September 30, 2009

Alan Grayson hit back today at the Republicans who said he should apologize for his biting attack against them. He got honest about the Republican plan for health care reform: "Don't get sick. That's right, don't get sick." That has them screaming.

Well, how quickly they forget what they've been saying about Obamacare. Stuff like the phony death panels and let's kill Grandma. That kind of stuff. Here's what Grayson had to say in response to the whining.

Grayson: Last night here in this chamber I gave a speech. I’m not going to recount every single thing that I said, but I will point out that immediately after that speech, several Republicans asked me to apologize. Well, I would like to apologize. I would like to apologize to the dead. And here’s why. According to this study, “Health Insurance and Mortality in U.S. Adults” which was published two weeks ago, 44,789 Americans die every year because they have no health insurance. That’s right, 44,789 Americans die every year, according to this Harvard study called “Health Insurance and Mortality in U.S. Adults.” You can see it by going to our website, grayson.house.gov. That is more than ten times the number of Americans who have died in the war in Iraq.

It’s more than ten times the number of Americans who died in 9/11. But that was just once: this is every single year. That’s right: every single year. Take a look at this. Read it and weep. And I mean that – read it and weep because of all these Americans who are dying because they don’t have health insurance.

Now I think we should do something about that, and the Democratic health care plan does do something about that. It makes health care affordable for those who can’t afford insurance, and it saves these peoples’ lives. Let’s remember that we should care about people even after they’re born. So I call upon the Democratic members of the House, I call upon the Republican members of the House, I call upon all of us to do our jobs for the sake of America – for the sake of those dying people and their families. I apologize to the dead and their families that we haven’t voted sooner to end this holocaust in America.

Wow, simply amazing. The attacks are coming fast and furious on Grayson...

Ryan Grim writes this for Huffington Post: Despite Outrage, Many House Republicans Have Said Dem Health Care Will Kill People

By contrast, charges that the opposition's health care plan will kill people have been about as common on the House floor lately as resolutions naming post offices.

Take Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite (R-Fla.), who said in July: "Last week, Democrats released a health care bill which essentially said to America's seniors: drop dead."

Or Rep. Paul Broun (R-Ga.), a doctor, who reviewed the public health insurance option in July and diagnosed that it is "gonna kill people."

Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.), not one to pull punches, suggested on the House floor that Congress "make sure we bring down the cost of health care for all Americans and that ensures affordable access for all Americans and is pro-life because it will not put seniors in a position of being put to death by their government."

July was a busy time for House floor death sentences. Also that month, Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas), noted: "One in five people have to die because they went to socialized medicine...I would hate to think that among five women, one of 'em is gonna die because we go to socialized care."

Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) had a similar assessment. "They're going to save money by rationing care, getting you in a long line. Places like Canada, United Kingdom, and Europe. People die when they're in line," he said on the House floor in July.

So far, none of the members of Congress who made such charges have apologized.

The Republicans had eight years of uninterrupted rule to overhaul our health-care system and did nothing except help the rich and start wars. And now, when the chance finally comes for them to step up and help American families, they just say no.

Don't forget to Get Grayson's Back.

UPDATE: Mike Stark says: I interview Republican Leaders: clutching pearls, fainting spells and cowardice

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