August 11, 2009 -
by Tony Perkins, Family Research Council
Pretty soon there won't be enough PR teams in all of Washington to clean up the mess that House leaders are making with health care reform. Damage control was the agenda du jour yesterday after three Hill Democrats became publicly unglued over the opposition to their plan. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) imploded first, publishing an op-ed in USA Today that called anyone who disagreed with them "un-American."
As if that weren't enough, Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.), the longest serving member of the House, compared townhall critics to the Ku Klux Klan. Apparently voters who want to keep costs down and retain their current plans are somehow racists. It's a desperate attack by a desperate majority. Unless the messaging changes, this legislation is on the path to complete and utter self-destruction.
While President Obama seems to be distancing himself from the comments of his "leftenants," he seems to be plotting his own retaliation for critics. Last week, a White House blog asked people to tattle on neighbors who oppose his plans. "Scary chain emails and videos are starting to percolate on the internet... Since we can't keep track of all of them here at the White House, we're asking for your help... [in reporting anything] fishy."
If there's anything "fishy," it's the White House asking people to police their neighbors' political views. Is the White House planning to use this database of dissenters to intimidate their critics? The freedom of speech may be a pesky annoyance, but welcome to representative democracy and the reality of opposing views, Mr. President!
In between the spy campaign and health care pitch, the administration did have time to launch a new website aimed at setting the record straight on the reform. Although the website ("Reality Check") shares its name with the pro-abortion site "RH Reality Check," the pages are completely silent on whether the bill includes taxpayer-funded abortion--proving that there are some realities that even the White House can't hide from.
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20 Questions to ask your legislator about health care reform (pdf)
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