Kirsten Powers Fesses Up; The Hill and Politico Silent on Truth about Bush Veto Override

posted at 9:48 am on January 2, 2011 by SusanAnne Hiller
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The other day I pointed out that Fox News analyst Kirsten Powers should really fact check any talking point coming from the White House and held her responsible (fair is fair) for her own ignorance of the end-of-life provision that she debated on Hannity.

To review, Powers said that President George W. Bush’s veto of the bill that included the end-of-life provision was “not true.”  I reported at Big Government, Big Journalism, and HotAir that Bush vetoed that bill which Powers, the MSM, and lefty bloggers tried to use as cover for the end-of-life provisions in the newly revamped wellness visits paid for by Medicare.

Nevertheless, that didn’t stop the left and MSM from continuing to use that false talking point given to them by the Obama administration as seen in The Hill’s piece:

However, an administration spokesman said the regulation, which is less specific than the reform law’s draft language, is actually a continuation of a policy enacted under former President George W. Bush.

Ironically, the administration attempted to use Bush as cover, when, in fact the policy was enacted by means of a congressional veto override.  And that brings us back to our beloved Kirsten Powers and her latest.  After 4 days of knowing the truth about the veto, Powers took my advice and tweeted:

Powers cites the WSJ as her source, which did correct the story as I noted in my original post.  And I do hope that’s the case, because so many news outlets had the same narrative/talking point–which also could mean that they all got the same memo.

Additionally, The Hill and the Politico have not corrected their stories.  The Politico actually goes out of its way to further advance the bogus blame by interviewing Richard Sorian, assistant secretary of Public Affairs for HHS and allows him to spew more propaganda elaborate:

Sorian also clarified that it was the Bush administration that first implemented regulations regarding end-of-life counseling. The wellness visit began as a “Welcome to Medicare” exam, which was created by the Republican-led Congress in the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003. In 2008, when Democrats held the majority, Congress passed the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act, which modified the exam to include end-of-life planning. The Bush administration first implemented regulations that included the end-of life planning as part of the wellness visit created in MIPPA.

B-,b-,b- but it was Bush.  Not.  It was a congressional veto override that enacted that law.  Period.  And I’m sure that Sorian knows that.  They all do.  Now, where do we go from here.  I’ll tell you.  If Kirsten Powers can issue an apology on Twitter, I’m sure the Politico and Jason Millman of The Hill can too.  So, we will wait a few more days.

Crossposted at Big Journalism (link fixed)

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