Well, I've been coming across a lot of videos on the tubes lately so I thought I'd share some. Here's a clever-yet-simple one about how (BOO!) Socialism (BOO! SCARY!) is indeed at the root of a public option.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Canada and Coburn: which vision do you prefer?
Again, with the socialists... Hey, we could listen to these guys talk about what the Canadian system is really like, or we could listen to Glenn Beck talk about Obama/Hitler some more.
And for a real slice of America; here's a weeping woman, desperate for her injured husband, pleading with Sen. Coburn to help. He says two things: 1)It's not the government's job to help you, and 2) Sure, my office will help you. Gives me a headache thinking about it and a heartache watching it.
And for a real slice of America; here's a weeping woman, desperate for her injured husband, pleading with Sen. Coburn to help. He says two things: 1)It's not the government's job to help you, and 2) Sure, my office will help you. Gives me a headache thinking about it and a heartache watching it.
Pray You Don’t Get Sick
Michelle Bachmann, who is on TV once every nine days(!) calls for prayer and fasting to stop Americans from getting a better health care system. Alrighty then.
From MinnPost:
“Bachmann repeated the myth, adopted early by Sarah Palin, that the health-care plans being debated in Congress would set up “death panels” to determine which old folks are entitled to health care. “Thank God that Sarah Palin said that,” she told the callers. ‘These are true.’
“But it was Bachmann’s fervent call to utilize prayer and fasting to beat back health-care reform efforts that was the true highlight of the call.
“That’s really where this battle will be won — on our knees in prayer and fasting,” she told the listeners. “Remember: faith without works is dead. So we’re asking you to do all of it: pray, fast, believe, trust the Lord, but also act.”
An oldie but a goodie:
“We get to choose, we get to choose…”
From MinnPost:
“Bachmann repeated the myth, adopted early by Sarah Palin, that the health-care plans being debated in Congress would set up “death panels” to determine which old folks are entitled to health care. “Thank God that Sarah Palin said that,” she told the callers. ‘These are true.’
“But it was Bachmann’s fervent call to utilize prayer and fasting to beat back health-care reform efforts that was the true highlight of the call.
“That’s really where this battle will be won — on our knees in prayer and fasting,” she told the listeners. “Remember: faith without works is dead. So we’re asking you to do all of it: pray, fast, believe, trust the Lord, but also act.”
An oldie but a goodie:
“We get to choose, we get to choose…”
“Both Parties Are Responsible for Not Dealing With Health Care…”
A recent Tim Walz town hall had the usual circus atmosphere, signs of Obama as Hitler, cranks who think the Constitution doesn’t allow Congress to pass health care reform, and I think, maybe, I even hear someone talking about lap dances…
I like Walz a lot. He comes from a more conservative area, and he’s slightly in the Blue Dog camp; but he’s honest, passionate, and smart. I think even the “town hollers” here ended up respecting him at least a little.
I like Walz a lot. He comes from a more conservative area, and he’s slightly in the Blue Dog camp; but he’s honest, passionate, and smart. I think even the “town hollers” here ended up respecting him at least a little.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Market Concentration: It sounds sort of like a game, doesn’t it?
Did you know, that for large sections of the United States, a single-payer health care system is already in place?
“There are nine states where a single insurer covers 70 percent or more of the people. In Hawaii, one insurer covers 78 percent. In Alabama, it’s 83 percent. And in at least 17 other states one insurer covers at least half the population.”
Isn’t it funny how some of these town hall protesters are from rural areas and actually have the least choice at all under the current system? And by “funny” I mean “not funny.”
The article also points out how some of the Senators most opposed to reform are from the states with the most insurance plan market concentration (i.e., fewest consumer options). I wonder how much health insurance industry money they get for campaign contributions?
“There are nine states where a single insurer covers 70 percent or more of the people. In Hawaii, one insurer covers 78 percent. In Alabama, it’s 83 percent. And in at least 17 other states one insurer covers at least half the population.”
Isn’t it funny how some of these town hall protesters are from rural areas and actually have the least choice at all under the current system? And by “funny” I mean “not funny.”
The article also points out how some of the Senators most opposed to reform are from the states with the most insurance plan market concentration (i.e., fewest consumer options). I wonder how much health insurance industry money they get for campaign contributions?
Do results count?
