In the GOP, irrational liars drive the debate

Sarah Palin is standing by her "death panels" remark, despite calls by her own senator, Lisa Murkowski, to stop the distortions. apparently her plea during her resignation to "stop makin' stuff up" doesn't apply to her.

(MSNBC)
In a Facebook posting titled "Concerning Death Panels," Palin argued Wednesday night that the elderly and ailing would be coerced into accepting minimal end-of-life care to reduce health care costs based on the Democratic bill in the House.

In her posting, Palin wrote: "With all due respect, it's misleading for the president to describe this section as an entirely voluntary provision that simply increases the information offered to Medicare recipients." She added, "It's all just more evidence that the Democratic legislative proposals will lead to health care rationing."

But there will be no "death panels" under the legislation being considered. In fact, the provision in the bill would allow Medicare to pay doctors for voluntary counseling sessions that address end-of-life issues. The conversations between doctor and patient would include living wills, making a close relative or a trusted friend your health care proxy, learning about hospice as an option for the terminally ill, and information about pain medications for people suffering chronic discomfort.

The sessions would be covered every five years, more frequently if someone is gravely ill.

The American Medical Association and the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization support the provision.

That portion of the bill was authored by Republican Sen. Johnny Isakson (GA). Read again - Republican.

But because the truth cannot be allowed to stand in the way of a good lie in the GOP, many, including Isakson, are backing away from the provision, fearing a backlash by the wingnuts who now form the core of the GOP.

(MSNBC)That was before conservatives called it a step toward euthanasia and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin likened the idea to a bureaucratic "death panel" that would decide whether sick people get to live. And even though those claims have been widely discredited, the issue remains a political weapon in the increasingly bitter health care debate.

Now, Isakson and other Republicans who eagerly backed the idea are distancing themselves from it or lying low in the face of a backlash from the right.

Isakson is walking running away from his own proposal for fear of being to subjected to the GOP's version of Orwell's "2 minute hate" because Obama credited outed him for writing the provision.

But the Georgia conservative found himself in a storm of criticism when President Barack Obama said at a town hall meeting this week that Isakson was a chief architect of the House approach. Isakson quickly issued a statement repudiating the proposal.

"The House provision is merely another ill-advised attempt at more government mandates, more government intrusion and more government involvement in what should be an individual choice," he said.

And youbetcha you don't cross Sarah

Isakson, who initially called Palin's "death panel" characterization "nuts" in an interview Monday, declined later in the week to criticize Palin's statement

Literally, the inmates are running the asylum.