Washington Post: Clinton Told True Tale of Woe, Says Kin [Updated]
By SusanUnPC on April 7, 2008 at 9:05 PM in ABC News, Deputy Bryan Holman, Health Care, Hillary Clinton, Trina Bachtel
UPDATE: Jake Tapper of ABC News has more — “Is Hillary’s Much-Maligned Hospital Story Fundamentally True?.” Tapper refers to our earlier story today: “The website NoQuarterUSA today pointed out what Holman’s full story was — and his full story is significant.” (We also credited ABC News with reporting the full story; ABC’s video is included in our earlier story.)
____________________________
The story that Hillary has told on the campaign trail is true — the tragic story about a pregnant mother whose baby died, and then she died, all because she was denied treatment early on. Hillary is vindicated. Will MSNBC report this? Will Fox News retract its biased report? Will the other news outlets that smeared her state that the Washington Post investigation proves the story? (For background, see our earlier story, “The REAL Trina Bachtel Story” by Big Kahuna — who acted like a real journalist, and dug to find out the story — and edited by Fleaflicker and me.)
This incessant dissection of everything that Hillary, her husband, her daughter and her surrogates say (as well as the constant pyschoanalysis of those relationships) is depressingly similar to the “hit jobs” on Al Gore in 2000 by reporters and pundits. Reporters — instead of reporting the facts, and the actual statements of the candidate — began looking for any remark, any anecdote, any story told in a campaign speech that they could pick apart, spin around, and try to give it the appearance of untruth. Most notable was that their “spinning” required that they NOT to quote Al Gore accurately. While it is good reporting to check the veracity of candidates’ remarks and stories, it is critically important that candidates be innocent of suspicion, and their statements not be spun until it is proven the candidate misspoke, exaggerated or told an outright lie.
On MSNBC today, Andrea Mitchell discussed the “hospital” story with Anne Kornblut, beginning with an assumption that Hillary told the story incorrectly. As she introduced Kornblut, Ms. Mitchell said the story was “NOT TRUE” (a wild assumption about a story not confirmed). Andrea Mitchell — and every other reporter who has reported with the same biased assumptions — must retract their assumptive statements and apologize to Hillary Clinton and the campaign. See also: Digby’s commentary on the Andrea Mitchell interview of Anne Kornblut in which Mitchell says that the story illustrates a “growing credibility gap” for Hillary. (Well, so much for finding out the facts before dishing up such devastating opinions.)
WASHINGTON POST: CLINTON TOLD TRUE TALE OF WOE, SAYS KIN
Excerpted remarks below:
By Anne E. Kornblut
The aunt of a young pregnant woman who died after a hospital told her she needed to pay $100 up front for care said in an interview on Monday that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has been telling the story accurately on the campaign trail — following claims by a different Ohio hospital that it did not turn the patient away.
For weeks, Clinton repeated an anecdote she heard in Ohio on Feb. 28 involving a young woman who lost her baby and later died because she lacked health insurance and did not have $100 to gain access to a nearby hospital.
But over the weekend, Clinton came under fire when officials at O’Bleness Memorial Hospital, after reading about her remarks, demanded that she stop recounting it because the patient, Trina Bechtel, was admitted there and did have insurance.
That part, it turns out, is true. But so is Clinton’s claim that Bechtel did not get care at another hospital that wanted a $100 pre-payment before seeing her, according to the young woman’s aunt, Lisa Casto. “It’s a true story,” said Casto, 53.
Casto added some details that were not part — or differed from — the Clinton anecdote: She said her niece had previously been in debt to a local hospital that later sent her a letter informing her that she could only be treated there in the future if she gave them a $100 deposit. At the time she went into debt to that hospital, Casto said, Bechtel was uninsured, though she later obtained health insurance and was insured at the time of her death.
…
But court records show that Bechtel had a civil judgment against her by the Holzer Hospital Foundation for the amount of $4,426, entered in 2002, which was repaid in 2005. A call to an official at Holzer Medical Center, which is run by the foundation, in Ohio was not immediately returned.
