Countdown: Bethany Wilkerson's Parents Talk About SCHIP Success And Right Wing Smears
By Logan Murphy Wednesday Oct 17, 2007 8:38am
Bo and Dara Wilkerson, the parents of 2 year old Bethany Wilkerson, who appeared in a television ad supporting SCHIP, and who are already being attacked by the right, sat down and talked with Keith Olbermann last night on Countdown. The Wilkersons, like the Frosts, are another down to earth, working class family making a modest living and whose only motivation for allowing their child to appear in the ad was to tell Americans about their successful experiences in the SCHIP program.
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When asked about the attacks from the right for quitting a job that provided health insurance, Mrs. Wilkerson explained that she didn't become pregnant for several years after losing her benefits and that once Bethany was born and her heart condition was discovered, it made it impossible for her to get insurance for her because of a pre-existing condition, which is a major issue for millions of Americans who CAN afford private insurance. The most ironic note of the segment? Mrs. Wilkerson is a Republican. One presumes she's less than thrilled with her party now.
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And the beat goes on........ Repugs at work.
Republicans - the party of fetus worshippers!
So she'll be jumping ship then I take it?
Or is she delusional like the rest?
Here is what people in France do when their government tries to go against them:
Wave of Strikes Hit France
Ya know, I could see her saying she USED to be a Republican, and maybe that's what she meant, but why would she say she IS one?
I guess my real question is, what will it have to take for the few remaining self-described Republicans who aren't hard-core homophobic neo-con fetus-worshipers to realize that whatever they mean by Republican is not what the Republican Party is now, and for them to stop identifying with it, even in passing ?
I love this line in the National Review Article "...and the couple went on to have a baby anyway, presuming that others would pay for it...". Isn't that pretty typical of the right-wing smear machine? Isn't this as close to saying that "poor people shouldn't have kids" as you possibly can without actually saying that?
I have to also agree with GonzoD. These same smear merchants (a favorite term used by Mr. O'Reilly) will do everything possible to deny the right of a woman to have an abortion, because that unborn "life" is so precious, but God forbid they raise a finger to help that child after birth. What is wrong with this picture and what is wrong with the theocratic fascist right that they can't see the forest for the trees?
Someone stop that dear, sweet baby from running ALL OVER THE SET!
roooth @ 5:
I was Republican until after the 1992 elections. In 1992 I saw what the Republican had become, a nest of theocratic fascists who only wanted a culture war and not to stick to the true libertarian/conservative ideals that drew me to the party in 1988. I voted as a Republican for then Governor Bill Clinton and after the election, I changed my party affiliation.
Are the Democrats everything I want them to be? No, but at least they are more true to their ideals.
"The most ironic note of the segment? Mrs. Wilkerson is a Republican".
The reich wing will throw her under the bus just like the anyone else who dares to speak out. Question is will she switch to the Democratic Party or become and Independent, or be a masochist and stay with the party who cons and scares her into continuing to voting against her own best interest and for the interest of BushCo, Halliburton and Big Oil.
Phoenix Justice @ 6:
...and yet they want to overturn Roe v. Wade which provided affordable abortions. Before Roe v. Wade, abortions were legal in a handful of states, where only the wealthy could travel to and have the procedure done.
What is it about American citizens that the right-wingers loathe so much?
News report this morning indicates that the SCHIP program will go down to defeat; that
is, the vote to override bush Veto is 15 votes short in the House. When initially passed,
the SCHIP vote was 29 votes short of overriding bush's veto. My question: Nacny P.,
if we were successful in getting 14 congresspersons to change their vote, WHY is it
that YOU insist on bringing this to the House Floor again today for a vote that will be
unsuccessful? There is no requirment that this matter be voted on again today or tomorrow
so it seems prudent to not call for a vote immediately, but for this to be put off for
another week or two weeks and see if the public view/sentiment can be successful in
persuading these other congresspersons to also change their vote and override bush's
veto. Makes sense to me...What do you think?
when the republican party is exposed for what they are as they clearly are in this case, then the lady who is a republican needs to stand up and declare her party affiliation loudly and clearly and then state just as succinctly how that party has chosen to treat her and her family. that might sink a little into the rockheads who inhabit the heartland. then again, if she is a true republican, no amount of in your face logic will ever dissuade her from voting the party line, even if it means sacrificing her family.
reich-wing smears are now par for the course. But we make private nasty comments on a private blog, and then we suddenly have commentators and concern trolls admonishing we must play nice.
