Conyers Vs. Gupta. Oh, It’s On.
EmailA "Dear Colleague" letter was sent from Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., chair of the House Judiciary Committee, to other members of Congress to solicit signature for a letter to the President-elect protesting the notion of a Surgeon General Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
(Yes, Mr. Conyers misspelled "Sanjay" and "Nobel" Prize.)
"January 7, 2009
"Dear Colleague,
"Please join me in signing a letter to President-Elect Barack Obama that Dr. Sunjay (sic) Gupta not be nominated for the post of Surgeon General.
"I join in opposition with respected Noble (sic) Peace Prize award wining economist Paul Krugman, who has very serious concerns with having Dr. Gupta be the nation’s Surgeon General. (See January 6, 2009, New York Times Hosted Blog, ‘Conscience of a Liberal.’ Available at http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/06/the-trouble-with-sanjay-gupta.)
"Also, there are highly experienced medical professionals who question whether Dr. Gupta has the necessary experience or even the medical background to be in charge of some 6,000 physicians or more who work in the United States Public Health Service. Gerard M. Farrel, Executive Director of the Commissioned Officers Association, stated in the January 7, 2008 Washington Post that Dr. Gupta will certainly face a ‘credibility gap’ because he never served in the National Health Service Corp, and furthermore, does not have the ‘experience or qualifications to be the leader of the nation’s public health service.’ Clearly, it is not in the best interests of the nation to have someone like this who lacks the requisite experience needed to oversee the federal agency that provides crucial health care assistance to some of the poorest and most underserved communities in America.
"For more information, please view my web site at www.house.gov/Conyers. …
"Sincerely,
"John Conyers, Jr.
"Member of Congress"
Paging, Dr. Gupta….
– jpt
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Bizarre. The Krugman objection is so trivial and off point that it is irrelevant. Farrel’s objection is that he wants one of his association members to be the nominee.
I wonder what is really behind this? Conyers doesnt even get to vote on confirmation so why is he involved?
Posted by: BertieW | January 8, 2009, 2:43 pm 2:43 pm
Blown out of proportion. The whole health care system is being reformed, Gupta was chosen to sell Health care to the people… I love how people without doctorates in medicine criticize the neurosurgeon. But I guess it ain’t brain surgery.
Posted by: MM | January 8, 2009, 2:43 pm 2:43 pm
Who really cares about this. Do people even know who Bush’s surgeon general is?
People don’t care about any of this.
Just dumb.
Posted by: Cameron | January 8, 2009, 2:46 pm 2:46 pm
Two words: Howard. Dean.
Posted by: Belle Starr | January 8, 2009, 2:47 pm 2:47 pm
I am impressed with the ease and sophistication of Rep. Conyers use of “Code Words”
Perhaps the gentleman Representative should say what’s really on his mind
Posted by: smith | January 8, 2009, 2:50 pm 2:50 pm
I think Gupta showed he could have a conflict of interest through his attempts to debunk Moore. His attempts apparently involved 2005 stats to Moore’s current 2007 ones. He was apparently working on behalf of CNN and its sponsors in the pharmaceutical and medical industries when he sought to discredit Moore. And maybe he was also propping up Mr. Blitzer who originally interviewed him and who Moore ran roughshod over. Whatever the case, Gupta was acting on an agenda and using inaccurate data along with untruths.
Posted by: kat | January 8, 2009, 2:50 pm 2:50 pm
Conyers won’t impeach Bush but will do this. Amazing.
Posted by: please! | January 8, 2009, 2:53 pm 2:53 pm
It seems to me that several Democrats have suddenly found out that they have a spine. Some of the same people who sat in a corner and said absolutely nothing through all of the Bush Administration dealings are now all of a sudden finding any reason to complain about Barack Obama’s plans.
Give me a break! The Surgeon General is nothing more than a figurehead and I’ll bet most Americans can’t even name the current one. John Conyers needs to find a real cause of substance to rally around, and in the meantime…learning how to spell wouldn’t hurt!