As data begins to show how the stimulus plan is working, along with the jobs being reclaimed by the “cash for clunkers” program, it’s beginning to look like the Obama Administration might have known what they were doing, after all. Maybe those successes will convince some on the right to reconsider health care reform? Yeah, I’m not holding my breath.
Will the Screamers Win?
This article shows that, while throwing a 20-year hissy fit about liberal media bias, the conservative movement has actually built up a right-wing noise machine that has successfully hijacked the health care reform debate, and made it about killing grandmas and how Obama is Hitler. Pretty sad state of affairs.
“It’s not entirely Obama’s fault that support for the public health insurance option has dropped from three-quarters of the American people to not even a plurality, according to the latest NBC News poll. The Right’s propagandists – via radio, TV, print and the Internet – have successfully demonized reform.
The Right also has used psy-war arguments about government “death panels” and other lies to frighten gullible Americans into opposition. In the NBC poll, 45 percent think Obama’s reform would let the government stop medical care for sick old people, though the legislation wouldn’t do that.
The poll found that majorities now believe the Democratic plans would give health insurance to illegal immigrants, use taxpayer dollars for women to have abortions, and lead to a government takeover of the health system – claims that fact-checkers say simply aren’t true.
While spreading this disinformation, the Right also has promoted pistol-toting swagger and disruptive tactics as popular ways to confront Democrats and rally opposition to health reform.”
Also, Krugman has it right, again.
“At this point, all that stands in the way of universal health care in America are the greed of the medical-industrial complex, the lies of the right-wing propaganda machine, and the gullibility of voters who believe those lies.”
“It’s not entirely Obama’s fault that support for the public health insurance option has dropped from three-quarters of the American people to not even a plurality, according to the latest NBC News poll. The Right’s propagandists – via radio, TV, print and the Internet – have successfully demonized reform.
The Right also has used psy-war arguments about government “death panels” and other lies to frighten gullible Americans into opposition. In the NBC poll, 45 percent think Obama’s reform would let the government stop medical care for sick old people, though the legislation wouldn’t do that.
The poll found that majorities now believe the Democratic plans would give health insurance to illegal immigrants, use taxpayer dollars for women to have abortions, and lead to a government takeover of the health system – claims that fact-checkers say simply aren’t true.
While spreading this disinformation, the Right also has promoted pistol-toting swagger and disruptive tactics as popular ways to confront Democrats and rally opposition to health reform.”
Also, Krugman has it right, again.
“At this point, all that stands in the way of universal health care in America are the greed of the medical-industrial complex, the lies of the right-wing propaganda machine, and the gullibility of voters who believe those lies.”
The Grand Illusion
Flow charts, like the words of politicians, can be manipulated to say anything. Here’s the Republican vision of what the current health care reform proposals would look like
And here’s the Democratic version:
What does it all mean? Beware of partisans bearing visual props.
And here’s the Democratic version:
What does it all mean? Beware of partisans bearing visual props.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Sincerely Wrong
I’ve been hearing the media debate whether the Town Hall protests are genuine or Astroturf. I think they’re pretty genuine. People are really upset and scared. But they’re operating from a set of lies that they’ve been told by the conservative media; Fox News and Limbaugh in particular. So yes, they’re sincere, and yes, they’re being manipulated. I would feel sorry for them if they weren’t doing so much damage to our country’s future.
ABC nails it.
One of the clearest, most concise explanations of current health reform controversies I’ve seen. And of course ABC makes it impossible to embed and difficult to find. Hopefully this will get you there. (You will have to sit through a short commercial.)
And while were on the subject of health care myths:
“Here is the real bottom line: The current state of health care is unethical. It is neither just nor fair. There is no morally defensible reason why some Americans get excellent medical care at costs they can afford and other Americans lose their homes or go into bankruptcy attempting to secure treatment for a seriously ill loved one. The current proposals being debated in Congress all go a long way towards making health care in America more just. At the same time, there is nothing in the current proposals that threatens a patient’s right to choose, a critical feature of an ethically acceptable health care system.” - Association of Bioethics Program Directors
And while were on the subject of health care myths:
“Here is the real bottom line: The current state of health care is unethical. It is neither just nor fair. There is no morally defensible reason why some Americans get excellent medical care at costs they can afford and other Americans lose their homes or go into bankruptcy attempting to secure treatment for a seriously ill loved one. The current proposals being debated in Congress all go a long way towards making health care in America more just. At the same time, there is nothing in the current proposals that threatens a patient’s right to choose, a critical feature of an ethically acceptable health care system.” - Association of Bioethics Program Directors
The Empire Strikes Back
The British are getting tired of us slagging their health care system.
