New GOP Health Care Website Fails To Mention Seniors
New GOP Health Care Website Fails To Mention Seniors
House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) and House Republican Conference Chairman Mike Pence (R-IN) held a press conference today to explain why progressive health reform would hurt seniors and to highlight the GOP’s “better solutions.” In an email yesterday, Boehner instructed readers to go to the GOP healthcare website “and you can see all of our proposals.”
The website ostensibly outlines the “Republican Plan” for “common-sense health care reforms” — but seniors are not addressed in the plans presented. In fact, there are no occurrences of the words “senior,” “elderly,” or “older Americans” at all. An archived version of the website can be found here.
Think Progress asked Pence to address the notable omission. Seemingly unaware of the failure, he merely instructed us to “stay tuned.” Watch it:
The GOP has been engaged in a months-long campaign to scare seniors about health reform. In August, Michael Steele tried to prey on seniors’ fears by rolling out the “Seniors Health Care Bill of Rights.” Now, it appears Republicans have simply forgotten about them.
- Comments
- 64
Health care coalition premieres powerful new pro-reform ad highlighting medical bankruptcies.
Health care coalition premieres powerful new pro-reform ad highlighting medical bankruptcies.
Americans for Stable Quality Care has just released an emotionally-evocative new ad on health reform, calling attention to the plight of millions of uninsured and underinsured Americans who suffer through medical bankruptcies. Watch it:
ASQC is a pro-reform coalition primarily composed of health care interest groups that are in favor of reform — including the American Medical Association and PhRMA.
Republican Bait-and-Switch On The Individual Mandate
Republican Bait-and-Switch On The Individual Mandate
In recent days, GOP leaders have focused their crosshairs on the individual mandate, a key component of an effective health care reform bill. FreedomWorks chairman Dick Armey (R-TX) attacked the mandate as a “healthcare industry boondoggle”, Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) called the mandate a “stunning assault on liberty,” and Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) delayed the committee mark-up by questioning the mandate’s constitutionality.
Most notably, Sen. Chuck Grassley has suddenly become an opponent of the mandate:
HEMMER: Now as I understand it, you want stronger language preventing federal funds from going to abortion. You want stronger language to make sure illegal immigrants are not covered. If you got those two big points, would you go for it?
GRASSLEY: No, there are other points as well, but let me mention other points that you didn’t mention. And one would be the individual mandate, which for the first time would have a federal penalty against people who don’t have health insurance. I could do that through re-insurance and risk pools, to make sure we get more people insured in a voluntary way and I’m very reluctant to go along with an individual mandate.
In spite of their current rhetoric, it wasn’t long ago that Grassley and many of his Republican colleagues were strong supporters ofthe individual mandate. Progressive Media compiled a series of GOP endorsements of a mandate. Watch it:
The GOP’s newfound opposition reveals that this is not a matter of policy but yet another political strategy intended to obstruct reform at any cost.
Uninsured 22-Year-Old Boehner Constituent Dies From Swine Flu
Uninsured 22-Year-Old Boehner Constituent Dies From Swine Flu
A 22-year-old woman from Oxford, Ohio, died from swine flu on Wednesday. Kimberly Young graduated from Miami University in December and continued to live in Oxford, Ohio, within Minority Leader John Boehner’s congressional distrct. Reports now indicate that after initially getting sick, Young put off treatment because she was uninsured:
Young became ill about two weeks ago, but didn’t seek care initially because she didn’t have health insurance and was worried about the cost, according to Brent Mowery, her friend and former roommate. […]
On Tuesday, Sept. 22, Young’s condition suddenly worsened and her roommate drove her to McCullough Hyde Memorial Hospital in Oxford, where she was flown in critical condition to University Hospital in Cincinnati.
“That’s the most tragic part about it. If she had insurance, she would have gone to the doctor,” Mowery said.
