I called Senator Feinstein's office about this - making the point that kowtowing to crazies was rewarding the worst kind of behavior - and while I don't know how much water this holds, the aide I spoke with (who seemed to totally agree with my basic point) noted that when the bill goes to the floor in the Senate it is subject to amendment and that there's a good possibility end-of-life counseling could be brought back at that point. I suggest that everyone call their Senators' offices and demand pushback to Crazy Chuck Grassley. I also called Grassley's office and noted that he voted for the same counseling in the 2003 Medicare drug bill. These jerks need to be shamed. And Dems need to hear from their constituents so they know that wingnuts aren't the only voices out there.

she's obviously a genius at framing the political context, so i guess everybody who thinks they know how to play the propaganda game should just surrender to her fabulous machinations.

If we are going to start getting rid of everything that the least among us cannot grasp or comprehend, not much is going to be left in our culture. I think that is what is generally meant by the term 'wasteland'. Thinking with blood and with earth will always win out!

Lets raise our glass to misunderstanding--the new force that moves the world!

I think there's something else to factor in, when considering these folks. There is a great deal of rank stupidity amongst the lemmings, mixed in with a lifetime of grievances. It's a very bitter stew. But amongst some of the Republican leadership, especially, there's anti-intellectualism mixed with native cunning.

A situation like this, where, I suspect, Palin is following a script of sorts designed to undercut any intelligent discussion of health-care reform, once they "win" they have a wonderful sense of having beaten the other side & this just empowers them to go for the next item (apparently "Palin" is already at work on that). They're getting away with it, and this satisfies them immensely. It's the same level of immaturity shown by a mis-behaving child who steals something not out of need, but because he can, and it will give him bragging rights amongst other children.

They've been the anti-intellectual party for some time now, but the rapidly cratering level of immaturity does not bode well for the country or the world.

brucds, great idea, I think we should all follow suit. I've already written to my Senators and Congressman to support health care reform, and have detailed a few of my own frustrating experiences with for-profit insurance. (It helps to have counter-anecdotes to come back at these demagogues). I don't want to get a reputation as someone who hassles her representatives, but I think I'll write about this capitulation as well.

"If she's dim and Obama is brilliant, how did he lose the argument to her?"

President Obama didn't 'lose,' THE AMERICAN PEOPLE DID. And anyone who has dealt with an elderly loved one's decline and death knows that Sarah Palin's idiocy just damaged health care for the elderly.

Often the reaction after winning a tussle is a feeling of well being that invites a warm cuddly nap , depending on if tickles are brought up or not . This indicates a need for a warm sweet milken break with diaper change in a few .
Oh sara ! Is she thinking or waking up ?

I would love to have a Senator who responds to the wishes of his constituents, however, I live in Arizona and my Senators only heed their wealthiest contributors and the most moneyed special interests.

God I wish Gov. Napolitano would come back and kick McCain's ass in 2012.

Maybe I'm overly optimistic, but I have a feeling that the GOP is going to overreach on this and karma's gonna bite them in the ass on this in a big way.

Remember Schiavo? The crazies were demonstrating in Florida and the Democrats wanted to run away from this as fast as possible. President Bush came back to Washington from clearing brush in Texas to sign the law to save Terri and no Democrat dared to speak out against it. But suddenly everyone realized that the GOP was absolutely nuts on that case.

Rope-a-dope -- let Sarah gloat about her victory and let her start ranting about something else in the bill and she'll overreach. As the leader of the opposition to health insurance reform, she is a gift that we should be happy to have.

Guess if I go down to Wall St some dark night and pistol-whip and rob an investment adviser, Taranto will praise my superior financial acumen.

My bottom line is: it's not that big a deal, so drop it and move on. Don't sweat the small stuff. There only so many times they are going to be able to pull this crap before people catch on to what they are doing - let them have a "victory" as long as we win the war.

Taranto's Palin lust in six syllables:

A fool chasing fool's gold...

I was heartened to see Howard Dean say on TV, "Yeah they took it out of the Finance committee bill but when get a bill to the floor it'll be in there."

We all know exactly how it works. Right?

Sarah Palin has accumulated a critical mass of group-think worshipers. Big Business (probably insurance trade groups) offers her a pile of money to represent them. She quits her job as governor in order to able accept that pile of money. Professional industry PR writers prepare their propaganda for Palin's signature to be disseminated via Palin's Facebook page. Palin collects her check.

Now, the right-wing propaganda machine (e.g. WSJ) props up Palin for further use. Like the WSJ, Palin is now under the control of her corporate masters because, unlike her loose-cannon days as the VP candidate and Governor, she's required to follow direction in order to collect the checks.

She's George W. Bush stupid on steroids. She'll do quite well, and she's likely to be around for a while.

Following up--

Follow the money. If we have any hope of discrediting her, a good muckraker might like to find out the sources of Sarah Palins income (monetary and in-kind) from this point forward.

No mention in the article of the fact that the republicans voted for the same thing in an amendment to medicare in 2003? No mention of Palin supporting it in April 2008 by signing a proclamation which included advanced directives?
I'm shocked I tell you! Just shocked! NOT.

As long as Murdoch continues to send his jet to Anchorage, the WSJ will continue to endorse Palin's lies.

So how did she manage to best him in this debate?

By lying.

