Harry Reid hides behind 11-year-old kiddie shield Marcelas Owens
This new video is currently the featured clip on the Senate Democrats’ YouTube site. It’s health insurance-bashing demagoguery and dumbing-down and cowardice and child exploitation at its worst. Watch what the Senate Democrats have entitled “Young Health Care Activist Discusses Health Insurance Industry Abuses:”
On Wednesday, I told you about how the Democrats have resurrected the kiddie human shield strategy to salvage their health care takeover plans. My column introduced you to the boy featured in the clip — Marcelas Owens, who just turned 11:
One of President Obama’s youngest lobbyists – 11-year-old Marcelas Owens of Washington state – traveled to D.C. on Tuesday on the dime of astroturf group, HCAN (Health Care for America Now). His 27-year-old mother, Tiffany, died of pulmonary hypertension. According to the family, Ms. Owens – a single mother of three — lost her job as a fast-food manager and lost her insurance. She received emergency care and treatment throughout her illness, but died in 2007.
Young Marcelas – goaded by his left-wing activist grandmother and promoted by Democrat Sen. Patty Murray — is now a regular on the pro-Obamacare circuit and is leading a congressional sit-in until the Democrat plan passes. He admits he doesn’t understand the complexities of health insurance reform and doesn’t “think it’s anyone’s fault” that his mom passed away. “But they could have done more” for her, he says.
It’s a heart-wrenching story, but the tale raises more questions than it answers. Washington state offers a plethora of existing government assistance programs to laid-off and unemployed workers like Marcelas’s mom. Why didn’t she enroll? Second, she died nine months after she reportedly lost her health insurance. By the time she lost her coverage through her employer, she was apparently already in dire health straits. It’s not clear that additional doctors’ visits in the subsequent months would have prevented her death.
All that said, the Owens’ case demonstrates the flaws of the employer-based system of health insurance. It needs real reform. Unfortunately, the current crop of Democrat plans would leave the employer-based system fully intact. What we need are grown-ups to start over from scratch and leave the kids on the playground.
But just as he elevated youngster Graeme Frost to champion the S-CHIP entitlement expansion, Harry Reid put Marcelas Owens in front of the cameras to help deflect tough health care policy and political questions. It worked. Here’s the superficial coverage from the NYTimes, which touts Marcelas as “a new face in the health care debate” and swallows the Owens’ family story whole without asking a single question of any independent state agency or outside source for verification:
Senate Democratic leaders on Thursday sought to put a human face on the health care debate, and a cute face at that.
Marcelas Owens, a fifth-grader from Seattle who turned 11 on Wednesday, joined Senate majority leader Harry Reid of Nevada and other senior Democrats at a news conference on Thursday.
“We know health reform is not about numbers, it’s about people,” Mr. Reid said. “It’s about pain, real pain, suffered by real people.”
The boy’s mother, Tiffany Owens, died of pulmonary hypertension in 2007 at age 27 after losing her health insurance because she could no longer work. Ms. Owens had been an assistant manager at a Jack in the Box restaurant.
Imagine them taking any conservative opponent’s life story at face value (see: Joe the Plumber).
The Times fails to mention that Owens’ grandmother and family have been longtime activists for the left-wing, single-payer advocates of the Washington Community Action Network or that the boy and his grandmother traveled to Washington with sponsorship from the Astroturf lobbyists of the Health Care for America Now outfit, which characterized Marcelas as an “insurance abuse survivor.”
Never mind that there is not a shred of evidence that any health insurer ever “abused” Marcelas. Never mind that the family has made no claim that Marcelas himself has survived without insurance (in Washington state, low-income children have been covered either through Medicaid, SCHIP, or the SCHIP expansion program Apple Health for Kids). Newsbusters is also covering the MSM’s soft-shoe coverage of the Democrats’ use of the Owens’ kiddie shield here, here, and here.
Not that gullible health care sob story coverage is anything new to the Times. See: Unbelievable update: The crappiest NYTimes column on Obamacare just got crappier; Update: Kristof’s disingenuous non-response.
