On August 22, 2009 Reuters published a story titled “Obama again tackles ‘myths’ on healthcare reform.” Notice the hint of exasperation in the headline. Obama is having to debunk “myths” put out by his opponents again.
As promised the first 11 paragraphs of the story quote the President debunking “outrageous myths” and clamping down on “criticism and misinformation” about his proposal. Finally in paragraph twelve we get a response from GOP Rep. Tom Price, a physician, who says the President is not being honest. His critique is spot on, almost as if four years ago he was reading today’s headlines in a crystal ball.
Republican Representative Tom Price, a
physician, said the president was playing “fast and loose with the
facts” about his plans and insisted Americans would not be able to hold
on to their health insurance plans under Democratic proposals.“The
President regularly tells Americans that ‘if you like your plan, you
can keep your plan.’ But if you read the bill, that just isn’t so,”
Price said.“For
starters, within five years, every healthcare plan will have to meet a
new federal definition for coverage – one that your current plan might
not match, even if you like it,” he said.
But of course the article was not titled “GOP calls out President on misleading claims about reform plan.” Reuters makes it clear the President is hammering his critics while Republicans merely “charge” something different. This is how four years passed without the media catching the President in a lie.