RE: Two can play that game
Now where, oh where is that thread about "civility". Oh-Oh, Grason is a Democrat so he is allowed.
Democrat says GOP wants sick to just 'die quickly'
By BEN EVANS (AP)
WASHINGTON — Seeking payback from a recent reprimand of one of their own for heckling President Barack Obama, House Republicans want a Democratic lawmaker to apologize or face a reprimand for saying the GOP wants Americans to "die quickly" if they get sick.
Amid the bitter political bickering, Rep. Alan Grayson of Florida stood firmly behind his comments.
The first-term lawmaker returned to the House floor Wednesday afternoon and mocked Republicans' call for an apology by citing a study being published in the American Journal of Public Health that found nearly 45,000 people die each year for lack of health insurance.
"I would like to apologize ... I apologize to the dead and their families that we haven't voted sooner to end this Holocaust in America," he said.
Grayson's initial comments came Tuesday night as he criticized Republican health care proposals as a "blank piece of paper."
"If you get sick, America, the Republican health care plan is this: Die quickly," he said on the House floor. "That's right. The Republicans want you to die quickly if you get sick."
The rhetoric wasn't spontaneous: He reinforced his point with signs saying the same thing.
Republicans immediately called for an apology, likening the comments to Rep. Joe Wilson's widely criticized shout of "You lie!" during President Barack Obama's address to Congress earlier this month.
They say Democrats should insist that Grayson apologize just as they insisted Wilson, R-S.C., should.
Rep. Tom Price of Georgia, who heads the conservative Republican Study Committee, drafted a "resolution of disapproval" that mirrors the one Democrats approved against Wilson, saying Grayson's conduct was "a breach of decorum and degraded the integrity and proceedings of the House."
"The American people want open and honest discussion," said Price, whose efforts had the backing of Republican leadership. "They want respectful discussion."
Democratic leaders who insisted that Wilson apologize have so far have been quiet. But behind the scenes, Democratic aides point to comments that Republicans have made in recent weeks alleging that Democratic health care legislation would kill people.
Some Republicans have accused Obama of pushing for "death panels" and held to that view even after the administration's strenuous objections and after the claims were widely discredited. Republican Sen. Charles Grassley told a group of constituents in his home state of Iowa in August they have good reason to fear the Democrats' health care proposals.
"We should not have a government program that determines you're going to pull the plug on grandma," Grassley said.
Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Grayson said his floor speech was "tongue-in-cheek," but he also said it was an accurate description of Republican health care proposals, which he said do nothing to help the uninsured.
Asserting that he violated no House rules, Grayson said no Democratic leaders have asked him to apologize, and he predicted his bold statement would be received favorably in his district.
"People like elected officials with guts who say what they mean," he said.
Grayson, a first-term Democrat known for being provocative, represents a Republican-leaning district around Orlando and was already among the GOP's top targets for the 2010 elections.
Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele called Grayson's comment a "smear" against the GOP.
"If the Democrats are serious about the importance of civil debate on the floor of the House, then both (House Speaker) Nancy Pelosi and President Obama should condemn Alan Grayson's outrageous and completely inappropriate comments and demand an apology," he said.
Associated Press
(This post was last modified: 09-30-2009 05:18 PM by SumOfAllFears.)
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