From yesterday’s Joint Public Health Meeting:
“You have a team working hard to deal not on hypotheticals but on reality.” — Arkansas Surgeon General Joe Thompson
“There’s no reality right now. I hope you’d agree with that.” — Rep. Justin Harris
Harris went on to close his questions with this: “Mr. Chair, I hope that train doesn’t go into a wreck. I think even Harry Reid said it’s a train wreck.”
In fact, the quote in question, which Harris has no doubt digested from a steady diet of anti-Obamacare propaganda, came from Sen. Max Baucus, not Reid. Moreover, Baucus did not say that Obamacare itself was a train wreck. He expressed concern that not enough was being done on outreach and advertising to educate people about the law. The actual context is amusing since Harris and his allies are now busy trying to block money appropriated to the Arkansas Insurance Department for…outreach and advertising to educate people about the law. In other words: Harris says he “hope[s] the train doesn’t go into a wreck” but people like Harris are trying to wreck the train.
But, I get it, I’m describing reality. And for Harris there is no reality. I hope we’d agree to that.