I'm afraid that the Republican smear/disinformation machine is just warmin' up. The coordinated onslaught against liberals, progressives and Democrats will be more intense then ever before. By this time next year non-critical thinking Americans (a lot of people) won't know which way is up or down. We are living in dangerous times.
The question I pose to Mrs. Wilkerson is this: "Do you still see gay marriage and the "Islamofascists" as the biggest threat to your family? Would you fall for a divisive mean spirited wedge issue or fear mongering Republican tactic in the next election cycle designed to scare and con you into voting against your own best interests? Or wiill you now join the majority of Americans who are tired of being kicked in the teeth by the GOP and help vote these bastards out of office in the next election?"
To futher what Phoenix Justice and Blue Buddha are saying, the "right to lifers" are also trying to shut down Planned Parenthood - one of the only sources of inexpensive woman care/family planning for those without access to regular ob/gyns due to lack of health insurance.
They really don't see the hypocritical thinking in their various "campaigns" against abortion/family planning and accessible health care for those without access. It amazes me that they can compartmentalize all of these issues into separate individual areas without the slightest clue that not only do they overlap/intersect but they are all related and the disposition of one of these issues will have an affect on all of the others.
Ignorance truly is bliss
xoites defends Constitution @ 4:
In France the government is affraid of the people. In the U.S. the people are affraid of the government.
It also underscores the fact that Republicans continue to promulgate a view of what 'poverty' is supposed to be, rather than the facts that face many Americans like the Frosts.
Gotta love the right-wingers; they take all the jobs over-seas, they refuse to pay a living wage or to provide health care for their employees, they goto medical school and then over charge their patients for the little work they do and they own insurance companies who refuse to pay for what they are supposed to and they fight to keep health care for profit over the well being of the nation .... then they attack you for not having health care.
Republicans have discovered that, by slowly warping and degrading the level of discourse in this country, they no longer even need to pretend to care about other people. They have promulgated a hyperpartisan attitude of "I've got mine, screw everybody else" that they now can openly articulate -- albeit in slightly flowery, indirect language -- on issues such as retirement, health care and education.
I mean, the attitude about education in this country used to be "We've got the best schools in the world!" and now it's "There should only be private schools, because most of the people I care about will be able to afford them, and screw everybody else!"
Ditto for everything else. These scumbags have an attitude that, if they ever need anything, they'll just get help from their network of rich friends!
For any right-winger reading this, who thinks he or she doesn't believe in the idea of a social safety net, I have four words for you: Scooter. Libby. Defense. Fund.
Doggiebobo @ 12:
Another comment: Since it seems evident that Nancy P. will permit "another" vote on the
SCHIP program today(which I disagree with), ALL of us need to be sure and identify exactly
who the Republican members of Congress were who voted "Nay", and do what we can to
see that when that bunch of scumbags come up for re-election, they are voted OUT OF
OFFICE.
The Republican Party is deserving of nothing less than electoral euthanasia. Republicans convicted in court are deserving of prison. Republicans convicted of treason are deserving of the gallows. Republicans convicted of collaboration with traitors are deserving of exile.
Lets see if I've got this straight. According to the fundy right-wing:
1. People should remain celibate until marriage.
2. People shouldn't have access to abortions or use birth control.
3. Married couples shouldn't have children they can't "pay for" - including ensuring private health insurance for all their children.
