How the NRA Thwarted a Good Doctor
THE EDITORS of the New England Journal of Medicine last week accused the National Rifle Association of political blackmail because of the group’s efforts to block the nomination of Dr. Vivek Murthy as surgeon general.
While they were at it, the medical journal’s editors should have pointed out the political cowardice of those in Congress prepared to cave in to NRA pressure. They came close, but ultimately couched their criticism, instead calling the reluctance of at least 10 Senate Democrats to vote for Murthy “a demonstration of just how much political power our legislators have ceded to the NRA.”
In February, a bipartisan group of senators approved Murthy’s nomination and forwarded it to the floor for a full vote. Yet, despite stellar credentials, Murthy’s nomination is on hold and probably doomed because of personal views he has expressed on gun control.
One particular tweet by Murthy from 2012 “haunts” the nominee, according to David Weigel of Slate. In it, the physician wrote he was “tired of politicians playing politics w/guns, putting lives at risk b/c they’re scared of NRA. Guns are a health care issue.”
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