The usual hyperventilating from the Left — horrible conservatives “targeting” poor, innocent kid! conservatives “assault” poor, innocent kid! — just proves my point. Despite President Obama’s repeated admonition that health care reform is a “complex issue that can’t be reduced to snippets,” it’s exactly what Reid, Murray, Schumer, and his Owens’ grandmother propped up young Marcelas to do. Anyone who questions the narrative and absolute moral authority of the kiddie human shield is a heartless, right-wing stalker who should be vilified, if not arrested.
As always, the current ruling majority is incapable of holding an adult discussion on the costs and consequences of its plans.
Gives a whole ‘nother meaning to No Child Left Behind…
***
Commenter Bob on Staten Island: “I am glad Senator Reid sees this eleven year old as an equal, because I see most of congress as equal to eleven year olds.”
***
On a separate note: Reid’s wife and daughter were involved in a serious car crash in the Beltway area Thursday afternoon. Liberal readers are already e-mailing that I am an evil #*&^% for exposing Reid’s tactics while his relatives have sustained injuries. I wish only the best for his family. But the unfortunate traffic accident doesn’t make Harry Reid immune from criticism. It’s another bad shield.
***
Proving my point again:
ongress wouldn’t listen to people like Tiffany Owens talk about the need for affordable health care coverage, but maybe they will listen to her 11-year-old orphaned son, Marcelas.
Owens died, her family says, because she developed pulmonary hypertension and was unable to work. When Owens lost her job, she lost her health coverage and could not afford to buy any on her own. Owens fought for passage of health care reform in her final days, and now her son is carrying on in her memory.
“I’m telling the members of Congress that the health care bill should be passed because everyone deserves health care,” Marcelas said during an interview on MSNBC.
“The health care system is broken, and it caused my mother’s death,” Marcelas added.
Talk about wisdom coming from the mouth of babes.Marcelas is an articulate and heart-wrenching example of why we need health care reform in this country.
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We also know the liberation of Iraq was not about numbers, but people and pain, yadda yadda yadda. Didn’t bother Mr. Reid a bit.
So we should surrender our liberty, destroy our economy, and leave ourselves defenseless in the face of many ruthless enemies, all on the word of an eleven year old?
If they can accept the word of an 11yo about socialized health care, why can’t they accept my word as a veteran that government run VA health care is lousy?
Bingo.
(This kind of tactic has been used on gun owners for years by the left, so it is nothing new)
Stand fast.
Liberals can never persuade people based on facts, so they resort to “feelings” instead. People hear these sob stories and logic goes out the window. Michelle is right-on: Where are the grown-ups in the Democratic party?
According to the Left, yes, we are supposed to throw away everything for the state on demand.
I am glad Senator Reid sees this eleven year old as an equal, because I see most of congress as equal to eleven year olds.
Harry Reid hasn’t met a kid yet that he doesn’t want to hide behind.
Harry Ried said that 45,000 people a year die due to lack of health insurance. So, why are them Dems going to let another 180,000 people (maybe someone else Marcelas Owens knows) die from waiting four years before any benefits start?
Ever notice that any time the Democrats are campaigning for anything, they roll out the victim. Most Americans always favor he underdog. Poor downtroden, hepless Democratic Party victim. Ugh!
The continued use of children as props in the socialist democrat’s propaganda campaign to nationalize a major segment of a free market and steal our Liberties is wearing thin. Midnight votes on holidays, tax payer funded bribes to feckless legislators, demonizing opponents who disagree, withholding details of important legislation, all these are now the hallmark of this terrible 111th Congress. These legislators have shamed themselves and damaged the public trust. Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi and company have proven they are bad for Free People, bad for Liberty, bad for our Country.
Reid’s wife and daughter were rear ended by a semi last night. His wife, Landra, is in serious condition with a broken back and neck, and facial lacerations. IMHO we need to set aside politics for the moment and pray for the Reids.