TPM has been running some good stories from Americans overseas and the horrors they experienced in socialist health care systems.
TPM also notes that conservatives are making progress in killing some of the provisions of the health care bill that would actually be of great help to millions of Americans. Good work, people.
Also, IBD still sucks.
TPM has been running some good stories from Americans overseas and the horrors they experienced in socialist health care systems.
TPM also notes that conservatives are making progress in killing some of the provisions of the health care bill that would actually be of great help to millions of Americans. Good work, people.
Also, IBD still sucks.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Obama in Portsmouth
Some people have read the health care bill(s). Most of us have heard endless debate on them, usually by people who really don't know what they're talking about (hello, IBD). But how many people will spend an hour or so watching Obama explain his proposals and answer questions about it?
Here's your chance.
(for some reason cspan doesn't give you the option to embed video...)
Here's your chance.
(for some reason cspan doesn't give you the option to embed video...)
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
About taxes...
No one on the right seems capable of processing the fact that Obama has cut taxes more than raised them...
"Obama Has Cut Taxes for 98.6 Percent of working Households"
"Obama Has Cut Taxes for 98.6 Percent of working Households"
Them Vs. Us
Joseph Ellis is a history professor that wrote an op-ed in the LA Times recently with the above title. He argues the controversy over health care reform is a continuation of a long argument that Americans have been having about whether our political system empowers the individual or supports a community approach.
“Put succinctly, the dispute is between those who regard government as ‘them’ and those who see it as ‘us,’” he writes.
I’m pretty clearly in the latter camp. But take a look at his piece and see what you think.
I heard him interviewed on NPR on Monday. Something he said at the end of the interview stuck with me enough that I looked it up on the Web site:
“I think what we've discovered—historic[ally] conservatives and libertarians have opposed each of the major changes in the 20th century. They opposed the Federal Reserve. They opposed Social Security. They opposed banking legislation. The Wall Street Journal said the Glass-Steagall Act would represent the end of Western civilization. They opposed desegregation and Civil Rights Act. They opposed the Environmental Protection Agency. They opposed Medicare and Medicaid. And so that's a consistent position, and I would just simply look back at that record and say if we want to continue it.”
“Put succinctly, the dispute is between those who regard government as ‘them’ and those who see it as ‘us,’” he writes.
I’m pretty clearly in the latter camp. But take a look at his piece and see what you think.
I heard him interviewed on NPR on Monday. Something he said at the end of the interview stuck with me enough that I looked it up on the Web site:
“I think what we've discovered—historic[ally] conservatives and libertarians have opposed each of the major changes in the 20th century. They opposed the Federal Reserve. They opposed Social Security. They opposed banking legislation. The Wall Street Journal said the Glass-Steagall Act would represent the end of Western civilization. They opposed desegregation and Civil Rights Act. They opposed the Environmental Protection Agency. They opposed Medicare and Medicaid. And so that's a consistent position, and I would just simply look back at that record and say if we want to continue it.”
Health Care Roundup
August is turning out to be a bit chaotic; both personally for me (weddings, a funeral, and lots of traveling) and nationally, as some in the health care debate seem determined to have a meetup at the corner of Crazy and Stupid.
We’re seeing lots of people at these town hall meetings trying to shout down health care reform with a breathtaking array of misinformation and straight-out lies. My conservative friends bristle when they think they are being lumped in with the most extreme of their political mindset, but I’ve yet to hear a conservative friend speak out strongly against the BS. It would be nice.
Steve Pearlsten, a business columnist at the WaPo, says this:
“The recent attacks by Republican leaders and their ideological fellow-travelers on the effort to reform the health-care system have been so misleading, so disingenuous, that they could only spring from a cynical effort to gain partisan political advantage. By poisoning the political well, they've given up any pretense of being the loyal opposition. They've become political terrorists, willing to say or do anything to prevent the country from reaching a consensus on one of its most serious domestic problems.”
I think “terrorists” is too strong, and too loaded a word to use. But the current approach from the right does have shades of a scorched-earth, Rovian strategy of confusing, and eventually, disgusting people enough that they withdraw from the political process. In fact, it reminds me the overtly dishonest campaign ads that John McCain used last fall.