Casto said her niece, who suffered from preeclampsia during her pregnancy, did not seek care at the first hospital she when she fell ill because she knew she did not have the $100 out-of-pocket she believed she would need to be seen. Instead, she went to O’Bleness Memorial Hospital, where her baby was stillborn. Bechtel was later flown to Columbus and died there. She was 35.
Casto said she has been stunned by the amount of negative attention her niece’s story generated, and that she was sorry it had hurt the Clinton campaign. She was, and is, she said, a supporter. “Did I vote for Hillary?” she said. “You’d better bet I did.”
I think it’s dumb for the media to attack her on this. Even if the actual story wasn’t exactly the way she thought it was, I don’t think she should be faulted for listening to the stories told to her by her supporters. There is plenty of truth in the fact that people without health care have it rough, and that was the point of what she was saying anyway.
I saw the actual clip of the man telling her the story. He was a deputy sheriff and said he knew the family. Merits criticism all right. /snark
The Deputy is a good public servant and has been assailed now as a liar. He told the truth and he is a friend of the family. His story is accurate and he deserves an apology from these outlets for even implying he was lying.
I spoke with him yesterday and he is a real gentleman. He didn’t know me from Adam. And he was thankful someone finally wanted to tell the story as it happened without the prevailing motivation to destroy Clinton.
The problem at hand is that old problem, Media Bias. When you start with a conclusion and then build the facts to support it….that isn’t how you do journalism. That’s how you reinforce misunderstandings. I didn’t approach it that way. I wanted to understand what happened with Trina Bachtel and her son Tray Hutton.
Thanks to Deputy Holman for his valuable time. I want him to go back to taking care of his local community and help lasso the media out of their Southern Ohio town.
Thanks to NQ
Thanks for your reasonable attitude. See if you can spread it around to your fellow Obama voters.
Great news! Since I no longer watch Hardball or Countdown, I’m not sure what those two had to say, but I just happened to catch a couple of minutes of David Gregory’s show, and they were all over Hillary for this. My guess is they’ll have to report this, especially since it’s a WP story.
I watched a bit of MSNBC this morning. Andrea Mitchell was pointing out to Anne Kornblut that the story was part of a “pattern” — with Kornblut nodding but then proceeding to express doubts that the story was not true and that she was trying to contact the relatives to confirm the story. Now she has. I expect Andrea Mitchell to have Kornblut back on her program and straighten this all out. (In my dreams … but, dammit, that is what honorable journalists do.)
Seriously. I emailed Andrea Mitchell and told her that it is in fact she who seems to have a disturbing credibility problem. She wants us to believe that because Clinton misspoke on the one Bosnia event no one in the whole wide world should believe her. If we hold Ms. Andrea to her standard, then since she has lost all credibility because of this story (among numerous others), no one in the whole wide world should believe her either.
She makes me want to “claw” her eyes out, especially when I am “periodically feeling down.”
What a sorry excuse for a journalist.
she’s married to Alan bubbles Greenspan.
So she should know a thing or two about deception.
Sam, good for you. I’ve been amazed at the hypocrisy of the so-called journalists commenting on this story, but you just nailed it.
Whose credibility problem is it? Ha.
Mrs. Greenspan has no credibility so it’s no problem for her. And I guess if I were married to Alan Greenspan I called myself Andrea Mitchell too.
Hey Andrea: If the rude boyz at MSNBC are tearing down Hillary Clinton the way they are, what do you think they are saying about you behind your back? :-0
Andrea Mitchell has a back? I was told that if you turned her around you just get the other face.
Typical of all the media: first shoot to kill then ask questions… I am soooo fed up of all of them.
I think HRC should pick up the story in her campaign trail and say it over and over and over and turn the guns to point to Andrea Mitchell, Chris Matthews Keith O. and Co. for LIARS.
HRC should shame them in public for dishonoring the memory and suffering of Ms Bechtel; of her baby and insulting her family.
Shame on the media a thousand times over. I am so so angry about this…. Here you have these A**H***S sitting on their fancy TV cushions without even having to think about the meaning of health insurance; being totally oblivious of the suffering of LOTS of people like Ms Bechtel and all too happy to take a cheap disgusting political shot HRC.
Shame on them, shame on them.
