The Prestige Press does Medicaid

Hate to do straight mad media crit, but sometimes what else can you do

The massively destructive proposed Congressional Medicaid cuts are amazing — and so is the shitty way they’re covered, which is largely why these guys will get away with it.

The cuts proposed by the Republican majority are something almost nobody besides Tubby and his goons wants. Even our Prestige Press can’t deny the cuts are unpopular. (They can fail to mention it, though.)

But still the manicured word-wranglers writing up the stories that the remaining Prestige Press consumers will see couch this outrage in the softest terms they can manage. Take the current NBC News headline: “‘Thicket of red tape’ for Medicaid in GOP bill sparks fears of coverage losses.” Look at the original headline as shown on Google News:

You have to admit “Proposed Medicaid cuts by Republicans leave patients and doctors fearing the worst” is more alarming than that “Thicket of red tape” bullshit. The former is DOCTORS ARE SCARED THEY’LL TAKE AWAY MONEY USED TO TREAT YOU, and the latter is “RED TAPE” AMIRITE, BIG GUMMINT IS THE PROBLEM, WHICH MEANS “VOTE REPUBLICAN” BECAUSE THAT’S BEEN THE PUNCHLINE FOR DECADES.

Let’s cruise the New York Times:

Debate Turns Raucous as House Panel Weighs Medicaid Cuts

Raucous, you say! Weighs, you say! Sounds both-sidery. Subhed:

Lawmakers bickered, protesters shouted and senators came to take in the moment as a House committee weighed a critical portion of a bill to enact President Trump’s domestic agenda.

It’s all a big mess — on the one hand, protestors shouted — rude! George Floyd-y! Maybe they should be beaten by police or men dressed as police but not necessarily police! On the other hand, senators “[took] in the moment” like poets, contemplating a bust of Newt Gingrich.

Get a load:

As he called to order a marathon committee session to consider Medicaid cuts and other critical pieces of Republicans’ sweeping domestic policy bill, Representative Brett Guthrie of Kentucky surveyed a packed hearing room on Tuesday afternoon and asked for a respectful debate.

“I know we have deep feelings on these issues, and we may not all agree on everything,” said Mr. Guthrie, a Republican who is in his first term as chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

It was not to be.

He tried — God knows he tried. You parents out there — parents this administration wants to support by forcing more people to be parents — will understand: You try, try, try to calm the kids down by saying how deep your feelings are, but they still act out:

Minutes later, a group of protesters in the back of the Capitol Hill hearing room began shouting at lawmakers to “keep your greedy hands off our Medicaid.”

They drowned out the chairman’s calls for order, and Capitol Police officers ultimately removed five people — three in wheelchairs — as the dozens of lawmakers on the panel looked on. (The Capitol Police later said that officers had arrested 26 people for illegally protesting inside a congressional building.)

Try to imagine you know nothing about what’s going on (you know, like most Americans) and you read this. What do you think the takeaway is? That the protestors including “three in wheelchairs” were desperate and ill-treated? Or that, if these people wanted to be respected, they should have written an op-ed or take up a collection for a PAC donation instead of rolling their mangled bodies into harm’s way?

Anyway, the Times explains, this is part of how “Republicans and Democrats sparred over the plan”:

Republicans giving opening statements were interrupted repeatedly by protesters who accused them of taking health care away from vulnerable people. G.O.P. lawmakers, in turn, accused Democrats of misrepresenting the Medicaid cuts they are proposing to score political points.

So both the people proposing to cut $880 billion from Medicaid and increase the number of people without any health insurance by at least 8.6 million by 2034, and the people who say they shouldn’t, are being obstreperous. I’m sure we can find middle ground ooops Republicans run Congress fuck you.

The Hill: “GOP makes biggest bet yet pairing Trump tax rates with Medicaid cuts.” See, it’s a bet, a gamble — they’re gonna let their donors keep even more of their billions, and see if they decide to stop donating because the money happened to be stripped from paupers they do their best never to see or hear from. Could go either way! AP: “What’s in Trump’s big bill? Trillions in tax cuts, changes to Medicaid and more.” It’s cuts for “taxes” (not yours!) but for Medicaid it’s “changes” — don’t worry, you’ll find out when it’s too late.

And hang on, the Times has come back with a more forthright headline than before:

Oh — WELL then. Man, this country sucks.