So... I guess it follows then that married couples should remain celibate if they don't have health insurance or once they've had all the children they can support. Oh yeah, and this:
4. Masturbation is an abomination!
What f*cking planet do these people come from, exactly? How stupid are they and/or how stupid do they think we are?
It's my understanding that boinking exchanges hormones essential to life and longevity that would preclude the need for early medical attention.
Without boinking you stand a larger chance of dying young.
Are the fundy reich-wing advocating mass suicide?
Reich-wingers eating their own.....crack open a beer and open a bag of chips.
SamBarge @ 24:
Are our (s)elected officials not a commentary on this country?
Dr. Acula @ 27:
As the nuns at school used to say 'sex is for procreation not recreation'
Do the repubs who vote against schip really feel it's the right thing to do or are they just carrying the party line? Seems the "party" trumps common sense these days and that is a scary way to go.
Bush continued the lies yesterday when he said it would cover kids from families who make up to eighty two grand each year. It won't and I think he knows it, I know it.
This thing isn't mandatory and if a family can afford insurance for their kids, they sure as hell aren't going to drop it just to take advantage of a govt program. We all know that govt. programs are full of red tape and delays. No one wants to get into that unless it's the last opportunity they have to get their kids covered.
I guess I am still just struggling with what the argument is against s-chip. It's not the source of funding, which I have heard some people worry about, because I have only heard that from left-wing sources, so what is it? What is their defense for voting against this program?
can anybody help me out?
Fanon @ 28:
Ahh yes religion. If you DON'T adhere to all the above contradictions the big giant invisible magic head in the sky will punish you for all eternity. You'll be in hell with all your uninsured, unbaptized babies. Oh no wait they go to limbo now. Oh now wait the babies don't burn any more ... now they go to invisible magic happy land with jebus and pals. But you won't if you so much as look at your genitals with anything other than disgust.
Here's my religious question of the day...
Why is it ok for priests to rape little boys but it's not ok for the working poor to have kids they can't insure?
Fanon @ 30:
There is no argument, just the boogeyman of 'socialized medicine' and preconceptions as to what a working person's dollar actually buys in this country.
Props to the Wilkerson and Frost families for speaking truth to power against the rightie "spending" concern trolls who have no problem spending another trillion against Iran but not crumbs for our kids
pop
I don't think providing a sliding scale payment for a family that makes 82k is that outrageous, either. I dropped my husband from my plan at work after we had our baby b/c I couldn't afford to cover all 3 of us. He is a full time student (and healthy, thank gods) and picked up a terrible plan through the university.
So, what about a family of 4 making 82K with jobs that don't provide insurance plans or provide them at such an outrageous rate that you can't afford them? To insure your family (employee + 2 or more) would cost about $1,200 a month.
they don't want s-chip because it points out that our system is so incredibly broken that the only answer is for gov't to come in and guarantee insurance for everyone.
what kills me here is that they're willing to slaughter a 2 year old kid at the altar of republicanism, when the mom is a republican. Jeesh.
Pro life? LOL. They only care about unborn life. Living life should just go curl up and die.
I know Michael Schiavo has thought about this...
How many of the health Care for kids opposing Republicans went through all that Congressional cost of getting in off schedule and voting to save Terry, one adult, from the results of the best health care decisions in the world?
Did Bush sign anything for her?
They go all over the airwaves spouting on about injustice for someone who did NOT NEED they're intrusion into decision making.
But they VOTE and VETO health care for the Children faced with such life struggles in their first 5 years!!!!!!!
Republicons, useless a-holes every one of them!!
MargeAggedon @ 31:
I can't help you, Marge. I'm just glad I was on the traffic patrol (esp. since one of the parish priests wound up being identified years later as being a pedophile).
MargeAggedon @ 31:
Because if you rape little boys you don't have to use birth control?
