Some groups, like the Chamber of Commerce and AHIP, are right up front about their opposition to healthcare reform. They might be slightly underhanded, like UnitedHealth's effort to pressure employees into writing members of Congress in opposition to reform, but at least we know what they're up to.
Then there's Americans for Quality and Affordable Healthcare, operated by a North Carolina law firm, a group organizing anti-reform efforts in Maine, Nevada, and Louisiana.
WASHINGTON - One operative tried to enlist trade groups in Maine to oppose government-run health coverage. Another helped a member of a Las Vegas conservative group appear on local talk radio to criticize the proposal. A third persuaded a Louisiana activist to post an opinion piece on a conservative blog....
[I]ts activities illustrate how some are furtively trying to shape public and congressional opinion through front groups — seemingly independent organizations that pursue their founders' goals while masking their identity.
One clue to the mystery group may lie in its goals: to oppose any government-run insurance option, the approach favored by President Barack Obama and most Democrats, and to support requiring all Americans to buy insurance.
Anti-public option and pro-mandates? Hmmmm.... which industry could that be?
Presented evidence that the activities in Maine, Nevada and Louisiana involved employees of Moore & Van Allen, one of North Carolina's larger law firms, the firm's spokesman Matthew French acknowledged the connection and said the firm runs the health care group for clients. He declined to name them, but he referred to "member companies of AQAH," the group's acronym.
"They want to stay in the background and off the front page," said French. "They want the message to be the important thing."
That actually should read "the message as paid for by industry is the important thing. Not that industry hasn't already got that covered.