Gray Lady Worried

The NY Times front page today features the rural elderly as the latest victims for them to exploit in aid of their big government ObamaCare agenda--which would actually harm most rural states and the elderly who inhabit them. Yet even in the Times own story is the real story. 80 year old Norma Clark slipped and broke her hip. She tied her legs together with rope and dragged herself back:

A dutiful farm wife, Ms. Clark somehow even got to her feet to latch the gate. And her first call when she got to the house was not to 911, but to a daughter 30 miles away.

A "dutiful farm wife"? How patronizing, how typical Times. How about an individual honed by a lifetime of responsibility and self-sufficiency? (This reminds me of a Times' reporter describing my dad as having a "bucolic twang" years ago. His dad was from New York and my dad spoke like Walter Cronkite.) People in rural areas primarily rely on family, friends and neighbors. Granted, Norma Clark now gets the help of a nursing assistant, but if ObamaCare passes she would probably be warehoused somewhere, on the road to the death panel. She would probably choose to move in with her daughter.

From the Washington Post comes the meme that the Tea Party movement is divisive and will rip the GOP apart. Dream on. Tea Party concerns permeate the party outside of the beltway--even in bastions of moderation, like Illinois' north-suburban 10th congressional district. And those who espouse common sense tea party reform are gathering broad support.

No wonder the Gray Lady is worried to distraction.