Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Rush declares an end to the health care problem


By PAT MURPHY
Express Staff Writer

Gold-plated demagogues such as Rush Limbaugh are deadly for serious national issues. They shamelessly lie and create packs of unthinking believers through fear, hysteria and, when needed, touches of hate and scorn for people they demonize.

Thus, Limbaugh all but dictated an official end to the 70-year argument that the American health care system needs urgent reform to end waste, incompetence, fraud and exclusion of uninsured families from proper care.

Purely on the strength of two days in a Hawaiian hospital after suffering chest pains on a resort golf course, Rush didn't waffle, temporize or condition his proclamation.

"I don't think there's one thing wrong with the American health care system," he averred as if concluding a thorough examination of data compiled by presidents, economists, physicians, insurers, social workers and congressional committees since the 1940s.

It was all about Rush and his hospital stay, which, one can comfortably assume, was decidedly unlike the usual patient's experience. This is Limbaugh's typical view of the world from an elevated perspective with trappings of royalty, including the gold-plated microphone through which he bellows daily and the Palm Beach ocean-view mansion complete with household staff.

Imagine Limbaugh leaping into the debate over America's decline in the quality of air travel. He'd declare, "There's nothing wrong with American air travel," while stepping off his $60 million personal Gulfstream G550 jet.

Bank on this: Limbaugh, along with most members of Congress and certainly average Americans, haven't read all 2,000-plus pages of health care legislation being shredded to death in Congress. Even former Republican House Majority Leader Dick Armey, whose Freedom Works group organized unruly Tea Party protests against health care reform, admits he hasn't read it. Who needs facts to stir up a mob?

As the Republican Party's principal Pied Piper, Limbaugh's clean bill of health for U.S. health care is adequate for millions to step up their mindless chant against President Obama's foundering legislation. If Limbaugh says health care is fine, it must be true.

This could be another triumph for Limbaugh's rabble-rousing against President Obama, whom he unabashedly detests.

But while reveling in the ability to mislead followers and sabotage legislation, he's doing the devil's work by crippling another effort to repair and rebuild America's disgraceful, egregiously inefficient and costly health system.

No sweat for Rush, however. He could staff his mansion 24/7 with physicians and nurses for personal health care and pay for it out of petty cash.

As for millions without proper health care, it's all in their imagination. Right, Rush?




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