The right and wrong way to talk about Gardasil

Michelle Malkin ^ | 9/13/2011 | Michelle Malkin

[Lakeshark]

A month ago, I was “fringe” for spotlighting Rick Perry’s Gardasil problem.

As I said then, it’s not just a “single-issue,” one-off problem. It’s about his instincts, judgment, non-apology apology, and ethics.

For everyone still catching up, here’s my column from a month ago.

Now, Gardasil is the search word of the day. And there’s a new development.

After successfully highlighting Perry’s troubling abuse of executive power during last night’s debate, Michele Bachmann risks blowing it with some factually inaccurate assertions.

She’s RIGHT on the principles, wrong on some of the details.

She needs to stay on message and stick with the facts.

[Lakeshark]

From the article: Not only did Perry defend going above the heads of elected state legislators, but his office also falsely claimed the legislature had no right to repeal the executive order. “The order is effective until Perry or a successor changes it, and the Legislature has no authority to repeal it,” Perry spokeswoman Krista Moody told The Washington Post in February 2007.

Sorry, there is no way to defend this one.

[fireforeffect]

Perry mandated it so that the Texas Health Department would pay for it.

Parents could opt out. Some mandate.

By your definition Palin mandated it also.

FYI: I am a Cain supporter.

[Buckeye McFrog]

Gardasil is an example of how government is out of control!

Bingo! It might be the most wonderful thing science has ever concocted, but as free citizens it should be OUR CHOICE whether to put it into our childrens' bodies or not.

[nmh]

My kids will NOT be taking ANY sucj vaccine.

They are NOT allowed to have sex, PERIOD.

They already KNOW there is NO such thing as “safe sex”.

I get as graphic and factual as I need to get when I remind them of that FACT. We know WHERE they are and WHAT they are doing. So it will be impossible for them to be promiscious. Yes, parents like us still exist. Believe it or not!

[Paperdoll]

You still don’t get it.

[CodeToad]

It took the Texas Legislature to overturn Perry’s Executive Order mandating children receive the shot. Perry was, and still is in beleifs, a Democrat until he was 40 years old and it shows. What a tyrant!!!

[so_real]

On that point of the debate I gave Santorum full points on the score card. Unless Texas has sexual education classes we aren't aware of that include show-n-tell hour, a classroom vaccination mandate for a sexually transmitted disease is an egregious abuse of power. I don't care if Perry was financially motivated, politically motivated, or just wanted to do the right thing. That's irrelevant. It was the wrong policy, period.

[PMAS]

Perry mandated Gardisil.

Romney mandated purchasing of healthcare insurance.

nuff said

[CodeToad]

” It’s a little hard to force somebody to take the vaccine when they don’t have to take it if they don’t want to. “

Did they tell the girls they had the choice? No, they did not.

Did they give ample time for parents to opt out? No, they did not.

Did they tell private schools that the law of mandate was not a mandate after all? No, they did not.

Why the Hell do We the People even need to “opt out” of tyranny???

Do I need to “opt out” of the government invading my home?
Do I need to “opt out” of the government not providing me a jury?
Do I need to “opt out” of the government not allowing me to vote?

This support the Democrat RINO Perry at all costs is suicide!

[Cincinatus' Wife]

I found it interesting, that after about the 20th time of repeating “innocent 11-12 year-old little girls” (in the Tampa CNN-Tea Party debate, CNN post-debate, Fox News post-debate), when asked by Greta VanSusteren if she believed Gov. Perry used an Executive Order for the cervical cancer vaccine to get $6000.00 or because he believed it was a good idea and would help fight the spread of this cancer, Michele Bachmann actually stopped talking for a couple of nanoseconds, paused and said that she couldn’t look into his heart and know that answer.

The answer is obvious to any honest person, that Gov. Perry did it to help fight cancer and hold down future medical costs (not make money, reward a company (Merck contributes $Millions to political groups yearly) - encourage girls to become sexually active or even suggest that they do). The best time to administer the HPV vaccine is when girls are young (they can contract this cancer from their husbands – get oral cancer – thank you Bill Clinton for your part in making America's youth think oral sex isn't sex).

About deaths from vaccines – over 400 people die yearly in the U.S. alone from penicillin allergies. All medicine carries risks -- have you watched an Rx commercial disclaimer lately?

And it was opt out. The governor’s EO allowed easier payment due to insurance restrictions. And it was not opposed by Dr. David Stevens, CEO of the Christian Medical Association.

