They ALL Lie To Us

I was watching last night's "Countdown, with Keith Olbermann", and I got about 5 minutes into it and I had to turn it off, after Mr. Olbermann and Senator Grassley both lied to me.

Olbermann first, because his was the more egregious, in my view:

Olbermann was talking about Sen. Grassley's latest attempt to forestall health care reform, by claiming that "forcing every citizen to buy something violates the 10th Amendment", claiming that it'd be the first time in the history of this nation that the federal government had forced citizens to buy a product.

Olbermann breaks into the clip and says "Oh yeah? Heard of mandatory car insurance?"

This may not be well known, but car insurance isn't mandatory at the federal level. I know, because here in NH, it's not even mandatory at all. Which means that it's not the same situation at all. The 10th Amendment, for those who don't recall, is the one that says "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.". Which means that BY DEFINITION, it does not restrict the powers of the States, it restricts ONLY the power of the federal government.

Thus, anything the states do CANNOT violate the 10th Amendment. Therefore, Grassley's argument may hold some water.

In fact, and this is the part that really galls me, a few seconds later, Olbermann replays the clip, with a little more context, and Grassley says something like "...it may be okay for the States to do it, but it's a violation of the 10th Amendment for us to...", and Olbermann repeats his line about car insurance. So not only did he get the law wrong, he actually ignored Grassley when he specifically LISTED the legal issue in question.

Now, on to Senator Grassley: His lie is a bit less blatant, so I'm almost tempted not to call it a lie, just a misdirection. His claim that the federal government has never previously required anyone to buy any service is also bogus. Let's talk about the Interstate Highway System. Let's talk about the NEA. Let's talk about lots of federal programs. OK, maybe Grassley can slip through by claiming that the government paying for something out of tax money isn't quite the same as forcing someone to buy a product. You want a perfect example?

Let's talk about inoculations.

And by the way, Mr. Grassley, let's remember that the Dems wanted a single payer system, paid for by taxes, and it was rejected out of hand, and while you might not like it, by your argument, it's more Constitutionally legal, because it'd be more like those examples above.

So I gave up on last night's Countdown. When both sides are lying to me, it's time to turn off the TV and go do something more mentally stimulating. Like a lobotomy.