Those media outlets are not going to admit they are wrong because it spoils their soothing narrative of the fairy tale of Prince Obama fighting the Wicked Clinton Witch.
May I suggest that when you find the news outlets are wrong, you call them on it. Find the number of the paper, TV, radio, or web outlet and give them hell for distorting stories. If they get enough bad press about their reporting they’ll correct a little bit. Then pit two outlets against each other if you have to. Call CNN and let them know FoxNews is wrong, or MSNBC. I didn’t do it that way exactly. I beat the path a bit. Then I called them once I had background. But we must start somewhere.
You know, it pisses me off that the family even had to be dragged into this at all. The New York Times had no business drudging up the woman’s name, Clinton never used her name, nor the name of the hospital. It pisses me off that they vilified her for what all of us in the real world knew was a true story in our guts - because we or someone we know has lived it. And then, to top it all off, they have to drag the woman and her family out into the mud of the media to vindicate Clinton.
Why the fuck can’t the media just FOR ONCE do its job and actually RESEARCH a story, every angle, before running with it? WHY?
But it’s all Clinton’s fault right. Just by existing, she made them vilify her and she made the family be put through this. Why doesn’t that wretched woman just disappear already!
I hope there is a special place in hell for these idiotic media people. I am sorry, I know that sounds harsh, but my frustration knows no bounds right now.
she could have them over a barrel now.
I agree having grown up in the heyday of the watergate coverage, whatpasses today for journalism isnothng more than sensationalist yellow OP-ED crap. Truly embarrassing for the country that supposedly trumpets a free press. I’m oming to the conclusion that maybe the TVANGELISTS are right and Tap Dancin Jesus is on his way.
Read the comments being posted at the Washington Post to see how deranged Obama supporters still insist that this proves Hillary lied. Stalin would be so proud of them.
The integrity of the haters has been called completely into question, and I have to admit, that was part of my basic motivation. What if the story held water, would they adjust? Nope.
Yes, those comments are horrible. This story is so tragic but for them everything is about hating Clinton. $100 is probably nothing for them — a few lattes a couple of weeks, right? For some others, it is life and death. This is what has bugged me all through this primary season. All those Obama supporters may not need the government to do anything for them (hey, they may even get a hefty taxcut under repubs), so they go for the glitz and the glamor, the cool and the fashionable. For millions of others, a well functioning government could prop them up just a little or even save a few lives. For them Clinton speaks. What a shameful bunch of ego driven maniacs these Obama supporters are.
Glitz and glamor? Hardly! Lattes? I prefer mochas. Republican tax cuts? I WISH I qualified for anything close to those.
Nope, I’m just a “normal” American living paycheck to paycheck who voted for Obama.
Then you know what that makes you, don’t you?
why are you mindlessly provoking pm317? Yikes hasn’t done anything except state he/she doesn’t fit the projected characteristic you stated.
don’t be a goombah here and make up shit to fight over. jeez
I have a lot of problems with the provacators, but don’t be one and then point at Obama supporters. come on…
What is Hardball and Countdown? I’m confused.
If ABC had not published the full clip of Bryan Holman telling her this story, I might not have noticed he said, “so she went to another hospital”.
Bryan Holman has been attacked by various media outlets and Clinton haters as a liar. It is my hope this effort to tell the truth redeems his reputation, and that some honor can be paid to Trina Bachtel and her son Tray. This rush to call someone a liar trumped the dignity for the dead mother and child who did not get the proper care in the medical system.
Thanks NoQuarter for having the integrity to post this story.
Bless the aunt who has the courage to come out and set the record straight. But I doubt that any MSM will correct their nasty comments that HRC lied about this story.
The intimidate tactic by the media and Hillary haters is so disgusting. They want to hit her hard and make her scare to be herself. Scare to say or do anything because she will get whacked all the time. They hope that if they hit hard enough, Hillary will finally give up and go away. But lucky for us, Hillary is a fighter. She will fight the injustice.
And in the mean time the media cut a lot of slack for Obama.
He intentionally lie that his parents met at MLK march. He was born 4 years earlier. But no MSM talked about that. The list of his intentional lies is so long but nobody care to let the public know.
