For months, Republicans have justified their opposition to real health care reform by claiming that America has the "best health care system in the world." As the argument goes, Congress can make changes to improve the system, but the plans proposed by Democrats could "destroy" what we have now.
Last night, however, Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) suggested that you can't improve something if it's already the "greatest." Speaking on the House floor, Foxx -- herself a recipient of government-run Medicare -- blasted the public insurance option. Then, she looked back on President Obama's campaign platform of "change" and said, "To me, that meant take what's good about this country and change it into something that's not good."
You may all remember that the president said in his campaign, "We live in the greatest country in the world. Help me change it." To me, that meant take what's good about this country and change it into something that's not good.
Watch it:
First of all, the quote Foxx references doesn't appear to be real. It comes from an anti-Obama poem called "The Pied Piper," which went viral in the right-wing blogosphere earlier this year:
There was a Pied Piper who said We live in the greatest country in the world. Help me change it!
*And the people said, Change is good!Then he said, We are going to tax the rich fat-cats,
*And the people said, "Sock it to them!"
and redistribute their wealth.
*And the people said, "Show me the money!"
Moreover, the notion that change necessarily means change for the worse is, frankly, pretty stupid. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) also promised to bring "change," as has pretty much every other candidate in recent memory. For a backward-thinking conservative to believe that America should be finished making progress may not be a huge surprise, but it's a stance that most of the country wholeheartedly rejects.
Crossposted at Media Matters Action Network
Of course it is, because those comments are directed at stupid people, or to quote George H.W. Bush, the "blockheads and dummies."
Remember the people who used to disrupt class, thought school was for suckers, and spent all their time trying to get out of work? Well, it turns out that those people didn't receive their due, and are now a sought after voting bloc and they are still making the lives of the smart kids miserable.
but just for the sake of argument,lets say that greyson is a bad,bad,horrible man.whatever.no rational person,no one being honest can say that he has said anything more offensive than what foxx has said.
her quotes about the dems healthcare bill were far more hyperbolic.where gryson was essentially being tongue in cheek while using actual facts which no one has ever disputed,foxx merely preyed on fears of senior citizens,claiming that seniors would be "put to death by their government".
as well as insisting that nobody really goes w/out healthcare.
but all that is mild compared to foxx insisting that mathew shepperd wasnt actually murdered for being gay,but that it was merely a regular ol' sorta robbery......
oh,and she made these vicious,disgraceful,hateful remarks in front of shepperds mother.
where was the "liberal media" when she said this?
absolutely no coverage other than olbermann and maddow.
why is it the word "radical" only seems to apply to democratic members of congress and progressive/lib types in general?
if this shameful buffoon isnt radical,then i have no idea who the word actually applies to.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYlyb1Bx9Ic
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Foxx
Opposed to the Voting Rights Act
Fought against sending aid to Hurricane Katrina victims
Opposed the Matthew Shepard Act
all of NC did NOT vote for the Foxx!
The battery that loses its spark before it's even out of the package.
The battery that leaks acid everywhere.
The battery whose wires are crossed.
The battery that comes at a premium over their competitor, yet offers less.
The battery made out of hot air.
Ms. Foxx seems especially factually challenged, so I suspect she'll eventually do something that gets her in severe trouble with her constituents - or she represents some real winners.
We never have any new wars anymore.