I guess we won't have Grandma to kick around anymore. Now we can move on to the section in the bill that forces all white women to have abortions.

Much of winning and losing turns on the matter of who is the decider. In this case, it was Baucus and Grassley. Letting them be the deciders is where the issue was lost.

So how did she manage to best him in this debate?

No doubt, demagoguing occasionally does have its moments. But where has it ever been a productive long-term strategy?

It's swiftboating, but the difference is that this is not an election. We really don't have to sway the bored low-information voter--just their venal shifty representative.
We're worried about the PR, as well we should be. No matter where, no matter who, this stuff has got to be countered. 2000 and 2004 taught us that.
But this is not entertainment, it's horse trading. The Blue Dogs have leverage, and they want stuff for it. They're bought, and they want to demonstrate at least in public that they're dutiful. This is the old political game at its worst.
But there isn't a member of congress that will be swayed or intimidated by these riots. There's no one for whom this is new information.
The 'death panel' thing gives no advantage to the Republicans. The riots don't either. Not in this specific fight.

The Republican Party should be absolutely scared to death of somebody showing up at a town hall meeting with an assault rifle and opening up. That's what this is really stimulating, and that would destroy the current Republican Party.

They win because bold faced lying is now considered to be an acceptable political tactic. It is a cancer on our democracy, and it is very scary.

Chris at 10:12 AM -- You are exactly right. Ain't no way Sarah's writing that Facebook stuff. It makes too much sense, grammatically.

Keith had a good segment on how a bill becomes a law.Nothing is in or out of any proposals now because Congress is on vacation.

remember sarah's freakout over death panels?

check this

Healthcare Decisions Day

WHEREAS, Healthcare Decisions Day is designed to raise public awareness of the need to plan ahead for healthcare decisions, related to end of life care and medical decision-making whenever patients are unable to speak for themselves and to encourage the specific use of advance directives to communicate these important healthcare decisions.

WHEREAS, in Alaska, Alaska Statute 13.52 provides the specifics of the advance directives law and offers a model form for patient use.

WHEREAS, it is estimated that only about 20 percent of people in Alaska have executed an advance directive. Moreover, it is estimated that less than 50 percent of severely or terminally ill patients have an advance directive.

WHEREAS, it is likely that a significant reason for these low percentages is that there is both a lack of knowledge and considerable confusion in the public about Advance Directives.

WHEREAS, one of the principal goals of Healthcare Decisions Day is to encourage hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, continuing care retirement communities, and hospices to participate in a statewide effort to provide clear and consistent information to the public about advance directives, as well as to encourage medical professionals and lawyers to volunteer their time and efforts to improve public knowledge and increase the number of Alaska’s citizens with advance directives.

WHEREAS, the Foundation for End of Life Care in Juneau, Alaska, and other organizations throughout the United States have endorsed this event and are committed to educating the public about the importance of discussing healthcare choices and executing advance directives.

WHEREAS, as a result of April 16, 2008, being recognized as Healthcare Decisions Day in Alaska, more citizens will have conversations about their healthcare decisions; more citizens will execute advance directives to make their wishes known; and fewer families and healthcare providers will have to struggle with making difficult healthcare decisions in the absence of guidance from the patient.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Sarah Palin, Governor of the state of Alaska, do hereby proclaim April 16, 2008, as: Healthcare Decisions Day in Alaska, and I call this observance to the attention of all our citizens.

http://gov.state.ak.us/archive.php?id=1094&type=6

The obvious retort is that it's easy to win an argument if you get to make shit up.

Melville: "The obvious retort is that it's easy to win an argument if you get to make shit up."

Oh, c'mon - Sarah Palin would first tell things a dozen different ways before she'd lie about stuff. ;-)

But seriously, just as an example, look at the different stories that initially emerged regarding the birth of Trig Palin in April 2008 - and I'm not talking about the stuff the Sarah-birthers were saying that fall, but rather what was actually appearing in mainstream Alaska media in the immediate days following his delivery.

(Note to the Sarah-birthers: Trig is really Sarah Palin's baby, and not her daughter's.)

According to initial stories in the Anchorage Daily News

Of course, they subsequently had to walk all that nonsense back.

It was never an "argument" to lose. It was already there... put there by republicants and voted on in '03. The gibberish Palin spouted was so ridiculous that it was simply easier to drop the measure than to be distracted from HC ins reform because of this nonsense. It's called diffusing the ignorance, like not putting off having a bill signed because of the color of the pen used to sign it. Palin claiming a black pen has magical power and draws dark forces into the legislation and therefor the bill should be sent back to committee if signed by a black pen would prompt any intelligent person to just pick up a red pen and sign the bill.

James Taranto thinks getting Obama to pick up the red pen somehow makes Palin intelligent rather than stupidly manipulative. Sorry James, your insights are extremely shallow, saying nothing of importance and frankly, rather petty. Just another Palien invader.

If you believe the media, Sarah Palin is a mediocre intellect, if even that, while President Obama is brilliant. So how did she manage to best him in this debate?

Um, pretty much the same way Homer Simpson won the election for garbage commissioner against Ray Patterson.

Many conservatives like James Taranto admire feral fighters who win at all costs. They consider *that* to be 'real intelligence', not the sort of comprehension and dedication to good faith reasoning that most of us admire.

Except that James Taranto is a disingenuous @ss. He makes "arguments" like this all the time.