Posted by: Dee | January 8, 2009, 2:54 pm 2:54 pm
In some ways I agree with Rep. Conyers. We need a Proctologist as SG before we need a neurosurgeon.
Perhaps Rep Conyers motives are more sincere than I originally thought.
Posted by: smith | January 8, 2009, 2:56 pm 2:56 pm
When did Krugman win the Nobel Peace Prize?
Posted by: Dave | January 8, 2009, 2:57 pm 2:57 pm
Yeah Krugman didn’t win the Nobel Peace Prize either…
Conyers has a first class staff!
Posted by: Evan | January 8, 2009, 3:10 pm 3:10 pm
Handing over the post of Surgeon General to Dr. Gupta is how Pres. Elect Obama is paying back CNN for getting him elected after so much butt-kissing. No surprise here. Another person NOT qualified for the job handed to them. This administration is going to be a doozy.
Posted by: Gabrielle | January 8, 2009, 3:12 pm 3:12 pm
Dave: Paul Krugman won the 2008 Nobel Prize in Economics. The 2008 Nobel Peace Prize went to Martti Ahtisaari of Finland. So Rep. Conyers got that wrong, too.
Posted by: TN | January 8, 2009, 3:14 pm 3:14 pm
I will remember the very informative interview Dr Gupta has conducted with Dr Peter Piot former Executive Director of UNAIDS. That has shown the world how broad Dr Gupta’s knowledge of public health was. So getting a young talented and brilliant SG is very critical at this juncture. Obama’s picks are sharp and intelligent people who can help him make the change a reality. This is not time for business as usual: the same old Washington people doing the same over and over and thinking that a different result will come out.
Posted by: Panama Canal | January 8, 2009, 3:17 pm 3:17 pm
Conyers and his buddies represent the business as usual types who keep doing what they always did and are doomed, if we don’t intervene, to get the same results they always got. We need better and I think Gupta is very qualified for the job. Personally, I think Conyers has another agenda and it isn’t pretty.
Posted by: Michael Fenton | January 8, 2009, 3:19 pm 3:19 pm
Sorry to say it, but this article contains too many silly things (who cares about Bush’s surgeon?).
Posted by: Mark | January 8, 2009, 3:23 pm 3:23 pm
I’m not sure what to think of Obama’s health picks. It’s a hard for me to imagine the telegenic Dr. Gupta being an advocate for major changes in the healthcare system as it is with Tom Daschle, who is the pick for the Secretary of Health and Human Services. He was a major opponent of Hillary Clinton’s health reform plan 15 years ago and even wrote a book critiquing her proposals.
Posted by: kat | January 8, 2009, 3:42 pm 3:42 pm
Typo: healthcare reform plan
Posted by: kat | January 8, 2009, 3:43 pm 3:43 pm
Excuse me for bloviating a bit, but at least I’m self -correcting! Daschle played a major role with Clinton in trying to enact healthcare reform back in the early nineties. His book from 2004 analyzed what went wrong then. I still have reservations in Gupta.
Posted by: kat | January 8, 2009, 4:14 pm 4:14 pm
Wait, a Democrat is complaining to Barack Obama about an appointe not having enough experience? Since when has that been a problem?
Posted by: Sobek | January 8, 2009, 4:22 pm 4:22 pm
This is some sort of an odd trend. Barney Frank has just come out against the tax cut part of the Best Stimulus Ever.
Do these guys just want their name out there? Do they feel slighted by the Obama love? Are they waiting for a payoff?
Posted by: BertieW | January 8, 2009, 4:29 pm 4:29 pm
If qualifications mattered Obama wouldn’t be putting a cabinet together in the first place, now would he ?
Posted by: Diana | January 8, 2009, 4:30 pm 4:30 pm
WHY IS THIS NEWS?? ABC you need to have a (journalist lay-off) in your newsroom and save good money.. Why would every person who disagrees with anything Obama does be HEADLINE NEWS??????
Posted by: Houston | January 8, 2009, 4:32 pm 4:32 pm
“If qualifications mattered Obama wouldn’t be putting a cabinet together in the first place, now would he ?”
