Latest Post | Last 10 Posts | Archives
Previous Post: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Supplement to today’s edition, new cable buys and a campaign video roundup
Next Post: Today’s number: 79 percent
Posted in:
* Democratic congressional candidate David Gill has been running this TV ad for a while now…
It’s about a woman named “Susan” that Dr. Gill says he resuscitated after she had a heart attack. Susan had to go home, however, because she didn’t have health insurance.
* But is Susan a real person?…
In a 2006 campaign video produced when Gill was making an unsuccessful bid for Congress in Illinois’ 15th district, he told a similar story about a 39-year-old person who died of a heart attack that may have been prevented had they been covered by health insurance.
But in the 2006 telling — and in another version published on a blog in 2009 — the subject of the story was a man, not a woman named “Susan.”
After a bit of back and forth, the Gill campaign hedged…
In a follow-up statement, Gill campaign spokeswoman Lucy Stein suggested Susan may be an amalgamation of a number of similar experiences Gill has had over the years.
“In his 13 years as an ER doctor caring for thousands of patients, David has seen too many young families devastated by heart attacks. These stories are the tragic but preventable result of a profit-driven health care system,” Stein noted.
*** UPDATE 1 *** The full 2006 Gill campaign video is here. I’ve excerpted the relevant quote…
*** UPDATE 3 *** Total denial of the report by Gill’s spokesperson…
I never suggested the amalgamation story… Both are real people, but the point is that there are countless others just like them
She’s right that she was never directly quoted as saying such. And it’s not clear she was even implying it from the story’s quote.
* Meanwhile, the US Chamber is using the same person from its pro Bob Dold ad to whack Gill…
From Gill’s Facebook page…
The Chamber of Commerce is up with a generic attack ad pushing all sorts of crazy distortions about me. And the businesswoman they feature in his spot? She’s from Minnesota. Don’t be fooled into thinking this is a local voter.
* Also from Gill’s Facebook page. Posted late last night…
CAMPAIGN UPDATE: We just got new poll numbers in. They confirm that David has an excellent opportunity to win.
Despite a million dollars being spent against him so far, Dr. Gill is in the lead and doing exceptionally well with voters who have seen our advertising.
Yeah. They’ve seen the “Susan” ad, which could now be blown out of the water.
* Also, Gill’s campaign is changing staffers on the fly, which makes it look quite disorganized…
MICHAEL RICHARDS, 33, a member of the Champaign County Board, recently left the campaign. TOM ALTE of Normal remains deputy campaign manager. The campaign’s political director is JACK QUIGLEY of Chicago, a friend of Gill. SHERRY GREENBERG, originally from Los Angeles, is a senior political strategist sent by the DCCC, Alte said. And the new press secretary is LUCY STEIN, who previously worked for a Senate committee in Washington, D.C.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Rodney Davis has a new campaign ad. Rate it…
posted by Rich Miller
Monday, Oct 1, 12 @ 9:29 am
Sorry, comments are closed at this time.
Previous Post: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Supplement to today’s edition, new cable buys and a campaign video roundup
Next Post: Today’s number: 79 percent
WordPress Mobile Edition available at alexking.org.
powered by WordPress.
===”Lucy Stein suggested Susan may be an amalgamation of a number of similar experiences Gill has had over the years.”===
1) Great Spokesman “speak” …
2) You would think a “Doctor” would know if they saved a very specific person if they were running for office and turning into a “Politician”.
Fiasco!!!!
Comment by Oswego Willy Monday, Oct 1, 12 @ 9:32 am
This is a perfect example of why Gill couldn’t get elected, even if he was the only person on the ballot.
Comment by WhatRecession? Monday, Oct 1, 12 @ 9:42 am
I dunno…isn’t this like Obama’s composite “New York girlfriend” character in “Dreams From My Father”?
Comment by Poster #6971 Monday, Oct 1, 12 @ 9:42 am
It’s unfortunate that Gill’s campaign missteps could cause him to lose. His policies are a refreshing change from the failed policies and misplaced priorities of our current “representation”.
