The CNN world, the Fox News world, and Barney Frank
If you live in a CNN world, you might have seen this clip of U.S. Rep. Barney Frank’s confrontation Tuesday night with a young woman holding up a picture President Barack Obama — made up to look like Hitler.
“Why do you continue to support a Nazi policy, as Obama has?” the young lady asked during the two-hour town hall meeting on health care in Dartmouth, Mass.
Replied Frank, who is of Jewish extraction: “I am going to refer my ethnic heritage, and answer your question with a question. On what planet do you spend most of your time?”
He added: “It’s a tribute to the First Amendment that this kind of vile, contemptible nonsense is so freely propagated. Trying to have a conversation with you would be like trying to argue with a dining room table.” See it here:
But if you live in a Fox News world, you were less likely to see the Nazi lady, and more likely to see Frank’s repeated, sarcastic rebuffs to more philosophic questions:
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77 comments Add your comment
Wraithcat
August 19th, 2009
7:55 pm
I live in Australia. We have a government run health care system that is among the best in the world and costs us much less than the US disaster. Poor people are able to access good primary health care without delays and those with a little more money are able to obtain private medical insurance that will provide them with extras. I don’t see what the issue is, beyond the fact that lots of people in the USA hate Obama, and would rather throw money at a bloated medical system that is bankrupting the country and which leaves the most vulnerable bereft of cover, than admit that he might have a point. How can a Christian nation ignore those that Jesus cared for so much (ie, the weak, poor and dispossessed)?
John Freeman
August 19th, 2009
7:58 pm
Barmy doesn’t like people yelling and upset? He better get used to it, because he’s got a lot more of it coming up. Obama and the rest of his comrades are polarizing this country to an extent President Bush could have never thought of … HE being the ones you libbies were so concerned about as a polarizing leader. Obama is all about ANYTHING that ensures he stays The One.
John Freeman
August 19th, 2009
8:01 pm
You lefties are all up knots because your government takeover is failing.
Obama is failing
His attempt at centralizing more power in Washington is failing
He’s got no foreign policy and he’s got lunatics like Hillary running loose.
He’s failing.
His poll numbers are falling faster than Pelosi’s jowls
Gary R
August 19th, 2009
8:08 pm
Wraithcat, you’ve hit the nail on the head. There are a lot of people out there, most of them in the republican party, that can’t stand the idea of Obama as President. I can’t imagine why that would be the case. The biggest reason, I guess, is because he bears such an amazing resemblance to Hitler, a SCARY LOOKING (the operative words here for those of you on the right that don’t understand sarcasm) fellow if I ever saw one.
Whatever side of the political aisle an individual might be on, how can we, in this day and age have over 50 million people at risk because they don’t have health insurance? Something needs to be done to make health care affordable for EVERYONE.
jack martin
August 19th, 2009
8:08 pm
wow i love how the fox version cuts out all of barney’s responses and puts in his more sarcastic responses to other ones. those people are crazy and just trying to implement their policies and to the people who believe that all of the people holding up Obama’s face made to look like hitler are coming and expressing their own concerns, you are either ignorant or just haven’t listened to the stuff on Glen Beck and all of these hardcore right wing people who are telling all of these people to come out and repeat what they say. I just find it hard to believe that people actually believe a gay jew and all of the diverse democrats are trying to support a Nazi policy. Love the response Barney
Kevin
August 19th, 2009
8:23 pm
I still fail to see how the government shouldn’t be involved in insurance. Insurance is a necessarily socialist concept. Not a single one of you could afford things like hospital visits, surgeries, or even x-rays on your own. So you pay a little bit into a pool of money which covers the liabilities that accumulate for the whole. If you’ve been in a hospital, or even visited a clinic you’ve done it on someone else’s dime.
