Doctors for Obama
[Guest post by DRJ]
President Obama appeared in the Rose Garden today at a health insurance reform event with doctors from across the country. It was an impressive event, in part because the doctors all wore their white coats. But despite the united front presented at this Presidential photo op, many doctors don’t agree with President Obama’s health care agenda … possibly including some who appeared with the President today:
The video is posted at TakeBackMedicine.com, a website sponsored by the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS). Here is a portion of the description included with the video:
“Dr. Eric Novack was one of the 50 doctors invited to the White House photo op today. But he turned down the invitation, because he has lead the fight to pass state legislation and constitutional amendments to prohibit individual insurance mandates.
“They had 16 hours to Google me, but I guess no one bothered,” Dr. Novack told Kathryn Serkes, Director of Policy and Public Affairs for the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) in a video interview available at www.TakeBackMedicine.com.
Dr. Novack says that it was very tempting to accept the “once-in-a-lifetime” invitation, but in the end, he had to say no. But it also makes him question whether the doctors who will be there today actually support the President, or even understand all of the details of the bills.
“Are these doctors just star-struck, or do they have real knowledge about what they are supporting?” asked Serkes. “It’s looking like another dog-and-pony-show, and doctors should not be used in this shameful manner. First the President vilifies them, now he wants their help.”
“And at the very least, it makes the White House look like it does some very sloppy work,” added Serkes.”
AAPS’s TakeBackMedicine.com has answers to several health care myths. The organization also sued the Obama Administration regarding the existence of and data from the “fishy emails” program.
— DRJ
UPDATE BY PATTERICO: More on those spiffy white coats here.
From thousands of doctors throughout the country, it is telling that the White House couldn’t find even 50 to support this “reform”.
tim maguire (4a98f0) — 10/5/2009 @ 1:44 pmThe WH does sloppy staff work?
How can that be since these are among the “best & brightest”?
AD - RtR/OS! (03146a) — 10/5/2009 @ 1:58 pmLook at the Sterling job they did in bringing the ’16 Summer Games to Chicago….Oh, wait.
Well “our” doctor is from a clinic that caters to Medicaid & other poor, and they do a terrific job. But they are very dependent on federal largesse so I think Obama’s flacks played it pretty safe with their delegates.
http://tinyurl.com/ydnmjke
cassandra in MT (5a5d33) — 10/5/2009 @ 2:15 pmLest anyone think it only Docs that have problems with “health insurance reform” (and really, let’s not even get near health CARE, which is the best in the world) but also counselors, psychologists, social workers (although many of those are of “progressive” mindsets and really don’t understand Obamacare – it is just their cause du jour), nurse practitioners, home health providers, et cetra, et cetra, et cetera!
GM Roper (85dcd7) — 10/5/2009 @ 2:20 pmWell the WH couldn’t google Van Jones so why should they concern themselves with a simple doctor visit?
MU789 (3f9d29) — 10/5/2009 @ 2:28 pmOT: Where is the Larry Craig like shame?? The Letterman jokes?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8290275.stm
HeavenSent (01a566) — 10/5/2009 @ 2:28 pmI just laughed at the corny white lab coats. Doctors don’t really dress like that when they give speeches or visit the president.
Good grief. I’m surprised he didn’t put a mortar board on Henry Louis Gates and carry a torch around Copenhagen.
Dustin (bb61e3) — 10/5/2009 @ 2:34 pmThe AAPS website is also the host of Justice Millard Caldwell’s speech, the scarily prescient Cicero’s Prognosis.
EW1(SG) (edc268) — 10/5/2009 @ 2:37 pmWas Mr. Republican of Old, Doc Bill Frist, in attendance? Last week there was an excerpt from an interview he gave that had him saying if he was still in office he would definitely vote for the health care reform bill…as is. Though he did add that although he didn’t “like” certain parts of it, this reform of health care in the US was just too important to reject this bill. My paraphrasing is open to any correction from more savvy commenters.