Commenter Bob on Staten Island: “I am glad Senator Reid sees this eleven year old as an equal, because I see most of congress as equal to eleven year olds.”
For shame Bob, I’m surprised at you! Eleven year olds are much more mature than most of our congress whatever their political covering
So the whole health care system in the US should be changed because it is embarrassing and dehumanizing for those who can’t afford the best care in the world to have to ask for it. So even though the care for all paying citizens will be degraded and rationed, the poor will be able to get the care THEY DESERVE without feeling guilty that it was given freely by a generous working public. This thought process will be the downfall of our nation!
This is without a doubt the dumbest piece of crap I’ve seen from these fools do lately.
Another example of getting my share of “Obama’s stash”.
We are the most generous people and nation on earth and I believe that those who are given much should give back the most, but it should be free will. During my career in medicine I gave free care to those who could not pay and they were grateful and appreciative. In later years that changed to “I deserve free care” and there was very little appreciation expressed. Where did we go wrong?
I’m getting tired of these “sob stories”. Having health insurance doesn’t save people any more than not having it kills them. Medical technology hasn’t figured out how to save everyone who gets sick. There are ways to make the medical care and medical insurance more affordable, which this administration is not interested in doing. Having us pay for something in advance of expanding care won’t stop the sob stories either.
Michelle, pulmonary hypertension is often something not treatable. If it becomes bad enough, the only remedy is a lung transplant. I think you should investigate more about the details of this 27yo mother’s death. She may have lost her health insurance from Jack/Box but she was probably already on medicaid by then. It wouldn’t surprise me if during those last 9 months, she was in the hospital more than out of it and that she was seen by a plethora of specialists. For all we know, she may have died as a complication of a lung transplant; any transplant is a very risky last ditch effort and has a high mortality.
It’s a good thing Harry Reid isn’t conservative or the vitriol coming from the liberal blogosphere cheering the accident would reach an untenable crescendo.
Thankfully, conservatives, for the most part, don’t revel in another’s misfortune. Hopefully the Reids are ok.
Child exploitation. Disgusting.
Sorry about your Mom kid, but noone gets out alive.
The placard reads “Putting Patients First”. They’ll putt everybody else later.
Seriously, do they need a slogan and a sign for everything?
It’s weird, how the more times you see these Democrats’ clown shows, the funnier they look.
I cant think of a better image than an 11 year old discussing policy for the dems. The analogy is perfectly accurate.
What’s next BTW? Trips through a hospice, or the ICU’s of hospitals? Many on this board, including me, have stated that libs are morally bankrupt, hollow-souled people. Is there any better proof than this?? Is this any different than Al Gore using his cancer ridden sister to win an election? Libs are truly the bottom feeders of humanity.
What do you expect from a “medical wonder” no brains, no guts, and no back bone.
So it turns out that Dr. Smith was a Democrat? He was often seen as using Will Robinson as a shield.
As the show progressed, he, like today’s Democrats, became a caricature of his character.
The shallowness and idiocy of the Dems tactics never fail to amaze me. It makes me seriously doubt the sanity of the half this country that can look at something like that and think it is an effective argument for ObamaCare. If so then I suggest they talk to my three year old who thinks it is bad that daddy has to go off to work everyday so we can pass a bill to fix this travesty. Also is in favor of more ice cream and cartoons. In fact, why not just let children make all decisions for us adults?
Nothing bad is wished for his family.
Exactly.
Harry Reid is nothing more than a domestic enemy fifth-columnist, a collaborator with our foreign enemies, who is striving mightily to destroy our nation.
And I care not one whit whether Reid, or his supoporters, say that his intensions are good.
First, I don’t, I cannot, believe that.
Second, if what he is trying to do is killing us slowly, do his intentions even matter?
I hate to be crass about this (and my heart goes out to a little boy who loses his Mom) but where was this group before she died? They can foot the bill to use him as a prop but not for her actual health care? Just sayin’.
