Perhaps she was “biden” her time: Last week, we puzzled over the way Rachel Maddow downplayed the Plan B flap. See THE DAILY HOWLER, 12/12/11.
Why did Maddow bury this story? Last night, did we possibly get our answer right at the start of the program?
MADDOW (12/13/11): And thanks to you at home for staying with us the next hour.Is that why Maddow buried Plan B? Like you, we have no idea.
We’re coming to you from Washington tonight because the interview tonight is with the vice president. The vice president. The vice president of the United States! That’s coming up this hour. Very excited to bring that to you.
Googling, besides the short segment on her show, all I could find were three blog posts on the "Maddow Blog" by someone else. I don't see any other evidence that Maddow has talked about it on her show other than the original short segment. I guess Maddow gives women the shaft (no pun intended).
ReplyDeleteAre there any Republicans to blame? Jeez, the administration and its lackeys like Maddow and Digby are in a tight spot.
ReplyDeleteThese stupid laws require the administration to allow citizens access to needed drugs or to protect our air quality. And Obama has to take full responsibility for these decisions! There's no bipartisan panel where the administration can blame Republicans and there's no legislative process where the administration can pretend that only right-wing laws are "practical" and will pass.
Well, at least the Democratic party and their loyal hacks (like Maddow or Digby) can run interference to try to cover this up for them.
Look, over there! Newt is cheating on his wife!
No word from Olbermann either. I don't watch the others.
ReplyDeleteIn my search of 'frontpaged' Daily Kos diaries for "plan b" since 12/7 I get 5 hits.
ReplyDeleteOnly three of the five mention Obama in the post and only one mentions Obama in the title (Sebelius is also in 3 of 5 posts but 2 of 5 titles).
Kaili Joy Gray seems to be the only Daily Kos frontpager that is even somewhat critical of Obama on this issue. Here is the most critical she gets: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/12/08/1043404/-Obama-blames-Kathleen-Sebelius-for-decision-that-teens-are-too-dumb-to-use-morning-after-pill?via=search
I don't advise reading the comments unless one wants to see how the Democratic machine attempts to smother, obfuscate, and otherwise conceal Obama's betrayals.
Note too that even the most critical Daily Kos frontpager can only bring herself to write:
"Well, yes, common sense when it comes to contraception would be a nice idea. Memo to the president: Suggesting that possibly pregnant teens should not be able to buy emergency contraception as easily as they can buy bubble gum—while ignoring the far more dangerous medications they can buy over the counter—is not common sense.Well, yes, common sense when it comes to contraception would be a nice idea. Memo to the president: Suggesting that possibly pregnant teens should not be able to buy emergency contraception as easily as they can buy bubble gum—while ignoring the far more dangerous medications they can buy over the counter—is not common sense. Sure would be nice to see the president try it."
She's sending an ironic "memo" to the president and saying it would be "nice" if he listened to her.
I hate to link to the other post that dares mention Obama (citing Digby!). It's the standard veal pen shit . . . doesn't Obama realize he's making a political mistake by throwing women under the bus?
I flubbed that quote from Kaili Joy Gray of course. Here's the correct version:
ReplyDelete"Well, yes, common sense when it comes to contraception would be a nice idea. Memo to the president: Suggesting that possibly pregnant teens should not be able to buy emergency contraception as easily as they can buy bubble gum—while ignoring the far more dangerous medications they can buy over the counter—is not common sense.
The common sense approach to contraception is to make it as accessible and affordable as possible to all girls and women of reproductive age because that is the best way to reduce unplanned and unwanted pregnancies, especially among teens.
That's the common sense approach. Sure would be nice to see the president try it."
The flap surrounding Plan B One Step reminds me of the 1957 Thalidomide controversy.
ReplyDeleteIn that, Francis Kelsey of the FDA refused to certify a “Miracle Drug” that was touted as a safe sedative because it would not result in death if overdosed, as would barbiturates.
US drug companies that wanted the lucrative market savaged Kelsey. She stuck to her guns, saying that the drug had not been tested enough to establish safety.
At that time, drugs were rarely tested on pregnant women, even if volunteers were available.
Neither Eisenhower nor Kennedy were blamed for the decision.
Subsequently, thousands of babies were born without arms and legs due to Thalidomide use by pregnant women.
Kathleen Sebelius has unilaterally restricted the Plan B from sub-teen girls on the grounds that the effects are not well known.
She is accused of following the President’s orders to restrict the drug, presumably so Obama can get some Evangelical Christians to vote for him in 2012.
