Last week Graeme Frost recorded the Democrats' weekly radio address. Graeme is a 12 year old boy that was critically injured in a car accident in 2004 along with his little sister Gemma. Without SCHIP, it is very likely that those two children wouldn't be here today.
How does the right wing look at this? On Saturday Free Republic began Swift Boating the family to denounce the SCHIP program.
Mark Steyn quickly picked this up at NRO
More Below the Fold
Redstate even got in on the act, with mbecker908 saying this:
"Soft hearted old compassionate conservative that I am, I suggested that: 1-if federal funds were required the could die for all I care. Let the parents get second jobs, let their state foot the bill or let them seek help from private charities. And 2-I would hire a team of PIs and find out exactly how much their parents made and where they spent every nickel. Then I'd do everything possible to destroy their lives with that info...
...Hang 'em. Publically. Let 'em twist in the wind and be eaten by ravens. Then maybe the bunch of socialist patsies will think twice."
Before this poor family gets overrun by the Swift Boating Republicans, we need to come to their defenses. Without having ever spoken to this family, and using information from the links provided by Free Republic, it's obvious the Swift Boating is going full speed ahead with little regard towards facts.
The private school that the Frost children attend provides financial assistance up to and including full tuition.
Ths house that the Frosts currently reside in was purchased in 1990 for $55,000.
What is being done to the Frosts is despicable... much in the same way that Rush Limbaugh calls left-leaning soldiers "Phony", the right-wing is viciously attacking those children that SCHIP has helped. Their attacks come in both the repellation of SCHIP and the character assassination of anybody that speaks out against it.
UPDATE
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi introduced Bonnie and Gemma Frost on the floor of the House last week. Staffers from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's office contacted Graeme Frost about his radio address. Let's contact their offices and get something done!
Speaker Nancy Pelosi
Majority Leader Harry Reid
Baltimore Sun reporter Matthew Brown matthew.brown@baltsun.com
Keith Olbermann can be contacted at countdown@msnbc.com. This address is currently not working. Kolbermann@msnbc.com is also not working. Does anybody have functioning contact info for Countdown?
UPDATE #2
Whiskeyfire has a very informative blog on this too (hat tip nyseer courtesy of Atrios)
As the day goes on, bigger and bigger smear merchants are picking this up (including The Weekly Standard). All are (of course) listing Free Republic as the mother source. This limits any culpability and fact checking of their own.
UPDATE #3
Michelle Malkin has this story up on her site, but she's done the extra step of going to Halsey Frost's business and quizzing his tenant on his political ideology. She also drove by the Frost home... ostensibly to see how much it was worth.
There are many points being brought up, amongst them whether it's right to bring children and anecdotes to a political debate. I don't think that this is the issue. The issue is that the right wing, led by The Free Republic and picked up by Mark Steyn and Michelle Malkin are attacking the people that come out against their propaganda. The Frosts aren't running for office; they are trying to live their lives after a horrible accident left their children with permanent disabilities.
Knowing the types of people that are involved in this Swift Boating, it's even more terrifying to know that this families personal records and address are going the rounds courtesy of Free Republic. If anything else happens to this family, I hope God will have mercy on their souls.