Cantor Mimics Luntz’s Health Care Message: There’s A ‘Crisis’ But ‘Washington’ Shouldn’t Solve It
Cantor Mimics Luntz’s Health Care Message: There’s A ‘Crisis’ But ‘Washington’ Shouldn’t Solve It
Last week, GOP wordsmith Frank Luntz authored a new messaging memo defining the Republican rhetoric on health care reform, in which he argued that his poll-tested words “should be used by everyone” in order to hijack the health care debate. ThinkProgress noted that Luntz’s suggested talking points were quickly embraced by congressional Republicans.
On Bill Bennett’s radio show today, Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) followed Luntz’s framing exactly. Here’s how Cantor’s rhetoric today lines up with Luntz’s suggestions:
LUNTZ: “Acknowledge the ‘crisis’ or suffer the consequences. … A better approach is to define the crisis in your terms. ‘If you’re one of the millions who can’t afford healthcare, it is a crisis.’”
CANTOR: “Listen Bill, there’s a health crisis. You know when you have, don’t have coverage, that’s a crisis for you and your family. We need to address it.”LUNTZ: “The arguments against the Democrats’ healthcare plan must center around ‘politicians,’ ‘bureaucrats,’ and ‘Washington.’”
CANTOR: “But the answer is not to lay it on Washington, to pump up what Washington’s role in this.”LUNTZ: “You’ll notice we recommend the phrase ‘government takeover’ rather than ‘government run’ or ‘government controlled.’”
CANTOR: “We all need to be standing up and saying no to a government takeover of our system.”
Listen to Cantor here:
As the Wonk Room’s Igor Volsky has detailed, Luntz’s strategy is to “obstruct health reform by ignoring what Obama is actually offering.” But Luntz is very candid about his strategy of misdirection. Since Republicans currently have absolutely no plan for reforming health care, Luntz advises that it is best to avoid projecting a policy plan and instead focus on language that “captures not just what Americans want to see but exactly what they want to hear.”
As ThinkProgress has previously noted, Luntz also provides his polling and language advice to a plethora of health insurance companies.
Transcript:
BENNETT: Let’s go to health care. We just got you for another two minutes. When will this debate begin in earnest and is there, do you have some concern that some of the corporate types, some of the health care providers are are cooperating a little too much with this agenda?CANTOR: Listen Bill, there’s a health crisis. You know when you have, don’t have coverage, that’s a crisis for you and your family. We need to address it. But I’m concerned that not enough folks, certainly the small business folks and the job creators are not standing up and saying, and insisting, on drawing a line that there not be a government takeover of the system.
BENNETT: Yeah.
CANTOR: You know, and I understand, that there’s so many small businesses are buckling up under the pressure of increased health care costs. But the answer is not to lay it on Washington, to pump up what Washington’s role in this, which is to mean to grab more taxpayer dollars into an already bloated and system that can stand a lot of reform.
BENNETT: Yeah.
CANTOR: That’s not the answer. So, I’m concerned that we, we are moving down the pike here. The administration has been very coy about its details and I’m very worried that people are going to be caught unawares, which is why I think it’s so important that you raise the point. We all need to be standing up and saying no to a government take over of our system.
BENNETT: You build coalitions whereever you can. Do you see some Democrats who might be peeled off in your efforts to block a national system?
CANTOR: I think so. I think what we need to be discussing.
BENNETT: We have thirty seconds.
CANTOR: Is what a national system means in other countries. You know God forbid if you’re a woman who is diagnosed with breast cancer in the UK right now. You can’t access treatment until three to six months. That would never nor should it fly in America.
BENNETT: Right.
CANTOR: And so, we’ve got to begin to focus on patient-centered care. What works with our system is a doctor-patient relationship and the access that a working mom has to the pediatrician that she wants to see her kids go to. That works. We don’t need bureacrat in Washington deciding on the type of care or the timeliness of the care that individuals should have.
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Luntz and Cantor. Does either have any kind of agenda that doesn’t include profits for pain?
May 13th, 2009 at 4:57 pmEveryone knows that it’s Washington’s job to create a crisis…not to solve them.
May 13th, 2009 at 5:02 pmAgain, the Republicans hold on to the theme that government is bad.
When will they learn that government is not bad…
Bad government is bad.
