We were going to let this go, but since Thom Tillis can't, we can't.
Tillis and the national Republicans who helped him win North Carolina's U.S. Senate nomination repeatedly charged that Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan cast the "deciding vote" on Obamacare.
"When the president bullied his way into a takeover of our health care system, Kay Hagan cast the deciding vote," Tillis said Tuesday night after winning the nomination.
Sen. Rand Paul, in uniting behind Tillis after supporting rival Greg Brannon, used the same line: "Now that the primary is over, it is time for our side to unite to defeat the Democrat who cast the deciding vote for Obamacare, Kay Hagan, in November."
The same allegation is leveled against Hagan throughout the conservative blogosphere.
At least three problems here:
1. Hagan cast the 22nd "aye" vote, out of 60. Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska was the last Democrat to commit to voting for it.
2. It's really impossible to pinpoint any one person as the "deciding vote." There were 60 votes for the Affordable Care Act. Every one of them was the "deciding" vote, in a way, because it would have failed without any one of them.
3. If Hagan cast the deciding vote, how did Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida also do so? And Sen. Claire McCaskill? And Sen. Jon Tester? And Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio?
You get the idea. Any Democrat who Republicans are trying to topple cast "the deciding vote" on health care reform, according to the GOP playbook. Google "who cast the deciding vote for Obamacare" and you'll see that Republicans are using this tactic across the country.
You can love Obamacare or you can hate Obamacare. You can vote for or against Hagan because of it. But you shouldn't fall for Tillis' ruse that Hagan was "the deciding vote."
UPDATE: An alert reader, to use Dave Barry's term, points out that Hagan has also been fudging on Obamacare. She ran an ad highlighting Tillis calling Obamacare "a great idea." But Hagan clearly takes the quote out of context.
Tillis has repeatedly bashed Obamacare. In an interview with Bill LuMaye in February, he talked about needing to get rid of most of it, and called it "a great idea that can't be paid for." Hagan's campaign clipped out just three words of a long interview in which Tillis clearly advocated against Obamacare.
As you learned long ago, you have to have your truth detector on when watching or listening to campaign ads from most politicians.
-- Taylor Batten
Thursday, May 8, 2014
Debunking Tillis' Hagan-Obamacare ploy
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21 comments:
Thanks for helping set this record straight. Wasn't it Lenin who said that if you tell a lie often enough, it becomes the truth? Ironic that the Republicans seem so committed to his playbook. Would that they had something positive to sell to us, rather than merely hatred of the President, a back-to-the-1950s agenda in Raleigh, an unprecedented level of obstruction in Washington, tax cuts for the rich, an overblown and irrational fear of a government, and pretty much anything that corporate America desires. I could keep going about voter suppression and the like.
Not wild about the Ds either in many regards, but it's time that the media stop pretending that the Rs don't bear disproportionate blame for the toxic waste dump that partisan politics has become.
Thanks again for helping people at least get the facts straight. That's hard these days, and some are determined to keep it that way.
It passed by a single vote, therefore every single person who voted for it had the ability to stop it. She didn't.
It passed by 20 votes, not "a single vote."
Mr. Batten,
You write that "you have to have your truth detector on" when listening to candidates.
Would you please pledge right now that you will use the "truth detector" test in determining whether you endorse Kay Hagan, Sean Haugh, or Thom Tillis in this election, by tallying the number of times that each candidate sets off the "truth detector", and endorsing the one who sets it off the fewest times?
Please make that pledge right now.
For once I can agree with portions of an article. Kay Hagan did not cast the deciding vote for Obamacare but she voted yes for it, who cares whether it was the deciding vote or not. Since I don't want or like Obamacare that puts her on the wrong side for me.
She has voted 96% with Obama's desires and can not run from that so tying her to Obama is easy and it works for me.
I actually take the time to read and I actually get to know voting records, her's stinks. You notice she is not running on her 96% voting record with Obama?
Why is she running away from her record that will be exposed in every way possible while trying to tear down the character of the man running against her with all kinds of silly, childish, accusations. I will not vote for any candidate that has nothing but mud for ads.
Tarhoosier is 100% wrong, that law passed by 1 vote not 20. If his statement was true that would mean 80 senators voted for it and that did not happen.
Good heavens, Taylor. "Tillis clearly advocated against..."? Observer writers often have no idea of what many of the words they use mean, but this sets a new high - or low. To "advocate" is to work for something or support something. You routinely commit a wretched redundancy by saying someone "advocated for..." something. Now, you're saying someone "worked for against..." something. Wow. Wanna diagram that one?