Ahhh yes the bitterenders from free republic who think Obama is not a natural born citizen.
Posted by: Ryan C | January 8, 2009, 4:55 pm 4:55 pm
Conyers is also wrong in that Krugman did not win the Nobel *Peace* Prize.
Posted by: Jason X | January 8, 2009, 5:27 pm 5:27 pm
Wow. Conyers needs an editor. I need a job. Hmmmm…..
I wonder if Krugman has been informed of his Peace Prize award; what did he do for peace anyway?
And why doesn’t the link to Conyer’s website work?
This all seems very weird.
Posted by: hunter | January 8, 2009, 5:38 pm 5:38 pm
There is nothing on his website either.
Maybe someone on his staff jumped the gun…
Posted by: BertieW | January 8, 2009, 6:14 pm 6:14 pm
Should a pandemic occur, the Surgeon General would be the most important doctor in the country. But with no US Public Health Service experience, he makes me uneasy. How on earth would he manage if millions of people took ill? How does his experience as a celebrity help US in a situation like this? If there were an epidemic or pandemic, I probably wouldn’t trust him to tell us the truth.
Trivial, blown out of proportion, who cares? You should care.
Posted by: nene | January 8, 2009, 7:00 pm 7:00 pm
I think Obama hit a home run with the selection of Dr. Gupta. This guy is a practising brain surgeon – a professor at a medical school and is associate head of neuro surgery department in a major hospital *in addition to* his TV activities.
It tells me he is a brilliant person and has tons of energy. We need all such people. They represent Change and bring home the message of “change” promised by Obama.
I could not think of a better pick than Dr. Gupta for SG post.
Posted by: Steve | January 8, 2009, 7:46 pm 7:46 pm
Great closing zinger, Jake.
Posted by: Danny | January 8, 2009, 7:52 pm 7:52 pm
Another thing: what the heck is award wining (as opposed to say, winning)?
Does that mean he poured wine on an award?
If so, maybe it was a Nobel Peace Prize. We need to check with all of the winners to see if any of their awards are wine stained.
Posted by: Fred | January 8, 2009, 7:54 pm 7:54 pm
THERE’S NO FOOL LIKE AN OLD FOOL. If you don’t believe it, just look at John Conyers.
Sanjay Gupta will easily be confirmed as Surgeon General and he will ace it just as he has aced everything he’s ever done.
Conyers should have been put out to pasture years ago.
Posted by: Alex | January 8, 2009, 8:13 pm 8:13 pm
Say uhhh Doc uhhhh I got this uhhh funny drip uhhhh thing goin here.
Posted by: Sticky B | January 8, 2009, 9:51 pm 9:51 pm
I have a perfect recommendation for Surgeon General under the Obama administration. Based on Obama’s previous statements and positions, I hereby nominate Dr. Tiller the “Baby Killer” to the prestigious position of Surgeon General. How better to facilitate the Messiah’s social programs using the big stick of “science (eugenics)”?
Posted by: bill | January 8, 2009, 9:52 pm 9:52 pm
The respected Paul Krugman? Don’t make me laugh.
Posted by: James | January 8, 2009, 9:58 pm 9:58 pm
Notwithstanding the obvious errors made in the letter by Conyers….perhaps Conyers is just your run of the mill racist who doesn’t like Indians.
Posted by: Can't spell Detroyt | January 8, 2009, 10:31 pm 10:31 pm
I cannot understand why Prof. Krugman is taking one discussion with Michael Moore and blowing is so big. It seems so silly. Just because Dr. Gupta had a difference of opinion with ultra leftist M. Moore, he is being badgered. I can bet that if all writings of Prof Krugman are reviewed, one can find many errors (or he is God). Personally, I think all practicing economists and management gurus should be sent to reeducation camps for landing us is this mess.
Posted by: Ashok Bhagat | January 9, 2009, 12:42 am 12:42 am
Obama can’t be POTUS.