LUNTZ: “You’ll notice we recommend the phrase ‘government takeover’ rather than ‘government run’ or ‘government controlled.’”
oooh… not ‘controlled’? hmmm… that’s gonna be a tricky one…
old habits ‘n’ all that…
May 13th, 2009 at 5:03 pmNext to “smarmy” in the dictionary there’s a picture of Cantor.
May 13th, 2009 at 5:05 pmCantor says, be very afraid, America. The government wants to tell you how to live!
So the next time you need a cop, have your police protection assurance card handy or a few bucks to grease your protection.
Or when your house is on fire better pray your fire protection insurance is up to date.
Or the next time you drive down a road, be ready to show your ID that says you paid for the privilege.
Don’t turn on the tap or flush the toilet unless you have paid some company who is handling that.
Home school your kids.
May 13th, 2009 at 5:05 pmIsn’t the GOP in crisis, but people like Cantor thinks 3/5th’s of a person still applies for minorities?
May 13th, 2009 at 5:06 pmSo now the GOP platform is officially created and disseminated by an independent public relations contractor-for-hire in Frank Luntz and a pill-popping, racist, radio entertainer in Rush Limbaugh?! SWEET!
Yep, the GOP has a bright bright future alright!
May 13th, 2009 at 5:07 pmToo bad that what most Americans want to see and hear (government provided health insurance; 59% according to this poll), doesn’t match what creeps like Luntz and Cantor want us to want or hear (Deal with it by yourself).
Sadly, I think we will get cheated by the corporatists again.
:|
May 13th, 2009 at 5:12 pmWell, Cantor needs to have Luntz fired. The GOP message is being ignored by at least 75% of Americans. The lack of direction is glaring and damn near scarey. They’ve go no idea what to do or say to Americans.
May 13th, 2009 at 5:13 pmI want to hear one person who claims socialism in health care explain why we fund all sorts of other public programs for public safety yet deny that public health care is not about keeping the public safe. Not to mention alive.
May 13th, 2009 at 5:15 pmCan’tor just keeps proving that he’s at his best when he has someone’s hand up his ass making his lips move.
What a media whore. Does he really think he has a big future in politics?
PEACE
May 13th, 2009 at 5:15 pmLuntz and Cantor have healthcare, they just don’t want you to have health.
And besides how are they supposed to be bribed if the insurance companies (who are ripping the country off) are made to be non-profit?
Washington Politics will kill any progress on just about anything anyway.
May 13th, 2009 at 5:16 pmDoes the Democratic Party have a ‘LUNTZ’ offering this type of BS rhetoric to help them fight the phucking RETARDS? Can’t we get a LUNTZ to help Reid with the proper words to use against the MINORITY RETARDS in order to make progress with legislature and guard against their slick tricks? If the answers are NO, then I suggest we look into hiring a LUNTZ to help us because these lowlife morons appear to have memorized the LUNTZ talking points perfectly. Cantor sounds just like Palin when she memorized all the talking points so she could spew her vomit in public.
May 13th, 2009 at 5:18 pmI think Luntz must be pretty nearly “undefeated” in his drives to impose certain memes upon the (all too willing) SCUM and the pigs in the GOP.
One thing I shall ALWAYS hold against Al Franken (and Joe Conason, who was on the show too) was the day he had Frank Luntz on the show and asked Luntz about his work for the Busheviks and Pukes in general. Luntz replied he regarded himself as a good person doing good work for bad people. Neither Franken nor Conason seemed to find the statement exceptional.
May 13th, 2009 at 5:19 pmRIGHT. Let the *wink-wink* market figure this out.
May 13th, 2009 at 5:21 pmMadasHelinVA Says:
Does the Democratic Party have a ‘LUNTZ’
The closest to it would probably be George Lakoff, whose discussions about “frames” have at least explicated the successes of the Pukes. His analysis is pretty esoteric, though, and lacks Luntz’ common touch…
May 13th, 2009 at 5:21 pmLuntz replied he regarded himself as a good person doing good work for bad people.
Welcome to Washington.
Two goods does not offset a bad. It just means the two goods are lying to themselves.