According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, 30 percent of 19-24 year olds are uninsured, more than any other group. Despite the conservative argument that young people are voluntarily refusing health coverage in favor of extra spending money, the reality is that high costs on the individual market put coverage out of reach. As Suzy Khimm notes at Campus Progress, young people “are far more likely to be working part-time or lower-paying jobs for employers who don’t offer coverage”:
In its 2008 study, the Commonwealth Fund found that 66 percent of young adults aged 19 to 29 who experienced a time without coverage in the past year said they had gone without it because of the cost. [...]
Young people might have a better chance of accessing comprehensive coverage if there were a public plan, which could lower the cost of insurance, particularly for those without good employer benefits. Young people may also have a better chance at coverage if there were generous subsidies for lower-income individuals, as many take lower-paying jobs when they first enter the workforce.
Even though Boehner represents a large university, he has been an outspoken opponent of a public option that would make insurance cheaper and more accessible to recent graduates like Young. On Meet the Press last week, the Minority Leader continued to stick to the obstructionist Frank Luntz-endorsed talking points, dismissing the public option as “big government” while defending a watered-down plan.
Former Health Insurance Executive Explains How Companies Pocket Billions Through ‘Rescission’
Former Health Insurance Executive Explains How Companies Pocket Billions Through ‘Rescission’
NOTE: This is the first installment of our series — Meet Your Insurance Company Executive: An Interview with Wendell Potter.
Yesterday, ThinkProgress talked with Wendell Potter, Cigna Health Care’s former Communication Director, about a common and widespread practice among insurance companies called “rescission.” As the former Cigna executive explains, rescission is the insurance industry practice of finding reasons — even reasons as flimsy as typos on your enrollment form — to cancel your coverage when you get sick. According to Potter, insurance companies are saving billions by rescinding coverage from Americans who purchase individual insurance:
POTTER: If they determine that you might have left out something that they consider pertinent on your application and might have indicated that you would have had some illness or might get an illness down the road, and you’ve been getting treatment and submitting claims to your insurance company, they will go back and look at that application and they will often rescind or cancel your policy even if you’ve been paying your premiums on-time, every month, for years. You will be left holding the bag with the responsibility of paying all of your medical care when insurance companies do this. They’ve been doing it for many years and saving billions of dollars as a result of this.
Watch it:
The Washington Post recently highlighted other examples of rescission:
Woman Lost Her Home Because Coverage Was Canceled For Condition She Didn’t Have. “For Teresa Dietrich, it was fibroids. The Northern California real estate agent was left to pay $19,000 after Blue Cross said she did not disclose a diagnosis of the benign uterine tumors. But Dietrich said the doctor who had written ‘fibroids’ on her medical record never mentioned his suspicions to her. The bills destroyed her credit and cost her her home – and, in a comically cruel twist, the surgery proved the doctor was wrong. ‘They said I had a condition I didn’t even have,’ Dietrich said. ‘And they canceled me.’”
Woman Saddled With $25,000 Debt For Not Disclosing Condition She Didn’t Know She Had. “The untimely disappearance of Sally Marrari’s medical coverage goes a long way toward explaining why insurance companies are cast as the villain in the health-care reform drama. ‘They said I never mentioned I had a back problem,’ said Marrari, 52, whose coverage with Blue Cross was abruptly canceled in 2006 after a thyroid disorder, fluid in the heart and lupus were diagnosed. That left the Los Angeles woman with $25,000 in medical bills and the stigma of the company’s claim that she had committed fraud by not listing on a health questionnaire ‘preexisting conditions’ Marrari said she did not know she had.’”
Woman Denied Coverage For Gall Bladder Surgery Because Of Husband’s High Cholesterol. Washington Post: “In a pending case, Blue Shield searched in vain for an inconsistency in the health records of the wife of a dairy farmer after she filed a claim for emergency gallbladder surgery, according to attorneys for the family. Turning to her husband’s questionnaire, the company discovered he had not mentioned his high cholesterol and dropped them both. Blue Shield officials said they would not comment on a pending case.”
Rescission is widespread – an investigation by the House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations found that three insurance companies alone (WellPoint, UnitedHealth and Assurant) cancelled more than 20,000 policies in the last five years.