One of the lies? That Obama is going to set up “death panels” (Sarah Palin’s term), and that end-of-life counseling is really a smokescreen for euthenaisa. I’ve had long discussions of this with folks who just seemed determined not to understand the real point of this language, so here it is
from the (Republican) horse’s mouth:
Q: “Is this bill going to euthanize my grandmother? What are we talking about here?”
A: “In the health-care debate mark-up, one of the things I talked about was that the most money spent on anyone is spent usually in the last 60 days of life and that's because an individual is not in a capacity to make decisions for themselves. So rather than getting into a situation where the government makes those decisions, if everyone had an end-of-life directive or what we call in Georgia "durable power of attorney," you could instruct at a time of sound mind and body what you want to happen in an event where you were in difficult circumstances where you're unable to make those decisions.
“This has been an issue for 35 years. All 50 states now have either durable powers of attorney or end-of-life directives and it's to protect children or a spouse from being put into a situation where they have to make a terrible decision as well as physicians from being put into a position where they have to practice defensive medicine because of the trial lawyers. It's just better for an individual to be able to clearly delineate what they want done in various sets of circumstances at the end of their life.”
Q: “How did this become a question of euthanasia?”
A: “I have no idea. I understand—and you have to check this out—I just had a phone call where someone said Sarah Palin's web site had talked about the House bill having death panels on it where people would be euthanized. How someone could take an end of life directive or a living will as that is nuts. You're putting the authority in the individual rather than the government. I don't know how that got so mixed up.”
The interviewee is Republican Sen. Johnny Isakson, from Georgia. Who has now turned around and (presumably under pressure from the base) condemned the health care reform bills. The fact remains, the end-of-life counseling language was exactly the kind of thing he's been supporting.
We’re seeing lots of people at these town hall meetings trying to shout down health care reform with a breathtaking array of misinformation and straight-out lies. My conservative friends bristle when they think they are being lumped in with the most extreme of their political mindset, but I’ve yet to hear a conservative friend speak out strongly against the BS. It would be nice.
Steve Pearlsten, a business columnist at the WaPo, says this:
“The recent attacks by Republican leaders and their ideological fellow-travelers on the effort to reform the health-care system have been so misleading, so disingenuous, that they could only spring from a cynical effort to gain partisan political advantage. By poisoning the political well, they've given up any pretense of being the loyal opposition. They've become political terrorists, willing to say or do anything to prevent the country from reaching a consensus on one of its most serious domestic problems.”
I think “terrorists” is too strong, and too loaded a word to use. But the current approach from the right does have shades of a scorched-earth, Rovian strategy of confusing, and eventually, disgusting people enough that they withdraw from the political process. In fact, it reminds me the overtly dishonest campaign ads that John McCain used last fall.
One of the lies? That Obama is going to set up “death panels” (Sarah Palin’s term), and that end-of-life counseling is really a smokescreen for euthenaisa. I’ve had long discussions of this with folks who just seemed determined not to understand the real point of this language, so here it is
from the (Republican) horse’s mouth:
Q: “Is this bill going to euthanize my grandmother? What are we talking about here?”
A: “In the health-care debate mark-up, one of the things I talked about was that the most money spent on anyone is spent usually in the last 60 days of life and that's because an individual is not in a capacity to make decisions for themselves. So rather than getting into a situation where the government makes those decisions, if everyone had an end-of-life directive or what we call in Georgia "durable power of attorney," you could instruct at a time of sound mind and body what you want to happen in an event where you were in difficult circumstances where you're unable to make those decisions.
“This has been an issue for 35 years. All 50 states now have either durable powers of attorney or end-of-life directives and it's to protect children or a spouse from being put into a situation where they have to make a terrible decision as well as physicians from being put into a position where they have to practice defensive medicine because of the trial lawyers. It's just better for an individual to be able to clearly delineate what they want done in various sets of circumstances at the end of their life.”
Q: “How did this become a question of euthanasia?”
A: “I have no idea. I understand—and you have to check this out—I just had a phone call where someone said Sarah Palin's web site had talked about the House bill having death panels on it where people would be euthanized. How someone could take an end of life directive or a living will as that is nuts. You're putting the authority in the individual rather than the government. I don't know how that got so mixed up.”
The interviewee is Republican Sen. Johnny Isakson, from Georgia. Who has now turned around and (presumably under pressure from the base) condemned the health care reform bills. The fact remains, the end-of-life counseling language was exactly the kind of thing he's been supporting.
