Hard to believe but Sue Lowden, Republican candidate out to unseat Democratic Senator Harry Reid, continues to advocate bartering with doctors for health care.
She appeared on Nevada Newsmakers on April 19 saying:
I’m telling you that this works. You know, before we all started having health care, in the olden days our grandparents, they would bring a chicken to the doctor, they would say I’ll paint your house. I mean, that’s the old days of what people would do to get health care with your doctors. Doctors are very sympathetic people. I’m not backing down from that system.
Watch:
It is getting national attention. On Daily Kos Jed Lewison writes:
That’s right. ‘Bring a chicken to the doctor.” Seriously. We’re not making this up.
Clearly, Lowden’s absurd statement is going to bite her over and over again during the course the campaign — it’s a huge gift to Harry Reid. Really, the only question Lowden’s statement raises is this: how would you mock her health care plan?
Some ideas that I’ve heard tossed around by others who are far wittier than me:
- You know, I bet most modern doctors would prefer a KFC meal to a live chicken. Market efficiencies are not such that killing your own chicken really makes sense anymore.
- It seems not to have occurred to her that people brought chickens and offered to paint houses in the olden days because EVEN IN THE OLDEN DAYS, PEOPLE COULDN’T AFFORD THEIR DAMN HEALTH CARE.
- It’ll never work … some asshole will try to game the situation — bring a snake and say, “but it tastes like chicken.”
- “I’m telling you that this works. As an employer, having your employees barter a chicken beats paying for health care. I’m serious about this. Doctors like chickens.”
- Question: Do turkeys count?
- Oh, well, in the olden days, yeah. That’s a great health care plan, then! You give me a chicken, and I’ll put leeches on your face. Deal?
- I’ve been picturing granny after her broken hip operation. Should she decide to give up food or climb a ladder and paint?
- Now mentally picturing an image of an old, sick person in a hospital bed with a doctor standing in the doorway holding a chicken by the feet. Doctor says: Give me that chicken, or I’ll expect you at the house by 7:00 a.m. I’ll be nice and provide the paint and brushes.
- Plus no chicken means no eggs. And no eggs means no capital gains taxes. Tax deduction!
Please join the fun — add your ideas in the comments!
As of this writing 374 comments have been left by readers of Daily Kos. Here are some samples of what they’re saying:
“Doctors could pay off their student debt with chickens,” writes Sam Wise Gingy.
“Can’t ya just picture a waiting room full of people holding chickens, pigs, carrots, baked goods, tool boxes, portable stripping poles…….
“It would make a good Monty Python skit!” writes enough already.
Jay Leno has also chimed in.
Ed Schultz says:
Schultz calls it psycho-talk.
Imagine, Mrs. Lowden, on the floor of the United States Senate advocating health care reform based on bartering with your doctor. “Doc, I’ll give you 50 chickens if you will put a stent in my artery to my heart.”
You can’t be serious. But, apparently she is.
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