Guess What, Sarah? Those 'Death Panels' Already Exist ...

(NEWSER) - Barack Obama took the stage in New Hampshire today to set the record straight about Democratic health care reform efforts. Though the crowd was all applause, Obama took on the raucous protests that have characterized recent town halls. “Let's disagree over things that are real, not these wild misrepresentations,” he said, laughing off rumors that the government would set up “death panels that will basically pull the plug on Grandma.” More»

Both sides have vocal opponents, could halt bill without compromise

(NEWSER) - With a last-second concession barring federal dollars from funding abortions, Nancy Pelosi largely skirted the full brunt of the issue, but Harry Reid may not be so lucky. The Senate majority leader likely won't get the 60 votes he needs without similar language— which a Planned Parenthood VP calls a “middle-class abortion ban”—but pro-choice lawmakers could also stall a too-restrictive bill, Politico reports. More»

She even used a semicolon—it can't possibly be her

(NEWSER) - Sarah Palin came out swinging on Facebook last night, responding to criticism of her infamous “death panels” comment in a 1,000-word, point-by-point rebuttal, complete with footnotes. There’s only one problem, notes Cajun Boy on Gawker: “There’s no way in hell Sarah Palin wrote it.” Why not? It's completely cogent, linear, packed with actual information. The piece argues that the end-of-life consultations provided for, while voluntary, are alarming in the context of a bill aiming to cut costs. More»

(NEWSER) - Sarah Palin urged supporters to show restraint at town hall meetings, arguing that disruptive protests were giving Democrats ammunition. “There are many disturbing details in the current bill that Washington is trying to rush through Congress,” she said on Facebook yesterday, but we must “not get sidetracked by tactics that can be accused of leading to intimidation or harassment.” More»

(NEWSER) - So now Sarah Palin alleges that President Obama's "death panels" might have killed Trig had they been in place. "Where to start?" wonders Joan Walsh in Salon. "Palin's entire statement is so ignorant, so bollixed rhetorically and morally, it hurts to read it." Most "health care screamers are sadly uninformed," she writes. But unlike most, Palin was a candidate for vice president, which "shows the Republican Party has arrived at a point of abject shame." More»