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Sarah Palin Tries To Rewrite History Of Her Own “Death Panel” Falsehood

Sarah Palin is now disputing PolitiFact’s “Lie of the Year” award to her death panel claim by arguing that her use of “death panel” wasn’t a reference to end of life counseling, but rather to the Independent Medicare Advisory Board and the “rationing” of health care that will allegedly result from it.

You’ll be stunned to learn that Palin is rewriting the history of her own “death panel” falsehood. In fact, she did conflate the term with end of life counseling.

Palin pushed back on PolitiFact today by arguing that new revelations about a measure protecting the advisory panel amounted to protecting a “rationing death panel.” She added that this rationing “is precisely what I meant when I used that metaphor.”

Actually, that’s a distortion. Let’s review the history.

Palin’s original “death panel” claim came in a Facebook post in August. She didn’t explain what she meant by the term, saying only that she feared an Obama “death panel” staffed with “bureaucrats” that could decide whether her Down Syndrome baby was “worthy of health care.”

Subsequently, Obama attempted to debunk the charge that reform would “pull the plug on grandma,” arguing that it was a reference to “a provision in one of the House bills that allowed Medicare to reimburse people for consultations about end-of-life care.”

Palin did not dispute this interpretation when she responded to Obama a few days later. In fact, she explicitly defended the “death panel” claim by arguing that it was “misleading” for the President to describe end of life counseling as “entirely voluntary.” She also made a broader case about rationing.

In a Wall Street Journal Op ed in September, Palin defended herself again, saying the “death panels” had “rang true for many Americans.” As a result of the phrase, she added, “Congress will likely reject a wrong-headed proposal to authorize end-of-life counseling.” In this Op ed, too, she went on to discuss her concerns about “rationing.”

Bottom line: While it’s true that Palin may have been talking about “rationing” in her original use of the phrase “death panels,” the plain fact is that she also conflated the term with end of life counseling — exactly the falsehood she’s now on the hook for.

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Posted by Greg Sargent | 12/23/2009, 10:47 AM EST | Categories: health care

63 Responses

  • quaterback, I mean Todd Palin, I think thou doth protest too much.

  • “No present from you . . . I am hurt. Oh well.”

    A) Why should I give you anything?
    B) Where’s my present?

    “If we are droids I guess that makes you … Stormtroopers of the Empire.”

    I don’t think so. Ya’ll are the party of Darth Cheney.

  • Caroline Bautista | December 23, 2009 at 05:04 pm

    Palin for me is the winner of the most evil stupid hypocrite American that ever lived.She’s coward,and brainless.
    She chamioned the spreading of malicious lies and spreading of hatreds.We must as Americans,not listen to this stupid woman,who left her job instantly when she was about to be indicted for corruption and thievery,she’s a tiny Imelda Marcos in the making this lunatic.
    I am so ashamed to read her fabricated book,she just want to cash in with writing of lies and that spreading of hate against our President.
    Ther is no truth in whatsoever she’s writing,this hypocrite who inside the family calls her son “retarded”..
    palin should be sent out to fight in Afghanista,to show us that she loves her country,that’s what she’s been telling us,this evil brainless *****.
    Palin is finish,politically,and I will use my own resources to refresh the world memory against this massive fantastic LIAR.

  • Caroline Bautista | December 23, 2009 at 05:12 pm

    yes the biggest lie ever is death panel,still palin is lying very hard to address otherwise.
    Asians made her uncomfortable in Hawaii,but what she didn’t noticed ,Hawaii was too classy for this wassila nerd..
    BAM IS THE WORLD.
    Palin has the nerve to run in2010 for what for crying out loud??to run for the most stupid liar of the universe,then she’s the winner.

  • Palin never said that. Grassley did. PolitiFacts jumped to the same conclusion. See Palin’s FACEBOOK for reference and reference to the HC paragraph. Politifacts made a mistake which can be easily checked. Our side tells too many lies about Palin. We look silly!

  • Caroline:

    So no Christmas card from you to Sarah, I guess?

  • “kimo”, I’m not sure which “side” you are on but the mainstream media fails to tell the truth about Republican Sarah Palin’s lying.

    Republican Palin is now lying about her lies, that’s pathological.

  • Even if what Palin said was true, it would still be ridiculous.

    Let’s say she was referring to a Medicare Advisory Board that would “ration” care (of course, we ration care already but do it really badly). Would that mean most Americans would be subjected to a “death panel”?

    Of course not. First, it would apply only to those on Medicare (and so not apply to her child with Down Syndrome). Second, since private insurance is not illegal under any proposal, people would be free to purchase supplemental insurance to cover whatever they think would not be covered by the government. Third, people can always pay for whatever they want out of pocket if they can afford it.

    So even accepting Palin’s explanation does not put Americans in the situation of having government decide who lives and who dies. The only people who might be affected are the poor elderly who depend on Medicare, which we all know is just the kind of “big government” program that Palin should oppose on ideological grounds alone.

  • “news reference,”I have always been a registered democract and liberal. The lies my party and democrats tell about Sarah Palin are embarrassing and evidence of lack of honesty.

  • When you google, “Sarah Palin lies”, you currently get 4,640,000 results. Some of the results are attempts to explain away Republican Sarah Palin’s pathological lies.

    http://www.google.com/search?q=Sarah+Palin+lies

    Republican Palin lies, that’s just a fact. But the really troubling thing is that the right wing is either oblivious or indifferent to Republican Palin’s pathological lies.

    Republican Palin’s lies discredit the entire Republican Party.

    The Republican Party is NOT a serious political party and Republican Party leaders are increasingly brazenly DISHONEST.

    Republican Party voter’s acceptance of dishonesty from their leadership has become alternately comical and cultish.

  • “Even if what Palin said was true, it would still be ridiculous.”

    Typical “clear” thinking from liberals. Says about all anyone needs to know.

  • The only “death panel” I see out there is the Palin family. A special needs child seems to be the target. Hearing problems–no hearing aids. Eye problems—no glasses. High altitude complications—fly all over the country. Suseptible to infections– paraded around poorly dressed in inclemate weather. Early intervention–no sign of it. Draw your own conclusions!! I don’t know how they sleep at night.

  • Still waiting for Sarah the Birther to show her “son’s” birth certificate.