Dr. Tom Coburn tells the wife of a brain-injury victim to suck it up.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

By Timothy NoahSen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., is a medical doctor; his press releases frequently refer to him not as "Sen. Coburn" but as "Dr. Coburn." He is also a fervent opponent of Obamacare. Coburn purports to favor an alternative bill so similar to the Democrats' own that one can't help wondering whether his opposition is mere partisan posturing. Another possibility is that Coburn is insincere when he claims to support any change to the current system.

Evidence for the latter is an exchange between Coburn and a weeping constituent who said at an Aug. 24 town hall meeting that her health insurance wouldn't cover rehabilitation for her husband, who suffered a traumatic brain injury. Writing in the New Republic's health care blog, the Treatment, Harold Pollock, a professor at the University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration, said that when he saw this clip neither he nor his wife, a clinical nurse specialist, "could … believe what we were watching."

Neither could I. Here's a transcript:

Q:

Sen. Coburn, we need help. My husband has traumatic brain injury. His health insurance will not cover him to eat and drink. And what I need to know is: Are you going to help him? Where he can eat and drink? We left the nursing home, and they told us we are on our own. He left with a feeding tube. I have been working with him, but I'm not a speech pathologist, a professional that takes six years for a masters', and I'm trying to get him to eat and drink again [

inaud

].

A:

Well, I think—first of all, yeah. We'll help. The first thing we will do is to see what we can do, individually, to help you, through our office. But the other thing that is missing in this debate is us as neighbors, helping people that need our help. [

Applause

.] You know we tend to ... [

Applause

.] The idea that the government is a solution to our problems is an inaccurate, a very inaccurate statement.

Pollock, his wife, and Philip Pizzo, dean of Stanford Medical School, found Coburn's answer to be deeply disturbing. I did, too, of course. But what truly shocked and depressed me was not Coburn's let-'em-eat-cake response but the fact that it wasn't met in the room with a collective sharp intake of breath. Instead, Coburn received two quite robust bursts of applause. I have no idea how Congress and the White House can possibly sell health care reform to people like that.

http://www.slate.com/id/2226623/

[Heracles 417]

A: Well, I think—first of all, yeah. We'll help. The first thing we will do is to see what we can do, individually, to help you, through our office. But the other thing that is missing in this debate is us as neighbors, helping people that need our help. [Applause.] You know we tend to ... [Applause.] The idea that the government is a solution to our problems is an inaccurate, a very inaccurate statement.

To think that people actually vote these sort of clowns into office.

You know I always hear how the government is not the solution, so I would like to know what is then?

[Ban Hammer 13,369]

he didn't tell the wife to suck it up. fail.

[luckytxn 2,264]

He said nothing wrong. Fail indeed.

[Pooky 3,795]

And the title of this thread is a great example of how political bias in reporting is obscuring the message, even if it is "reporting" here on VJ.

[GabiandVi 34]

Did you read what you posted? Or watch the video? I've read it several times and watched the video and I totally missed the part where he told her to "suck it up" or where he dismissed her in any way. I know that English is only my first language and my univeristy major, but I understood him to say he would help. I guess I'm ignorant of that idiom to mean, "suck it up." So glad to have someone who can interpret those subtleties of the language for me.

[Heracles 417]

Interesting consider the dean of Stanford Medical School, as in one of the best medical schools in the world, found his statement disturbing.

Only in certain sections of the country can an elected leader say don't trust the government. Yes, the same person that was elected to be the, wait for it, the bloody government...

Edited August 29, 2009 by haza

[one...two...tree 2,762]

It's called paraphrasing....you know like calling end of life counseling, death panels.

[Ban Hammer 13,369]

It's called paraphrasing....you know like calling end of life counseling, death panels.

it's also called talking literary license to the extreme.

[Pooky 3,795]

It's called paraphrasing....you know like calling end of life counseling, death panels.

Paraphrasing merely shortens the content, it does not infer a different interpretation than is supported by the content. Hence the criticism.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Interesting consider the dean of Stanford Medical School, as in one of the best medical schools in the world, found his statement disturbing.

Only in certain sections of the country can an elected leader say don't trust the government. Yes, the same person that was elected to be the, wait for it, the bloody government...

Where are you posting from? I don't know of any American that implicitly trusts his government. If you are an Obamite, you never trusted anything Bush or Cheney did, or if you are a Bushy, you think Obama is the reincarnation of Joseph Stalin. And, the rest of America doesn't trust anybody.

It's called paraphrasing....you know like calling end of life counseling, death panels.

No, it's called not telling the truth.

[Heracles 417]

Interesting consider the dean of Stanford Medical School, as in one of the best medical schools in the world, found his statement disturbing.

Only in certain sections of the country can an elected leader say don't trust the government. Yes, the same person that was elected to be the, wait for it, the bloody government...

Where are you posting from? I don't know of any American that implicitly trusts his government. If you are an Obamite, you never trusted anything Bush or Cheney did, or if you are a Bushy, you think Obama is the reincarnation of Joseph Stalin. And, the rest of America doesn't trust anybody.

Here:

A: Well, I think—first of all, yeah. We'll help. The first thing we will do is to see what we can do, individually, to help you, through our office. But the other thing that is missing in this debate is us as neighbors, helping people that need our help. [Applause.] You know we tend to ... [Applause.] The idea that the government is a solution to our problems is an inaccurate, a very inaccurate statement.

The first time I heard of this notion was after I moved to the US. Nonetheless, if the government is not the solution then what is? Private industry? Great! How and what is their solution?

Edited August 29, 2009 by haza

[one...two...tree 2,762]

It's called paraphrasing....you know like calling end of life counseling, death panels.

Paraphrasing merely shortens the content, it does not infer a different interpretation than is supported by the content. Hence the criticism.

That's your interpretation. I agree with the author of the article. He paraphrased Dr. Coburn's response appropriately.

It's called paraphrasing....you know like calling end of life counseling, death panels.

No, it's called not telling the truth.

Are death panels telling the truth?

[luckytxn 2,264]

It's called paraphrasing....you know like calling end of life counseling, death panels.

it's also called talking literary license to the extreme.

For sure. Heard of stretching things but even this can't be stretched to be even thought of to be wrong. I see the Socialists are starting to run out of talking points. The leadership better get going and come up with more lies.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Interesting consider the dean of Stanford Medical School, as in one of the best medical schools in the world, found his statement disturbing.

Only in certain sections of the country can an elected leader say don't trust the government. Yes, the same person that was elected to be the, wait for it, the bloody government...

Where are you posting from? I don't know of any American that implicitly trusts his government. If you are an Obamite, you never trusted anything Bush or Cheney did, or if you are a Bushy, you think Obama is the reincarnation of Joseph Stalin. And, the rest of America doesn't trust anybody.

Here:

A: Well, I think—first of all, yeah. We'll help. The first thing we will do is to see what we can do, individually, to help you, through our office. But the other thing that is missing in this debate is us as neighbors, helping people that need our help. [Applause.] You know we tend to ... [Applause.] The idea that the government is a solution to our problems is an inaccurate, a very inaccurate statement.

No. I mean physically where on you on the planet not to realize that Americans inherently don't trust the people running their government.