Every single one of you is a dirty national socialist for taking the money of others to cover your own boo-boos. And the really striking thing is, so many of you just don’t know enough about finance, economics, statistics, actuarial science to understand how and why insurance works. You don’t have a clue how your own treatment is funded. Creating a bigger pool of people paying into a system is always better for you individually in the long run.
Carmencitar
August 19th, 2009
8:41 pm
To all “government takeover” Socialist paranoia zombies: If healthcare reform equals Marxism, then that makes the US currently the only non-Communist/Marxist country in the developed world.
Every other developed country–all of Western Europe, plus Japan, Australia, Canada, Taiwan, Israel–is a Socialist/Communist hell. Is this correct? Please enlighten me. We stand alone in the world as the single non-Socialist country in the industrialized world? Is that your point of view?
You, sir or madam, are a bright and shining example of American provincialism. Of people who think Africa is a country, who haven’t traveled much outside the country and frankly don’t care to, thank you very much, and who probably haven’t gone to college, because you can learn in PoSci or Econ 101 what socialism means, and you do not seem to understand the definition.
So you’ve heard rumors that the Canadians and the English hate their healthcare systems. Who did you hear this from, pray? Could it be lobbyists and Fox News? Or perhaps a couple of disgruntled Canadians that have been very conveniently featured on TV?
In the rest of the industrialized world Universal Healthcare is a given–to liberal and conservative alike, to fundamentalist Christian and moderate alike. I mean a “duh!” kinda given. And that it’s not a path straight to hell, but simply the only humane way for a civilized society to operate.
Yes, go ahead and call me an elitist for saying that educating oneself and learning the facts is a good thing. You’re just proving my point.
Jo Yo
August 19th, 2009
8:55 pm
Cliff, Your comments are the best I’ve read yet that are right on target and you state your argument in a concise manner without appearing to be shouting anyone down. Well done. Please run for Govenor or something.
John
August 19th, 2009
9:16 pm
The woman is a Lyndon LaRouche Supporter, a far LEFT woman critizing him for not backing single payer, in other words, she’s a fringe democrat:
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/capitol-briefing/2009/08/town_hall_talk_frank_grills_op.html?hpid=topnews
Bill White
August 19th, 2009
9:56 pm
I love Barney Frank-I hate his sinning. I also have to say that this is like Nazi Germany whereby the gov’t is dictating a costly program on its citizens. I don’t ha ve insurance because I don’t want or need it. My motto is leave me alone and let me go to church. I don’t need some guy from Kenya telling me to buy insurance.
dirk
August 19th, 2009
10:16 pm
Replied Frank, who is of Jewish extraction: “I am going to refer my ethnic heritage, and answer your question with a question. On what planet do you spend most of your time?”
Why, Mr. Frank, what planet would you prefer I spend “most of my time”?
URANUS?
that’s the planet that republican larry craig wanted to land on in the minneapolis airport men’s bathroom–and the one that republican representative foley wanted to go to when hitting on underage boys.
Gary R
August 19th, 2009
10:23 pm
Bill “White”…geez, I hope this was a little “tongue in cheek”. If it’s not, I’ve got news for you…the faith healing bit ain’t all that it’s cracked up to be. Of course when you end up in the ER for something that could have been taken care of in the doc’s office if you had had insurance, it’s MY insurance rates that go up to cover your good “christian” (sorry Jesus, it’s how they identify themselves) bigoted ass.
Gary R
August 19th, 2009
10:25 pm
Harhar har har Dirk. That’s almost as funny as it was the tenth time I heard it in 8th grade. “Uranus”…what a hoot…I can hardly wait to tell that one to the guys at work. I’m still laughing…whew…I’m Ok now.
bob
August 19th, 2009
11:10 pm
Mr. Franks did you supply health benefits to your employees of your Prostitute Business?
Shel
August 19th, 2009
11:21 pm
Time to start callng looney tunes, looney tunes. It’s funny that there never was a left-wing conspiracy, a communist conspiracy worth speaking about in the US. On the other hand, there is a real, true and active right wing conspiracy— lead off by Fox News.