Blue Buddha @ 10:
Not to mention the fact that so many Repugnantcans oppose birth control. In 1984, party members were opposed to sex itself. I guess this is where the GOP is headed which is why so many of them have to sneak a quicky in a public restroom.
Murmurings of "24% approval ratings" and "dropped 6% in the polls since vetoing SCHIP" should be heard all through the halls before they go in to vote. How about "following the Lame Duck pResident over the cliff". They apparently aren't getting it. I don't get why the republicans that DID vote for this aren't going after their colleagues. Even Orrin Hatch went against bush on this and he has had his mouth firmly attached to bush's anatomy in all things.
Ahhh... Of course she's a republican...voting faithfully all these years for people who were aiming to keep her economically depressed. Maybe this will snap her out of false consciousness.
WHY DO REPUBLICANS WANT TO
KILL
AMERICAN CHILDREN?
Does bush's veto end the original chip program or just the schip? If it ends the whole program until some compromise is reached, it sure adds to his famous vetoes. First stem cell research, then money for the troops and now this.
Whatever - she'll vote for them like she always has.
Sorry - I'm in a funk this AM...
[Penguin, JPM doesn’t mind you trolling at work on their IP? I thought I’d let you know, we’re starting a collection of your witticisms to send to their abuse department. Enjoy the chat with your supervisor-Sitemonitor]
MargeAggedon @ 31:
Put me down for some magic head.
So... let me get this straight.
Little Bethany is damned by the Reich-wing because she was born?
Susan Orr - the shrub's very own appointee to the Department of Health and Human Services, says that contraception is part of the "Culture of Death"
Yet the child was born and now the Reich would rather she be dead.
The Reich wing Nazis would have condemned the parents had they decided to have an abortion rather than bring that bouncing bundle of joy into the world.
On the other hand, they would be happier than pigs in sh*t if Bethany had been born in Iraq and killed by some of the most advanced bombs made in the United States of America.
The next protest in DC everyone should come armed with chainsaws.
[Penguin, JPM doesn’t mind you trolling at work on their IP? I thought I’d let you know, we’re starting a collection of your witticisms to send to their abuse department. Enjoy the chat with your supervisor-Sitemonitor]
[Penguin, JPM doesn’t mind you trolling at work on their IP? I thought I’d let you know, we’re starting a collection of your witticisms to send to their abuse department. Enjoy the chat with your supervisor-Sitemonitor]
Who cares about a little smear story, our country is going to hell. Look for a Oct. Stock market crash like 1929...
http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/october2007/161007_economic_crash.htm
amgriffin @ 7:
Don't say that! She'll get put on ritalin.
The anti-sex mindset is actually counter to survival of the species long term (that is, less people having children, less genetic diversity) ... but, in the end, it's part of a philosophy that will assure education and healthcare for their scions, but not for the great unwashed.
I guess we're supposed to believe that God designed human anatomy only to provide for procreation, but the recreational aspects - which are a means of a man and woman (and I'm speaking in the abstract here, no slight intended towards the LGBT community) expressing and enhancing the intimacy necessary in a healthy, long-term relationship - somehow slipped His Mind.
Fanon @ 30:
Here's the answer: Republicans hate kids because kids are all liars and phonies. They grow up to be phony soldiers. Only the fetus before it is born is good enough to have valued.
I am surprised the editorial board of the National Review didn't charge onto the set and spank poor Bethany -- children should be seen and not heard, right?
Or is it, children should be paid for or not conceived...?
I thought she was cute zipping all around the place. She wasn't afraid and shy, she was full of energy. Of course the right will say if she has a medical problem it sure didn't show and therefore she should be removed from the chip program.
How heartless must one be to see a little girl like that and not want to give her whatever medical help she needs. Any little sick kid deserves to get help no matter what the finances of the parents might be. If they can't get her what she needs on their own and our country refuses to help, what the fuck are we good for???
