By Ken Kupchik

Stupid things are always said in politics, whether it's to curry favor with ill-informed constituents, or because a politician is a missing filter between his brain and mouth. Based on the level of discourse during the recent health care debate, it appears that the far right possessed the lion's share of stupid comments. Here is the cream of the crap:

10) Sarah Palin temporarily came out of book-writing reclusion to claim that a health-care overhaul would create "death-panels" which would ration care, and decide when to end the life of the elderly. 

9) Senator Chuck Grassley, who Democrats falsely counted on to bring bipartisanship to the health care debate, echoed Palin's claims about death panels when he said that the "we should not have a government program that determines if you're going to pull the plug on grandma." Grassley had voted for a similar provision in the past. Can we pull the plug on his Senate seat?

8) When the President unveiled his goals of cutting fraud and abuse from Medicare and Medicaid, an unlikely hero came to the defense of the "entitlement" programs.  Michael Steele stood up for the programs that his party had rallied against for years, scaring seniors that the government would cut their funding, and even coming up with a "seniors bill of rights." This drew the ire of his GOP colleagues.

7) An editorial in Investor's Business Daily argued that people with handicaps such as Stephen Hawking wouldn't have a chance in the U.K. health care system where "the National Health Service would say the life of this brilliant man, because of his physical handicaps, is essentially worthless." Hawking was born in England, lives in England, and credits the NHS with saving his life. The magazine likely advocated the purchase of Enron stock as well. 

6) Republican Senator Jim DeMint argued early on against health care reform, saying "This health care issue is D-Day for freedom in America...If we're able to stop Obama on this it will be his Waterloo. It will break him." No it wouldn't, Mr. DeMint, because the President would still have access to the same quality government health coverage that you have access to. The ones broken would be those that pay for your quality health coverage. 

5) Republican Senator Tom Coburn was confronted by a crying woman at a town hall meeting, where she told of her husband whose insurance wouldn't cover assistance related to a traumatic brain injury. The Senator coldly told her that her neighbors should be helping her out, but not to rely on the government for help.

4) Representative Paul Broun, who is also a doctor, was confronted by a constituent at a town hall who explained that he was deep in debt because he couldn't afford insurance for his major depressive disorder. Broun replied "people who have depression, who have chronic diseases in this country...can always get care in this country by going to the emergency room."

3) Whole Foods owner John Mackey, who can likely afford excellent health care, stepped into the debate with an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal arguing against everyone's right to health-care. "While all of us empathize with those who are sick, how can we say that all people have more of an intrinsic right to health care than they have to food or shelter....A careful reading of both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution will not reveal any intrinsic right to health care, food or shelter. "

2) The Republican National Committee mailed a fundraising pamphlet arguing against health care reform. A questionnaire that was included actually said that the government could check voting registration records, "prompting fears that GOP voters might be discriminated against for medical treatment in a Democrat-imposed health care rationing system."

1) And Senator Orrin Hatch, a vigorous health reform opponent had a lot to say about the dangers of health care reform, using buzzwords like "rationing," and "government takeover." But can we really take the advice of a man who said this: "Capital punishment is our way of demonstrating the sanctity of life."