Comment by Crime Fighter Monday, Oct 1, 12 @ 9:48 am
Using that methodology I could tell tales of how great of a football player I was..
I caught a pass that bounced off another players hip, and tossed a block that led to a 30 yard gain while sacking the quarterback and then preventing a touchdown on the interception..
“That one play I described was an amalgamation of 10 years of football”
Just like that one blog post I had that won me both Eric Zorn’s blog bowl of presidential predictions 8 years ago and a caption contest with a prize from CapFax…
It turns out that is an amalgamation of my, blog and posts here…
One wet Sunday Dr. David Gill met someone that it turns out was a figment of his imagination, we have words for people who meet someone who is a figment of their imagination and one of those words is not Congressman
Comment by OneMan Monday, Oct 1, 12 @ 9:51 am
Considering Susan may not be real it may turn out she was my girlfriend in middle school….
Comment by OneMan Monday, Oct 1, 12 @ 9:54 am
I always assumed the claim was partially ficitonal due to the HIPPA rules …
Comment by RNUG Monday, Oct 1, 12 @ 9:54 am
Harvey the Rabbit thinks Susan is Real …
Comment by Oswego Willy Monday, Oct 1, 12 @ 9:58 am
These are our Susan Glenns. #SusanGlenn
Comment by just sayin' Monday, Oct 1, 12 @ 10:11 am
I hope they “roll out” the full story of Susan … Nothing like having to explain your commercial …
Comment by Oswego Willy Monday, Oct 1, 12 @ 10:12 am
If these clowns would just tell the truth up front they would only have one story to remember. Campaign season now a days is nothing but lies and disinformation.
Comment by Springfield Dan Monday, Oct 1, 12 @ 10:13 am
Gill needs to find a family member or friend who can confirm the “Susan” story.
If the story is blown out of the water, it’s a stupid, unforced error. You could just as easily say “I’ve had to send countless of patients home because they didn’t have health insurance.”
Memo to Chamber of Commerce: Darlene is awful on TV. Seriously, is she someone’s cousin or something?
Comment by wordslinger Monday, Oct 1, 12 @ 10:15 am
I give the Davis campaign around a 5, it’s cute but not sure if it’s effective in the district not am I sure it gets him the swing voter. It just doesn’t do much to move the needle. Also, it mentions specific items that he supported, but then gives this generic tax increase number, where did that come from? They did well to tie him to specific spending issues, but then dropped the ball at the end making it sound like every other campaign ad.
Comment by Ahoy! Monday, Oct 1, 12 @ 10:15 am
Davis commercial a big Meh.
Gill, problem was the potential first press statement. If theyjust had the one statement, it’s fine. presumably the Dem line is that there are many “Susans” out there so to have two stories is in no way a problem.
Davis would be smart not to touch this with a ten foot poll. If “susan” or her family pops up, it would be a huge gotcha.
Comment by Disconnect Monday, Oct 1, 12 @ 10:27 am
I will give Gill credit that kind of story, even if it is fake is the better way to sell their healthcare plan than the broad political talk obama and dc democrats used. People have a really hard time no matter how conservative, especially right now looking at things like that and saying we shouldn’t do that.
As for the chamber of commerce, in the days before youtube I think you could do cut and paste ads. Now you can’t, not because the voter in some random county is going to see the 2 ads, but because the journalist that writes the weekly paper they read is and will write about it and it will hurt the candidate it’s trying to help.
Comment by Shore Monday, Oct 1, 12 @ 10:31 am
@NotDrGill4Congress - “Looking for a “Susan” that I MIGHT have helped. Susan Must NOT have had Med. Ins.! #DesperatelySeekingSusan
Comment by Oswego Willy Monday, Oct 1, 12 @ 10:34 am
–If “susan” or her family pops up, it would be a huge gotcha.–
If “Susan” shows up that will be big news, because Gill says she’s dead.
Comment by wordslinger Monday, Oct 1, 12 @ 10:35 am
Sending someone home after being resuscitated after a heart attack would seem to be gross malpractice on a physicians pare as well as the hospital’s.
Without documentation, I would take the story as a fable. If real, I would look for an ambulance chaser if the statute has not run.