At least, Obama’s critics are hinting at that.
Politics trumping science is their catchphrase.
Only paranoiacs know for certain what is going on, which explains the paucity of comment so far.
As more scripts are written for our “reporters” to crib from, we will soon be buried in “facts”.
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ReplyDeleteReplica uggs makes a spammerific point.
ReplyDelete"Is that why Maddow buried Plan B? Like you, we have no idea. "
ReplyDeleteBut you write a post anyway.
gravymeister:
ReplyDeleteSebelius isn't the "head of the FDA". She isn't even a scientist. The FDA says Plan B is safe.
When you review the science, it is clear that plan B is an extremely safe drug and its side effects have been tested extensively.
Obviously, there is never perfect certainty, but the safety of plan B is more certain than for many many other drugs that the FDA has ruled do not require a prescription (e.g. Tylenol).
If plan B was just an acne treatment it would have been approved by Sebelius and we wouldn't be having this conversation. I think you know why.
Dave,
ReplyDeleteEven Obama justified the decision using his girls as an emotional excuse.
Plus, we have recent FACTUAL EVIDENCE that Obama is even worse than Bush when it comes to gutting regulation (whether environmental or food, etc.) on behalf of industry.
I don't think Rachel Maddow, Daily Kos, or Digby will give this study much attention:
http://leftwingnutjob.net/2011/12/obama-has-weakened-regs-more-than-bush-you-dont-say/
The above cite shows that Dave's argument above applies not only to the Obama administration's treatment of Plan B but in all areas of regulation.
ReplyDeleteEspecially the environment. The courts have ruled that the Obama administration has to do more to protect our air quality and yet the administration totally caved in to industry and ignored the scientists and the courts and the law.
If the Bush administration were blocking sound science to cater to polluting industries and the womb patrol the Democratic partisans like Kos would be up in arms.
Dave,
ReplyDeleteAlthough I didn't say Sebelius was head of the FDA, she is Secretary of HHS, a cabinet position, and the FDA is under the HHS, so Sebelius is indeed the head of FDA, right under The President.
Francis Kelsey was a scientist, not a head of FDA, and she stated correctly that Thalidomide had not been adequately tested for safety.
Secretary Sebelius, though not a scientist, has said she is concerned that the drug Plan B, a two step treatment, which has been declared safe for younger teens, is NOT Plan B One Step, a single dose treatment, which has not been tested as thoroughly. It doesn't take a scientist to see that A is not B (but it helps).
Perhaps she is being overly cautious.
Perhaps she is just doing her job.
Or, as women's right's groups and Obama opponents claim, she absolutely is making a political decision to help her boss get re-elected.
We may never know what was in her mind, but one thing we can be sure of is that the charges of political abuse of power will go on in perpetuity.
Anonymous misses by a mile with this:
ReplyDelete"'Is that why Maddow buried Plan B? Like you, we have no idea.'
But you write a post anyway."
Uh, anonymous, the main point is she's burying the Plan B story. We don't need to know her motivation to know this is a miscarriage of honest reporting and/or punditry.
Plus, we may not know Maddow's motivation for sure ($$$$), but circumstantial evidence is overwhelming that people like Maddow, Kos, and Digby are nothing more than paid shills for the Democratic party. They continually spike or minimize stories like this.
In any case, reasonable adults can (and should) be very critical and suspicious of their ideological gatekeepers. Does anyone doubt that if the Bush administration did what the Obama administration did in preventing plan b from being more available that liberals would be talking much more about it? C'mon. It doesn't pass the smell test.
Obama is harming teenage girls and partisans like Maddow would rather point their finger's at Newt for cheating on his wife. If Obama was a Republican Maddow would have Obama's children on her screen and would be raking Obama through the coals for making their lives and all teenage girls' lives more difficult.
Gravy,
ReplyDeleteIf you look at the Daily Kos link I provide above you can see the Democratic partisans argue your points. It's a rabbit hole I have no intention of going down, but help yourself.
Obama makes it hard to divine his intentions because on the one hand he says he has nothing to do with the decision but on the other hand he put these people in these positions and they keep overruling the scientists so he must be getting the results he wants. Plus, he also made comments justifying the decision and using his daughters as emotional excuses.
I have long come to the conclusion that Obama and the Dems are lying finks, so the plausible deniability no longer works on me.
But one need not condemn Obama's motivations and instead merely look to his actions: Obama's record on issues like choice and family planning is that of a conservative.