Thursday, August 06, 2009
Watch This, Read This
"A CNN anchor today tore down Rick Scott, the founder of an organization that's been funding anti-health care reform protests and the former CEO of a hospital company that, as Sanchez pointed out, paid $1.7 billion to settle charges of overcharging Medicare and Medicaid." Talking Points Memo
An interesting CQ article:
"Some experts on political organization say that despite the disruption of Democratic-run events -- and divided public feelings on the health care overhaul -- the shout-down strategy betrays an essential weakness on the Republican side, not a strength.
"... The nature of the protests suggest the GOP has run out of options for fighting on substance, said David S. Meyer, a sociology professor at the University of California-Irvine who wrote The Politics of Protest: Social Movements in America.
"In historical context, it's a tool of the weak," Meyer said. He said it is noteworthy "that conservatives have to throw this kind of Hail Mary pass to stop health care reform" in a political system that favors that status quo."
An interesting CQ article:
"Some experts on political organization say that despite the disruption of Democratic-run events -- and divided public feelings on the health care overhaul -- the shout-down strategy betrays an essential weakness on the Republican side, not a strength.
"... The nature of the protests suggest the GOP has run out of options for fighting on substance, said David S. Meyer, a sociology professor at the University of California-Irvine who wrote The Politics of Protest: Social Movements in America.
"In historical context, it's a tool of the weak," Meyer said. He said it is noteworthy "that conservatives have to throw this kind of Hail Mary pass to stop health care reform" in a political system that favors that status quo."
Tuesday, August 04, 2009
Tea Parties and Health Care
Say what you want to about the Tea Party crowd, they are turning into a force to be reckoned with. As lawmakers head back to their home districts and begin talking health care reform with their constituents, we’re seeing Tea Party-like gatherings organized to contribute to, and apparently, disrupt some of the public forums where health care reform is discussed.
Here in the Twin Cities, Twila Brase, longtime opponent of anything that even hints of government involvement in health care, sent out a notice from her Citizens Concerned for Health Care site alerting people of a Keith Ellison town hall meeting. I’ll share some YouTube of that, along with other examples, throughout this post.
Tea Party-type crowds at these events are becoming common. There was a well-known one in Missouri involving a soldier and Sen. Claire Msciascal’s staff. (He demanded an apology because, if I remember correctly, there’s nothing in the Constitution about the government providing health care.) There was also this event in Pennsylvania where Democratic Sen. Arlen Spector spoke.
(Sorry for the shaky video)
Talking Points Memo and Think Progress has been covering this story, and have posted a document which provides talking points to some of these groups. These include suggestions to shout down the speakers, stand up, “rattle them,” etc.
If you do watch the videos, note that some of these tactics are indeed being used. It seems to me (and watching such scenes can be very subjective) that in both the Specter forum and the Ellison forum, the Tea Party types are a minority. The Specter forum has quite a bit of shouting from the TP attendees; the Ellison meeting is more restrained. Minnesota Nice? Or maybe the fact that Ellison himself went person-to-person to get comments. It’s a little harder to shout when the person is right in front of you. In any case, note his politeness and attempts to quiet the crowd so the TP people have their say.
As we’ve explored here, there’s been a lot of crazy on the right wing side lately. Claims that Obama was born in Kenya, claims that he’s a racist (so I guess he hates half of himself), claims that health care reform will lead to euthanasia, and so on. The heat is rising, and some are not keeping their heads very well. Josh Marshall says this latest development is an example of “civic vigilantism.”
My feeling is that if these folks show up at meetings, they have every right to speak their minds and contribute to the discussion. However, shouting down speakers and trying to disrupt the events could further add to the right’s growing reputation of being a wild-eyed, fringe element in our society.
But on the other hand, there are a lot of folks out there who seem to have a problem with our President, for whatever reason. They’ve been fed a lot of misinformation and have been pushed to be angry and outraged. They are now organized to some degree, and determined to shout down pro-reform speakers without really listening to what they have to say. It’s a scary and unfortunate example of mob rule. And it could well be that this vocal minority is able to push the discussion to a point where the average voter just says, “Enough, a pox on both your houses.” At which point the Tea Party folks have won, because they’ve killed the support for change.
Here in the Twin Cities, Twila Brase, longtime opponent of anything that even hints of government involvement in health care, sent out a notice from her Citizens Concerned for Health Care site alerting people of a Keith Ellison town hall meeting. I’ll share some YouTube of that, along with other examples, throughout this post.