The whole situation is despicable. The US failed me as the champion of Human Right. If they cannot treat their own fairly, how they can treat other people fairly.
I just sent the Washington Post link to Greta Van Susteran. Hopefully she will pick it up.
The hospital should have never gave out information in the first place. Its HPPA. When the patients where I work. Dont understand it, I tell them it means I can post your information on the net, nor shout it from the rooftops.
Andrea Mitchell is the bubble headed bleach blonde, who sole mission seems to trash Clinton.
She may have wanted to cover Obama..
It was obvious from the start that the hospital was trying to cover its own ass and the MSM was only so glad to once again thrash her without doing their own research.
Thank you Sugar, that’s what’s been missing for a long time, a bit of common sense.
It seems like people don’t think critically anymore, they just jump on the media bandwagon. Especially if it involves bashing Hillary. You’d think after the way the media lied to us about the war and covered up for the Bush administration, people would start to catch on. Apparently not.
GO HILLARY !!
Thank You for doing this story!
Hopefully - the media will cover this and do a corrected version since they were all over this today. Thanks for a positive story on Hillary!
Fat chance, they’ll blame Clinton for making them look bad.
You’re welcome.
I’d to think of it as a positive way to remember Trina Bachtel and Tray Hutton, her son. I’d like to think of it as a vindication of Deputy Holman.
The press ran over this small town family and community in a stampeded to indict a candidate as a liar. We can see they are hyenas. Now hold them accountable until they correct the story.
Trina Bachtel, her son, and her family deserve your support.
Good! We need to put it out there (all us Clinton supporters) that this is exactly the kind of thing the media has been doing to Clinton from day one. They’ve been trying to tar her as an exaggerator just like they did Al Gore and every Democrat, regardless of who they support, should be furious. The media and the netweeds that have grown wild are the ones telling us all tall tales.
I finally got to watch Michael Moore’s film Sicko last night.
And all i kept thinking all the way through it was “Why, no matter who you support, Obama, Hillary or Mcain, why is America not out in the streets demanding this problem be solved.”
Why are people not picketing HMO’s? Why are people not screaming at their congressman to do something? Why are people not protesting an end to this abominable corporate control of the health industry and demanding their right to health care?
The economy is a big issue, Iraq is a big issue both can be argued from idealistic and pragmatic points of view but health care is not partisan.
Instead of picketing sexism in media bias you guys should be burning congress to the ground demanding something be done? I’m flabbergasted.
Commenters over at Taylor Marsh are starting an effort to email all the news organizations and tell them to correct the record. The more people that email them the more likely it is to happen. Here are some of the email addresses to write them:
abrams@msnbc.com, AndyMart20@aol.com, byork@nationalreview.com, ElRushbo@eibnet.com, evening@cbsnews.com, Foxreport@foxnews.com, ftn@cbsnews.com, gretawire@fox.com, Hannity@foxnews.com, hemmer@foxnews.com, hume@foxnews.com,
Joe@msnbc.com,
netaudr@abc.com, oreilly@foxnews.com, race08@msnbc.com, Special@foxnews.com, ureport@foxnews.com, weekendlive@foxnews.com, LouDobbs@cnn.com, jake.tapper@abc.com
Hillary better incorporate this confirmation in every speech from now…because the media won’t correct anything.
this is the break senator clinton has needed.
now that she has gotten that break. can she, will she, take advantage of it?
that’s the issue for me!
or will she dawdle on other issues and lose her last, best chance.
if she takes this issue (denial of health care) and runs HARD with it,
she will prevail from now on out.
the question is: is she daring enough and is her campaign flexible enough to do this?
all sen clinton needs to do from now until june 3
is to tell multiple
PARABLES
repeat
PARABLES
of lack of health care.
will she?
“the game is at hand”, as holmes said to watson.
Some “fauxgressive” blogs still blame Hillary.
John Cole had the stones to admit he was wrong and jumped the gun on this story. However from the comments at Balloon Juice we get this:
But would you have jumped the gun if not for the Tuzla story? It’s the Boy Who Cried Wolf. Hillary’s credibility was blown when she started spinning tall tales. You think this is going to play out any better in the general if she receives the VP nod? She’ll be a walking pile of scandal – real or fabricated – and she won’t have one wit of integrity to defend herself.
