Betsy McCaughey

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<youtube align="right" size="tiny" caption="(Part 2)">jrPJYHVk1-M</youtube><youtube align="right" size="tiny" caption="McCaughey's comments on the public option on the Dylan Ratigan Show (Part 1)">DECSGMd2_BM</youtube>Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (20 October 1948), Elizabeth Betsy McCaughey is a policy analyst best known for writing what has been widely described as a "false"[1] and "error-laden"[2] negative critique of Hillary Clinton's healthcare reform proposals in a 1994 New Republic article titled "No Exit." More recently McCaughey has reappeared as the main source of the "Death Panel" rumor in the US made famous by Sarah Palin[3]. She has also written favorable articles about Tea Party candidates[4] as well as been featured as a speaker at Tea Party rallies and events.[5]

Education and Career

In 1976 McCaughey received her PhD in constitutional history from Columbia University. She has trained in corporate banking and served as a "lending officer in the Food, Beverage, and Tobacco Division."[6] She is the author of several books and her writings have appeared in scholarly journals and news publications. She has been featured on various US news shows throughout the years. McCaughey has lectured at Vassar College and Columbia University and worked at right-wing think tanks including the Manhattan Institute where she authored her infamous New Republic article "No Exit" and the Hudson Institute where she remains today. Shortly after publishing "No Exit", McCaughey became Lt. Governor of New York State from 1994-1998 where she reportedly did not have a "working relationship"[7] with Governor George Pataki. Pataki "ignored"[7] McCaughey's policy recommendations and in response McCaughey accused him of "McCarthyism."[7] In 2004 she founded the "Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths," which she describes as "a nationwide educational campaign to stop hospital-acquired infections."[6]

History

McCaughey has shifted between the Democrat and Republican party, worked for universities and think tanks, and served in government all while writing for news publications and appearing on news shows to discuss her views on US healthcare debates. Referred to as an "East Coast version of Sarah Palin"[7] in a profile done of her in the New Republic (the magazine that published her infamous "No Exit" article), McCaughey shot to fame and infamy after "No Exit" was shown to be ridden with errors and inaccurate claims. Despite the negative press "No Exit" conjured, McCaughey has had a successful career as a policy analyst and currently runs a campaign against the Obama Administration's proposed healthcare reforms by writing articles and through her website, DefendYourHealthcare. Although she has repeatedly been discredited for reportedly incorporating "fearmongering" into her analyses, McCaughey continues to be quoted as an expert and is frequently invited to speak at US policy and political events.

"No Exit"

Death Panels

In 2009 a "false"[3] rumor was circulated in the US stating that the Obama administrations's proposed health care reforms would involve government-sponsored "death panels" allotted with the authority to decide which patients would be allowed to live. Its most effective proponent became former presidential candidate John McCain's running mate, Sarah Palin. What surprised some analysts was the speed and momentum with which the rumor spread, eventually making its way into serious health debates, despite the fact that it was proven wrong time and again.[3] Weeks later it became clear that the main source of the rumor was McCaughey.[8][9]

Comments on the "Public Option"

  • "You are missing the major issue. The major issue is that these bills are a medical assault on seniors."[10]
  • "The public option is anti-competitive."[11]

Criticism

While McCaughey has written and spoken extensively about the "unfair" treatment she received following the emergence of widespread condemnations of "No Exit" for its lack of factual accuracy, she continues to be featured as healthcare policy expert. According to Media Matters for America Senior Fellow Jamison Foser:

Inexplicably, McCaughey is trotted out on television shows and in newspapers to provide "expert" analysis of current health care reform proposals. Incredibly, McCaughey is cast in precisely the role she performed so fraudulently last time around: as the just-the-facts Ph.D. who has, unlike the advocates of reform, actually read every page of the bill. Once again, she brings with her -- and dramatically waves around -- an almost unbelievably thick three-ring binder, which she incredulously announces is only half of the bill. She peppers her alarmist (and clearly false) claims about health care reform with footnotes and page numbers. Those page numbers happen to be the only things she says that actually appear in the bill. But never mind all that. She's an "expert."[12]

Affiliations

Contact

Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/betsy_mccaughey
Website: http://www.defendyourhealthcare.us/

References

  1. ↑ Michelle Cottle, "No Exit The never-ending lunacy of Betsy McCaughey.", The New Republic, 5 October 2009
  2. ↑ Conor Clark, "The Rise and Fall (and Rise) of Betsy McCaughey", The Atlantic, 29 July 2009
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 JIM RUTENBERG and JACKIE CALMES, "False ‘Death Panel’ Rumor Has Some Familiar Roots", New York Time, 13 August 2009
  4. ↑ Betsy McCaughey, "The seniority trap", New York Post, 31 October 2010, accessed on 17 November 2010
  5. ↑ David Weigel, "Betsy McCaughey, Mike Pence, Stephen Baldwin to Speak at 9/12 ‘Tea Party’ March on Washington", Washington Independent, 3 September 2009
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Betsey McCaughey CV
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Noah Kristula-Green, "Slideshow: The Many Lives of Betsy McCaughey", New Republic, 5 October 2009 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "slide" defined multiple times with different content
  8. ↑ Jim Rutenberg, "Resurfacing, a Critic Stirs Up Debate Over Health Care", New York Times, 4 September 2009
  9. ↑ Betsy McCaughey, "DEADLY DOCTORS O ADVISERS WANT TO RATION CARE", New York Post, 24 July 2009, accessed on 21 November 2010
  10. ↑ Betsy McCaughey, "Betsey McCaughey on Dylan Ratigan Show (Part 1)", The Dylan Ratigan Show (YouTube), 6 October 2009
  11. ↑ Betsy McCaughey, "Betsey McCaughey on Dylan Ratigan Show (Part 2)", The Dylan Ratigan Show (YouTube), 6 October 2009
  12. ↑ Jamison Foser, "No Apology", Media Matters for America, 9 October 2009
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