Tea Party-type crowds at these events are becoming common. There was a well-known one in Missouri involving a soldier and Sen. Claire Msciascal’s staff. (He demanded an apology because, if I remember correctly, there’s nothing in the Constitution about the government providing health care.) There was also this event in Pennsylvania where Democratic Sen. Arlen Spector spoke.
(Sorry for the shaky video)
Talking Points Memo and Think Progress has been covering this story, and have posted a document which provides talking points to some of these groups. These include suggestions to shout down the speakers, stand up, “rattle them,” etc.
If you do watch the videos, note that some of these tactics are indeed being used. It seems to me (and watching such scenes can be very subjective) that in both the Specter forum and the Ellison forum, the Tea Party types are a minority. The Specter forum has quite a bit of shouting from the TP attendees; the Ellison meeting is more restrained. Minnesota Nice? Or maybe the fact that Ellison himself went person-to-person to get comments. It’s a little harder to shout when the person is right in front of you. In any case, note his politeness and attempts to quiet the crowd so the TP people have their say.
As we’ve explored here, there’s been a lot of crazy on the right wing side lately. Claims that Obama was born in Kenya, claims that he’s a racist (so I guess he hates half of himself), claims that health care reform will lead to euthanasia, and so on. The heat is rising, and some are not keeping their heads very well. Josh Marshall says this latest development is an example of “civic vigilantism.”
My feeling is that if these folks show up at meetings, they have every right to speak their minds and contribute to the discussion. However, shouting down speakers and trying to disrupt the events could further add to the right’s growing reputation of being a wild-eyed, fringe element in our society.
But on the other hand, there are a lot of folks out there who seem to have a problem with our President, for whatever reason. They’ve been fed a lot of misinformation and have been pushed to be angry and outraged. They are now organized to some degree, and determined to shout down pro-reform speakers without really listening to what they have to say. It’s a scary and unfortunate example of mob rule. And it could well be that this vocal minority is able to push the discussion to a point where the average voter just says, “Enough, a pox on both your houses.” At which point the Tea Party folks have won, because they’ve killed the support for change.
Zombie Lies: they're slow, they're stupid, but there sure are a lot of 'em
Almost evey day now, I get some Facebook friend posting the latest zombie lie (you know, you can't kill them, they just keep coming) about health care reform. Euthanasia for Seniors! The Public Option is the Same as Single Payer! The Government will Take Over Your Computer! (Oops, that one was about the Cash for Clunkers program, but still.)
So these things are posted, and I usually can find a complete debunking of them within in 24 hours, and I try to point out the evidence on why this is totally false... but as far as I can tell it's not doing much good. The zombies keep marching.
The White House is now taking one of these head-on; they've posted a response to a video that cherry-picks a 2007 Obama interview to make it sound like he's talking about phasing out private health plans. The words are edited in such a way that I have no idea what he's really talking about, but the video-makers splice that with some very old footage of him expressing support of single-payer to claim that his "real" goal is to phase out private plans.
The White House responds with some very explicit statements from Obama that clearly state that his current plan will not phase out private insurance. I'm not sure it will have much effect. And I would've liked them to explain what the context of the 2007 clip was. But regardless, the same problem is still there: what Obama says versus what the right-wingers think he "really" means.
These folks are determined (for whatever reason) to not trust what Obama is actually saying. It's hard to see how any meaningful debate can take place under such circumstances.
So these things are posted, and I usually can find a complete debunking of them within in 24 hours, and I try to point out the evidence on why this is totally false... but as far as I can tell it's not doing much good. The zombies keep marching.
The White House is now taking one of these head-on; they've posted a response to a video that cherry-picks a 2007 Obama interview to make it sound like he's talking about phasing out private health plans. The words are edited in such a way that I have no idea what he's really talking about, but the video-makers splice that with some very old footage of him expressing support of single-payer to claim that his "real" goal is to phase out private plans.
The White House responds with some very explicit statements from Obama that clearly state that his current plan will not phase out private insurance. I'm not sure it will have much effect. And I would've liked them to explain what the context of the 2007 clip was. But regardless, the same problem is still there: what Obama says versus what the right-wingers think he "really" means.
These folks are determined (for whatever reason) to not trust what Obama is actually saying. It's hard to see how any meaningful debate can take place under such circumstances.
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