May 13th, 2009 at 5:24 pmImho, Luntz is the most “successful” rhetor around. I noted before, his constructions are always speedily adopted by the SoCalledUnbiasedMedia (SCUM), and spread readily among the Rightard proles…
May 13th, 2009 at 5:26 pmI won’t be happy with Luntz til he’s reduced to typing with a stick tied to his forehead…
May 13th, 2009 at 5:27 pmMan that name Luntz rings a bell…where do I know that..Pavlovian..bell ringing…no..dial twisting! Yeh thats it! the guy who helped the GnOPers lose in 2006 and 2008.
Now hes back. Whats his slippery kuliloach up to this time.
‘Governments cant solve a crisis’
Now where was this guy during the martial law if you dont bail out the banksters crisis
May 13th, 2009 at 5:29 pmI have news for the wingnuts: You have nothing. Reagan has been dead for years. Reagan was a terrible president. Reaganomics is the source of most of the serious problems we face today. Your party is made up of Pat Buchanan, Dick Cheney, Newt Gingrich, and Rush Limbaugh. Now figure it out, morons.
May 13th, 2009 at 5:29 pmLuntz replied he regarded himself as a good person doing good work for bad people.
Well, once you know that you are working for bad people, and have an alternative and still continue to work for the
May 13th, 2009 at 5:30 pmbad people, then you are one of those bad people.
Every Jew I’ve ever met was smarter and better educated than most people I’ve ever known until I saw Cantor on “teh” teevee.
Whoa…what a moron! How can you learn Hebrew and rabbinical law and be so obviously stupid?
He’s so ignorant that he doesn’t realize that the KKK, a big supporter of the RePugniScums, truly believe in their tiny, little, cold, black hearts that Jews are a lesser “race” than blacks and hispanics.
May 13th, 2009 at 5:32 pmCANTOR: “We all need to be standing up and saying no to a government takeover of our system, we will have to re-educate the people” *wink wink*
Luntz: “Well, we should not say re-educate but truth training”
Cantor: “Like what Krauthammer does in his articles”
Luntz: “Yes, its like dial twisting. You dont tell the people the truth just see which lies they react too”
Cantor: “Shouldnt we make up a new name for lies?”
Luntz: “I call them cookies – everyone likes cookies”
Cantor: “Like cookies on the table! Everyone remembers those!”
Luntz: “Yes. And on friday we will send Rove around with free ice cream”
May 13th, 2009 at 5:37 pmThe two biggest problems I see with this strategy are:
(1) People seem to be reacting to eight years of “let the private sector solve all of your problems” by looking to the government for solutions; and
(2) You can shut idiots like Cantor down by asking “so what do you propose” and watching them sputter.
May 13th, 2009 at 5:42 pmMay all the Republicans be infected with the worst STD’s available and find their health insurance canceled. Talking about great Karma.
May 13th, 2009 at 5:42 pmAAARGH!!!! The FREE Market strikes again! Reaganomics was only Milton Friedman funneled through Reagan who was an effective salesman for the bunk. I hate free market economists…it is safe to say their ideology has been responsible for much pain and suffering in the world.
May 13th, 2009 at 5:43 pmMy goodness, we don’t want a government bureaucrat coming between us and our doctor, now do we?
Y-A-W-W-W-W-W-N-N-N-N!!!
May 13th, 2009 at 5:44 pmNewspeak!
The health crisis is now a rescue plan.
The war in Iraq is a energy independence.
The war in Afghanistan is to cure drug dependence.
The bank bailout was Martial law prevention.
Automaker bailouts are Vehicle Improvement Programs
May 13th, 2009 at 5:46 pmWhen all you have are insults and clever keywords, you have admitted the fight is lost without stating it explicitly.
Someone get the a bat and just club these idiots over the head, they need to be put out of their misery.
May 13th, 2009 at 5:46 pmCantor should also keep in mind, as he defends his side of the aisle and the racist base, that the reich-wing Christinistas believe “teh” Jews killed Christ and cannot enter the ‘kingDumb of Hevin’ w/o professing Jebus as their only magic monster in the sky.
May 13th, 2009 at 5:47 pmSo Mr. Cantor, what is the Republic’s solution to the health care crisis? Because as far as I can tell, you haven’t come up with any kind of a solution for any of the problems your party created, much less for health care for all Americans.
The Republics are starting to panic because most Americans put Health Care as their number 2 concern (number 1 being the economy). But, they have no solutions other than to attack a government solution.
