Rolling Stone Finds A Smoking Gun: Betsy McCaughey Lied About Healthcare Reform For Tobacco Lobby
By Susie Madrak Saturday Sep 19, 2009 6:00pmYou remember Betsy McCaughey, don't you? She's the right wing hack who propagated a purposely misleading article in The New Republic that was used to torpedo the Clinton health plan, and more recently the author of the "death panels" lie.
Well, Rolling Stone's Tim Dickinson has a hell of a scoop in their Oct. 1 issue in an article called "The Lie Machine: The Plot to Kill Health Care Reform":
McCaughey's lies were later debunked in a 1995 post-mortem in The Atlantic, and The New Republic recanted the piece in 2006. But what has not been reported until now is that McCaughey's writing was influenced by Phillip Morris, the world's largest tobacco company, as part of a secret campaign to scuttle Clinton's health care reform. (The measure would have been funded by a huge increase in tobacco taxes.) In an internal company memo from March 1994, the tobacco giant detailed its strategy to derail Hillarycare through an alliance with conservative think tanks, front groups and media outlets. Integral to the company's strategy, the memo observed, was an effort to "work on the development of favorable pieces" with "friendly contacts in the media." The memo, prepared by a Phillip Morris executive, mentions only one author by name:
"Worked off-the-record with Manhattan [Editor's note: At the time, McCaughey was a fellow at the Manhattan Institute] and writer Betsy McCaughey as part of the input to the three-part expose in The New Republic on what the Clinton plan means to you. The first part detailed specifics of the plan."
McCaughey did not respond to Rolling Stone's request for an interview.
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Anyone got another copy?
You might want to edit this piece to clarify the first paragraph. From what I can tell from your blogpost the original article by Betsy McCaughey was in the New Republic, not The Atlantic as you say in your first paragraph.
Though I admit they are clones of each other these days.
Fixed now.
attack machine against Health Care Reform this summer reminds me of Bernie Madoff...
LIE, CHEAT, AND STEAL... NOBODY IS KEEPING SCORE;
DO ANYTHING IT TAKES to advance your own personal selfish agenda;
SCREW the general public, they are only there for FUTURE PROFIT;
MANIPULATE THE SYSTEM against THE PEOPLE;
Do it in SECRET;
Spend whatever it takes to BUY politicians and public officials.
They are all pigs eating the slop provided by Big Pharma and Insurance Companies.
Everyone needs to read this article when it comes out. Those misguided souls on the right who listen to Fuchs Noose and rw radio-thugs need it most, but even though I know they need it, even if they read it, the majority of them would still follow Lonesome Rhodes. They have absolutely no idea that the RW "leaders" already have what the President is offering to their viewers in health care, know that a lot of their viewers don't have it, and don't care about using them to defeat themselves. This is first class stupidity and ignorance on display
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We got our copy yesterday and yes we did read this article. Well done indeed.
The originator of the 'death panels' lie lobbies for the tobacco industry? You can't make up better unintentional satire than THAT.
They already dun did:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBELC_vxqhI
This woman is a dim bulb.
After seeing Stewart let her make a blithering idiot of herself on his show, it just goes to show what can be accomplished by an evil loser, if hey have the "right" connections!
but she is a whore
they should have used her instead of that heather chick for the acorn thing...cuz betsy has years of practice whoring out that ass to the highest bidder
Calling the rightwing mouthpieces "stupid" or a "dim bulb" gives them something of a pass because they are neither.
They're calculating, cunning and deceitful. Ideologues for whom facts mean nothing, which makes their bullshit even worse.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Btb_pAoTkfM
By EMILY WALKER
MedPage Today Staff Writer
Sept. 18, 2009
[ http://abcnews.go.com/Health/WellnessNews/lac... ]
And to think the government wants us to stop smoking weed.
Too many widows running around nekkid I reckon.
against the current healthcare reform bill began in MAY....that's FIVE MONTHS before the WH started to take this bullshit seriously.
I hope they've learned from this and won't be "taken by surprise" again. Jeez.
This should cement her status as a go-to expert on healthcare reform for all the cable new shows. Nothing improves status like being exposed as a shill and a fraud. Having the news break in Rolling Stone only adds a cherry to the shit sunday. If we've learned anything by now, it's that the only sure way to be considered unserious is to be factually correct and honest + liberal.
I smell a new Fox superstar.
To the Repugs or to the ensure ants industry, the outcome of this reform effort is life or death. They will stop at virtually nothing to defeat the public option. We must turn off the vent, stop the infusions, close the curtains and turn off the monitor. It's time.
So Betsy McCaughey must have also been against when conservatives piggy backed antidemocratic legislation onto military spending bills during the Bush administraition. Wait, that's right, I can't remember her saying anything at all about that. Maybe she was on vacation during those eight years, and had better things to do?
she is a evil animal. Doesnt anyone ever check facts ot do they just allowed to spew silly lies. This c--t should be in jail
They are swiftboating healthcare again and we falling for the same dumb tricks. The Msm and the democtras still have caught on or learned their lesson.
Philip Morris hired this windbag for her name, the same way the tobacco companies market Bronco cigs as their cheap line. Bronchial cancer and coughing--an ad man's take on subtlety.
Many of the GOP wingnuts have big life insurance policies on their non-Ubermensch family members and intend to collect with medical neglect and health uninsurability. A public option scares them shitless, since their prey, with medical attention, just might outlive the premium payer or, at the absolute least, cost Mr. or Ms. Wingnut another monthly payment or several.
These people have institutionalized murder for profit. Do not expect them to fall easily, or to fight the clean fight.
You Lie! For Money!
It was my understanding this woman was fired after her appearance and poor performance on The Daily Show.
Anyone else remember that?
Maybe that's why she didn't respond to RS' request for comment. This video was loaded August 8 shortly before she was fired. Has she made any announcements since in another capacity?
Just curious.
Jon Stewart could barely contain himself listening to her nonsense.
"alliance with conservative think tanks, front groups and media outlets"
Who needs front groups when you've got the mainstream media, bought and paid for by Big Pharma and Big Insurance?
Tobacco couldn't advertise on TV, and they still managed to torpedo Clinton's healthcare. Imagine how easy-peasy it will be this time around.
It's now available online: The Lie Machine
McCaughey made what seems to me to be a comical response: shame on Rolling Stone for running a cigarette ad in the same issue.
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