These jerk advocacy child ads are really irritating and really wrong-using children as ad props. As with Gore’s Global Warming “Children tell your parents” ads or Stalin’s “snitch on you father” they are trying to separate parents from their children. But then the Progressive’s hero Woodrow Wilson did state that the purpose of an eduction was to make a man as unlike his father as possible.
Seems like that is what’s happening right now. The “adults” need to take back the Congress.
The democrats are so frightened of the American public that they will try any measure and use any method to achieve their socialistic objectives. They know that the people are watching and waiting to turn them out of office so they are desperate to gain control of healthcare which would effectively allow them to place their hands around the throats of the American citizenry.
Hitler and Stalin attack and murdered millions of Jews and other ethnic groups. The modern version of these people attack and murder the unborn and the old.
If Republicans used one of these “human shields”, they would claim that it was “anecdotal information”, and had no relevance to reality.
Interesting to see that slimy human shield politics are more important to Harry Reid then being with his Wife who has a broken neck and back.
Yeah. Remember how well it worked for the Khmer Rouge?
I am truly sorry Harry’s wife and daughter were hurt and I am praying for them. Having said that, Harry Reid is a disgusting piece of human garbage. Gee, was that tacky? The truth hurts. The fact that his family has been hurt in an accident doesn’t change the fact that he sucks as a human being.
don’t bother commenting on the video on Youtube – they censor everything critical of the video…and I can say, not a single comment has yet to be approved.
On that note, does anyone else find it creepy and desperate that there is an official “House Democrats” Youtube channel?
Creepy and desperate describes this entire administration. They are getting creepier by the day. This is not going to end well.
These people are supposed to be our greatest assets, our leaders. Instead they are sideshow carnies, trying every sleezy trick in the book to hide their incompetence. What a humiliating farce. What a supreme disappointment. I am tired of being subjected to the failure and stupidity of this agonizing group of village idiots known as the “government”.
Marcelas Owens is not responsible for it happening, but something I find tragic in this whole affair is that Marcelas is 11 years old, and his mother was 27 years old when she died. If the death was recent, then that means that the mother was only 16 when she gave birth to Marcelas. Babies having babies.
To her credit, Marcelas’ mother did not resort to abortion, and she is to be commended for that.
The liberal minor will grow up and become either a conservative (thus being very embarassed at being so used by liberals) which I think is most likely or a radical liberal socialist/marxist/communist (making Pelosi and Reid look like Reagan Democrats).
Please don’t insult 11 year old kids, some of the brightest 11 year olds I know where Boy Scout and Girl Scout uniforms and the average Scout is head and shoulders above the fools in congress.
Come to think of it, they’re smarter than the average person who voted for the KBPOTUS.
GSP
Let’s just call it like it is and stop this nonsense. Obama, Reid and Pelosi couldn’t care less about rules, the Constitution or any other perceived impediment to their socialist healthcare aberration. They will resort to absolute totalitarian rule if necessary and the people be damned. Thank you enlightened voters . . . you really stuck it to us this time.
This kiddie shield is pretty weak!
Couldn’t the dems find a non-white kid with a grandmother who died in the WTC on 9/11, and also had a father was killed in Iraq, and who’s mom and little baby sister both died?
To start with, I don’t know why she was a single mother, but three!!! kids? At some point one has to figure out they can’t afford these kids? And where’s daddy? Secondly, she could show up at the ER and they would have had to treat her and supply her with the meds she might have needed. I’m tired of this manipulation and poor Marcelus sob stories. The options are there, why didn’t she take advantage of them? The something for nothing crowd!!
The fascists on the left doing this is no different than when Saddam Hussein did the same thing before Desert Storm when he kept “guests” as human shields.
I am a cardiologist and know a little something about pulmonary hypertension. This woman was 26 when she died. One of two things is happening here. Either she had a congenital abnormality of her heart that led to pul. hypertension or she had what is called primary disease. Either way she was going to die. With or without insurance.