Rep. Jean Schmidt Tells Birther: ‘I Agree With You’
Rep. Jean Schmidt Tells Birther: ‘I Agree With You’
Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-OH) spoke at the Voice of America tea party this Labor Day weekend outside of Cincinnati, OH. Following a tense Q&A session — during which, the congresswoman was booed for acknowledging that the Constitution is a living document — Schmidt engaged in a heated conversation with a birther off-stage. At the conclusion of their exchange, Schmidt whispered to the birther, “I agree with you, but the courts don’t.”
Think Progress attended the event and captured exclusive video of the exchange. Watch it:
As Schmidt spoke to the birther, one of her staffers spotted the ThinkProgress camera and used his body to push the cameraman out of view of the congresswoman. ThinkProgress continued to film Schmidt from a respectful distance, but was again stopped by another staffer who grabbed the cameraman by the arm and ordered him to “go away.”
Schmidt was among the members of Congress featured in Firedoglake’s Know Your Birthers video. In the FDL video, Schmidt can be seen running away from blogger-activist Mike Stark when he asked whether or not she has any questions about President Obama’s citizenship status.
In July, following her 15 minutes of YouTube fame, Schmidt’s office issued a statement to Ohio’s Loveland Magazine to clarify her views:
The President is indeed a Citizen of this country. I voted as a Member of the House to certify the vote of the Electoral College electing him as our President. I may not agree with his politics but there is no doubt he is our President and has my full respect as such.
Schmidt’s exchange with the birther this weekend directly contradicts her July statement. The footage appears to indicate that Schmidt is a closet birther who questions the citizenship of the President.
California Attorney General Called To Investigate Insurance Companies’ Anti-Health Reform Advocacy
California Attorney General Called To Investigate Insurance Companies’ Anti-Health Reform Advocacy
The Los Angeles Times reported today that the California-based Consumer Watchdog has submitted a letter to Attorney General Jerry Brown calling for an investigation of insurance giants Wellpoint and United HealthCare (UHC). The complaint comes in response to the insurance companies’ practice of actively encouraging employees to engage in anti-health care reform political activity. According to Consumer Watchdog, “while coercive communications with employees may be legal, if abhorrent, in most states, California’s Labor Code appears to directly prohibit them.”
UHC was exposed last month for creating a call center that directed employees to anti-health reform protests. More recently, Wellpoint launched a “grassroots Web site” urging employees to “make [their] voice heard” by contacting Congress in opposition to health reform. It appears that these tactics may have been a violation of California law. According to the watchdog organization’s letter, UnitedHealthCare’s anti-reform hotline and Wellpoint’s astroturf lobbying website may violate California laws meant to prevent employers from influencing the political activity of its employees.
The accusations against UHC and Wellpoint comes on the heels of a string of ethically questionable moves by healthcare and energy giants to fight reform:
• AHIP, the multimillion dollar lobbying juggernaut for the health insurance industry, has mobilized 50,000 of its employees to lobby Congress against the public option.
• AHIP’s grassroots lobbying is managed by the corporate consulting firm
Democracy Data & Communications. The firm made its name working for organizations like Phillip Morris and Koch Industries, and is responsible for Wellpoint’s “grassroots” lobbying site linked in the Consumer Watchdog letter.• Astroturf firm Bonner & Associates is being investigated by Congress for forging letters in opposition to the Waxman-Markey clean energy act.
If Calfornia’s Attorney General chooses to pursue an investigation of UHC and Wellpoint, it could open the floodgates to increased accountability of health care industry ethically questionable lobbying strategies.
Rep. Markey Reveals Five More Forged Astroturf Letters
Rep. Markey Reveals Five More Forged Astroturf Letters
Last month, Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA) announced a congressional investigation of the DC lobbying firm Bonner & Associates. The firm, which has a long history of astroturfing, was caught forging anti-clean energy reform letters — purportedly from groups representing women and people of color — to Congress. Coal front group American Coalition for Clean Coal Energy was eventually revealed to be Bonner’s client in the anti-clean energy campaign. Now, more forged letters have been uncovered.
