They did it for the stimulus bill - demonize it and then take credit for it to their constituents - and now it starts for the health care bill.
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) crafted the "death panels" and the "pull the plug on Grandma" memes but those weren't the parts of the health care legislation he was proudly taking credit for today:
In a release sent out by his staff to reporters today, Grassley says the bill will "hold tax-exempt hospitals accountable for the federal tax benefits they receive" thanks to his work...
"The health care legislation signed into law yesterday includes provisions Grassley co-authored to impose standards for the tax exemption of charitable hospitals for the first time," his Finance Committee press staff writes.
Of course Grassley has had a lot of practice at hypocritical flip-flopping:
At the start of the process, Grassley was expected to be among those Senators working to craft a bipartisan bill. But it wasn't long before he abandoned that effort, and helped to start the "death panel" meme heard at town halls across the country throughout last summer...
Later on, Grassley joined with the Republicans in condemning the bill's medicare provisions. He jumped through several rhetorical hoops when he tried to explain his position in support Medicare while also attacking the idea of a public option last September.
"Medicare is part of the social fabric of America," he said. "And I think there's a lot wrong with it."
Without apparently a trace of irony, he credits the excellence of the hospital-related provisions in the bill he co-wrote to bipartisanship.
You can read the complete self-serving press release here.