On September 29, 2009, Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Florida) argued on the House floor that the Republicans’ health care plan for America was “don’t get sick” and, if you do get sick, to “die quickly.”
Key Apologia Strategies:
Attacking the Accuser
Video of Grayson’s Speech in Congress:
Transcript
Last night, here in this chamber, I gave a speech. I’m not going to recount every single thing that I said, but I’d like to point out that immediately after I gave that speech, several Republicans asked me to apologize.
Well, I would like to apologize- I would like to apologize to the dead, and here’s why: According to this study, Health Insurance and Mortality in US Adults, which was published two weeks ago, 44,789 Americans die every year because they have no health insurance. That’s right, 44,789 Americans die every year according to this Harvard study called Health Insurance and Mortality in US adults. You can see it by going to our website grayson.house.gov. That is more than 10 times the number of Americans who have died in the War in Iraq. It’s more than ten times the number of Americans who died in 9/11; but that was just once. This is every single year. That’s right; every single year.
Take a look at this: read it and weep; and I mean that: Read it and weep because of all these Americans who
are dying because they don’t have health insurance. Now, I think we should do something about that, and the Democratic Health Care Plan does do something about that; it makes health care affordable for those who can’t afford insurance, and it saves these people’s lives. Let’s remember that we should care about people even after they’re born.
So I call upon the Democratic members of the House, I call upon the Republican members of the House, I call upon all of us to do our jobs, for the sake of America, for the sake of those dying people and their families. I apologize to the dead and their families,that we haven’t voted sooner to end this holocaust in America. I yield the rest of my time.
Sources
Allen, G. (2009, October 13). Rep. Grayson’s ‘Die Quickly’ comment stirs debate. NPR. Retrieved from: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=113742203
Allen, J. (2009, September 29). Grayson: GOP wants ‘you to die.’ Politico. Retrieved from: http://www.politico.com/story/2009/09/grayson-gop-wants-you-to-die-027726
Montopoli, B. (2009, September 30). Alan Grayson “Die Quickly” comment prompts uproar. CBS News. Retrieved from: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/alan-grayson-die-quickly-comment-prompts-uproar/
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