“So this is how Obama feels about our Veterans, not a surprise.”
Prologue: Throwing Tammy Duckworth Under The Bus [Jonah Goldberg]
I just watched Tammy Duckworth try her best to defend the VA “death book” on Fox News Sunday. The Iraq war veteran was severely wounded as an army aviator, losing both her legs, and is currently an Assistant Secretary at the VA. The administration sent her out to defend the book and to push back against Jim Towey, who first raised the issue. While she admirably held her own, her talking points were often very, very lame (she kept insinuating that Towey’s bitter his $5 book isn’t free of charge to vets). The upshot was she defended this irretrievably gross book on the merits and attacked the messenger to boot. And here’s the thing, the death book is doomed, doomed. It’s obvious Obama will pull the thing, because it’s the right thing to do and because it’s a political no-brainer while he’s trying to shake off the “death panel” albatross. So they sent out Duckworth to stake a position that will be reversed, making her look like a fool. Just give it time.
http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=MjIzNzYzMjU2YTNhZmI1YjE2MGJhM2QwMmZlNGY3YmU=
Thanks for that update from Jonah Goldberg. That was priceless to watch this morning. Chris Wallace would not let Tammy Duckworth off the hook in her defense that the book was not being used at the VA. It’s merely “under review” I think according to Wallace, instead of being pulled.
Jim Towey who wrote the original piece in the WSJ that exposed that the book had been reinstated under the Obama administration was outstanding in exposing how unseemly the book was and the implications with the current health care reform bill.
Arlen Spector indicated on the same FOX program that he intended to hold Senate hearings on its use. LOL.