Ron Paul ‘death’ moment: No ‘audience’ reaction
At the CNN-Tea Party Express debate on Monday night, host Wolf Blitzer and candidate Ron Paul went back and forth over a hypothetical: What if a man who decided not to buy health insurance somehow ended up in a coma?
Paul responded with his usual platitudes about freedom and risks. Blitzer, though, wanted an actual answer: “Congressman, are you saying society should just let him die?” Then came the moment that’s been churned in various headlines on the Internet. Examples:
Culture of Life? Tea Party Cheers Death of Uninsured
Tea party audience cheers letting the uninsured die
CNN/Tea Party Debate Audience Cheers Letting Uninsured Comatose Man Die
Audience at tea party debate cheers leaving uninsured to die
A fact-check is required here. Have a look at the clip:
The voices that can be heard in the video — perhaps two or three of them — don’t constitute an “audience” reaction. There were 1,100 people in the crowd. The episode is the clumsy work of a few loons or meatheads in the audience.
A fine headline would read: “Debate hecklers cheer death of uninsured.”
Under what circumstances would it be fair to characterize the “audience” as cheering something gloomy? Well, recent events furnish a handy case study.
During the Sept. 7 NBC/Politico GOP debate, Brian Williams made U.S. political history by merely…
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