The Demo-gogues

Barack Obama: “It’s no secret that the American people have probably never been more frustrated with Washington. And one of the reasons why that is, is that over the past five years, we’ve seen an unprecedented pattern of obstruction in Congress that’s prevented too much of the American people’s business from getting done. … At a time when millions of Americans have desperately searched for work, repeated abuse of these tactics have blocked legislation that might create jobs. … [T]oday’s pattern of obstruction, it just isn’t normal. It’s not what our founders envisioned. … [Republicans have blocked my nominees] simply because they opposed the policies that the American people voted for in the last election. … [T]his isn’t obstruction on substance, on qualification, it’s just to gum up the works. … The American people’s business is far too important to keep falling prey day after day to Washington politics. … It’s rather used as a reckless and relentless tool to grind all business to a halt. And that’s not what our founders intended. … The American people deserve better than politicians who run for election telling them how terrible government is, and then devoting their time in elected office to trying to make government not work as often as possible. … And as long as I have the privilege of being in this office, I’ll keep working as hard as I know how to make sure that the economy’s growing and we’re creating good jobs and we’re widening prosperity and opportunity for everybody.”

Non Compos Mentis

Part I: Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee: “The [insurance] cancellation notice[s] was not the truth. It should have been: ‘We intend to or expect to modify your insurance.’ [Cancellations happen] when you don’t pay your premium, or something has happened in the bad old days. A cancellation notice was the inappropriate document to send without notice. All they had to do is [say] that, ‘This is a notice to say that we’re going to improve your insurance, not, in essence, eliminate your insurance.’”

Part II: House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi: “"Did I ever tell my constituents that if they liked their plan they could keep it? I would have if I’d ever met anybody who liked his or her plan. But that was not my experience.”

Dezinformatsia

Political “analyst” Juan Williams: “[S]enior officials at the White House … are in full fight mode over the Affordable Care Act right now. What you hear from these senior officials is, you know, they’re concerned about what happened with insurance companies. They wish the insurance companies hadn’t sent out the cancellation notices and if they had, that they simply call them renewals. … They feel they have to turn that around, as the first step in trying to repair the damage that’s been done to this president.”

How about repairing the damage done to the American people?

The BIG Lie

Michelle Obama: “We don’t believe in handouts. We don’t think anyone should get a free ride.”

Village Idiots

Hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons: “Yes, we initially wanted single payer, and we had to compromise back in 2009 for the Affordable Care Act. But, it is a da– good piece of legislation that has already saved hundreds of thousands, if not millions of lives.”

Braying Jackass

Actor Richard Dreyfus: “For about 100 years one of the political parties has always tried to get a safety net under people. And the other party hasn’t. … I love to remind people that all of our national endeavors started out badly. World War II did not start well, or the Highway Act, or Social Security, or the Hoover Dam. And what happens is they get fixed by a congress of both parties. And that’s what should happen now. And if one party says no, then they should anticipate having the sick and the dying and the dead on their lawns." 

Short Cuts

Comedian Jay Leno: "The ratings for Al Jazeera America has now dipped even lower than Al Gore’s Current TV, which it replaced. That’s how you know you’re boring, OK? When Al Gore is considered more entertaining to people than what you have.”