Now take a look at the jerk politicians lying like dogs. If they really wanted to do something for health care in the US they would begin the process of having Medicare and Medicaid pay for the services provided. Then you would pay less for your health care. You see, the increased cost of medical care is because these organizations do not pay for what they get. Next get rid of the 30 million illegals who are here. There are currently 10 working across the street from me as I write this. If asking them to leave doesn’t work then prison time for those that hire them or just shoot them on sight. If you have been to Mexico you know that this can easily occur. Then, finally, get the government out of medicine on both state and federal levels. That would eliminate 30% of the cost.
That’s OK, Marcelas. Obama, Reid, and Pelosi don’t understand the complexities of health insurance reform either, but they don’t have your courage to admit it.
The Seattle Times carried a picture of his mother. She’s obese at probably 75-100lbs overweight, and was holding a cigerette and a beer cup at the time.
Do you have a link? Call it morbid curiosity.
Praying for Marcelas and his family.
Once again, Alinsky tactics…Ends justify the means,
even if the “means” is exploiting an innocent child.
Very well said.
So, the liberals are trying to politicize the accident… use Mrs. Reid’s broken nose and broken back to shield Harry from criticism so that he and his Democratic Socialist peers can break the back of the American people?
Nice.
Not about healtcare “reform”. Is about healthcare industry nationalization.
Not about cutting costs. Is about increasing govt control and reducing accountability.
Getting tired of their mis-characterized ruses and shell games.
One thing I am certain of is that when Tiffany Owens died it was not due to her being denied health care. I am certain towards her end, she was constantly seeing doctors and most likely this took place at the University of Washington hospital. An investigative reporter could find out the details if they wanted to. They could interview her neighbohrs,… Obtaining facts about her medical care from doctors would be illegal but family could be asked some direct questions. In fact there is no one even trying to make a claim that she died due to insufficient medical care. All people say is that she died after she lost her jack/box insurance. That most likely means that her hospital bills were now covered through medicaid. Considering that this family is being used to destroy American medical care system, I say it is fair to investigate the veracity of their claims.
Link to a video showing his mother. Fat, smoker, drinker.
That didn’t work. Try this
http://www.mynorthwest.com/index.php?nid=76&sid=293135
http://www.basichealth.hca.wa.gov/
Ummm….
Isn’t Washington state served by government health care?
Yowza! From the video, it looks as though society forced his grandmother to put on an extra 75 pounds or so, as well. Obviously, society should foot the bill for their unhealthy behavior.
His mother received free healthcare and treatment from Swedish, and the UW Medical Center on many occasions. Her lifestyle killed her, not a lack of healthcare.
Ms. Owens made some choices, it seems.
She chose to smoke (which choice I support her having).
She chose to be obese.
She chose not to go to the doctors, apparently. She was treated for days on two separate occasions in local hospital, without insurance by some accounts.
She chose not to seek Washington state’s program if she could not qualify for Medicare.
Her mom, family, and friends chose not to help her.
You know, I’m thinking of becoming some sort of activist as well. Yeah, yeah, that’s the ticket. We here at Ragmen for America believe that every American has the right to go out and get smashed every Friday and Saturday night. To that end, I demand that the federal gubmint buy my liquor every week. Who’s with me on this?
It would lead quickly to crappy booze and rationing…
Pass…
The dems will never raise up the blacks…they need them to remain downtrodden and poor to help push their agenda…
Case in point-
Obama has the black caucus in to discuss jobs for blacks, and then has the hispanic illegal caucus in to discuss how they best can steal the jobs that blacks are being pushed out of…..
It’s not an administration , it’s a Three ring circus.
Ragspierre
Maybe you’re right. Let’s focus then, on another of our rights as citizens. The right to keep and bear arms. Since we have that right, I demand that the federal gubmint give me a new pistol and 1000 rounds of ammo every month.
Well, it works well for the Swiss.
Couple that notion with the booze, and we’d have a PAAAA….TEEEEE
The only person I truly feel sorry for is the kid. He is being used as a pawn by these vampires disguised as politicians.
