What's worse for a public official: Tweeting something incredibly inane or standing by it after having time to think about it?
State Sen. Bob Rucho, a Matthews Republican, was on WBT radio this afternoon, defending his tweet from Sunday in which he declared: "Justice Robert's pen & Obamacare has done more damage to the USA then the swords of the Nazis, Soviets & terrorists combined."
Offensive? No, Rucho says. It's just that the "socialist elites" -- meaning the 99 percent of people who think that tweet is over the top -- "are just misrepresenting the facts."
WBT host Erik Spanberg asked Rucho if he could understand why a tweet comparing health care legislation to the deaths of millions of innocents would be offensive. "Nowhere in my tweet does it say that," Rucho responded. "The comparisons are being made by people who want to take away from the message." People "are just misrepresenting the facts on that one."
"There's no way I'm going to apologize for saying the truth," Rucho said.
Spanberg asked Rucho why he would try to convey such a message within Twitter's 140-character limit instead of through, say, an op-ed in the newspaper.
"I've tried op-ed pieces before with the Charlotte Observer and they were rejected," Rucho said. "... Under the circumstances, that was not an avenue."
For the record, we have run several op-eds from Rucho over the years, and know of only one that he has offered that we've not published in the past year. We invited him today to send us one defending or explaining his tweet. No reply so far.
-- Taylor Batten
Note: An earlier version of this blogpost said Rucho hadn't offered the Observer any op-eds in the past year. He did offer one in August.
Keep it up Rucho......and you will be forced from your position. Resigning in embarrassment is sometimes much better than being run into the ground be anyone/everyone above you.
ReplyDeleteThere is no doubt Bob Rucho made a stupid comment. But the left is predictably doing their best to stretch the meaning of it all out of proportion and use the occassion to keep from having to actually talk about the issue itself. Rucho did not say Obamacare will "kill" the many millions the Nazi's and Soviets and Terrorists have killed....nearly all of them in places other than the U.S. He said "damage to the US." I interpreted it as economic damage which is certainly true. The Nazi's, Soviets and terrorists did not and have not damaged our society and economy as much Obamacare has begun to and has the potential to do in the years ahead.
ReplyDeleteBut even if you assume the worst and instead of his just using a bad socioeconomic analogy and he was talking about loss of life we have lost between 400K and 500K people to the Nazi's, Soviets and terrorists. Will rationing of health care under Obamacare cause the premature death of that many over what period of time?
Depending on your views of abortion 100's of thousands of lives are terminated each year and Obamacare and the left are doing everything they can to create more opportunity for more victims. More abortions around the world are committed for sex selection than for any other reason. In the US it is for convenience. Both things Josef Mengele and the Nazi's would have heartily supported.
Rucho displayed stupidity more than anything forgetting how such a comment would bring out a frothing in the liberal media. Need we even point out the hyprocricy of the Observer in making such a big deal out of it. I don't remember their editorials challenging people in Hollywood like filmmaker Robert Greenwald who stated that neo Nazis started the Tea Party or of various Democratic politicians like Nancy Pelosi who have often likened conservatives and the Tea Party to the KKK and Nazis, and hostage takers and terrorists on a weekly basis.
Perhaps a better way of saying what Rucho obviously meant is that Obamacare is another step towards socialism. It is already doing and will continue to do for the United States what socialism has done for people everywhere around the world...lower standards of living, depressed economies, and yes...millions of deaths. Ask the Cubans, the Russians...the Chinese. They all have "enjoyed" government run health care as part of their phantom "package of equality under the state" for generations.
99%?
ReplyDeleteWas a poll taken?
The Observer's bitter partisans were hard at work on that one.
I wonder if Taylor made this post from his $1.1 million home?
ReplyDeleteMr. Batten:
ReplyDeleteDo you read your own Editorial Page? Just last week, you published an article by Margo Williams likening the Republicans in Raleigh to Nazis, with the "First they came" quote from anti-Nazi theologian Martin Niemoller used as the basis for the article. Publishing that article was beyond offensive, demonstrating that in your pursuit to dehumanize those with whom you disagree, you have lost all touch with reality. I will assume that in approving the publication of that article, you were not under the influence of anything other than far-left delusional thinking.
Saying that opposition to legislation passed by Republicans in Raleigh is evenly remotely comparable to the guilt and regret expressed by Niemoller for not doing enough to oppose the Nazi regime shows utter disrespect for the victims of the Holocaust. Mr. Batten, in the exercise of your editorial responsibilities, did you consider for a moment the feelings of their descendants? Legislation passed by State Republicans may be unpopular with some and appropriate fodder for debate. But alluding to it as comparable to some of the worst atrocities in world history shows a complete lack of perspective.