Things like this just increasingly harden my agnostic arteries.
political agnostic (3acaf1) — 10/5/2009 @ 2:49 pmHey, did the fake doctors from Barney Frank’s and Sheila Jackass Lee’s TownHalls show up, too?
PCD (40988c) — 10/5/2009 @ 2:53 pmI know I was surprised to hear that this Adminsitration was sloppy about vetting someone. Maybe they should just dress Oprah up in a white coat and she could channel a doctor, or something.
Rochf (ae9c58) — 10/5/2009 @ 2:55 pmWell, since her company’s the one behind Dr. Oz, you may be onto something here.
Dmac (5ddc52) — 10/5/2009 @ 2:58 pmI wore a white lab coat at work for years. I just thought it protected my clothes from acids and stains and such. Never imagined it gave me any moral or intellectual superiority to those who didn’t wear ’em! Wow. The things ya learn.
Dr. Evil wears a white lab coat, too. And rubber boots.
starboardhelm (94c0da) — 10/5/2009 @ 3:36 pmHow can anybody in attendance there today possibly know what they are supporting?
Obama’s “plan” is 2.5 pages. The only way you can stand behind him and say you support him is if you are actually willing to support whatever he signs.
That’s supporting a man, not a health care reform effort.
MayBee (34a54a) — 10/5/2009 @ 4:07 pm“The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) [Not to be confused with the Association of American Physicians or with the American Association of Physician Specialists.] is a politically conservative non-profit organization founded in 1943. The group had approximately 4,000 members in 2005. Notable members include Ron Paul and John Cooksey.”
Correct if wrong.
bored again (d80b5a) — 10/5/2009 @ 4:42 pmbored again, didn’t bother to actually understand the post, did you?
I wonder how I guessed …
SPQR (26be8b) — 10/5/2009 @ 4:45 pmWe definitely need some better trolls.
SPQR (26be8b) — 10/5/2009 @ 4:46 pmHow can anybody in attendance there today possibly know what they are supporting?
“Shut up,” the President explained.
Dmac (5ddc52) — 10/5/2009 @ 6:22 pmbored again,
The AMA is liberal so, at the least, these two groups off-set each other.
DRJ (b008f8) — 10/5/2009 @ 6:26 pmSo they invite not only an opponent of reform (though an ineffective one, those state laws will mean nothing), but one whose organization has sued the white house. And this is used to mean that it is a “dog and pony show.” Truly astounding.
[note: fished from spam filter. –Stashiu]
imdw (eca60f) — 10/5/2009 @ 7:25 pmi didnt see a lot of grey hair in this group of 150…but the real issue is WHAT ARE THE MEDICAL OUTCOMES from using these doctors …thats what the MSM should be doing…are these doctors the best in the fields or journeyman ?
the voice of reason (0ad355) — 10/5/2009 @ 7:40 pm“because he has lead the fight to pass state legislation and constitutional amendments to prohibit individual insurance mandates.”
Apparently not understanding the supremacy clause.
imdw (e6c812) — 10/5/2009 @ 7:55 pmMy state’s contribution was 33 y/o, 3 years out of residency. I was myself once naive and liberal (but I repeat myself) when young and just out of training.
There’s a reason few grey-haired docs showed up. We’ve seen the damage medicrats can do when “helping”.
Teflon Dad (287a17) — 10/5/2009 @ 9:32 pm“The AMA is liberal so, at the least, these two groups off-set each other.”