Even when she’s falsely accused, it’s still her fault.
Anglachel nails it:
The key marker of a Hillary Hater is the willingness to state, in almost the same breath, that it is out of control and then to plunge in for a full-throated round of it.
[…] Washington Post has written a story confirming the familiy account. See our latest story: “Washington Post: Clinton Told True Tale of Woe, Says Kin […]
After 10 minutes in the echo chamber, Wilson was holding his ears, in a vain attempt to ward of the growing sensation of dread.
Until now he some how had managed to steer clear of falling prey to the fear, and that the chamber would find him unprepared. Much of his time, up to this point, had been spent turning over every rock looking for the truth.
Having arrived at the doors of Independence Hall, Wilson looked over both his shoulders before entering, afraid he would be noticed.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/35/109945742_8b87261916.jpg
“The U.S. Constitution was drafted in this room.”,
he thought to himself, as he closed the door behind him. How many years had it been since that happened? As Wilson did the math, that’s when the sounds started.
Time was becoming mailable and the sounds were growing to such a pitch, all Wilson could manage, was to roll up in a ball, his arms wrapped around his head. The sounds of voices seemed to occupy every fiber of his being and caused much pain.
Struggling to grasp the meaning behind the chorus of wailing voices in his head, one thing was certain.
A young mother had died along with her stillborn baby. It was this, that added to the unbearable nausea looking for release in the back of Wilson’s throat and chest.
The inescapable fact was, but for the lack of a 100 dollars deposit and a previous judgment of $4,426 from previous health care emergency, humanity was rendered impudent and death was only to happy to assist and but a price 4,526 on her head
Wilson had heard the story from Senator Clinton before entering the chamber. But now the voices screamed louder as he tried to understand why and to what purpose the a young pregnant woman had died. None of it many any sense.
Why would the voices betray the truth so easily and say the Senator lied? Why was the young mothers privacy violated; even in death, to muddy the circumstances of indifference? All these tortured voices pounding in Wilson’s head found no solace in his pain. Trina Bechtel and her stillborn child felt none.
Wiiiiiillllson!!!!!!
Did anyone see Countdown tonight, er, last night?
Dana Milbank was yuking it up about how since Hillary was “under sniper fire” she probably has PTSD and its affecting her memory. KO haha’d too.
Another over-the-top effort to bash Hillary by making light of PTSD, a tragic disorder that is affecting thousands of our brave troops.
Dana needs firing. Anyone else care to write a letter?
What is Countdown?
Kieth O’s “program”
Who is “Kieth O”? (snick)
I don’t think he caught your sarcasm
[…] at memeorandum: JustOneMinute, TalkLeft, NO QUARTER, Daily Kos, Taylor Marsh, Swampland, The Jed Report, Political Punch and The Confluence, Share […]
Someone up srteam hoped for “a special place in hell” for those “journalist” who have falsely and joyously accused Hillary of lying. Well there is sort of a special place in hell it is called “Hillary Clinton’s Inaugruation Day 2009″ Oh Happy Day!
They will be joined by delusional obamadroids who are making karl rove proud with their continued smearing of a great former FLOTUS and current US Senator. Screw them too.
[…] Told True Tale of Woe, Says Kin (by Anne E. Kornblut at The Trail, washingtonpost.com, thanks to No Quarter) The aunt of a young pregnant woman who died after a hospital told her she needed to pay $100 up […]
The problem is Hillary should have vetted teh story before using it or just qualified it with ” I heard a story and don’t know if it is true, but it is a possibility that should be addressed.” Then launch into the story.
She demands accuracy from her competitors, therefore she should make sure what she says is accurate. Otherwise, she finds herself crying wolf and no one cares!