Here’s what happens: Woman starts talking about Hitler and Obama. By any rational standards that’s looney tunes. Of course, for many, that is rational. Obama is just like Hitler.
Scenario one: Franks just ignores that and goes on.
Fox News: Depending on degree of lunacy she’s but on the TV and if nutty enough gets to go on a Fox News show.
Scenario two: Frank calls the lady the loon she is. Fox News: Now complains that Frank is rude and uncaring and…
Thank God I’m not an American. Our loony tunes wouldn’t even qualify for CNN.
AwwwwCmon
August 19th, 2009
11:35 pm
Republicrat_Slave — thanks for taking it up a notch. You’re what made the entire Bush administration such a joy to live through.
Bill White
August 20th, 2009
8:17 am
@Gary R I will never visit the ER and force the taxpayer to foot the bill for me. There are plenty of nice doctor folks at church who will be there to check up on me. I have had busted up knees for years. I wrap them in duct tape and it works just fine.
You see, I’m about expanding the economy by hiring workers to help me in my plumbing business. My second and third-hand guys Pedro and Luis earn decent money from me because here in Mississippi, they leave me alone to keep my money and hire hard workers when I need them. Right now, the boys are the best thing I have for my business. If Hussein Obama forces me to buy insurance for me, my family and Pedro and Luis, then I’m going to go out of business. Taxes are killing us. Look at New York: Taxes are through the roof. Trump’s getting out. Rush got out. The achievers are leaving places like that because gov’t is coming after them.
Let’s not forget who started this recession: Hussein Obama. That’s right. Hussein Obama. Now, he’s driving it down even deeper with his far left socialistic policies.
Grumpy
August 20th, 2009
8:22 am
Hey, Bill White, I’m glad you don’t want or need any health insurance and that you resent “a guy from Kenya” telling you that you need to get it. Here’s my sincerest wish for you: I hope that if you or a member of your family gets seriously ill or in need of emergency hospital care, you won’t expect the rest of us to pay your bill. I think it’s only fitting that you or the sick family member just lie by the side of the road and die. Hopefully, you wil have made some provisions for burying your remains so the rest of us won’t have to pay the bill.
Oh, and by the way, Bill, you don’t get the “Christian of the Decade Award.” That award has already gone to Mike Huckabee and South Carolina Governor Sanford.
John Kennedy
August 20th, 2009
10:22 am
“clyde, I never did hear the answer as to whether Barmy Frank was going to give up his Cadillac health plan and join the rest of us in what’s being proposed.I know the answer,but it would have been nice to hear it from Barmy’s lips.”
You may not have heard the answer but Barney Franks did say that if there was a public option, that he would use it. Of course you wouldn’t have heard this reply on Fox, or any of the questions from the public that were clearly racist in nature.
John Kennedy
August 20th, 2009
10:48 am
“Bill White, I love Barney Frank-I hate his sinning. I also have to say that this is like Nazi Germany whereby the gov’t is dictating a costly program on its citizens. I don’t have insurance because I don’t want or need it. My motto is leave me alone and let me go to church. I don’t need some guy from Kenya telling me to buy insurance.”
Bill, If it were true, and its not, that Nazism was behind the government dictating costly programs on us citizens, you would undoubtedly would have been a brown shirt wearing a swastika for 8 years under Bush.
It is contemptible and disgusting to compare anything in the health care proposals to Nazi Germany. It is particularly racist, contemptible and very foolish to use these descriptions for proposals by a black President and a Jewish Senator. You provide further proof of your racism by calling the President a man from Kenya when he is clearly American. You should be ashamed of yourself.
As for you not needing health insurance, there are only 3 possibilities for this. 1. You are wealthy and can afford any bill that comes along. 2. You are poor and have nothing to lose by going to the ER when you do get sick. 3. You’re middle class and will risk everything you own in the event you do become ill. I am guessing and hoping you are #3, you deserve the fate of losing everything when you become ill.
