As I wait for Obama to give his speech to the joint houses of Congress tonight, I am seeing ads all over the place pushing every possible view on reforming health care. I’ve seen late-night ads by independent (although obviously right-wingnut) organizations pushing every lie that has been raised on Health Care Reform, from Death Panels to to a statement that the majority of Americans are happy with what they’ve got. I’ve seen the AARP come out pushing reform in Health Care and not to shy away from changes that have to be made.
Here is a page from today’s NY Times (as a matter of clarification and integrity, I was one of the petition signers mentioned):
When I turned the TV on this morning I saw this ad by Michael Steele and the Republican National Committee:
Mark Silva in the Chicago Tribune blog, The Swamp, says about this ad:
In political circles, there is a term for the tactic that the Republican National Committee is deploying with a new run of national cable ads and TV ads airing in Florida:
“Medi-scare.”
With its ad touting a “Seniors’ Bill of Rights,” the RNC is capitalizing on fears that Medicare will be undermined in the health-care initiatives that Democratic leaders in Congress are debating, and that the government will force “end-of-life” decisions. … The suggestion for a seniors’ bill of rights, something that everyone can agree on, overlooks the fact that what everyone is having trouble agreeing on is a national plan that offers health insurance for people who lack it. Senior citizens are insured.
And no where, of course, does Steele mention Insurance Companies and the obscene profits they make denying claims.
So we wait tonight for Barack Obama to take control of the situation. The talking heads on television are debating “public option” and “triggered” public option (which I like to think of as the Roy Rogers’ Horse Plan) or whether the Democrats will sign on if there is no public option at all.
Meanwhile, the Insurance company lobbyists are getting their jollies on by keeping both sides at each others’ throats.