Auntie Christ @ 47:
YES! Now you get it: She is poor.
yeah, she's a repugliKKKan. now she is getting a taste of the people she voted into office AGAINST HER OWN BEST INTEREST!
HOW MANY TIMES DOES THAT BEAR REPEATING?
AGAINST HER OWN BEST INTEREST!
Do they get it now?
MargeAggedon @ 31:
Because priests raping little boys doesn't cost Republicans any money.
pissed off patricia @ 43:
As of October 31st, the current version of SCHIP runs out of money. It either has to be renewed at its current rate of funding or more before October 31st, or else ALL of the kids currently covered lose their government SUBSIDIZED insurance.
I grew up a poor kid and before anything like the chip program was available. Poor kids don't get medical attention until you either break a bone or you do something that results in lots of blood. There was no thought of medical check-ups and such. If there was a problem it wasn't found until it manifest itself into something serious. Giving insurance to people in need would seem to me to be not only humane, but caring as well. Can't we afford to be humane and caring at home while at the same time killing and wounding in other countries? If we can't afford both, I suggest we stop the killing and wounding.
Thank you so much for that answer, Phoenix Justice. So this thing has to be dealt with rapidly or things go down the tubes for a lot of kids. I guess for those kids Halloween and the question, Trick or Treat?, takes on a whole new meaning.
As hinted at above, one of the reasons the theocratic fascist members of the Republican Party want to kill the SCHIP program is because it works. In their mindset, government cannot work at helping people. Government, to them, isn't the solution, its the problem. Which is kind of funny, since they want government to impose their moralistic values on everyone else.
Government works when it is not constantly being sabotaged to make it look like government doesn't work.
pissed off patricia @ 59:
Exactly, and that's one of the reasons that Speaker Pelosi was in a rush to schedule a vote, although I think she could have waited until next week when I think they would have had enough votes to override the President's veto. The Senate would have most likely voted immediately after the House.
pissed off patricia @ 58:
and Medical check-ups, wellness clinics and immediate care centers (cough, sore throat) are not only humane and caring, but cost effective.
BaScOmBe @ 55:
Which is it, Bascy? Is she stupid for remaining a Republican and voting against what you think should be her primary best interests? Has she made a bad choice?
Try not to smear her, or you'll sound like a reich-winger.
All the so-called smears seem to be sourced to one writer on one blog, that probably 99.9+% of the population had no idea who he was.
No contraceptives, even for married couples
No abortion even, for rape and incest
No having babies if you can’t afford it
. . . and if your situation changes, shame on you for not having $150,000 in savings
Boy doesn’t the right wing make sense?
I’m not even going to get into the get a job any job and stay off welfare vs. oh your irresponsible because you don’t have the right job, right wing brain pretzel fuck
"...to say that someone should stay in an unfavorable work place just to maintain insurance for a pregnancy that might happen down the road, or a health condition for a child that might happen down the road is just unfathomable to me."
Ms. Wilkerson hits the issue I never see addressed; how many millions of people are working jobs they hate and are unsuited to because they cannot get health insurance anywhere else? Particularly the post-40 crowd, of which I am a member. I know several folks who would literally be dead from various conditions without their job-provided, and ever dwindling, health benefits.
Corporate America would lose its' biggest leash on the workforce if, suddenly, that workforce didn't need employer health benefits to cover them and their families.
That stupid baby should have thought twice before being born with a heart condition to working class parents. She deserves to die.
Now where's my golf cart catalog?
/republican
Ditto to all the above comments. I admire the Wilkersons' courage.
Republicans also evidently believe that if you are at a miserable job where you have health care coverage, you should stay there regardless of your own physical and mental health. Sounds like slavery. Wouldn't our CEOs love that?
My favorite argument is that people will go off private insurance to go on this government program. This is so false. No one would give up a good, affordable private health insurance policy to go on a government program. What are they talking about?
