SCHIP, The Frost Family, The Wilkerson’s, Olby and Faiz
Can someone please point out where anyone on the right has attacked the children that the left has used for political gain? Didn’t think so. What you will find is much discussion about the parents of the children. When the left didn’t like the war, dialogue was necessary, even patriotic. Remember? When Gore brought up global warming, there was no need for dialogue, as the debate was over. I guess we are to assume that the same rule applies to SCHIP legislation as well. Don’t question them!
Here is the transcript of the Olby talk that was conducted with the Frost family last night. I say talk, because there were no questions asked other than how are you doing:
OLBERMANN: Mrs. Frost, let me start with what matters. How are you and the kids doing through all this?
BONNIE FROST, MOTHER OF GRAEME FROST: We‘re doing well. Gemma and Graeme are doing well. They‘re in school. But they have a lot of healing left. They have a lot of work to go. So we‘re hanging in there.
OLBERMANN: Mr. Frost, just deconstruct this fictional picture of your family that‘s been put together by the fringe, the lunatic fringe. You‘re a business owner? You work out of a commercial property you own. You live on a street full of half million dollar homes. You pay 20 grand a year for your kids to go to private school.
HALSEY FROST, FATHER OF GRAEME FROST: It would seem to me it would be common sense if you do all the math on that, that we‘d be doing really, really well. And that‘s far from the case. You know, that‘s quite a rosy picture they painted. But the fact is I did have a business. Of course, they did not report properly that I ran from like”Frost Works from 1990 and folded up around ‘98, ‘99, went as far as incorporating that, actually carrying health insurance. And actually that was probably one of the nails in the coffin in that business. It became cost too much to bear for that.
And half a million dollar homes. This is a house that we bought as a just near about shell and did all the work ourselves. So I would hope that we‘re not punished for the sweat equity into that. But I have the ability and the unique skills to be able to do everything that‘s required to turn this property around. And this is our home. This is not an investment thing. This is the Frost house.
OLBERMANN: And the kids are in private schools on scholarships mostly.
H. FROST: Yes. It‘s like, you know, we do get help from that, from the schools. It‘s a must. Without that, we really would be limited”have our options limited.
OLBERMANN: Mrs. Frost, your address posted online, these lies accepted as facts, death threats. Did you know beforehand that people like this existed in America?
B. FROST: I knew people like this existed in America. But I am shocked that it came to this, that they seem to use this as a distraction technique to take away the issue at hand. And that is that millions of children in America are without health insurance and could benefit greatly from the S-CHIP bill, just like my family has. And my main goal was to get that message across, that we just want to help other families like we have been helped. And just thinking that it was turned around in such a nasty, negative way is unbelievable to me.
H. FROST: Yes, definitely an agenda that they seem to need to be
filling. Because I guess when you have to attack in such a manner, you‘re
obviously it‘s a distraction because the facts are very clear. This helps hard working American families. This country needs this now. And I am sorely disappointed in our president for not having his finger on the pulse of what‘s going on right now.
OLBERMANN: Let me ask you, Mr. Frost, one more question before we look at some disturbing pictures in a different sense. But does Graeme know about what‘s happened since he gave the Democratic radio response? And if so, what‘s his reaction?
H. FROST: Yes he does. We keep the kids aware. And we are an open family about things. But at the same right, we don‘t sit there and read these ridiculous blogs that go on and on with faceless characters who can‘t sign their own name to what they‘re saying, which I think is just absolutely pathetic. All these other shows and what not, you know, they‘re going to just go on and make a case out of whatever they need to just to bolster their story and their take on this.
Yes, the kids are aware. And honestly, what I really appreciate is their being kids and they‘re being as normal as they can and going to school every day. We were just working on homework before we came here, working with Gemma and her math book. Actually, I was cooking dinner. You know, the basic, normal daily routine.
OLBERMANN: And a normal that you had to fight to achieve again. Mrs. Frost, I want to put up some of these pictures that might be a little tough and we warned the audience for people to look at. But earlier today we asked you if you had any photos that might illustrate what you and your kids went through. I‘d like to show these now and ask you to just walk through for us what would have happened to them without this S-CHIP program.
