Former Republican vice-presidential candidate and current maverick right-wing speaker Sarah Palin was recently extended an invitation to speak before the New York State Senate Aging Committee in regard to the possible impact on seniors by the Democrats’ health-care reform. The inviter was Ruben Diaz Sr., who has found common ground with Palin on the issue. Now, normally in a short blog post, this is where we’d insert the clause: “Despite the fact that … ” to briefly outline the ridiculousness or hypocrisy of something. Like, “Ashley Dupré’s mom scoffed, ‘Only in America,’ when she heard that Eliot Spitzer wanted to return to public life, despite the fact that her daughter wanted to become a pop star shortly after being the nation’s most famous prostitute. But there are so many “despite the fact that” options here. Like, for example, Palin was invited despite the fact that …
… she’s a known fabricator on the issue of health care, having nearly single-handedly introduced the trumped-up concept of “death panels” to the national discourse.
… she’s displayed deliberate misunderstanding of the House bill, claiming that voluntary end-of-life counseling would be mandatory.
… she’s a hard-right Republican bent in an all-out war against the opposition and the kind of intellectual progress America has made over the past 200 years, and Ruben Diaz Sr. — while indeed a tradition-conscious minister — is a Democrat.
… she has time and time again proved unable to discuss nuanced policy in a way that people understand, whether she’s reading from a scripted speech or not.
… she seems to want only to scare people into supporting her points of view, and being old is scary enough, in our opinion, without any extra help.
Palin hasn’t said yes to the invitation yet, but if she does, you can bet we’ll be there on September 8 for the Senate Aging Committee hearing here in Manhattan. Well, we may just send Intel Dan in a white wig. Or better yet, we’ll shave his goatee, pretend he’s somebody’s 11-year-old grandson, and have him ask the most outrageous question he can think of.
Palin Invited To Testify Before NY Senate On Elderly Care, Death Panels [HuffPo]
