Even by conservative standards, the argument is insane. It's extremely common, and has even "made its way into the standard conservative critique of the Democrats' reforms," but it's not in any way grounded in reality.

In other words, it's GOP SOP.

As was said in previous comments , they need to be called on this using their own tactics. Create the add " Republicans want to include euthanasia in healthcare reform" While Obama's plan has nothing in it about euthanasia Republicans are pressing to include it by creating talking points on the subject.

Actually, the mandatory euthanasia provision is real, but only for republican old people.

If you vote Democratic, you're spared.

Blue Dogs in the House are fighting to revise the provision to restrict it to only those republican old people who believe health care reform contains a provision for mandatory euthanasia.

Did you hear the Republicans put out a health care reform plan yesterday written by Tom Price from Georgia? It is $700 billion in tax cuts.

Wow.

Why would Boehner go out of his way to piss off the people that will likely be taking care of him as he is dying?

Is it then the Republican position that if terminally ill patients do not want to die miserable and alone, but rather with hospice care, they can pay for it themselves?
Or is it their intention to outlaw hospice care entirely?

Of course, this only matters if those who want to shamelessly mislead the country care about getting caught.

Republicans would only care about getting caught if they had to worry about getting caught. With our Corporate Media emphasizing the right-wing talking points, there’s little chance of that.

And Chris "Tweety" Matthews was presenting this on Hardball yesterday as if there were some truth in the allegations!!! Not so much that the government was going to euthanise old people, but more that it was going to be advising them and recommending it! He showed a complete lack of comprehension as to what the provision was about.

Put the message out there- loud and clear! This is war; it's time to make headlines. Although she went along with the stimulus, blue dog Susan Collins has been part of the problem in moving healthcare reform forward. She is looking for attention and favors for her state. Here's your media attention, Susan Collins!

All this Republic Fascist Party scare-talk about an Obama heathcare plan that kills off old folks is pure projection, because that is exactly what the existing system is doing to me right now.

Hospice care is currently funded by Medicare. Your point is ?

Regarding Euthaasia ad .Republicans are demonic satanic raging sociopaths. I am angry my insurance premiums are paying for such terrible ads.

The irony is that this same provision will allow those who want every possible treatment given to them so they can stay alive as long as medical assistance will permit.

So, if you are determined to have the hospital keep you alive, a living will by its nature, will protect all patients regardless of their end of life views ...

Good thing we delayed the votes in Congress so that the public has more time to get the "facts" and so that we can have a "healthy" debate.

It would seem to me that the Texas Advance Directives Act of 1999, signed into law by George W. Bush, would make this argument moot: the Act indemnifies hospitals that withhold life-sustaining measures deemed "futile" by presiding physicians. In other words, the Texas government decided to give legal cover to, well, killing senior citizens. And infants.

It's actually not a bad law on the merits, but you'd think GOP fearmongers would have been called on this by now.

How long you think before the young and agile enough to MARCH get fed up with the outright LIES from the REPUGS and wingnuts? Let's see we've gone since the century began so far...we old, and infirmed folks (who write, call, blog, comment endlessly) are doing the best we can with limited abilities...time for the younger generation to TUNE IN and STEP UP!!!

I wonder who dreams up these fantasy factory ideas?

Of course, the gummint will also offer birth control and abortion services to elderly people. More death to innocent fetuses.

And of course, end-of-life services include addictive narcotics, gummint sponsored, elderly people supporting terrorism by buying legal opiates.

And for cancer patients on chemo-therapy, mandatory cannabis use.

And for the rest of us, SOMA, to keep us happy and in line. Government medical happiness drugs. No more political rants will be allowed. Maybe an implanted drug delivery system that raises or lowers the drug supply based on blood pressure, brain wave irregularities, and the horizon-challenged uprightness deficit of the right-leaning pursuasion.

At least one other commenter made this point, but it bears repeating. Medicare already pays for hospice care to provide end-of-life services for those who are terminally ill. I recently went through this with my mother, and the hospice workers handled this difficult and emotional job with incredible caring and love. They're angels. Leave it to the GOP to cast what they do as some sort of evil. It's the kind of crap that sells in GOP land, but it's wrong.

Even by conservative standards, the argument is insane.

If the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results, and the Democrats keep dealing with the Republicans in good faith only to be insulted and lied to/about, who's insane?

If we can euthanize all Republicans over 35 and Democrats over 65 I’m all for it!

/snark

Yes, the not-so-radical idea Republicans hope to exploit was crafted, sponsored, and touted by a sitting Republican senator.

Geez, can't the Republicans come up with a new gambit, ever? How many times now has someone on their side come up with a idea that gets lauded by their fellow Republicans but represents The End Of Civilization As We Know It when the exact same idea is picked up by Democrats?

I know five-year-olds who are too smart to try and claim that they didn't say what I heard them say five minutes ago. Of course, five-year-olds don't have David Broder standing by to say, "Well, yes, this is a terrible idea from the Democrats ..."

Look, this is just stupid, and anyone who believes it is also stupid. Just because you're old doesn't necessarily mean you're stupid, and American senior citizens ought to know their government would never be permitted to kill them just because it was cost-effective; it's like suggesting all Americans over 65 were going to placed on ice floes and pushed out to sea to perish - who'd believe that?

It doesn't matter if Republicans are constantly reinforcing the meme - nobody with reasonable intelligence would believe it. Republicans don't believe it, either - they're just repeating it because it's confusing and destructive. Don't be a sap and fall for it. There are limits to people's patience with those who continually fall for stupid shit.

Democrats could easily come up with something even more outrageous - such as, "Republicans are poisoning the national water supply with a chemical that makes Americans forget how to speak English", et evidemment ca va etre les gens qui va penser que c'est vrai. Mais un discours comme ca ne contribue pas vers l'avancement nationale. N'encourage pas les imbeciles!

Tang @ 11:47 has a really good point.

Living wills, advanced health care directives, springing power of attorney are all good ways to make sure what you want to have done when you cannot speak for yourself. You can direct your medical care and give someone you trust the ability to make decisions for you when are not able to do so.

"...in honor of our soldiers [who are dying for free speech] STOP LYING!!!" - sarah palin

Mark: Like you use to believe that no one could bee so stupid to believe such lies from the republicans. Really, really stupid lies.

But I am changing my mind. I don't understand it but something has happened to the ability of some people to think, to use their brains.

I would ask why the so-called media is not calling the republicans out but since they have been working with the republicans in trying to undermine the President, I know why they are allowing these lies to flow across the airwaves.