gore".

Al Gore: ...Jim, let me tell about a friend of mine. [ holds up a picture of an elderly woman ] Her name is Etta Munsen. She's 94, she's a widow living on Social Security in Sparta, Tennessee...Now, under my plan, Etta's prescription drugs would be covered. Under my opponent's plan, her house would be burned to the ground. And that is wrong. That is just wrong!

Sound familiar? Congressman or Senator (Insert Republican): "Under our plan, patients would get the care they need. Under the Democrat's plan they would be dragged in front of a death panel and made to beg for their lives." That's even worse than the fictitious SNL debate since Etta wasn't presumably required to actually be in her house when it was burned to the ground.

You could say the recent health care debate is life imitating art imitating life. That would be the genteel/social commentary way to describe the irresponsible fear-mongering and psychotic hate speech devoid of any moral boundaries engaged in by the Republican party. But latter is so much more satisfying and accurate.

8 Comments:

Blogger Capt. Fogg said...

"psychotic hate speech devoid of any moral boundaries"

You liberals are all about hate. Look at the way you pick on that angelic messenger Glenn Beck!

8:56 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

This comment has been removed by the author.

8:24 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Indeed, all about hate. Of course so far the Democrats have had to take the bill back into committee to remove the "death panel" language and also to try to add provisions making proof of citizenship a requirement. Something the GOP has been trying to get put in all along. The conservatives keep "lying" and "being wrong" - after the bill gets updated. LOL! It's never "true" until a Democrat says it. Pathetic.

8:27 AM  
Blogger Crankyboy said...

Make whatever "changes" you want to clarify what it said in plain english in the first place - the fact is Republicans will never vote for a health care reform bill - period. So go ahead and keep going back to committee it will never get Republican support. Why help people when you can lie and try to get back into power.

10:25 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

" the fact is Republicans will never vote for a health care reform bill - period."

That sounds - dare I say it - fishy? If the bill just included interstate coverage pools and tort reform and no public option the GOP would vote for it. A majority of people want no public option so that's hardly a GOP only issue. But no public option = no HuffPo support = no bill. You're barking up the wrong tree! It's the left you need to be complaining to. The GOP is powerless to stop ANY bill anyway.

11:08 PM  
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