Today, Markey revealed five new letters, and dozens more may be out there. According to a statement from Markey’s office, the faked letters came from “elderly services and senior centers” and were sent to Democratic Reps. Tom Periello (VA), Kathy Dahlkemper (PA), and Christopher Carney (PA):
The five letters revealed today brings the total number of fraudulent letters to 13, now representing 9 different community groups. Letters released today were staged to look like they were sent by groups representing senior citizen services like the non-profit Erie Center on Health & Aging. Previous letters already made public were from the Charlottesville-based NAACP, Creciendo Juntos, a hispanic advocacy organization, the Jefferson Area Board on Aging, and the American Association of University Women. […]
“We’ve seen fear-mongering with our nation’s senior citizens with health care, and now we’re seeing fraud-mongering with senior citizens on clean energy,” said Chairman Markey. “Lately, democratic debate has been deceptively debased by fake facts and harsh rhetoric. We must return to an honest discussion of the issues, and ensure that this sort of campaign does not further poison the well of trustworthy debate.”
Between the five new forged letters and last week’s leaked memo revealing that the American Petroleum Institute will be manufacturing “Energy Citizen” rallies to oppose clean energy reform, it is clear that the energy industry is willing to go to any lengths in their efforts to halt clean energy reform.
Grassley brings Glenn Beck’s book to town hall meeting to ‘pass it on.’
Grassley brings Glenn Beck’s book to town hall meeting to ‘pass it on.’
EDITOR’S NOTE: Over the coming month, ThinkProgress will be traveling to town hall events across the country to report on what we’re seeing on the ground. This is our fourth eyewitness report.
On Wednesday, during Sen. Chuck Grassley’s (R-IA) town hall in Winterset, Iowa, an attendee proudly noted that the Senator brought his personal copy of Glenn Beck’s book “Common Sense.” Grassley responded stating that he has read the book and that he intended to “pass it on”:
TOWN HALL ATTENDEE: I noticed that you have the book “Common Sense” with you today, I hope you share it with a lot more of those 535 people.
GRASSLEY: Well the reason I brought it is you’re supposed to pass it on to other people when you’re not reading it.
At the end of the town hall, Grassley gave an autographed copy of “Common Sense” to ThinkProgress and said “it’s something you gotta read a couple times.” Watch the video:
Ghost Letters: Opponents Of Clean Energy Reform Send Fake Letters To Sen. Conrad
Ghost Letters: Opponents Of Clean Energy Reform Send Fake Letters To Sen. Conrad
Last week, ThinkProgress reported that a DC-based lobbying firm was caught forging letters to Rep. Tom Periello (D-VA) in opposition to the Waxman-Markey clean energy bill. The company, Bonner & Associates, has a decades-long history of “astroturfing” –- misrepresenting corporate-backed policy as a real grassroots movement. ThinkProgress just received a letter indicating that more anti-clean energy letter forgeries may be out there.
Joseph Richardson received a letter from Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND) in reply to a letter that he never sent:
Richardson never wrote such a letter, and he never would. Calling himself a “vocal member” of the North Dakota Alliance for Renewable Energy, Richardson told ThinkProgress that he is an ACES supporter and even wrote a letter to Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D-ND) calling on the congressman to support clean energy reform.
The forged letter was likely a result of astroturfing. Conrad’s letter was delivered to an out-of-date address that Richardson hadn’t used for months. According to Richardson, Conrad’s office is currently in the process of tracking down the original letter they received. See the full letter Senator Conrad’s office sent to Richardson.
This latest news joins an evolving series of dishonest tactics from opponents of clean energy reform. On Friday, a former Bonner & Associates employee told Talking Points Memo that extreme managerial pressure at Bonner is par for the course, and inevitably leads to these desperate measures. According to the article:
[The former employee] portray[ed] Bonner and Associates as a place where ethical missteps were far from rare. “They just got caught this time,” he said.
