He is at it again. Now Dr. Paul is saying that the America public might be made uncomfortable by “a case or two” of people like his assistant, or my brother, but that we should stand firm and let them die rather than allow the government to help.
In a TPM article by Benjy Sarlin, Dr. Paul once again explains that we shouldn’t let the ugly deaths of the uninsured bother us, but we should be bothered by those who draw it to our attention.
Paul added that “to twist it around and say that we have no compassion and we just throw people on the street, that to me is getting pretty ugly.”
Well, get ready because I plan on getting even uglier.
You want ugly?
Ugly is the study published by the Journal of Public health in 2009 that found that there were 45,000 annual deaths associated with a lack of health insurance. That is 45,000 individual cases of ugly. I am willing to bet that behind each number was a story as heart breaking as my brother's.
As heart breaking a the death of a child that was simply Unbearable. Ten years old Dr. Paul. Ten years old and she died from the flu. From the flu. By the time an ER would admit her it was too late. Pretty ugly indeed.
As ugly as the death of a man from a toothache. A toothache. Have you ever had a toothache Dr. Paul? By the time an ER would admit him, it was too late to help him. Much like my brother. Damn right it is ugly.
Ugly was the need for the friends of your assistant to hold bake sales to pay his medical costs. That is ugly. We are the richest nation on the face of the earth and our people are supposed to beg for health care. That is what is ugly.
And you, one of the powerful in this richest of all nations stand there and call me ugly? How dare you?
I didn’t think my brother’s death would mean anything to anyone outside of our family and his friends. I thought the American public was tired of the acrimony of the health care debate thanks to the howling travesty of democracy that is the tea party. I thought this would all blow over in a couple of days.
But if you want to continue this debate, I am ready. I can match you ugly for ugly. You may have all the power, you may have the ear of the media, but I have the knowledge of 45,000 annual deaths at the hands of your philosophy.