Since no congressman and senator objected on 1/8/09 to Congress’ count and certification of the electoral vote which would have turned resolution of Obama’s eligibility issue over to Congress, rendering moot both the Berg and Lightfoot cases, Berg finally does achieve standing on the issue of actual harm, to be addressed at the 1/9/09 SCOTUS Conference on Writ of Certiorari. Obama’s failure to submit evidence of his constitutional qualification for the 1/9/09 conference will mean he cannot thereafter challenge Berg’s request to enjoin the 1/8/09 Congressional electoral count and certification, albeit retroactive, scheduled for SCOTUS conference 1/16/09. Moreover, Chief Justice Roberts has scheduled a full Court conference on the Lightfoot case 1/23/09 in the event there needs to be a Constitutionally mandated action, the Inauguration itself, to enjoin retroactively.
Checkmate! (WHERE IS THE NEWS MEDIA?)
Posted by: Ted | January 9, 2009, 3:00 am 3:00 am
Ted – How’s that tinfoil hat working out for you?
Posted by: Howard | January 9, 2009, 6:13 am 6:13 am
Why do African – Americans hate Indian – Americans?
Heck, Indians don’t even own liquor stores in the hood, that would be Koreans.
So, Rep. Conyers should have gone after Mr.John Yoo when he had the chance.
Posted by: Ace | January 9, 2009, 6:28 am 6:28 am
American Idol president, American Idol surgeon general.
Posted by: ATNorth | January 9, 2009, 6:30 am 6:30 am
The Krugman objection is dumb. But so is the nomination of a 39-year old t.v. personality. I know of dozens of physicians, who have given decades of service, are respected by their peers and their patients, and who have produced significant research. Why doesn’t Obama choose someone like them? Oh, I know. He needs to choose someone “cool.” Maybe he should have chosen Anderson Cooper for secretary of state instead of Clinton.
Posted by: Sandra | January 9, 2009, 7:40 am 7:40 am
Mr. Conyers should have written:
Barak Hussein Obama will certainly face a ‘credibility gap’ because he has never served in any executive position, and furthermore, does not have the ‘experience or qualifications to be the leader of this nation’s government.
Posted by: Patrick49 | January 9, 2009, 7:43 am 7:43 am
Conyers and his staff are MORONS.
Posted by: dennisl59 | January 9, 2009, 8:54 am 8:54 am
So the head of the “Commissioned Officers Association” is upset that a Commissioned Officer did not get the job? Big surprise.
Surgeon General is a PR job, and Gupta is skilled at PR. Seems like a good fit.
Posted by: xxx | January 9, 2009, 10:14 am 10:14 am
Krugman is a quack who “manages” numbers and facts to fit his liberal agenda.
The article that started this had Krugman claiming (wrongly) that all of moore’s points were factual and Gupts/CNN’s weren’t. I am certainly no fan of the Commie News Network, but in my research they both were citing reported numbers that supported their cases and Gupta’s research was from much more reliable sources that moore’s. That is unless you think that scientific research done in your neighbor’s leaky garage is more reliable ONLY because it fit’s your narrow agenda…..
Posted by: freddy fender | January 9, 2009, 11:01 am 11:01 am
Conyers and Burris must have attended the same high school. Burris recently said he couldn’t have been involved in “pay for play” because “I don’t have no money.”
Conyers can’t even spell Gupta’s first name.
Is it really too much to ask that our elected crooks and thieves at least speak proper English and produce written communications at standars expected of high schoolers?
Posted by: curmudgeon10 | January 10, 2009, 2:44 am 2:44 am
Wingnuts are out today! Does single-payer really scare ya that much?
Oh well. Onward to January 20th!
Posted by: knixphan | January 10, 2009, 1:03 pm 1:03 pm
I agree with Rep. Conyers opposition to Dr. Gupta. Obama really needs to deliver on his healthcare promise. If he goes with Gupta he is giving a message that doesn’t really support the notion of healthcare for ALL Americans. Stumps speeches won’t work in 2012. Change!
Posted by: Support Conyers | January 13, 2009, 9:33 pm 9:33 pm