The Hollywood Liberal

Take Politics Out of Health Care Reform
By Ruth Marcus

If you’re interested in how to get health care costs under control, the case of the F-22 offers an instructive example.

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Note to Beck: Doors repaired with stimulus funds were hangar doors and did not cost $1.4 million

On the July 20 edition of his Fox News show, Glenn Beck falsely claimed that the government spent $1.4 million of economic stimulus funds “to repair a door” at Dyess Air Force Base, located near Abilene*, Texas, adding, “Wow, what happened to that door? That’s a lot of repairing, you know. Can we buy a new one, and cheaper? I don’t know what building 5112 is, but it better fly, drop bombs, or have 1.4 million doors.” Introducing the segment, Beck stated: “Now, you can go right online and see how they’re just peeing your money away.” In fact, the repaired doors on Building 5112 were actually hangar doors, and they did not cost $1.4 million to repair.

Beck’s claim that the government spent $1.4 million to “repair a door” echoes a headline posted on July 20 on the Drudge Report, which stated: “RECOVERY.GOV // AWARDED: $1,444,100 FOR ‘REPAIR DOOR BLDG 5112’…“

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During the segment, Beck — again echoing the Drudge Report — also stated that the government “spent $1.1 million on 2-pound frozen ham,” and “more than $1.5 million … for some mozzarella cheese.” However, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack issued a statement on July 20 stating that the “references to ‘2 pound frozen ham sliced’ are to the sizes of the packaging. Press reports suggesting that the Recovery Act spent $1.191 million to buy ‘2 pounds of ham’ are wrong.” Vilsack added: “In fact, the contract in question purchased 760,000 pounds of ham for $1.191 million, at a cost of approximately $1.50 per pound.”

Vilsack also stated that “the U.S. Department of Agriculture has made $100 million available to the states for The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), which acquires food that is distributed to local organizations that assist the needy — including food banks, food pantries, and soup kitchens.”

From the July 20 edition of Fox News’ Glenn Beck:

BECK: By the way, we spent $18 million redesigning Recovery.gov. Now, you can go right online and see how they’re just peeing your money away. It’s great. Like in Los Angeles, where the Department of Agriculture has spent $1.1 million on 2-pound frozen ham, sliced. I hope it’s more than just one ham.

By the way, they tell me now it’s not just per pound. The — Agriculture — Department of Agriculture has pointed this out that they bought 760,000 pounds for $1.50 per pound. We checked at the grocery store, you can get it for $0.80. Some savings, huh? Thanks, Uncle Sam.

In Cleveland, the Department of Agriculture is spending more than $1.5 million from — for some mozzarella cheese. Wait a minute, I’m seeing a theme here. Oh, please tell me we brought some bread.

The Department of Veterans Affairs in Brooklyn is spending $350,000 to replace and upgrade the dumbwaiter. The dumb waiter, I think, is the guy who brings you a $3 million sandwich, and the dumb taxpayer is the one who gets the bill.

And in San Antonio, Texas, Dyess Air Force Base — $1.4 million to repair a door at Building 5112. Wow, what happened to that door? That’s a lot of repairing, you know. Can we buy a new one, and cheaper? I don’t know what building 5112 is, but it better fly, drop bombs, or have 1.4 million doors.

But, maybe it’s OK. Maybe we can go ahead and spend all this money, you know, on ham and cheese sandwiches. According to the — by the way, does anybody know why we’re spending all that money on the ham? Are we trying to reassemble a pig? I’m not sure what the Department of Agriculture would need all of that ham for, but maybe it’s another luau at the White House.

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Christie Holds 15 Point Lead Over Corzine
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RNC memo: ?[E]ngage in every activity we can to slow down? health care.
After following GOP pollster Frank Luntz’s advice to demonize President Obama’s health care plan by distorting it, many conservatives have recently embraced a new obstructionist tactic: delay any reform measure going through Congress for as long as possible. The Republican National Committee is giving the strategy its official stamp of approval. In a 12-page memo […]

After following GOP pollster Frank Luntz’s advice to demonize President Obama’s health care plan by distorting it, many conservatives have recently embraced a new obstructionist tactic: delay any reform measure going through Congress for as long as possible. The Republican National Committee is giving the strategy its official stamp of approval. In a 12-page memo obtained by the Huffington Post, the RNC urges Republicans to “engage in every activity we can to slow down” health care reform:

In particular, the 12-page memo makes the case that it is a Republican priority to slow down the consideration of health care reform before it can become codified.

“The Republican National Committee will engage in every activity we can to slow down this mad rush while promoting sensible alternatives that address health care costs and preserve quality,” the memo affirmatively declares.

The memo also encourages members to organize town halls, write op-eds, and even engage in “street theater” protests outside Democratic events. “And in a bit of irony,” Huffington Post notes, “the memo’s authors encourage readers to frame the president as the one acting out of political motivations.” Indeed, one section of the memo reads, “Yes the party of change is up to the same old political tricks.”

Read more on the right wing’s delay and kill tactics on health care in today’s Progress Report.

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