Why CMA supported Perry's HPV vaccination order

"VAN SUSTEREN: Well, there's a big difference, though, at least in my mind, whether you do it because you really believe it's the right and you're just flat out wrong or you shouldn't have done it or whatever, and the other difference is whether you did it because you wanted a campaign contribution. And I'm curious which you think was the one here with the governor.

BACHMANN: Well, of course, I don't know the thoughts and the intents of the governor's heart. I have no idea what they are, nor would I speculate." SOURCE

Reasons for HPV vaccine

[Lakeshark]

BUMP to your post. Money quote:

I don't care if Perry was financially motivated, politically motivated, or just wanted to do the right thing. That's irrelevant. It was the wrong policy, period.

[RowdyFFC]

Son, I, my children, and my grandchildren and the many of the same all over the freaking US, have been subjected to mandatory immunizations since back in the 1940’s. ARE YOU GOING TO RAISE A HUE AND CRY ABOUT IT IT NOW? YOU’RE A LITTLE LATE!

Evidently you can’t READ! Governor Perry himself respected Texas parents enough in 2003 to let THEM decide what needles children get stuck with.

My daughter opted out in 2003! She never has a do a damned thing about immunizations that she and her doctor don’t throughly agree with her children getting! Her children’s immunizations are kept up to date ONLY when they’ve had a thorough exam on their condition and she and her doctor approve!

[Paperdoll]

THEN WHY MANDATE IT? I suggest he did it to attract funds, or some other means of support from Merck.

[Will88]

I think this is the fourth time I’m posted this and gotten no responses on the pro-Perry threads. What action did governors of the other 49 or 56 states take concerning Gardasil? Was Perry the only governor who deemed executive action appropriate on a new vaccine?

If he was, then it does look like he decided to take a very unusual approach for some reason. Don’t think I’ve ever heard of governors mandating vaccines before.

[dforest]

Perry admitted he was wrong, but if he was kicking and screaming as he was overruled, that ain’t good.

If Obama made a deal with Merck an had Kathleen Sebilius ordering it for their daughters, everyone on this site would be pissed as hell.

[TigersEye]

...if the parents didn't want it, they had to go sign something or the girls would be vaccinated. That's a mandate,...

I guess words don't mean anything in the English language anymore.

[hellbender]

Bush did not have the right idea about No Child Left Behind. Education is not a legitimate Constitutional function of the Federal govt., and it used to be the conservative position that the Dept. of Education should be eliminated. Instead, it ballooned under Bush.

Perry is simply pandering to the right in order to get nominated. In Texas, he pandered to the "Hispanic" lobby and the Muslim lobby for his own short-sighted political interests. Once in D.C., he will not need conservative backing any more, and will show his instincts, which are those of a "moderate" Democrat (he supported Al Gore on the theory that Gore was a "moderate" at the time, which was completely untrue anyway). It is a fatal mistake to think that Slick Rick is a dedicated conservative.

[Lakeshark]

I've said over and over again, this is not a deal killer issue to me, but it's really impossible to defend Perry for doing what he did. At best it's a black mark that shows how he wants to govern.

The deal killer is his illegal immigration record.

[Free Vulcan]

Even with opt outs I don’t like mandates where the govt encroaches on you and enforces your behavior, and then you got to beat them off every two years or so or otherwise you get sucked into the mandate too.

Michelle should have handled it by knocking Perry for the Guardasil mandate, Romney for the RomneyCare mandate, and then tied it back to the ObamaCare mandate. Then drive it home right to the personal responsibility them she talked about in an earlier question.

[RowdyFFC]

HE MANDATED IT BECAUSE THE FEDS HANDED DOWN REGULATIONS THAT SAID PROVIDE IT FOR SCHIP AND MEDICAID CHILDREN! IN ORDER FOR MEDICAID AND SCHIP TO PAY FOR IT IT HAS TO BE ON THE STATE’S MANDATED LIST.

AGAIN, THE MAN MANY PARENTS WANTED IT. THEY’RE NOT STUPID, THEY KNOW WHAT SOME JOCK MIGHT BRING TO THE THEIR DAUGHTER!

THE MANY MANY PARENTS DIDN’T!

HE GAVE THEM ALL THE OPT OUT OR THE OPT IN IF YOU WANT TO PISS AROUND WITH FREAKING SEMANTICS!