Another Day, Another Michelle Bachmann Lie-Meme

Ken AshfordHealth Care, Obama Opposition, Sex/Morality/Family Values1 Comment

So here's what The World's Worst Politican Evah ™ said on the floor of the House last night:

For the video-impaired, here's a transcript:

"[T]he bill orders that these clinics protect patient privacy and student records. What does that mean? It means that parents will never know what kind of counsel and treatment that their children are receiving. And as a matter of fact, the bill goes on to say what's going to go on — comprehensive primary health services, physicals, treatment of minor acute medical conditions, referrals to follow-up for specialty care — is that abortion? Does that mean that someone's 13-year-old daughter could walk into a sex clinic, have a pregnancy test done, be taken away to the local Planned Parenthood abortion clinic, have their abortion, be back and go home on the school bus that night? Mom and Dad are never the wiser.

[Emphasis mine]

By the way, this is classic GOP fearmongering.  You know how you can tell?  Because it comes in the form of a question. 

As in "Does the mean….?" or "Could it be that…?"

Example:  "The Constitution says that the president is commander-in-chief of the armed forces.  Does this mean that Obama will command the United States Marines to come to your home, rape your children, and drink the blood of your grandmother?"

Then they'll add (usually in a follow-up on MSNBC's Hardball), "Well, it doesn't say otherwise.  So naturally, we must take it to mean that Obama will command the United States Marines to come to your home, rape your children, and drink the blood of your grandmother."

That's how the game works.  Learn it.  Look for it.

Anyway, back to Bachmann.

What she's doing is echoing a bottom-dweller convervative argument.  The origin of this argument, which has been hitting GOP inboxes in chain-letter fashion, seems to have come from blogger Peter Fleckenstein and trumpeted by the anti-abortion Liberty Counsel, which recently claimed that Page 992 of the bill "will establish school-based 'health' clinics. Your children will be indoctrinated and your grandchildren may be aborted!"

The nonpartisan (and Pulitzer-Prize winning) PolitiFact, which provided the Liberty Counsel origin, found the assertion baseless, giving the charge its lowest rating, "Pants on Fire."

It concludes:

"The money could also be used to provide 'mental health assessments, crisis interventions, counseling, treatment and referral to a continuum of services including emergency psychiatric care, community support programs, inpatient care and outpatient care.' The clinics would have the option to provide 'oral health, social and age-appropriate health education services including nutritional counseling.'

"Clinics getting federal dollars must act in accordance with federal, state and local law, according to the bills. For example, clinics in Louisiana are not even allowed to counsel students on abortion, according to the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals."

But these inconvenient facts are overlooked by Bachmann and her brethren.  None of the three bills in the House explicitly prohibit the use of the school-based clinics to steer kids to abortion clinics, so naturally allow for it, according to the odd conservative logic.

And soon you'll see the lie-meme popping up in ads, complete with scary music underneath, presenting this as truth.  Oh, and Beck, too.

Watch.  You'll see.