A note to the astroturf groups: next time you decide to forge a letter, try doing a Google search to make sure your target hasn’t publicly stated their opposition to your agenda.
According to the spokesperson, Conrad's staff tracked down an email late tonight from Mr. Richardson. The Senate office mistakenly categorized Richardson's email as opposing clean energy reform. As a result, he received an incorrect form letter in response.
When Think Progress first contacted Mr. Richardson, he indicated that he had never sent a letter regarding ACES, but according to Senator Conrad's office, he now takes ownership over the original correspondence. Think Progress has requested a copy of the original email from the Senate office and will post it if it becomes available.
NAACP-Forgery Group, Bonner & Associates, Has A Decades-Long History Of Astroturf Tactics
NAACP-Forgery Group, Bonner & Associates, Has A Decades-Long History Of Astroturf Tactics
A DC-based consulting firm has been exposed for forging letters in opposition to the American Clean Energy and Security Act. The letters, replete with letterhead and made-up identities, purported to be from Virginian minority organizations including the NAACP. Rep. Tom Perriello (D-VA) received multiple letters pressuring him to vote against clean energy reform. According to Daily Progress, Perriello staffers discovered that the letters were actually forged by Bonner & Associates. Going through past correspondence regarding ACES, staffers found at least six forged letters purporting to be from Creciendo Juntos, a nonprofit hispanic group, and the NAACP.
ThinkProgress has acquired the forged letters. See them here:
Bonner & Associates has a long history of shady tactics and big business corporate associations:
Show Me the Money: Founder Jack Bonner bragged in 1994 that the group has no “ideological or political bent,” the Washington Post noting that “if you’ve got the money and need some ‘regular people’ to flog your issue, Bonner will find them for you.” [8/23/94]
Defrauding the U.S. Government: In 1986, the firm was caught defrauding the U.S. government in order to retain a contract. Bonner & Associates was fraudulently submitting names from phone books, yearbooks, agency employee books, and other sources. The firm claimed to fire the offending employee: “We fired the people we determined were involved in it…what they did was in direct violation of the written policy of the firm.” [New York Times, 12/18/86]
Fighting the Smoking Ban on Behalf of Philip Morris: Bonner & Associates was hired by Philip Morris during the early 90s to build opposition to the workplace smoking ban. A 1994 National Journal piece reports that the firm “was paid about $1.5 million to solicit 7,000 letters to OSHA from small businesses, criticizing the indoor air proposal.” [National Journal, 12/3/94]
Killing Health Care Reforms on Behalf of PhRMA: After the group was hired by PhRMA to kill Maryland legislation that would have affected prescription drug legislation, they faxed dozens of community leaders with a petition that was meant to appear grassroots, “including grammatical errors and a handwritten cover letter.” A community leader that received one of the faxes said, “I wish they would take off the masks. If the drug industry wants to organize people at the grass roots, they should be honest.” [Baltimore Sun, 3/9/02]
In a statement following their most recent offense against Rep. Perriello, the company responded, “We immediately fired the person on our staff responsible for the error.” The Bonner firm’s weak dismissal of their breach as “an error” is a laughable attempt to ignore the nefarious nature of the company’s entire strategic philosophy: Astroturfing (that is, misrepresenting corporate-backed policy as a real grassroots movement).
This incident demonstrates the incredible lengths that the vested interests of health care and energy are willing to go through to undermine reform. With Congress going on recess soon, more of these astroturf tactics will undoubtedly occur as corporate backed anti-reform groups gather in Congressional districts throughout the country to obstruct health care and clean energy reform.
We take our business very seriously. A temporary employee--lied to us--and contrary to our policies sent these letters. We--no one else--we on our own found this out. We immediately fired the person. We then, called those effected, explained what happened and apologized. In the case of the group in the story--we did it in person and by letter.
This should not have happened--we had a bad employee--but through our internal checks, we found the problem, and on our own initiative took the step to notify the affected group.
