Conservatives swift boat 12 year old
 

The democrats trotted out another victim to give the rebuttal to W's veto of health care for kids. The seventh grader had a pretty horrific tale of woe - dad's a woodworker, mom's a bookeeper, $45k/year income, can't afford health care, etc.

Come to find out, the urchin learns his cipherin' and spellin' at a $20k/year private school. Dad owns his own business, a 3,000 sq ft, $500k home, employs mom(!) and isn't really that bad off after all.

So the left is outraged that conservatives would attack a 12 year old (think Cindy Sheehan, the 911 widows, Max Cleland). Hey, if the democrats want to send out a boy to do a man's job, that boy is fair game. And they should at least send out someone who has a real sob story, not someone who's father just doesn't want to pay for health care.

And yes, the boy's sister was in a terrible car accident. That's why they picked him! However, that's what auto insurance is for.

Legislation-by-anecdote never works out anyway, because someone always has a sadder story than the example. It's like being first to tell your story at a party.

Both parties have been stung several times when trotting out these supposed horror stories of how this or that law will be good or bad. I think there was one a few years ago who had a swastika tattoo on his forearm. I can't imagine how such people can let themselves be used by politicians. I was at a press conf. by Wayne LaPierre (of the NRA) a few years ago and Handgun Control had a quad. there in a wheelchair. Luckily, they didn't try to cause a ruckus. But they were hoping for a good photo op. I don't think they got one.

from here: http://thinkprogress.org/2007/10/08/attacking-graeme-frost/


Graeme has a scholarship to a private school. The school costs $15K a year, but the family only pays $500 a year.

His sister Gemma attends another private school to help her with the brain injuries that occurred due to her accident. The school costs $23,000 a year, but the state pays the entire cost.

They bought their "lavish house" sixteen years ago for $55,000 at a time when the neighborhood was less than safe.

Last year, the Frost’s made $45,000 combined. Over the past few years they have made no more than $50,000 combined.

The state of Maryland has found them eligible to participate in the CHIP program.

Desperate to defend Bush’s decision to cut off millions of children from health care, the right wing has stooped to launching baseless and uninformed attacks against a 12 year old child and his family.

Since when did refusing to up the ceiling for free health care become cutting off millions of children from health care?!
Steve

Since cutting the rate of GROWTH of Medicare to only twice that of inflation became "cutting Medicare". Lots of things in Washington are considered cuts, when they're increases to anyone in the real world.

The father takes private scholarship money to send his kids to private school (public school isn't good enough for them), but also wants public funds to pay for his health care.

There is nothing uninformed or baseless about the attack. The democrats ran the 12-year-old out there with his rehearsed speech thinking there would be no rebuttal. That technique is dead ever since Maureen Dowd declared that Cindy Sheehan had some sort of pass because her son gave his life in Iraq.

What? the GOP was going to roll over and buy into another government entitlement because a seventh grader says so?

It is a bull**** tactic. Much like the Michael J. Fox thing, you put out a figure that only a monster would disagree with. Soft minds are easily swayed by emotion.

Ain't that the truth! ;)

But what about the children? :( ©

Well, me oh my. And where were our valiant GOP budget defenders when Georgie pushed through is $1.2 trillion dollar prescription drug benefit?

The GOP has lost every scrap of legitamacy when they claim to desire 'smaller government'.

Every Conservative/Republican I know was against that. Do you plug your ears when we harp on Bush for spending?

I'm pleased to hear that spending like a Democrat is considered an undesirable thing to you though.

That's another reason why W's poll numbers are so low. For every tax cut, there's a corresponding increase in spending. Real conservatives did not want that Rx drug benefit for seniors. Bush had a lot of politcial capital and he spent it on growing the freakin' govt!

If the GOP wont hold the line on growth, what chance do we have of ever shrinking that throbbing monster that is the federal government.

I was screaming that it was the wrong thing to do. And SCHIP is wrong too. I don't remember ever defending a recent GOP budget, as they're largely indefensible, but just slightly less so than those of Dems.

The entire basis for the success of right wing talk radio. Take emotion out of Rush, Sean, et al, you'd just have a bunch of prissy whiners.

BTW, did you get your mailer on the special Bill O'Reilly commemorative Christmas ornament? It's priceless! (not really, it's $24.95!

About one year ago, my wife, child, and I were making less than $40k and living in a less than desirable neighborhood. Where's my free money?

Oh yeah, but we made sacrifices in our lifestyles, and purchased our own health insurance. But nobody wants to consider such things in our society.

..

Perhaps we should schedule a listening time and you can point this phenomena out to me in real time? Tomorrow?

regarding O'Reily, I haven't seen his show in a couple of years.

I don't listen to talk radio, but how is what they do different from what Harry Reid does on the Senate floor when he discusses Rush Limbaugh?

I'm not sure there is. Both lie and get you all worked up tugging at your heartstrings to feed their agendas: Harry: socialism. Rush: $.

Pick an hour tomorrow and we'll listen together. You can point out the fear-mongering to me as it happens.