Comment by Plutocrat03 Monday, Oct 1, 12 @ 11:11 am
In what MAY be an example of the disorganization in Gill’s campaign, I’ve received numerous “robocalls” attacking Tim Johnson. The last I heard he isn’t running for re-election.
I wonder when Davis is going to bring up Gill’s apparent support of physician-assisted suicide.
Comment by Esteban Monday, Oct 1, 12 @ 11:21 am
The “Susan” story just doesn’t seem plausible.
I don’t believe that a hospital would refuse treatment to a heart attack victim due to lack of insurance. The legal risks would be ENORMOUS.
Comment by Esteban Monday, Oct 1, 12 @ 11:49 am
Susan is real alright!! She just lived in another state and went by a different name!
Comment by WhoKnew Monday, Oct 1, 12 @ 12:12 pm
If the “Susan” story is real, and we don’t tell stories about people that are NOT real, why have a “misquoted” statement about “Susan” being a made-up patient representing many Gill had faced?
Why the 2 statements? Kinda like Santiago being transferrend off the base, when orders were that Santiago is not to be touched, preceeded the transfer order. Santiago was not in danger, so why the transfer? Why the 2 orders?
===I never suggested the amalgamation story… Both are real people, but the point is that there are countless others just like them===
When you say, “but the point is …”, you lose some credibility …”we are credible, honest, but the point is …”
Yeah … um, No
This “Susan” story may need to be fleshed out before giving Gill, the “Spokesperson”, and “Susan” a pass. #DesperatelySeekingSusan
Comment by Oswego Willy Monday, Oct 1, 12 @ 12:17 pm
So the Davis campaign ad is saying that Gill wants to pay for his plans ($1.7t new spending + $2.6t new taxes)? Isn’t that better than Rodney “Cut everything, don’t demean civil servants” Davis, who presumably supports trillions in budget cuts that will wipe out thousands of federal civil service jobs.
Comment by Aaron Monday, Oct 1, 12 @ 12:23 pm
David Gill’s been an ER doc for a long time so I’m sure he’s ran into plenty of “Susan” cases. However, if he gave information that was too specific without consent of the family wouldn’t that violate federal law? So the fact that he might be a tad off in storytelling is no big deal, save for the fact that it makes him look bad as a candidate. There’s actually no evidence he completely made it up. And for the commentariat here, there’s not a story you tell your friends or family that changed slightly as you told it over the years and some details became less clear than others?
Comment by Aaron Monday, Oct 1, 12 @ 12:33 pm
===David Gill’s been an ER doc for a long time so I’m sure he’s ran into plenty of “Susan” cases.===
“Susan” is real …or maybe … or is … Ask Gill’s Spokesman.
===So the fact that he might be a tad off in storytelling is no big deal, save for the fact that it makes him look bad as a candidate.===
Gill ain’t running for “Top Doc”, Gill is running for Congress, and “save for the fact…” … if you look bad as a Candidate, and it’s not a big del, then why do candidates want to llok good? for Giggles? Yeah, it’s kinda a big deal… unless looking bad is a campaign strategy!
===And for the commentariat here, there’s not a story you tell your friends or family that changed slightly as you told it over the years and some details became less clear than others?===
(looking …searching…)Yeah, um … I am NOT messing up a story … in an … um, Ad … for my run for Congress …. so … nah, it ain’t the same, but good luck with that “paying money for an ad that is like when you tell stories to friends that changed slightly as you told it” bit.
Comment by Oswego Willy Monday, Oct 1, 12 @ 12:54 pm
@Plutocrat03
Just watched the ad for the first time. The ad doesn’t say that anyone was sent home by the hospital after a heart attack resuscitation. It says the woman came to the hospital with chest pains, then she went home because she didn’t have insurance.
I don’t know what your healthcare experience is like, but I have been in an emergency room even with health insurance and made a decision as a patient to deny certain tests because I wasn’t sure my health insurance would cover the tests they wanted to do on me. And I have been without health insurance (pre-existing condition) and avoided going to the doctor even when something was wrong because of that lack of insurance.
