PolitiFact editors and reporters have chosen "government takeover of health care" as the 2010 Lie of the Year. Uttered by dozens of politicians and pundits, it played an important role in shaping public opinion about the health care plan and was a significant factor in the Democrats' shellacking in the November elections.
How many times was the lie repeated? And how did Republicans respond when challenged?
PolitiFact sought to count how often the phrase was used in 2010 but found an accurate tally was unfeasible because it had been repeated so frequently in so many places. It was used hundreds of times during the debate over the bill and then revived during the fall campaign.
...The phrase proliferated in the media even after Democrats dropped the public option. In 2010 alone, "government takeover” was mentioned 28 times in the Washington Post, 77 times in Politico and 79 times on CNN. A review of TV transcripts showed "government takeover" was primarily used as a catchy sound bite, not for discussions of policy details.
In most transcripts we examined, Republican leaders used the phrase without being challenged by interviewers. For example, during Boehner's Jan. 31 appearance on Meet the Press, Boehner said it five times. But not once was he challenged about it.
Our own Congressman Geoff Davis has used the phrase himself on numerous occasions. Here are a dozen examples:
- "Congressman Davis Rejects Democrats' Trillion-Dollar Government Takeover of Healthcare" (Press release, 11/07/09 and also 3/21/10)
- "House Passes Massive Government Takeover of Healthcare" (Weekly column, 11/10/09)
- "Senate Democrats Press Forward with Government Takeover of Healthcare" (Press release, 12/21/09)
- "Kentuckians Speak Out Against Washington Takeover of Healthcare and Ask for Action" (Weekly column, 8/31/10)
- "Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Reid... have now enacted a government takeover of health care." (Weekly column, 4/6/10)
- "The government takeover of our health care system will lead to... ultimately, I believe, the rationing of care." (Weekly column, 3/23/10)
- "The Pledge to America offers a new way forward with solutions heard directly from Americans across the country to... repeal and replace the government takeover of health care." (Weekly column, 9/28/10)
- "Take for example the Democrats’ government takeover of health care." (Weekly column, 6/28/10)
- "President Barack Obama and the Democrat [sic] Majority in Congress have spent nearly a year entirely focused on one goal: a costly government takeover of health care." (Weekly column, 1/12/10)
- "Thousands of Americans gathered today to voice their opposition to a government takeover of health care." (Press release, 11/05/09)
- "Using (reconciliation) to execute a government takeover of health care against the will of the American people would be a travesty." (Weekly column, 3/02/10)
- "Senate Democrats gave us the gift that no one wants for Christmas – a government takeover of health care." (Press release, 12/24/09)
(This is just a small sample. A quick Google search finds over 200 examples of the phrase "government takeover" on Geoff's website.)
Will the so-called "liberal media" hold Geoff Davis accountable for repeating this blatant lie over and over again? Click here to send a letter to the editors of the Enquirer, and let them know that you disapprove of Geoff's dishonest talking points.
