Lying in Portsmouth: ‘I have not said that I was a single-payer supporter’
During a town hall meeting in Portsmouth, N.H., the president flat-out lied to the people in attendance about his past support of a government-run, single-payer health care system.
According the White House’s transcript of the event, the president said:
I have not said that I was a single-payer supporter because, frankly, we historically have had a employer-based system in this country with private insurers, and for us to transition to a system like that I believe would be too disruptive. So what would end up happening would be, a lot of people who currently have employer-based health care would suddenly find themselves dropped, and they would have to go into an entirely new system that had not been fully set up yet. And I would be concerned about the potential destructiveness of that kind of transition. All right? So I’m not promoting a single-payer plan.
He may not be supporting such a drastic shift at the moment, but he has said he was a single payer supporter.
Take this statement in 2003, which Hillary Clinton actually used in anti-Obama ads during the 2008 primaries:
Sources:
The White House, Aug. 11, 2009
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT IN HEALTH INSURANCE REFORM TOWN HALL
Ace of Spades HQ, Aug. 11, 2009
Obama’s Biggest Lie of the Day (So Far)
