A trip to the mailbox these days is becoming an adventure. Today I got my first 'Fear Flyer'. It has all sorts of dire warnings laid out in bold red, white, and blue. On the front page, is the initial misleading question:
Will Some Washington Politicians BLOW UP Your Healthcare?
Well, heck, who wouldn't want to know THAT?! And who would care enough to send little ol' me something so 'helpful'?
If your curiosity has the better of you, like it did me, follow me over the fold.
According to these thoughtful folks, as they point out inside the flyer...
Some Washington politicians are moving closer to imposing a government-run healthcare system on America. They plan to rush legislation through Congress without giving the public time to "read the fine print".
And what's in that "fine print" they supposedly waded through for me?
Millions of Americans with private insurance could be forced into a one-size-fits-all government scheme.
The takeover will mean tax hikes, higher premiums for private insurance and massive Medicare cuts hitting Seniors.
Hundreds of billions of dollars will be added to the exploding federal deficit, meaning still higher taxes and fewer choices in our children's future.
They also threw in a picture of a white family looking all sad and scared just in case the text was over my head.
Riiiiiiight......
So who are these helpful folks? The group's name is Campaign for Responsible Health Reform and it's got a U.S. Chamber of Commerce logo on it's response card. They also urge me to call their toll-free number to register my opinion with Senator Evan Bayh (which looks like it was added in a separate printing). Since I was letting my curiosity have it's way, I googled the toll-free number (877-234-9199) just to see what would pop up. The whole first page was devoted to sites which carried rants about annoying, repetitive calls. Those who'd called the number report being told it they we conducting a phone survey.
Further investigation shows the group's media press person is one Blair Latoff. Blair was a busy fellow in Washington! Evidently, he's gotten enough creds to move on to the lobbying arm of the Republican Party. According to LegiStorm, we have this info:
Senate Judiciary Committee / Deputy Press Secretary (10/01/07 to 11/30/07)
Senate Judiciary Committee / Deputy Press Secretary (04/01/07 to 09/30/07)
Senate Judiciary Committee / Deputy Press Secretary (10/01/06 to 03/31/07)
Senate Judiciary Committee / Press Assistant (08/01/06 to 09/30/06)
Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) / Press Assistant (04/20/06 to 07/31/06)
Senate Judiciary Committee / Staff Assistant (04/01/06 to 04/19/06)
Senate Judiciary Committee / Staff Assistant (11/14/05 to 03/31/06)
So, what to do... what to do...? I think I'll fill out their little postage-paid, postcard-style reply card where they have this statement:
Count me amoung the millions of Americans opposed to government-run healthcare. I want real reform the preserves our private choices, cuts costs and helps expand coverage, not a government takeover!
Oh, and no way in hell I'm filling out the e-mail addy or phone number blanks they provided. (I guess they're not too worried about spam or anonymous phone calls the respondents could get using this method.) I will, however, let them know in no uncertain terms what I think of their fact-free, fearmonging flyer.
Greedy, lying jerks.
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