Liberal interviewers are quick to question reasonable but somehow "controversial" assertions made by Republicans and conservatives, while loony statements uttered by leftist interview subjects often slide right on by without challenge.
On Tuesday, MSNBC host Thomas Roberts heard Bernie Sanders delegate Angie Morelli claim that single-payer health insurance might "help those people out" who made "death threats" against Democratic Party officials after Nevada's contentious delegate selection process last week. Instead of bursting out in laughter or questioning Morelli as to how she could possibly believe what she had just said, Roberts wrapped up the segment as if she had just made a perfectly reasonable statement.
After making some valid-sounding points about the byzantine Democratic Party delegate selection process in Nevada, Morelli addressed the "death threats" (yes, those words are in quotes, which will be explained; HT Washington Free Beacon; longer video is at the Free Beacon link):
Transcript:
ANGIE MORELLI: The death threats are super unfortunate. I completely agree that’s not something that should happen, but at the same time that’s a different conversation where we should be talking about mental health issues and perhaps getting single-payer health care to help these people out.
THOMAS ROBERTS: Angie Morelli, Bernie Sanders delegate, thank you very much ...
Really, Thomas? How about, "Thanks, Angie, for telling us that some of your candidate's supporters are so unhinged that they can only be saved by open-ended mental health services provided under single-payer healthcare."
Or how about bringing up the reality, as has been seen in single-payer Canada, that someone in genuine need of mental health services probably won't get appropriate treatment, and almost certainly won't be served on a timely basis:
Why do I have to wait so long to see a psychiatrist in Canada?
Question: My brother suffers from depression. His doctor says he will have to wait six to nine months to see a psychiatrist. That’s an awfully long wait. He needs help now. But the thing that really bothers me is all the recent media campaigns to raise public awareness about mental illness. What’s the point of drawing attention to this illness if you can’t treat the existing patients within a reasonable time?
Answer: You make a very important point – and your brother is certainly not alone in his plight. Many patients suffering from various forms of mental illness have to wait many months before they can see a health-care professional trained to treat their particular condition. Only one in five Canadians with depression get appropriate treatment, according to some estimates.
One other point here is that the messages Nevada's Democratic Party chair received were more appropriately described as "death wishes," i.e., "it would be nice if you would die or suffer greatly for what you have done." Though usually profane, obviously out of bounds and often legally actionable, the ones identified at the link are not nearly as serious as direct "I intend to kill you" threats.
This distinction wouldn't be necessary but for the fact that "I intend to kill you" threats against Republican and conservative politicians, pundits, and public speakers are all too common. They are also all too often either not reported or deliberately downplayed.
One such example: In 2011, during the protests over Scott Walker's public-sector collective-bargaining bill in Wisconsin, a woman threatened fifteen Badger State GOP senators that she would personally, in the words of an Associated Press report, "shoot them and plant bombs around their homes." The related AP report about the woman's arrest was treated as a local story, even though the protests against Walker's legislation routinely made national news. In fact, "Walker’s entire family was apparently being stalked," and "troopers had to be assigned to monitor his children at school."
More recently, credible "I will kill you" and "I am actively encouraging others to kill you" death threats have been made against Donald Trump. At first, they caused him to increase his security detail; they then led the Secret Service to provide him and then-candidate Ben Carson protection long before what is normally the case during presidential primary campaigns.
Single-payer healthcare wouldn't do anything to address genuine, credible death threats — but solitary confinement in prison cells for those making such threats would.
Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com.
