Is “ Die Quickly” Equal to “You Lie”?

Are they equally inappropriate? Some people may say yes. I say no. The truth may be ugly, but false assertions are uglier. Democratic Congressman Alan Grayson of Florida refused to apologize to Republicans after criticism from Republicans for his comments on the floor of the House that the Republicans’ healthcare plan is people should “die quickly.”

He was highlighting the fact that Republicans have no plan for health reform. They haven’t offered a plan that departs from the status quo. It is the status quo. His plea was a wake up call to people who think the Republicans have a better plan than the proposed reforms- what’s left of it. No reform is not reform.

Here’s what he said that caused all the stir from the rightous right:

Using flip charts (Ross Perot style) to underline his point, Grayson pointed out that Republicans know their do nothing plan won’t work so they "have a backup plan in case you do get sick…If you get sick in America, this is what the Republicans want you to do: If you get sick America, the Republican health care plan is this: Die quickly," he said. "That's right, the Republicans want you to die quickly if you get sick."

The Republicans demanded an apology- to that he said:

Rep. Alan Grayson: “I would like to apologize to the dead, and here’s why. According to this study, ‘Health Insurance and Mortality in US Adults,’ which was published two weeks ago, 44,789 Americans die every year because they have no health insurance…Let’s remember that we should care about people even after they’re born. So I call upon the Democratic members of the House, I call upon the Republican members of the House, I call upon all of us, to do our jobs for the sake of America, for the sake of those dying people and their families. I apologize to the dead and their families that we haven’t voted sooner to end this holocaust in America.”

Representative Grayson gets a tip of the hat for being outspoken, accurate, and holding his ground. He could have chosen his words better, and he could have been more gracious, but he made the point. I hope he doesn’t become the next vulnerable Democrat to be culled from the herd by the predator conservatives.