[…] this paragraph from my story last night, “Washington Post: Clinton Told True Tale of Woe, Says Kin [Updated]”: On MSNBC today [April 7], Andrea Mitchell discussed the “hospital” […]
[…] Told True Tale of Woe, Says Kin (by Anne E. Kornblut at The Trail, washingtonpost.com, thanks to No Quarter) The aunt of a young pregnant woman who died after a hospital told her she needed to pay $100 up […]
I hate to rain on your “Hillary is a saint” parade, but based on that snippet, Hillary lied. Hillary claimed that the woman was turned away from a hospital because she didn’t have health insurance or $100. In fact, the woman never turned away because she never went to that hospital when she got ill. She went to a different hospital and was cared for, although tragically they were unable to save her life. A woman going to one hospital over another because she had a past issue with the second one is a much different story than a woman was turned away from a hospital because of money and then died because of it.
Z, you are incorrect about your made up facts.
But before wasting time on your comment, let me ask you….
You say, “the woman never turned away because she never went to that hospital when she got ill.”
What do you base this on?
And can you please give me your medical advice about preeclampsia?
This isn’t about whether Clinton is a saint or devil. Do you have any respect for the young woman or her child? Your comment doesn’t reflect as much.
Holzer wanted to charge a deposit for care and as we can now tell from the obvious her death was preventable. You should tone down your loudmouth conclusions a little before commenting again.
Trina Bachtel died as a result of preeclampsia. The only way to have prevented this was prenatal care and that is what she went to Holzer for. Her debt as you mention was paid off by 2005 according to court records related to the Holzer judgement against her.
She was turned away from Holzer because she didn’t have insurance. And Holzer wanted $100 that she didn’t have. In addition, I will soon post an article following up on this case which will list others who have also been denied by Holzer and were told they’d have to place $100 deposit down.
The issue is placing credit lines above health care.
Get over the political chat on this and focus on the real story.
Then you have this story from Chicago about a teen ager shot just outside of the entrance to a Chicago Hospital Emergency Room, and left to lay bleeding to death because hospital workers refused to go outside the hospital to bring him inside (this was not a dangerous neighborhood, it is near where the current Illinois Governor and his family reside).
http://www.cnn.com/US/9805/18/unhelpful.hospital/
[…] Washington Post: Clinton Told True Tale of Woe, Says Kin The story that Hillary has told on the campaign trail is true — the tragic story about a pregnant mother whose baby died, and then she died, all because she was denied treatment early on. Hillary is vindicated. Will MSNBC report this? Will Fox News retract its biased report? Will the other […] Technorati Tags: Hillary Clinton, Hospital Story […]
BigKahuna,
That’s where I’m getting my claim from. I fail to see what my medical knowledge has to do with anything. Also, you say “She was turned away from Holzer because she didn’t have insurance. And Holzer wanted $100 that she didn’t have.” However, by the time she was pregnant she did have insurance, so you’re wrong there. Also, the focus of this article is whether or not Clinton was telling the truth or not, not a judgment on health care. The title makes that perfectly clear - “Clinton Told True Tale of Woe, Says Kin”. If you want to have a discussion on health care in general that’s fine, but that’s not this article or the comments have been focusing on.
[…] and the video, of Kurtz who parroted unvetted media reports written before the story was fully checked out by his own Washington Post colleague Anne Kornblut and by No Quarter’s Big Kahuna: KURTZ: […]
[…] and the video, of Kurtz who parroted unvetted media reports written before the story was fully checked out by his own Washington Post colleague Anne Kornblut and by No Quarter’s Big Kahuna: KURTZ: […]
I don’t understand how anyone is saying the story is true. The two key parts of Hillary’s story are that the first hospital she went to turned her away and she had no health insurance. Therefore she died.
Even the aunt–the only one “confirming” this tale, says that Bechtel never sought treatment from the hospital. Bechtel was insured. She had been in prenatal care at O’Bleness, where she went when she got sick. O’Bleness not only treated her immediately, but airlifted her to a more sophisticated hospital for further treatment.
That aside, the campaign did not vet the story. They claim they tried, but they never contYacted the hospital or any of the relatives. So, what did they do?
ou don’t make a story part of the mantra of your Presidential campaign without vetting it. Seems like Hillary is addicted to dramatic stories, true or not.
In my opinon, the Washington Post story is misleading, including the headline. People need to read it very closely and also to read the NY Times story.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/05/us/politics/05woman.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
The Times got it right. WAPO has some of the right facts, but wrote the story in a misleading way. (Ironic, huh?)