DAVE ROSS

Just when it couldn’t get any weirder

Oct 4, 2013, 6:13 AM | Updated: 9:36 am

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Va., center, arrives on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2013. The government limped into a third day of partial shutdown Thursday with no sign of a way out after a White House conversation between President Barack Obama and top congressional leaders seemed only to harden the stances of Democrats and Republicans. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

I can’t remember anything like it. Members of the House of Representatives, who in their other lives are medical doctors, appeared before reporters dressed in their lab coats, and pleaded with the Senate to pass a bill that would restore funding for the National Institutes of Health.

It turns out that the government shutdown ended clinical trials of cancer drugs, which meant that families with dying children were being turned away.

I’m not sure how, being doctors, they didn’t realize this earlier. But in any case, they are pleading with the Senate to pass a special bill to fix this, even though right now these same House members have in their hands a bill already approved by the Senate which would open up the entire government including the NIH, which could resume treating sick children tomorrow.

And a reporter had what I thought was a pretty good question for Majority Leader Eric Cantor, “How are you picking and choosing what should get funding first?”

Cantor replied, “Well, we are going to go forward with trying to address situations that are in critical stages.”

That sounds like they’re saying – we will decide who to help next based on how desperate they are.

Everything’s upside down! The cause of this crisis, Obamacare, turns out to be so popular, Americans have stormed the websites as if they were selling Miley Cyrus tickets, while members who warned us of Obamacare’s flaws are themselves deciding which Americans are sufficiently desperate to be worth saving.

The same people who warned us of the death panels – have become them!

Dave's Commentary

Dave Ross on KIRO Newsradio 97.3 FM
  • listen to dave rossTune in to KIRO Newsradio weekdays at 5am for Dave Ross on Seattle's Morning News.

Dave Ross

car culture...

Dave Ross

Ross: Are we killing car culture? Or is car culture killing the US?

I don’t think the question is whether we're going to "kill" our car culture. The real question is can we stop our car culture from killing the U.S.?

3 days ago

drivers data insurance...

Dave Ross

Ross: As cars release driving data to insurance, is your driving my business?

Every move you make, every swerve you take, every lane change you fake – someone’s watching you. Do drivers have a right to keep driving data private?

10 days ago

rent control...

Dave Ross

Ross: Rent control was never the answer in Wash.

The rent control bill died in the Washington State Legislature this week, even though Democrats control both houses.

1 month ago

end of democracy...

Dave Ross

Ross: Conservative activist earns applause for pledging an ‘end of Democracy’

The theme from Jack Posobiec's speech is that Jan. 6 was a righteous attack not on democracy, but on those who threaten democracy.

1 month ago

Image: Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colorado, is seen on Capitol Hill on Jan. 6, 2023. (Photo: Alex Brand...

Dave Ross

Ross: Voters can help cull bad politicians from the herd early

Let's remember that just about every occupant of a higher office once occupied a lower office, and was put there by us, Dave Ross says.

1 month ago

Super Bowl celebration...

Dave Ross

Ross: The NFL does it again

The NFL once again put on a show that was able to keep me tuned in for four hours even though I had no stake in either team.

2 months ago

Just when it couldn’t get any weirder