You might already have noted the story in which Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) stated his belief that the government has no business helping the dire needs of the people whom it serves.
Yesterday CNN’s Rick Sanchez aired a segment from a health care town hall where a weeping constituent explained to Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) that her husband’s health insurer refuses to cover his treatment for a traumatic brain injury. As the woman continued to cry, Coburn told her that his office would try to assist her individually. But, he added, "the idea that the government is the solution to our problems is an inaccurate, a very inaccurate statement."
It's a sickening story, and Coburn's attitude is reprehensible. But how did CNN cover it this morning?
They showed the woman's desperate plea for help. They showed Coburn promising that his office would try to help her individually....
...and his line about the role of government was edited out of the coverage.
What was the follow-up? The fact that dozens of people have now come forward offering financial help to this woman and her husband.
The single most important piece of content in the exchange -- the issue of government's role in the "general welfare" (where have I heard that phrase before?) of its people, and Coburn's relevant opinion, was not worth including in the coverage. It's this very issue that should be the heart of the debate, and of the reporting. If Senator Coburn believes that government has no role to play in guaranteeing that its citizens receive adequate health care, then that's the topic we should be debating, and how it should be reported.
Instead, the story as reported on CNN consists of:
- Woman at town hall begs Senator Coburn for help.
- The good senator promises to help her himself.
- Lots of other good American folks step up to the plate.
The story's implicit message?
- Senator Coburn is a generous, wonderful guy.
- People who need people are the luckiest people in the world.
- So your American health care system works just fine, folks.
So no health care, no problem. Just make a connection to someone powerful and influential, and/or contrive a means of appearing on television. A fine solution for the millions of uninsured living in poverty.
Your liberal media at work.