The government does quite well with Medicare. It operates at a 4% overhead. Whereas the for-profit health insurance industry operates at a 40% overhead. Which one would you rather pay for? Personally I’d rather pay for the one with the lowest overhead because that would mean it would be the most cost-effective plan.
May 13th, 2009 at 5:49 pmIsnt it amazing these guys say government cant do anything right except when it comes to war?
May 13th, 2009 at 5:51 pmAnd if you criticize war, waged by the government, which they hate, your unpatriotic…
Krazee!
May 13th, 2009 at 5:52 pmWhen every senator and representative gives up their national health care then and buys their own policy they can spew this crap.
May 13th, 2009 at 5:52 pmbasher72 Says:
My goodness, we don’t want a government bureaucrat coming between us and our doctor, now do we?
Y-A-W-W-W-W-W-N-N-N-N!!!
Right, we want a corporate bureaucrat coming between us and our doctor. Me, I’ll take the government bureaucrat who won’t be receiving a bonus for denying me care over the corporate bureaucrat who will be receiving a bonus for denying me care.
May 13th, 2009 at 5:55 pmExactly, these politicians have no idea what commercial insurance is like because they never turn down politician benefits. In fact when I worked for the controller of a hospital the only time I was told to give an overpayment to a patient, which isn’t supposed to happen because of coordination of benefits it was to a politician.
May 13th, 2009 at 5:57 pmFree-market health care has one niche: young and healthy people like me. Health care is science. Health care is supposed to be for humanity. Health care should never be subject to market manipulation. I don’t care how conservative you are, you have no right to say that health care should be left a for-profit enterprise. If you insist on that, stop using the postal service, schools, roads, fire, police, etc.
May 13th, 2009 at 5:59 pmpaleolib Says:
(2) You can shut idiots like Cantor down by asking “so what do you propose” and watching them sputter.
The likely answer: Tax cuts! tax credits!
You then could ask them: How could that be your viable solution when you claim that 50% of the population pays no income tax?
May 13th, 2009 at 6:07 pmYou’ll probably have heard this before. I live in Holland, not, I repeat NOT a socialist country. It’s just like Germany or Great Britain. I pay $200 every month for health insurance (160 euros). My net salary is 3700 euros. Whatever I want or need from a doctor, a dentist, a surgeon, it’s all covered. New top of the bill glasses: covered. If there’s a waiting list for some transplantation, I can go to Belgium or Germany, it’s all covered. Why do so many Americans think that kind of health care is socialism. Solidarity is not socialism. The government keeps an eye on the insurance companies, these companies make a reasonable profit, and there you are. Socialism???
May 13th, 2009 at 6:09 pmAnd another thing: a surgeon makes 500.000 euros a year here. A dentist easily gets 300.000. Socialism??
May 13th, 2009 at 6:11 pmEvery time Can’t-or opens his mouth, one can assume that a lie will follow or that a talking point designed by a liar will be spewed.
This guy comes from a wealthy mommy and daddy real estate developer family. He’s received 3 million from “Finance, Insurance & Real Estate” and 1 million from the “Heath Industry.”
May 13th, 2009 at 6:26 pmfrom my inbox:
Dear MoveOn member,
Last week Republicans on Capitol Hill held a strategy summit on how to defeat key parts of the president’s health care plan.
At one point, Republican pollster Frank Luntz declared, “You’re not going to get what you want, but you can kill what they’re trying to do.”1
Luntz wrote a confidential memo that laid out the Republican strategy: Pretend to support reform. Mislead Americans about the heart of Obama’s plan, the public health insurance option. Scare enough people to doom real reform.
Since most people don’t know much about the public health care option, these lies could take root if we don’t fight back. Can you send this out to all your friends and neighbors?