So it’s very easy for me to imagine that more than one patient of Dr. Gill’s would turn out to have not sought necessary medical care that would have prevented them from dying because the lack of insurance kept them away from the doctor or hospital until it was too late.
Now I don’t blame Kurt Erickson or any media people or voters for being suspicious when both the old ad and the new ad have 39-year-old patients and these new national campaign staffers brought in to Gill’s campaign may be trying to get too cute with their stories/ads.
It’s just a shame that what is actually a serious issue has, thanks to this ad brouhaha, become more about David Gill’s campaign tactics than how screwed up it is that in a modern democracy such as ours that people are scared to go to the doctor because they know if they are sick they can’t afford the treatment the doctor might have to offer them, and the main reason that people can’t afford these treatments is because the health insurance system is so screwed up.
Comment by hisgirlfriday Monday, Oct 1, 12 @ 1:59 pm
Gill’s story is completely believable, I’m sure it happens all the time. But it was a stupid mistake if he made up “Susan.”
Case in point: Years ago, my daughter broke her arm and we went to the emergency room.
I had Blue Cross/Blue Shield PPO (which I and my employer paid a small fortune for). Through some screw-up at admitting, all the folks we met down the line thought I had Humana HMO.
When they thought I had Humana, they treated us like dirt every step of the way and told us to cough up some cash for diagnosis, x-rays, podiatrist referral, etc.
When I flashed my Blue Cross/Blue Shield card, they started popping the champagne and treated us like rocks stars. The cash cow had arrived and everyone wanted a piece of the action.
That’s what’s messed up in healthcare in this country. The big score is providing the most health care for those who can pay, and the least for those who can’t, regardless of need.
Comment by wordslinger Monday, Oct 1, 12 @ 2:18 pm
I meant orthopedist referral for the previous, excuse me. My Latin isn’t what it used to be.
Comment by wordslinger Monday, Oct 1, 12 @ 2:20 pm
@wordslinger -
Hey, I agree with you.
On the other hand, if I were Gill’s campaign manager, I’d be happy to spend the next month talking about health care and reminding voters that Gill is a doctor.
Better health care than taxes.
Better a doctor than a career political insider.
Comment by Yellow Dog Democrat Monday, Oct 1, 12 @ 3:48 pm
YDD: Exactly.
If you’re skeptical that a situation like “Susan’s” could happen, I’d be interested to know when the last time you tried to get medical care without insurance was, as well as the last time you tried to get new insurance or a new job. If it was anytime before (and I’ll be generous here) 1995 (though I would also extend that up to ~2005 or so), perhaps you should try to get some updated information before falling back on your experience.
Comment by Colossus Monday, Oct 1, 12 @ 3:54 pm
(That was two separate topics, I wasn’t directing the second graph at you, YDD.)
Comment by Colossus Monday, Oct 1, 12 @ 3:55 pm
NOTE:
I am NOT one bit even remotely skeptical about the situation. Seen it, seen others experience it, even experienced - wordslinger - ’s situation.
However….
“Susan” …”Susan” …”Susan” … no one asked Gill to NAME someone …or ANYONE …
If you go all “real” … and say “Susan” this or “Susan” that … then I want to know if this is a real “Susan” or a bunch of people making up a “Susan”.
Comment by Oswego Willy Monday, Oct 1, 12 @ 4:31 pm
The campaign spokesperson should have said, “Obviously, Dr. Gill changes identifying characteristics when he discusses his experiences with patients. For his opponent to question the idea that emergency room patients are denied longer term health care due to a lack of insurance shows how out of touch he is with the needs of the people of the district. I suggest he visit a few local stores where he will find cans collecting money for people’s health care.”
With respect to the “turmoil” in Gill’s campaign, it looks like the national people are moving in and ushering the local folks to the side. That suggests the DCCC thinks Gill is likely to win. I just hope they don’t blow it.
Comment by Pot calling kettle Monday, Oct 1, 12 @ 4:42 pm
Wasn’t the susan in Gill’s ad his wife?
Comment by Been confused before Monday, Oct 1, 12 @ 5:55 pm