OH SEAN, SEAN, SEAN HANNITY, YOU ARE SUCH AN ASS!

…Even editorial cartoonists like Stuart Carlson know how to deal with Fox News.

 

I find it interesting that on the Faux News channel, after being on camera for a couple of years, apparently those at Fox start believing all the untrue garbage they spew out every evening.  Sean Hannity, recently went ballistic after he was made aware of an interview of Comedy Central’s Jon Stewart by Rolling Stone Magazine.  Jon’s comment about Hannity in the interview was the following true statement: "Sean Hannity's probably the most loathsome dude at Fox News.  Everything is presented [by Hannity] in as devious a manner as it could possibly be presented.”

This is how Hannity responded to Jon Stewart’s comment:

Per Hannity: "Nearly 50 million Americans on food stamps, nearly 50 million in poverty, the lowest labor participation rate since 1978, and Jon's beloved president who once said George Bush's debt was 'irresponsible and unpatriotic' has almost accumulated more debt than every other President before him combined," Hannity stated. "Do I even need to remind him about keeping our doctors, our health plans and saving money? And how is that healthcare website working out?  Or Iraq, Isis, the 'Russian reset'?"

All Hannity’s responses did was to prove that Jon Stewart was correct in his comment about Sean Hannity.

 

Here’s the reality of what Hannity claimed in his statement as was provided by Politico:

On Obama’s national debt being more than previous 43 presidents:

·       When Jim Renacci (R-OH) said it, it was false.

·       When it was circulated via a bogus email in 2012, it was false.

·       When Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ) said "Obama's budget adds more debt to our country’s future than all of the debt from 1789 when George Washington was president through Franklin Roosevelt and George W. Bush", that was false.

·       When Sarah Palin said Obama's debt was more than all other Presidents combined, it was still false.

·       And now that Hannity has said it, it is still false.

I don't know if Sean thinks his statement is actually true, or if he knows it's false and he thinks the rest of us are all morons and won't know the truth.  

However, contrary to popular belief (and much to his chagrin, I'm sure), constantly repeating this lie does not make it true.

 

Now, on his 50 million Americans on food stamps.  

·       Most Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Food Stamp recipients are poor.  

·       Only 15% of SNAP participants had gross income above the poverty line in 2010.  

·       For households with children, half of them have gross income below the lower half of the poverty line.  

·       In 2010, only 2.5% of SNAP households had gross income slightly above the poverty line.

·       Finally, many, if not most SNAP recipients are Senior Citizens, Working Poor, Students, and Children.  

As to Hannity’s claim of the lowest labor participation rate since 1978?

·       His statement is probably true, but Hannity conveniently neglects to mention that this is mainly because of the vast number of retiring baby boomers, and young people heading to college.  

·       You can Google this and find the official charts showing this fact.

 

And just how is that Obamacare healthcare website working out today?"

·       As far as healthcare, I would be lying if I said the ACA rolled out without a hitch.  The fact is, it had its issues, which have been fixed.  

·       Hannity also conveniently neglects to remember similar problems when the GOP and Bush rolled out his (unpaid for) Medicare Part D plan.  Apparently, it’s OK if you are a Republican and you have website glitches, but if you're a Democrat, NO GLITCHES EVER, OR WE SCRAP THE WHOLE PLAN!

·       Even a Republican Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) acknowledged those issues with these comments:

“This is a huge undertaking and there are going to be glitches. My goal is the same as yours: Get rid of the glitches. The committee will work closely with yourself and Dr. Mark McClellan at CMS to get problems noticed and solved. We will have the first of what will likely be several hearings on this topic on March 1, when Dr. McClellan will testify before the Health subcommittee. I expect that we ask him very direct questions about where the problems are and what CMS is doing to fix them.”

Representative Barton went on to say the following:

”I would also be lying if I said I was unhappy that 10 million people have been able to get health coverage.  The truth is, it's beneficial to everyone.  Having coverage means people can see a doctor when they start feeling ill, not filling up the ER when they're on death's doorstep.  It means people can work, and keep their jobs, rather than constantly missing work, and getting fired for being unreliable or missing too much time.  It means people can manage their illnesses, rather than playing roulette with their health.  ‘Will my sugar levels spike today?  Let's find out!’.  ‘Will my asthma be uncontrollable today?  I guess we'll see!’.  People can now afford their insulin, their inhalers, etc.’ ”  

And this is a Republican from Texas.

As to ISIS, this group would not even exist today if the GOP President George W. Bush had not invaded Iraq.  ISIS, ISIL, the Islamic State, or whatever they call themselves, they did not exist until after the US invaded Iraq.

Apparently in Hannity's fantasy world, giving money to banks and Wall Street, and letting insurance companies make all the calls in regards to our healthcare, that’s just the free market doing its job.  But if you help the poor, it’s socialism, and to Hannity and Fox, that's just totally unacceptable.  

Copyright G.Ater  2015