Do you regret publishing that article Mr. Batten?
Remember, words and ideas are powerful, they do matter. Because the pen is mightier than the sword, the Editorial Page Editor of the state's largest newspaper should be immensely more careful with his editorial decisionmaking.
Taylor Batten: I officially crown you the King of Overreaction (and hypocrisy). I think its way past your medication time young man.
ReplyDeleteOkay for me, but not for thee? If you object to what Rucho said you must really object to what you write and what the Observer espouses.
ReplyDeleteThe first thing Hitler did was to nationalize healthcare in Germany. The statement Rucho made was correct. He should not apologize for stating the truth.
This administration should apologize for all the lies they utter and the Observer should apologize for repeating those lies as if they are true.
Rucho and his apologists are an embarrassment to the state of North Carolina. Grow up and start behaving like adults.
ReplyDeleteBob Rucho simply stated a fact. More people are adversely affected by Obamacare than were affected by Naziism. Millions have lost their insurance and therefore their medical care due to this inane law. How many will die because of it? By this time next year ,90 million Americans will have lost that safty net.
ReplyDeleteJohn Barker: Your statements are utter lies. Why don't you use facts in your argument?
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ReplyDeleteRucho's bizarre comments bely his ignorance in his comparison of long overdue health care reform with what he ineptly intended to be a comparison to totalitarian state systems. His citing of multiple political ideologies, the Nazis (fascists), communists and socialists in his feigned outrage clearly reveals he knows little of each other than parroting the terms as his "tea party" colleagues. The fact is that we already endure a socialized health care system, subsidized entirely by the taxpayers after the profiteers in the privatized health care sector extract their huge and disproportionate profits. We have for decades enjoyed the worst of socialism with millions being denied access to health care under the pre ACA system, completely run by the health care insurance industry. Ruco and his radical colleagues in the Republican party apparently fear the success of "Obamacare" or they would not behave as they have, as spoiled, outraged children with a sense of entitlement at all costs to everyone else. In fact Rucho got his analogy completely wrong; his party is more akin to the Nazis and Fascism in their support for an Oligarchy, while denying the rights of millions of citizens. What an embarrassment is this man to his office, his party and our state. His supporters should study some basic Civics lessons and tune out of WBT and FOX.
ReplyDeleteThe wild speculation by kantstanzya on actual and economic casualties of Obamacare is utter nonsense. We already have rationed care, at outrageous expense as to disqualify many from accessing it, even with insurance. The current health care system (pre 2014) is completely run by the private health care insurance industry and pharmaceutical giants and hospital authorities who are in it for the money. The comparisons to other nations is absurd in the one size fits all depiction of "socialized medicine" and kantastanzya neglected to mention that Cuba has a very good system. The French and Germans, and many other nations with a more socialized medical system, enjoy health care systems accessible by all at a fraction of our cost and well ahead of our current system in quality. The propaganda continues with these meritless comments.
ReplyDeleteSELRAHC: "Cuba has a very good (health care system". That lunatic comment alone should disqualify all your other opinions.But I'll answer anyway.
ReplyDeleteThe US health care system indeed needed some tweaking. But it was the best health care system in the world. Where do you think the leaders of all those other government run heath care systems...like Canada ...come when they want to bypass their rationing and long wait periods and get the best and fastest care...the U.S.
Instead of fixing it for 8 million people Obama decided he would ruin it for the other 300 million. He is about equality...not quality. Like everyone under economic socialism is equally poor everyone under medical socialism will have equally mediocre and rationed health care. That is except Obama and his elite cronies who will be exempted from it.
The only propaganda is your left wing, big government propaganda. To continue to insist Obamacare is anything but an abomination is to live in the same world your fearless leader lives in...the world of make believe. His announcements on Obamacare continue to sound like the delusional accounts of Bagdad Bob during the first Iraq War.
By the way two of my children and a son in law are doctors.
Merry Christmas.
ReplyDeleteTaylor......This opinion piece has been at the top of the page for ten days running.
How about replacing it with "Clinton refuses to tell the truth about Benghazi"?
Just a little change of pace for a change.
All of my long life Doctors and hospitals in this country have been legally required to treat patients whether they have resources or not. My father, a physician, would loose a lot of money every year because of this law, but he never complained about it. Obamacare is a solution to a non-existant problem.
ReplyDeleteThe Observer just won't give in to truths. This article has been on their web site for over a week now. Enough is enough!
ReplyDelete