Saturday, December 28, 2002

For the record annoying conservatives:

Yes we know Dick Armey said he put in the Eli Lilly provision in the Homeland Security. The question is who asked and encouraged him to do so. Your failure to understand this simple point is ridiculous as always. Certain bloggers' willingness to be obtuse to kiss up to their senators is amusing, but, well, transparent.

UPDATE:

Okay, ONE MORE TIME. This news is not new, but peoples' willingness to play dumb, or lie, or god knows what, over this issue seems unending. I posted the Clift story because it was simply news that someone in the press was fingering Frist. Hesiod was all over this story weeks go. Here's Dick Armey himself fingering Frist and the White House on this:

ARMEY: I had listened for months to people worrying about whether or not we'd have vaccinations. So I researched it. And in1998, Teddy Kennedy brought a provision that would make it possible to get vaccines. The trial lawyers had been skirting around that. I worked with Senator Frist. I had the advice of the White House. And we worked out the...

CARVILLE: I understand. But did the White House put it in?

ARMEY: There were members of the White House that wanted it. Well, you know, you really have to say it was my bill, I wrote it, I put it in. But I put it out in consultation with Senator Frist, the most well-respected doctor in Congress and the White House

CARVILLE: But the White House put it in, though. Because when you said, "it was something the White House wanted," that was true?

ARMEY: Well, it is true.

CARVILLE: It is true? The White House wanted this provision? OK. But then you said no prodding from the pharmaceutical industry or the White House. They just wanted it but they didn't prod you?

ARMEY: Well, that's right. I mean they agreed that the proposition was necessary. Now this is very important. One of the criticisms of this thing that bothers me is that it has nothing to do with homeland security. It does, in fact, have to do with us having the vaccinations that we need to protect us from the kind of insidious forces that would be brought against us. And...

CARLSON: I'm just curious, and I don't want to spend the whole show on it. How did it get in there? Was it like the immaculate conception? Or you put it in or you dropped it in?

ARMEY: I put it in.

CARVILLE: All right. I just wanted to...

ARMEY: And I never said that's not. The point is, I have had no conversation with Eli Lilly.

CARVILLE: OK.

ARMEY: It was about the vaccinations. It was about getting...

(CROSSTALK)

CARVILLE: OK, that's good.

ARMEY: And I consulted with the White House.


I suppose it depends on the meaning of "in consultation with Senator Frist." Or, whatever.