B. FROST: Absolutely. Well, I have no doubt that they would have received care in the emergency room. But after their month in intensive care in their comas, they needed intensive rehabilitation, 4.5 months worth.
H. FROST: And so that people understand, we can just say rehabilitation. We‘re saying like this is like having babies again. Learning how to”
B. FROST: Gemma had to learn how to talk and walk and do everything again. She couldn‘t get herself dressed. She couldn‘t read. She couldn‘t write. She didn‘t know how to go up the stairs. You had to teach her to go up the stairs. Graeme could not eat. He couldn‘t walk. He couldn‘t sit up. He couldn‘t hold his head up. He couldn‘t swallow.
So it took months and months. And they are still working hard to get better and still getting special services and still going to physical therapy. And there‘s no way that we could have afforded to send them through all those multiple therapies to recover and to continue to heal. And I am positive that Graeme would not be walking, would not be eating. I don‘t know where Gemma would be right now.
OLBERMANN: Graeme was able to go on the radio and get involved in our political process. Instead of people standing up and cheering, even the ones who say no, he‘s wrong, but thank goodness he is able to do it, you get this. It is just phenomenal. Go ahead.
B. FROST: The thing is that even if you do not agree with the story, you don‘t attack the family and you really need to get back to the issue at hand, which is the health insurance bill.
OLBERMANN: Halsey and Bonnie Frost, again since the Rush Limbaughs of this world aren‘t going to be man enough to apologize to you, and Graeme, we‘ll do so on their behalf. We‘re sorry the media has gotten this bad. Great thanks for coming on with us tonight.
H. FROST: Thank you for being a responsible reporter on this and delivering the story in the manner that you do.
OLBERMANN: Thank you, sir. Go back and cook dinner.
Where was the question about why the Frost’s never purchased insurance? They thought to buy a building and a home and late model SUV’s, but never thought that their children would need insurance? Speaking of the building, where was the question about the rental income? Or when Frost Co was dissolved, what relaced it? Not a single question.
The left has now brought out another family, the Wilkerson’s, whose two-year old daughter Bethany is covered by SCHIP and had life-saving heart surgery when she was an infant. The Wilkerson’s “say they make $34,000 in combined income from restaurant jobs in St. Petersburg, Fla. They rent their house and the couple owns one car, which Bo calls “a junker.” Bo Wilkerson said. “I have $67 in my checking account. Does that answer your question?”
Obviously this family should qualify for SCHIP. They don’t have assets and they make too much for Medicaid. I see nothing wrong with Mark Hemingway noting “For Dara and Brian Wilkerson, the fact that they don’t have health insurance is less about falling through the cracks than the decisions they’ve made.” Did they fall through the cracks, or did they make choices in their lives that were not in the best interest in the medical well being of themselves and their child. Thank god the state was there for them.
Rick has another take on this:
No one should begrudge the Wilkerson’s their participation in S-CHIP. They are barely above the poverty level and have little in the way of assets. But the Wilkersons and those like them are not the problem and the Democrats know it. Borderline cases like the Wilkerson’s who regularly fall through the cracks of coverage in other government programs are not part of the central criticism against the expansion of S-CHIP. It is subsidizing coverage for those up to 400% above the poverty level that is the basis of conservative opposition to the Democrat’s bill.
I am guessing that Jeff had Faiz in mind:
You are dealing with those so impressed with their own presumed genius that they’ve given themselves license to use any means necessary to bring about their desired ends. Using a largely sympathetic press ” and casting their political opponents as villains who hate for the simple pleasure of hating (hi, Mr Krugman!) ” they are attempting to control public policy by way of rhetorical totalitarianism and cynical manipulation of the un- or ill-informed, a group to whom they both pander and empower.
Of course, once the “progressive” revolution achieves its ends ” and soft socialism replaces the liberal democracy the founders envisioned ” the “cream” will rise to the top, and a new class of elitist bureaucrats and politicians will take full control of the nannystate, just as they have long believed was their right.
Hell, it’s more than a right. It’s their destiny!
More reaction at memeorandum