Michael Steele has spoken, and so it has become.
imdw (9c0eb2) — 10/6/2009 @ 4:28 am[…] as DRJ noted yesterday: “It was an impressive event, in part because the doctors all wore their white […]
Patterico’s Pontifications » Obama: Nobody Has More Credibility on Health Care Than a Bunch of Doctors Wearing White Coats That We Just Hastily Lent to You (e4ab32) — 10/6/2009 @ 6:40 am[…] Patterico notes that wardrobe malfunctions weren’t the only problem with that staged photo op: […]
Hot Air » Blog Archive » The White House Department of White Coats (e2f069) — 10/6/2009 @ 7:12 am[…] on that last point, although accidentally. From Patterico via Ed Morrissey at Hot Air, the White House screwed up and invited a vocal opponent of socialized […]
Another Phony Obama Photo Op « The Underground Conservative (054690) — 10/6/2009 @ 8:02 am[…] Patterico is not sure that all of the doctors in attendance at the President’s photo op were even pro-ObamaCare . According to the testimony of one doctor who was invited, the vetting process was not terribly rigorous, as he was invited, and he has led the fight to pass state legislation and constitutional amendments to prohibit individual insurance mandates. He wonders if some of the doctors who were there, were just flattered to be invited to the White House. […]
Confirmed: White House Passed Out White Coats To Docs « Nice Deb (bd1ac8) — 10/6/2009 @ 8:15 am[…] Patterico’s Pontifications: Doctors for Obama […]
The Official White House “Lab Coat” Caper (Pravda Edition) « (215e9b) — 10/6/2009 @ 11:59 am[…] as DRJ noted yesterday: “It was an impressive event, in part because the doctors all wore their white […]
Nobody Has More Credibility on Health Care Than a Bunch of Doctors Wearing White Coats That We Just Hastily Lent to You « Are you Freaking Stupid? (b43074) — 10/6/2009 @ 12:21 pmAuthentic Inauthenticity…
The White House Department of White Coats
Why was the New York Post the only major media organization to report this?
Patterico notes that wardrobe malfunctions weren’t the only problem with that staged photo op
…
Always To The Right (347d54) — 10/6/2009 @ 2:59 pm“The AMA is liberal so, at the least, these two groups off-set each other.”
What? The AMA is liberal? You have, like, a long history of explicit support for liberal causes to document this? Like when they opposed every prior health care reform effort by a democratic president? Or, like… one other data point besides their support for Obama’s plan?
Meanwhile, in case there’s anyone in here who likes, you know, information:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112818960
I have to cite, since liberal media boogeyman wrote this story and it is thus categorically false to anyone here who isn’t shown actual words:
When polled, “nearly three-quarters of physicians supported some form of a public option, either alone or in combination with private insurance options,” says Dr. Salomeh Keyhani. She and Dr. Alex Federman, both internists and researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, conducted a random survey, by mail and by phone, of 2,130 doctors. They surveyed them from June right up to early September.
Most doctors — 63 percent — say they favor giving patients a choice that would include both public and private insurance. That’s the position of President Obama and of many congressional Democrats. In addition, another 10 percent of doctors say they favor a public option only; they’d like to see a single-payer health care system. Together, the two groups add up to 73 percent.
When the American public is polled, anywhere from 50 to 70 percent favor a public option. So that means that when compared to their patients, doctors are bigger supporters of a public option.
I know everything here is still categorically false to 99% of the audience, but I feel like actual words, rather than links, are harder to blindly categorize as lies, because you might accidentally start reading them first.
By the way, the two groups in no way offset each other – you can tell this by the way that one is 60 times larger.
glasnost (c4954b) — 10/6/2009 @ 10:45 pmglasnost – That is thrilling news. Thanks for linking it.
daleyrocks (718861) — 10/6/2009 @ 10:50 pmI knew there was a reason this room smelled better. I just couldn’t figure out why until someone dropped the turd in it again.
John Hitchcock (3fd153) — 10/6/2009 @ 10:55 pmglasnost – A self-selecting pool of respondents is hardly an accurate sample, is it? Nice try though.
Karl has only done about 50 posts showing how your ficticious 50-70 percent support of a public option goes away, rapidly, with simple follow-up questions.
JD (c26e0b) — 10/6/2009 @ 11:01 pmI think glasnost must have gotten tired of annoying Rick Moran or wherever he was last sighted.
daleyrocks (718861) — 10/6/2009 @ 11:22 pm