On the face of it, the story is ridiculous. The woman was admitted and treated at two different hospitals. SHE WAS NEVER DENIED TREATMENT, regardless of whether she had insurance or not.
Where’s the father in all this? Where’s the family? Since it’s Dems we’re talking about, the government is supposed to be the father – meaning you and me the taxpayers and income-earners.
Lastly, turns out the boy’s grandmother works for HCAN. Coincidence? Yeah, sure.
If the vote goes down and Polosi doesn’t get enough votes, we had better be prepared for an outright dictatorial coup by Obama.
It’s ALL payback for the racism he felt growing up. Some White dude somewhere in time called him a bad name, and now Obama is like Dr. Evil, bent on revenge and the destruction of America. It’s SO obvious.
Don’t doubt me.
On March 12th, 2010 at 3:09 pm, maisy said:
The Democratic Party still keeps blacks in mental slavery.
But as one black who was a former Berkley liberal found out,
On March 12th, 2010 at 3:09 pm, maisy said:
The Democratic Party still keeps blacks in mental slavery.
But as one former Berkley liberal found out,
sorry for the double-submit… glitch on my end, thought the first one had not gone through…
So the activist groups wouldn’t pay for her doctor’s visits while she was alive, but they’ll pay to fly her kid out to D.C. to lobby for them.
Sounds like the mother was worth much, much more to them dead than alive.
Dems are doing the desperate dance. Trotting out children is a last refuge for hopeless media messengers.
I agree with all you said, you and any others feeling the same about Reid and his family. I am sorry for the Reid woman, I am not sorrowful for that disgusting, traitorous POS Senator Reid.
side note about Reid’s religion, he does not practice the LDS religion, having grown up in that church, although I left as a teen, I remember the basic beliefs relating to their fellow human beings and Mr. Reid does not follow those teachings.
Did she smoke? Did she drink? Was she overweight? If they are going to trot this kid out to talk about his poor mother I want to know every detail of the womans life.
I did not read all the comments but if you are 27 and die of pulmonary HTN you probably were not long for this world anyway. We have some treatments for Pulm HTN but as yet we still don’t have good treatments for it.
Stop Obamacare first, then pray for the Reids
I can hardly wait for the blessed day to come when Reid, Pickelosi, Obummer, etc., are out of power.
Why anyone, anywhere, and for any reason, would ever vote for a Democrat is well beyond my understanding. But then again, we do have those who cut themselves and fire meth in their veins.
What a bunch of crap–I’m soooo tired of it all.
My father had great health care & plan from his work. You know what?
He still died.
The Democratic Socialists’ hypocrisy is truly apalling.
They use 11 year-old Marcelas Owens and countless other “health care horror stories” to create a false sense of urgency.
If we absolutely “must” pass this “Health Care Reform” bill right now, then why is it OK for the bill to wait for years before the benefits kick in?
I know the answer is to skew the CBO score, but the point is that if we can wait for years for the “benefits” to start, then there is absolutely no true urgency to pass this “reform” right now.
Again, the Democratic Socialists’ hypocrisy is truly apalling.
Maybe that’s it!
Pass ObamaCare phase one based on the “cost savings” that won’t add one thin dime to the deficit. Then after the 2010 elections, come back with phase two designed to fix the cap-gap (capitalization gap). The new moral imperative will be that we simply have to pass OC2 in order to save the rest of 180k yet to die before OC1 swings into action — naturally with direct taxes to pay for the 1st 3 years of services from 2011 on.
That’s how they intend to back us into the full meal deal from the git-go. Sigh.
And that’s the exact question that the brain-dead Republicans need to be asking over and over again until it’s on the lips of everyone in the country. It’s infuriating how the Republicans won’t take advantage of the Dems’ glaring vulnerabilities. It’s like the Democrats have taped huge “Kick Me” signs to their own butts, and Republicans can’t get their feet to move.