A Surgeon General nominee ‘tied up in politics’ [View all]

[sheshe2]

© Jason Reed / Reuters

10/15/14 04:54 PM—UPDATED 10/15/14 06:48 PM

Ellie Sandmeyer explained yesterday:

Fox personalities repeatedly worked to cast doubt on Dr. Vivek Murthy’s nomination, questioning his strong qualifications and smearing him as “too political” for the job. In March, network host Brian Kilmeade alleged that Murthy “hasn’t done much in his career yet,” and argued that “you want to be impressed with” a Surgeon General nominee’s resume. […]

In addition to questioning Murthy’s qualifications, Fox has also worked to baselessly politicize Murthy’s position that gun violence should be considered a public health issue. Fox & Friends co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck falsely claimed that Murthy views gun ownership as a “disease” and forwarded claims that he has “a radical agenda when it comes to guns and your health.” Network legal analyst Peter Johnson Jr. suggested Murthy would make the examining room about “about party registration or about gun registration,” and Fox host Megyn Kelly claimed that Murthy is “not a big fan of the Second Amendment,” and said he is “so anti-gun that the NRA has decided to score this vote.”

So when a Fox host complains that “politics” is leading to a vacancy in the Surgeon General’s office, the natural follow-up question is, “Yes, and exactly whose politics might be responsible for this result?”

As Rachel noted on the show last night, the public would benefit from having a qualified medical professional focused specifically on helping Americans better understand these complex medical questions. Too bad that’s apparently not a politically viable option right now.

Read more: http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/surgeon-general-nominee-tied-politics