Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar


Latest Post | Last 10 Posts | Archives


Previous Post: Today’s number: 79 percent
Next Post: Here’s something you don’t see every day

Country clubs and Mediscare

Posted in:

* The NRCC ad which implies that Cheri Bustos used her influence to connect her street to her country club has been pretty much universally panned in local editorials as blatantly misleading. And now Bustos is running her own ad on the subject. Rate it [Fixed link.]…

[The campaign took down the other version and replaced it with the one above.]

It’s a pretty good response ad. Trouble is, Bustos waited about eleven days to respond. Not a great idea. The other side had plenty of time to burn their own message in.

* Meanwhile, PolitiFact has “awarded” its not-so-coveted “Pants on Fire” rating to a recent NRCC ad against Democrat David Gill on Medicare

Attacks that say a candidate would “end Medicare” have typically come from Democrats. But this one comes from the Republicans. […]

The proposal Gill was referring to was published on Aug. 30, 2003, in the Journal of the American Medical Association, and it remains on the physician group’s website. Here’s an excerpt, with some key points in bold:

“We envision a national health insurance program that builds upon the strengths of the current Medicare system. Coverage would be extended to all age groups, and expanded to include prescription medications and long term care. Payment mechanisms would be structured to improve efficiency and assure prompt reimbursement, while reducing bureaucracy and cost shifting. Health planning would be enhanced to improve the availability of resources and minimize wasteful duplication. Finally, investor-owned facilities would be phased out.”

So let’s put this in perspective. The NRCC isn’t merely criticizing Gill’s “plan” — one he praised with some limitations eight years ago, a time well before passage of President Barack Obama’s health care bill, which was intended to solve some of the health care policy challenges Gill perceived in 2004. Instead, the NRCC is also saying it’s Gill’s intention to “end Medicare.”

But that’s true only in an Alice in Wonderland sense. The Physicians for National Health Care plan would “end” Medicare only because it would aim to put everyone — not just senior citizens — in a system designed to run, yes, just like Medicare.

The NRCC ad claims, “David Gill: His plan would end Medicare.”

But we find that’s a ridiculous claim that ignores the sweeping nature of what he supported. He actually supported an expansion of a government-run plan so that everyone would have Medicare-like coverage — including seniors.

The NRCC ad completely distorts the plan in an attempt to scare seniors. Pants on Fire!

* I’ve already showed you the NRCC ad, but here it is again

* And here’s a new NRCC ad whacking Bill Enyart on Obamacare

Script…

This is what waiting rooms could look like under ObamaCare.

Yet incredibly Bill Enyart supports cutting Medicare by $700 billion to pay for ObamaCare.

Seniors could lose benefits and government bureaucrats will make important Medicare decisions.

Worse, Enyart’s ObamaCare raises taxes on middle class families and small businesses.

That’s a pill we shouldn’t be forced to swallow.

posted by Rich Miller
Monday, Oct 1, 12 @ 10:27 am

Comments

  1. The GOP is throwing its money away.

    The far-right of the party was against Medicare and Medicaid from the get go and have made very plain for decades that they would kill this “socialized medicine” “entitlement” if they could.

    Now that the far right has completely taken over the GOP, they’re going to spend a month trying to convince folks that they’re the saviors of Medicare?

    Kind of goes against the very well-established brand message doesn’t it? Never work.

    Comment by wordslinger Monday, Oct 1, 12 @ 11:00 am

  2. PizzaBobby is still running the phony Road to The COuntry Club ad so the knock down hits the spot

    Comment by CircularFiringSquad Monday, Oct 1, 12 @ 11:10 am

  3. @circle

    Did you see the new Dccc ad featuring Derek jones? A former hare staffer? Jones blames schilling for losing his job.

    Comment by Ricodem Monday, Oct 1, 12 @ 11:57 am

  4. Bustos did a good job at last night’s QC Hispanic Chamber of Commerce forum. So did State Sen. Mike Jacobs.

    Comment by NW Illinois Monday, Oct 1, 12 @ 12:35 pm

  5. Madigan is using Medicare tactics in the 84th State Rep race. Chicago Tribune’s editorial smacked Madigan’s candidate for lying.

    http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/editorials/ct-edit-mail-0930-bd-20120930,0,1325561.story

    Comment by OpenlineBlog Monday, Oct 1, 12 @ 12:39 pm

  6. For some reason the Bustos response ad you have embedded at top has been removed by user. Was curious to see that because being back in Central Illinois for the weekend and watching Peoria-based TV stations, I can’t believe how many times I’ve seen that country club ad. I thought it was pretty weak when it was first posted on the blog but compared to the anti-Schilling stuff that the Dems are running, I have to admit it has more staying power.

    That dumb clock ad the House Majority PAC is running against Schilling is just generic as can be and for a Schilling attack ad, you barely see Schilling in it at all.

    Comment by hisgirlfriday Monday, Oct 1, 12 @ 12:41 pm

  7. hisgirlfriday, thanks. They posted a different video. Fixed now. Thanks again.

    Comment by Rich Miller Monday, Oct 1, 12 @ 12:45 pm

  8. OpenlineBlog, I told subscribers about that weeks ago. Mentioned it here on the blog last week. Nothing new.

    Comment by Rich Miller Monday, Oct 1, 12 @ 12:46 pm

  9. Thanks for the new video, Rich.

    Just watched the response ad.

    Finally the Bustos people are putting a face to go with their Schilling attacks so they can have more staying power. The opening was good.

    I like the idea of pivoting from the fact that she’s never belonged to any country club to the idea of her being the true protector of the middle class in Congress but…

    what does her owning a Dodge Dart and selling it to pay the bills as some point in the past have to do with anything?

    They just could have executed that last part better. And I still don’t understand why none of the Democrats Downstate are tying their opponents to Romney, especially in a district like the one Bustos is in. It would seem like responding to a country club hit would be a perfect time to do that like saying that Schilling would rubber stamp Romney’s unaffordable country club tax breaks or something.

    Comment by hisgirlfriday Monday, Oct 1, 12 @ 1:36 pm

Add a comment

Sorry, comments are closed at this time.

Previous Post: Today’s number: 79 percent
Next Post: Here’s something you don’t see every day


Last 10 posts:

more Posts (Archives)

WordPress Mobile Edition available at alexking.org.

powered by WordPress.