RobnCLT and tarhoosier are both incorrect. The actual bill passed by 10 votes as a majority is needed to pass the bill. The 60 votes were needed to end the filibuster
@ Ashley Holmes: You beat me to it. I can understand why one would see 60 yays minus 40 nays and get the 20 figure, as well as the need to avoid the filibuster threat at 60 votes. But the capricious attitude of so many to decide to "pick" out their target as that ONE VOTE that they will attack? Such sophomoric tactics that should be recognized immediately by adults. The fact that it's not - and is obviously going to be a part of Tillis' campaign? We've been warned...
To the millions of American that Obamacare helps supporting it is a good thing. The GOP also pledged to gridlock government during this President's term too. So of course to these self-serving, Obamacare is a "bad" thing.
The voters will ultimately decide the outcome and Kay Hagan has an excellent chance of getting reelected!
Thank observer, you editorial folks are such fair and balanced folks.
Oh speaking of that fairness, why did the fact Charter Students are getting about 2 thousand less per student from the State of NC, over Students at systems like CMS, not raise an eyebrow in your exalted halls of fairness at the observer?
de·cid·ing [dih-sahy-ding] Show IPA
adjective
that settles a question or dispute or leads to a final decision; determining; decisive: the deciding vote; The weather will be the deciding factor as to whether we have the picnic or not.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/deciding
If you like your health insurance you can keep your health insurance period.
Kay Hagan is a liar period.
On a related note, Dana Milbank's column today in the Washington Post on the Benghazi investigatory committee is worthwhile reading. The Rs have staked almost all of their 2014 election fortunes on "Obamacare," and are nervous that alone might not play as well with swing voters as anticipated. So time to tack more to the center there, and use Benghazi and IRS to keep the base from crying RINO.
Sure, it's a sleazy game all around these days, and anybody who really cares about that should be shouting "campaign finance reform" from the rooftops. In the meantime, let's keep fact and fiction as straight as possible.
How a relatively centrist and cautious President has become the anti-Christ, and his party 21st century Bolsheviks, raises some troubling questions about the traditional fault lines of American politics--race and class, in particular. Thoughtful writing on how the hidden persuaders use those fault lines in pursuit of power and cash is what would truly be illuminating. IMHO, that's the real story here.
Obama a centrist????
LMAO....
Whoaaaa.. the Kool Aid must be especially potent today.
She voted for it. That's all I need to know.
Kay Hagen could not have cast the deciding vote because it would put her flimsy reputation on the line. She follows the crowd, folks. She stays in the safety zone. Never had an original idea in her entire career.
True, you can't pinpoint anyone as casting the deciding vote. It's just a matter of who voted first and who voted last. None of this matters though. Hagan has always been a big supporter of this disaster known as Obamacare and she needs to go. She voted for it. That's all that matters. If you want socialized medicine, move to a country that has it. Don't try to destroy America.
Did Kay tell us ,"If you like your doctor--you can keep your doctor"?
Oh we get it, taking a quote 100%out of context which Hagan did is much much less of an offense than Tillis claiming Hagan passing the "deciding" vote which she did cause every vote was required to pass the big fat lie.. And of course Hagan also lied when she promised you could keep your Dr just like the President did..
Why doesn't she just run on all of the wonderful things Obamacare is doing?
She can't, because all the numbers being peddled by The Serial Liar are not real.
Good luck this fall Observer, you are going to have to ramp up the sycophant language for the white Hagan who will not be seen in one single photo op with our 1st black President between now and probably forever.
Hey Leslie Pate - You may not have noticed it, but we already have socialized medicine. It's called Medicare (and Medicaid). And something tells me there's no way you're going to forgo it for yourself or your family on principle are you? Didn't think so.
Health care is a fundamental right, not something elective you can buy if you have enough money, or that should be allowed to bankrupt you when you end up needing it. Every other civilized country on earth realizes that. We're finally starting to catch on, no thanks to people like you.
And for the record, the ACA is a FREE MARKET solution using the existing health insurance companies. It's not socialism, as any 10th grader could tell you.
See? This is what happens when you drop out of school.
Look arisen from the grave and with a new catchy title.
Archiguy, you are right if folks can not take the fact we are socialist today, then the heck with them.
Move from this hotbed of liberals, liberals are not to complacent and do not care about anyone else except their self important needs.
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