The right wing doesn't want sex education in the schools. They don't want young people to have access to birth control. If a young woman gets pregnant, they want to force her to have the baby - that way everyone in the community will know what a slut she is. But once that baby is born, she had better be prepared to fully support the baby and not ask her community for any assistance. After all she shouldn't have been so irresponsible as to have a child. It's a vicious cycle they want to perpetuate.
Eh, it's no surprise she's a Republican. Poor schmucks in the Bible Belt consistently elect anti-government-spending candidates -- even though most of them are from states that benefit the most from federal spending.
One more comment, I know a woman who stayed in a bad marriage to an alcoholic man (who worked and carried family health insurance through his employer) who abused her and the kids because one daughter was a cancer survivor and she couldn't get any health insurance for her that would cover a preexisting condition. So to ensure her kids would get medical coverage she put up with an unbearable situation. She lived for the five-year survival mark when her own health insurance would agree to add her daughter.
What is it about American citizens that the right-wingers loathe so much?
I think Paul Krugman of the NYT said it best:
"They hate the idea of (actually having to) be(ing) "their brother's keeper", and the fact that we do have a responsibility to those in need."
Being "thy brother's keeper" requires being concerned about someone other than yourself. This group is a bunch of selfish bastards who will eat their own if they get in the way.
Being "responsible" means owning up, even if you made mistakes. We've seen the ReThugs slam, slime and smear anything resembling responsibility, yet because they went after Bill Clinton for a BJ, we're supposed to respect them as the responsible, moral party. When they come out of the closet about their sexuality, and live openly as gays or lesbians, that's when they'll be considered "responsible" to me.
This is the party that consistently sets up the average American to stay below the poverty line, while blaming them for not pulling themselves up above it. Can you say, "Sick SOBs".
We are seeing "Bush on the Couch" personified, and the author warned us about this back in 2003!
pissed off patricia @ 58:
Be humane?
Caring?
Not killing and wounding others?
You must not be reading the GOP's version of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount:
Sermon on The Mount (GOP version)
From the book of Neocon Jesus -
Cursed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Cursed are those who mourn, for they are whiners.
Cursed are the gentle, for they use logic and compassion to try to usurp the true rulers of the earth.
Cursed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall never be satisfied due to the iniquities that you shall carry on in MY name.
Cursed are the merciful, for mercy is for the weak, but we don't torture.
Cursed are the pure in heart, for they hope earnestly to see a God who is not there.
Cursed are the peacemakers, for they shall be scorned by those who proclaim in public to be sons of God.
Cursed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is naught but a cold and unmarked grave.
Bleesed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and tell you the absolute truth about all of your evil deeds you in my name.
Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great if you give the preacher money now; for it is not for you to give to the poor or feed the sick, rather shun those bastards and make money money money your god.
Bow down before your mammon, your new golden idol, worship it and kick anyone in the face who says otherwise.
I, Jesus, leave you this one last cammandment: "fuck the poor and never look back with pity or lend a helping hand."
dennis @ 63:
don't do the concern troll routine on me. I don't care how you feel about my opinion.
she is a perfect example of people who voted for the shrub and his minions and now she has a problem. A BIG PROBLEM. That's a fact, pure and simple. A fact is NOT a smear.
Rep Hoyer just said on the floor of the House that a new CBS poll says that 81% of those polled were in favor of schip. 60% of repubs polled were in favor of it and I believe he said three quarters of indep. were in favor of it. There's the voice of the American people, are the representatives listening or do they just not care?
Cursed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
should have read:
Cursed are the poor in spirit, for it is more than just "spirit" in which they are poor - these damn fools don't even have tax shelters.
Auntie Christ, that is perfect!
"The most ironic note of the segment? Mrs. Wilkerson is a Republican. One presumes she’s less than thrilled with her party now."
There is something about this statement that seems more important, more threatening than the story of the daughter.
Fanon @ 28:
Isn't it odd then that god made sex so much fun? What kind of head games is god playing with us?