![\"Fox](\"http:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/Pix\/FoxNews\/foxnews-carson-va.jpg\")
<\/p>\nRepublicans have been working overtime to associate the problems at the Veterans Administration with the Affordable Care Act (aka ObamaCare). It’s an association that makes no logical sense as the two programs are not remotely similar. But that didn’t stop neurosurgeon-turned-wingnut, Ben Carson, from joining the crusade of ignorami, and framing it in his own uniquely repulsive way.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Shameless self-promotion… In an interview<\/a> with Fox News anchor Uma Pemmaraju, Carson went on one of his patented rhetorical demolition derbies, wherein ideology collides with fallacy to produce absurd mutations of reason. This is, after all, the same person who recently said that ObamaCare is “the worst thing since slavery.”<\/em> Because everyone knows that servitude enforced by brutality is way better than having to endure access to affordable health care. It took Dr. Carson to explain it all for us. And that’s just what he did in this exchange on Fox News:<\/p>\n Pemmaraju:<\/strong> There are those who say that what’s happening now is also a preview of what we might see once the ObamaCare system is fully in place in this country. Do you say that? Do you agree with that point of view?<\/p>\n Carson:<\/strong> I think what’s happening with the veterans is a gift from God. To show us what happens when you take layers and layers of bureaucracy and place them between the patient and the health care provider. And if we can’t get it right with the relatively small number of veterans, how in the world are you gonna do it with the entire population? You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure this out.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Carson’s sanctimonious gratitude for the unnecessary tribulations caused by the VA’s deficiencies is surely not shared by the veterans who have suffered because of it. His remarks demonstrate a severe lack of sensitivity for the vets and their families. But more to the point, Carson has also demonstrated a gross misunderstanding of the health care provided by both the VA and ObamaCare.<\/p>\n The VA is a single-payer system wherein all of the facilities and the personnel are directly under the control of the government. The VA employs all of the doctors and owns all of the hospitals. And while the transgressions recently uncovered are serious, the VA as a whole has held a stellar reputation<\/a> and a markedly high satisfaction rating by those it serves. Its recent difficulties can be attributed directly<\/a> to the Bush wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and to Republicans obstructing funding to expand the VA’s capabilities as the population it services has grown.<\/p>\n ObamaCare, on the other hand, is a free-market program where people acquire their own private insurance and they are free to choose whatever insurance plan they want. Their care is provided by doctors participating in the plan and, contrary to the delusions of conservative crackpots, the government has no role and there are no layers of bureaucracy whatsoever between the patient and the health care provider (except those imposed by the insurance company).<\/p>\n Consequently, Carson’s conclusion that the problems at the VA are proof that ObamaCare cannot succeed is utterly lacking reason or evidence. The two programs are far too dissimilar to compare. It’s like saying that the failure of gasoline to put out a fire is proof that water won’t make flowers grow. But Carson is right about one thing: “You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure this out.”<\/em> And apparently it doesn’t help to be a brain surgeon either.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Republicans have been working overtime to associate the problems at the Veterans Administration with the Affordable Care Act (aka ObamaCare). It’s an association that makes no logical sense as the two programs are not remotely similar. But that didn’t stop neurosurgeon-turned-wingnut, Ben Carson, from joining the crusade of ignorami, and framing it in his own […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14993,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"Ben Carson: What's Happening With The Veterans Is A Gift From God","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1,16],"tags":[1076,33,1066],"class_list":["post-14975","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","category-wankery","tag-ben-carson","tag-fox-news","tag-obamacare"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/Trump\/foxnews-carson-va.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4Ijg-3Tx","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":21970,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=21970","url_meta":{"origin":14975,"position":0},"title":"Ben Carson Sacked By Fox News As His Loony Presidential Bid Takes Shape","author":"Mark NC","date":"11\/7\/2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Dr. Ben Carson has no more chance of being elected president, or even getting the Republican nomination, than Michele Bachmann, Donald Trump, or Montgomery Burns. Nevertheless, he is slated to appear in an hour-long infomercial (that he calls a documentary) that celebrates his journey from poverty to world renown as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Election"","block_context":{"text":"Election","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=152"},"img":{"alt_text":"Ben Carson","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/Trump\/carson-2016.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/Trump\/carson-2016.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/Trump\/carson-2016.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":10744,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=10744","url_meta":{"origin":14975,"position":1},"title":"Fox News Contributor Defends Statement That ObamaCare Is “The Worst Thing Since Slavery”","author":"Mark NC","date":"10\/20\/2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Last week when Fox News contributor, Dr. Ben Carson, told the ultra-conservative crowd at the Values Voter Summit that the Affordable Care Act (aka ObamaCare) is \"the worst thing since slavery,\" he was subjected to well deserved criticism from the ranks of decent Americans who were repulsed by his nauseating\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":29983,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=29983","url_meta":{"origin":14975,"position":2},"title":"Ben Carson Takes Lead In Polls – Still A Complete Lunatic","author":"Mark NC","date":"10\/26\/2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The big news from the Republican primary this week is that Ben Carson has been rising in the polls and has overtaken Donald Trump in Iowa and New Hampshire. While it is good news that Trump's descent is beginning to build up steam, we must not forget that Carson has\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Election"","block_context":{"text":"Election","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=152"},"img":{"alt_text":"Ben Carson","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/Trump\/carson-jesus-dinosaur.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/Trump\/carson-jesus-dinosaur.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/Trump\/carson-jesus-dinosaur.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":25702,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=25702","url_meta":{"origin":14975,"position":3},"title":"Dr. Ben ‘Strangelove’ Carson Advocates Abandoning The Geneva Conventions","author":"Mark NC","date":"2\/16\/2015","format":false,"excerpt":"One of this year's official candidates in the Fox News Republican primary for president is former pediatric brain surgeon, Ben Carson. The road to the White House for this neophyte politico has been fraught with embarrassing missteps such as his opinion that America is \"very much like Nazi Germany,\" and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Election"","block_context":{"text":"Election","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=152"},"img":{"alt_text":"Ben Carson","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/Trump\/carson-2016.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/Trump\/carson-2016.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/Trump\/carson-2016.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11185,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=11185","url_meta":{"origin":14975,"position":4},"title":"Fox News Doctor Opposes Legalizing Marijuana Because … Hedonism","author":"Mark NC","date":"1\/3\/2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Fox News has distinguished itself as as purveyor of extraordinarily bad advice. Just last week they offered \"Eight Tips To Opt Out of ObamaCare\" that would likely result in serious medical harm and\/or bankruptcy were you to suffer illness or injury. Earlier this year they demonstrated that they are the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"Fox News","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/FoxNews\/foxnews-carson-marijuana.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":29634,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=29634","url_meta":{"origin":14975,"position":5},"title":"Ben Carson Tells The Jesus Praisathon Network (aka Fox News) That ‘Atheism Is A Religion’","author":"Mark NC","date":"9\/13\/2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Republican presidential guilt suppressant and all-purpose sedative, Ben Carson, appeared today on Fox News MediaBuzz with Howard Kurtz (video below). The conversation covered a gamut of critical issues facing the nation, such as his dust up with Donald Trump, the irrelevancy of race in party politics, and why he is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Election"","block_context":{"text":"Election","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=152"},"img":{"alt_text":"Ben Carson","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/Trump\/carson-faith-based-run.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/Trump\/carson-faith-based-run.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/Trump\/carson-faith-based-run.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14975","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14975"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14975\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15158,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14975\/revisions\/15158"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14993"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14975"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14975"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14975"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nGet Fox Nation vs. Reality. Available now at Amazon.<\/a><\/p>\n