Tony
August 20th, 2009
12:26 pm
Ian,
Unless, you having 10 kids, there is no way that you were paying $1200.00 as a premium to insure your family, so your whole point goes down the toilet immediately. I am going to assume that you inflated that number to try to make your point more legit. For the sake of argument tho, let’s take the average $350.00pm that the average US family pays per month nationwide, and then lets compare the Canadian system and cost. Lets say you make $60,000.00 combined household income per year. The difference between a 50% tax rate (what u pay) and a 32% tax rate(what I pay) is approx $12000.00 per year. So even using your calculation and basing it on a $1200.00 per month premium, you save next to nothing by being in Canada. I don’t care that we have less doctors per capita. What I care about is how many specialists there are per capita. When I get cancer or am diagnosed with a serious illness, I won’t need a doctor, I will need a SPECIALIST. And how many Americans sought medical treatment in Canada last year (besides those without coverage, that are leaching off your system anyway). Probably close to 0. Thousands of Canadians sought medical treatment in America. So, even using your calculations, we win. You should have purchased a three dollar calculator before you decide to move to a country thats temperatures average..like 3 degrees.
Time to move back to the US, jackass.
Gary R
August 20th, 2009
1:33 pm
Tony…let’s see…take 5, multiply times the square root of 1,872, add -34987, divide by 17 and you get zippity-doo-da. Take any set of numbers and you can make them say what you want. The anecdotal evidence given by the people THAT ACTUALLY LIVE THERE is the best evidence. As for insurance costs, I’ve been paying $400 a month for 1 child for the last 2 years. She’s out of school, has a job where health insurance IS NOT PROVIDED (what this is all about), and qualifies to be covered by my plan (for a little less than a year more). So, I think it is very possible that Ian had a bill of $1200. Here’s a hoot…I have the same insurance coverage options our Senators and Congressmen have. It’s very good coverage and I’m lucky to have those options. That being said, I would still be willing to go to a single payer system. Aside from the fact that EVERYONE would have access to quality health care, it would stop the modern day robber barons, (read insurance companies) from making their obscene profits on the backs of the middle class.
If everyone against health care reform wants to refer to those of us that support it as “socialists”, there’s nothing I can do to stop that. I will, however, start refering to those of you against it as “plutocrats”. The really sad thing is, we already live in a plutocracy.
“The modern conservative is engaged in one of man’s oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.” ~John Kenneth Galbraith
SirLiptonShortSide
August 20th, 2009
2:35 pm
Barney is always good for a laugh, unlike jimmy galloway.
kelly
August 20th, 2009
3:45 pm
Tony said:
Lets say you make $60,000.00 combined household income per year. The difference between a 50% tax rate (what u pay)
YOUR whole point goes down the toilet with that statement. Nobody in Canada pays a 50% tax rate. On 60K you’d pay about 29%.
And NO ONE in Canada except a few crackpots would ever give up our health care system for the dog’s breakfast you enjoy in the greatest country on earth.
Terri
August 20th, 2009
3:45 pm
Barney Frank…..There is a guy named Barney, who is full of marlarkey; we all know he is fat, poor guy doesn’t know where he’s at; we can’t be played for fools, as we watch this idiot drool; end of day, he’s still gay; just another democrat hard at work, look at him, he’s full of PORK!
Lyndon LaRouche and the 'Nazi' label | Political Insider
August 25th, 2009
5:36 pm
[...] doubt you remember the young woman from Barney Frank’s town hall meeting — the one who tied Democratic plans for health care reform to [...]
saul
May 9th, 2010
3:14 pm
Barney Frank, many forget, I don’t because I live in Boston, once allowed a lover to run a gay prostitution ring out of Mr. Frank’s Boston townhouse. He cannot be trusted with a public office. Period.