5 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT OBAMA’S PUBLIC HEALTH INSURANCE OPTION
The choice of a public health insurance plan is crucial to real health care reform. But right now, it’s being smeared by conservatives and insurance-industry front groups. Here’s what you really need to know:
1. Choice, choice, choice. If the public health insurance option passes, Americans will be able to choose between their current insurance and a high-quality, government-run plan similar to Medicare. If you like your current care, you can keep it. If you don’t—or don’t have any—you can get the public insurance plan.2
2. It will be high-quality coverage with a choice of doctors. Government-run plans have a track record of innovating to improve quality, because they’re not just focused on short-term profits. And if you choose the public plan, you’ll still get to choose your doctor and hospital.3
3. We’ll all save a bunch of money. The public health insurance option won’t have to spend money on things like CEO bonuses, shareholder dividends, or excessive advertising, so it’ll cost a lot less. Plus, the private plans will have to lower their rates and provide better value to compete, so people who keep their current insurance will save, too.4
4. It will always be there for you and your family. A for-profit insurer can close, move out of the area, or just kick you off their insurance rolls. The public health insurance option will always be available to provide you with the health security you need.5
5. And it’s a key part of universal health care. No longer will sick people or folks in rural communities, or low-income Americans be forced to go without coverage. The public health insurance plan will be available and accessible to everyone. And for those struggling to make ends meet, the premiums will be subsidized by the government.6
We all need to speak out to make sure we get real health reform. Please pass this email on, then call your senators and ask them to support the choice of a public health insurance plan.
May 13th, 2009 at 6:30 pmThe Free Market is not the solution to our problems. The Free Market is the problem.
Health Care should not be a for-profit industry. That doesn’t mean it should be free, but it shouldn’t be run for profit. Profiting off the sick and dying is inhumane.
May 13th, 2009 at 6:31 pmHow can the government take over a system that doesn’t exist?
May 13th, 2009 at 6:39 pm*
Wayne Ant Schneider Says:
May 13th, 2009 at 6:43 pmThe Free Market is not the solution to our problems. The Free Market is the problem.
Health Care should not be a for-profit industry. That doesn’t mean it should be free, but it shouldn’t be run for profit. Profiting off the sick and dying is inhumane.
Ok, I hit submit before I typed my reply but that comment deserves repeating anyway.
May 13th, 2009 at 6:45 pmThanks, Hoodathunktick. :)
Let’s repeat it so often that strangers on the street walk away muttering “Health care should not be a for-profit industry.”
The Republicans are not going to try to “fix” the system because they don’t think it needs fixing. These are the people who say “We have the best health care system in the world.” What they will do is everything they can to protect the profits in the health care system, be they for the pharmaceutical companies or the insurance industry.
Since it obvious that they will have no part of taking the enormous profits out of health care, they should not even be consulted. Money means more to Republicans than lives.
May 13th, 2009 at 6:52 pmMoney means more to Republicans than lives.
The credo of the Republican Party.
May 13th, 2009 at 6:59 pmI wonder if Cantor is ever embarrassed when he’s exposed as someone unable to think for himself…?
Probably not.
May 13th, 2009 at 7:04 pmZooey, Cantor seems to like being ‘exposed’.
May 13th, 2009 at 7:24 pmI hope all these wingers keep talking and exposing themselves, Hoodathunk, I need the laughs. ;)
May 13th, 2009 at 7:29 pmI’m beginning to wonder if Cantor is capable of forming a thought without someone else’s permission?
May 13th, 2009 at 7:56 pmIts pretty clear the GnOPers have spent millions on psychoan_alysis and framing issues by using word play, ad agencies etc etc to find words that resonate [emotionally] with people.
They dont want to listen, they refuse to listen. The re-branding effort is more business speak. They are trying to sell you something you dont need.
This is all wrong, they dont want to listen to the constituents they want to use highly specialized and tested means to give you your opinion.
May 13th, 2009 at 8:35 pmI highly recomend that Frank Luntz be waterboarded for Medincinary purposes and add a little 99 and 100% Ivory in memory of Frank’s childhood crush, Marilyn Chambers.
May 13th, 2009 at 10:14 pmSo if the gov`t is so bad why on earth are these guys collecting a pay check from the tax payers……….is it the gov`t run health care they receive?
May 14th, 2009 at 1:14 amIf you ask Cantor what he really believes in, he would need to call Drugs Limbaugh to find out what he’s allowed to say. He’s a pathetic twerp.
May 14th, 2009 at 1:16 amSeems like Obama is taking Luntz’s talking points to heart.
May 14th, 2009 at 3:19 amHis bait and switch plan is not reform.
He needs to get his ass out of the senate’s lobbyist problems and into leading.