Fox, Purveyor Of “Death Panel” Myth, Continues To Decry Dems’ Supposed Medicare “Scare Tactics”
Posted in Main Blog (All Posts) on May 19th, 2011 4:42 am by HL
Fox, Purveyor Of “Death Panel” Myth, Continues To Decry Dems’ Supposed Medicare “Scare Tactics”
Fox News hosts and contributors have repeatedly asserted that the Democrats are engaging in “scare tactics” to fearmonger about Rep. Paul Ryan’s budget plan to reform Medicare. However, Fox News hosts have used their shows as platforms to fearmonger about the mythological “death panels” that will result from “Obamacare.”
Fox News Criticizes Democrats For Supposedly Using “Scare Tactics” To Target Ryan Budget Proposal
Cavuto And Luntz Agree That Dems Are Using “Scare Tactics” On Social Security.” On the May 18 edition of his show, Neil Cavuto asserted that Democrats were using “scare tactics” to target the reform of Medicare. During the same segment, Republican pollster Frank Luntz said ads where someone “is trying to push grandmother off the cliff” were “too graphic” and “don’t register” with the public. The following caption also appeared on the screen earlier in the episode:
[Fox News’ Your World with Neil Cavuto, 3/3/10, via Media Matters]
Palin: “I Do” Stand By My Comments On Death Panels. On the January 14, 2010, edition of Hannity, Palin stood by her claim that health care reform included death panels:
HANNITY (host): Now one of the things, you’re amazed at how the amount of impact your Facebook comments have had in the political discourse and debate, because every time you write something it goes out over the wires, you’ve noticed that?
PALIN: Well, they’re usually pretty simple messages that I’m posting there on Facebook.
HANNITY: When you’re talking about health care, you know, you said those death panels, which created a big controversy and you’re adding new words to the American vocabulary here. You stand by those comments because you think it still exists in the bill?
PALIN (Fox News Contributor): I do. It’s a commission. It’s a bureaucracy. It’s bureaucrats who will ration care if the bill goes through as Obama wants it to go through. Yes, it’s modeled in essence after a British system that does have people to decide whether, based on your quality of life, your age, whether you’re going to deserve health care coverage or not.
That’s what’s going to happen in America if this health care bill isn’t stopped. And it needs to be stopped soon and that’s why the people of this land can’t give up in demanding that their voice be heard.
Demanding that the White House understand that this is a representative form of government. We do expect that the will of the people is listened to and adhered to and implemented via our representatives whom we elect. [Fox News, Hannity, 1/14/10, viaMedia Matters]
“Death Panels” Falsehood Was 2009 Lie Of The Year
In Fact, PolitiFact Named “Death Panels” Its 2009 Lie Of The Year. In December 2009, PolitiFact wrote that “[o]f all the falsehoods and distortions in the political discourse this year, one stood out from the rest: ‘Death panels.'” [PolitiFact, 12/18/09]
Fox’s Invocations Of “Death Panels” Based On Falsehoods And Distortions. As Media Matters has repeatedly pointed out, claims by Fox News personalities that Obama is putting death panels into place are based on nothing but falsehoods, distortions, and vivid imagination. [Media Matters, 4/21/11, 4/15/11, 3/22/11]
