National Political Updates

It seems there are two candidates vying to be governor of Georgia who had their high school teaching licenses suspended for misconduct with underaged female students. Normally you have to really look around to find a governor's race with even...

Josh Marshall http://talkingpointsmemo.com/joshmarshall.php

Today, “60 leaders of religious orders representing 59,000 Catholic nuns” sent a letter to federal lawmakers urging them to pass the Senate health care legislation. They decried the “false” information floating around about abortion provisions and said that the bill’s “historic new investments” for pregnant women are the “REAL pro-life stance.” The nuns’ letter was a significant and unusual break with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which continues to denounce the legislation. This afternoon, Stupak dismissed the nuns, saying that he listens to only male religious figures and far-right religious organizations:

Congressman Bart Stupak, D-Mich, responded sharply to White House officials touting a letter representing 59,000nuns that was sent to lawmakers urging them to pass the health care bill.

The conservative Democrat dismissed the action by the White House saying, “When I’m drafting right to life language, I don’t call up the nuns.” He says he instead confers with other groups including “leading bishops, Focus on the Family, and The National Right to Life Committee.”

It’s Stupak and the bishops, however, who are increasingly isolated. The nuns join other prominent pro-life figures and organizations — including the Catholic Health Association — in urging passage of the bill.

All crystal clear. From Bob's new post ... I was serving in the Clinton administration at the time. In the first months of 1993 it looked as if Clinton's health care proposal would sail through Congress. But the process dragged...

Josh Marshall http://talkingpointsmemo.com/joshmarshall.php

On his Fox News show, Glenn Beck falsely claimed that The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) said that 46 percent of primary care physicians would consider leaving their profession if the Democrats' health care reform bill passes. In fact, as Fox News' Megyn Kelly had noted three hours earlier, the NEJM did not conduct the "survey" -- which was "not a scientific poll."

Beck falsely attributed survey to NEJM

Beck falsely claimed NEJM "says ... nearly one-third of doctors will quit" if bill passes. On the March 17 edition of his Fox News show, Beck falsely claimed that "The New England Journal of Medicine says that if this bill is passed nearly one-third of doctors will quit practice medicine -- quit practicing medicine."

As Fox's Kelly noted, "survey" was not conducted by NEJM and was "not a scientific poll"

Kelly: Survey, which was "not a scientific poll," "was conducted by the Medicus Firm ... a national physician search firm." On the March 17 edition of Fox News' America Live, host Kelly noted that the survey "was conducted by the Medicus Firm, which is a national physician search firm." She added: "The New England Journal of Medicine, which was originally responsible for posting, not publishing, but -- not conducting the survey, but for posting it on its website -- later removed it. It's not a scientific poll; it's a survey."

Spokeswoman confirmed survey has nothing to do with NEJM's "original research" and "was not published" by Journal. Media Matters for America contacted NEJM and received confirmation from spokeswoman Jennifer Zeis that the study had "nothing to do with the New England Journal of Medicine's original research." Zeis also made clear that the study "was not published by the New England Journal of Medicine." In fact, the Medicus Firm conducted the survey in December 2009. Medicus, a Dallas- and Atlanta-based firm that recruits and places physicians in jobs was responsible for conducting the survey. It issued a press release about the results on December 17, 2009. The report then appeared in Recruiting Physicians Today, an employment newsletter produced by the Massachusetts Medical Society, "the publishers of the New England Journal of Medicine."

Other Fox personalities have perpetuated the falsehood

Several Fox News personalities have made the false claim about the survey. Before correcting the record, Kelly herself had previously falsely attributed the survey to the NEJM. Others who have made the claim include:

• Host Bill O'Reilly, who claimed on March 16 that the survey was "published by The New England Journal of Medicine, a prestigious magazine."

• Fox & Friends co-host Brian Kilmeade, who said on March 17 that the NEJM "published a report and did a survey" that found doctors "feel reform will force them out."

• Host Sean Hannity, who, on the March 16 edition of his show, asked Milton Wolf, a radiologist who says he is President Obama's second cousin, "Will this plan that they're now pushing, and I think in a very corrupt way, do you believe this will harm and -- if you believe so, how greatly will it harm our health care system?" Wolf replied: "We just learned from The New England Journal of Medicine that a significant percentage of doctors would consider leaving -- seriously consider leaving the profession if this went through."

• Fox News contributor Dr. Marc Siegel, who, on the March 16 edition of Fox News' Your World, stated: "First of all, the [American Medical Association] is a bureaucratic organization that doesn't represent practicing doctors. A new study in The New England Journal of Medicine says that one-third of physicians would consider quitting or retiring early if this goes through."

Whatever happens with Health Care Reform or the November election, I think we can say that having the American Idol kids sing from the Rolling Stones songbook was a profoundly misguided, perhaps tragic decision. So sue me, I'm watching on...

Josh Marshall http://talkingpointsmemo.com/joshmarshall.php

Earlier today, MSNBC's David Shuster seemed to get Rep. John Shadegg, a very conservative congressman from Arizona, to say that he'd support a "single payer" health care system. Our Rachel Slajda followed up with the congressman's office to see what...

Josh Marshall http://talkingpointsmemo.com/joshmarshall.php

TPM Reader JO checks in from the Lone Star State ... I'm on a telephone town hall with my representative (unfortunately) Jeb Hensarling. Most of the callers are elderly and ill-informed. Sadly, they probably get most of their information from...

Josh Marshall http://talkingpointsmemo.com/joshmarshall.php

Billionaire Meg Whitman, the seeming political cipher who would be governor of California, is purchasing endless amounts of unanswered advertising. It's propelled her into a... William Bradley http://www.huffingtonpost.com/william-bradley/

If Dems want to campaign on regulatory overhaul for the banking sector, they need to make sure reforms are more than in name only.

The anti-abortion provisions of both the House and the Senate versions of health care are a serious setback for reproductive rights. We need to support it nonetheless.

Michael Lewis' new book recounts (perhaps too well) the exploits of the counter-investors who bet on the sub-prime collapse.

Although lawmakers have been focusing on the economy, current policies don't address the deep financial problems facing many women of color.

Republicans have won the language battle on health care. But it's beginning to look like all they care about is talk.

If Biden is willing to exercise the power granted him in the Constitution, he could do more than pass health care. He could undo the filibuster rules that threaten to deadlock our system of government.

A Supreme Court ruling in a terrorism case is making it harder for many other important lawsuits to proceed.

Can a politician who began his career as an Obama organizer make a lasting change in South Carolina politics?

A new community of American Judaism is embracing religious traditionalism and social liberalism.

TAP talks with the Publish What You Fund, which advocates for increased transparency and accountability on foreign aid.

An education reformer discovers that tests, standards, and other silver bullets are no substitute for hard teaching.