“The NAACP is appalled that an organization like Bonner and Associates would stoop to these depths to deceive Congress. In this case Bonner and Associates are exploiting the African-American Community to achieve their misdirected goal. These tactics illustrate that discriminatory tactics normally used to deceive voters are now being used to deceive the Congress,” stated Hilary O. Shelton, Director of the NAACP’s Washington Bureau and Senior Vice President for Advocacy.
REPORT: A Statistical Analysis Of Policy Trends And Abnormalities In Sarah Palin’s Tweets
REPORT: A Statistical Analysis Of Policy Trends And Abnormalities In Sarah Palin’s Tweets
After stepping down on Sunday morning, Sarah Palin posted her final Twitter update to her @AKGovSarahPalin account, which had close to 125k followers. With Palin’s refusal to specifically address her post-gubernatorial plans, speculation has run rampant over what she intends to accomplish out of office. She is reportedly considering joining the ranks of the esteemed talk radio punditry.
An analysis of Palin’s Twitter activity in the weeks leading up to her final @AKGovSarahPalin update on Sunday may provide the best insight into what issue most concerns the former vice presidential nominee.
A comprehensive analysis of Palin’s last two months of Twitter updates (May 26-July 26) reveals that she mentioned energy 53 times out of 400 updates, far more than any other single issue. That is nearly 4 times as many mentions than the economy, and just short of 11 times the mentions of health care. A word cloud based on her Twitter activity reinforces the fact that Palin has been focusing her efforts on leading the GOP’s opposition to clean energy reform. Here’s a chart tracking Palin’s tweets:
Some of Palin’s energy policy insights:
Attacking Cap-and-Trade: “DC plan for Cap & Trade (huge tax) hurts AK’s potential to supply more than 20% of US energy incl nat gas pipeline, see WashPost OpEd today” 9:16 AM Jul 14th
Drill Baby Drill: “Alaska’s role is to provide domestic energy leading to less reliance on foreign sources…” 10:11 AM May 27th
Drill Baby Drill Pt. 2: “Disappointed Congress once again voted to keep Americans dependent on foreign energy by keeping ANWR closed.” 5:39 PM Jun 10th
Drill Baby Drill Pt. 3: “EIA estimates US energy consumption will INCREASE by 44% in next 20 yrs. We MUST utilize our local energy sources. http://tinyurl.com/lesekh” 3:17 PM Jun 12th
Drill Baby Drill Pt. 4: “Great comments re safe offshore drilling by Lt Gov Parnell published today, asks Interior Dept to use tools in hand to meet court’s concerns” 6:43 AM Jun 17th
As Think Progress noted recently, Newt Gingrich has been touting Palin as a conservative leader on energy issues. On July 13, Palin wrote an op-ed slamming the cap-and-trade measure as “an enormous threat to our economy,” in spite of her previous support for capping carbon emissions. And last week, MoveOn began airing ads calling Palin “the new face of Republican opposition to clean energy.” Palin continues along the same tired Republican trajectory on energy: continued dependence on fossil fuels combined with subsidies to the oil, coal, and nuclear industries.
Watch it:
Gingrich positions Palin as a conservative leader on energy issues.
Gingrich positions Palin as a conservative leader on energy issues.
At a National Press Club event on Wednesday, a questioner asked Newt Gingrich — head of a corporate-funded group American Solutions for Winning the Future (ASWF) — whether or not he would consider “running with” Sarah Palin in 2012. Gingrich demurred on 2012, but the former House Speaker went on to praise the soon-to-be-former Governor of Alaska as a future conservative leader on energy issues:
GINGRICH: Her knowledge of the energy issue is very real. And if you do start to see energy prices go back up I think there will be a pretty big interest in what she has to say about how we can use American energy — keep the money here in America and the fact that bowing to a Saudi king is not a substitute for energy policy.
Watch it:
Following Palin’s July 3rd resignation announcement, Bill Kristol speculated that she was resigning because she had “probably accomplished most of what she was going to get done as governor,” which begs the question: what does Palin seek to accomplish in her post-gubernatorial career? Between Gingrich’s recent hints, the six mentions of energy in her resignation announcement, and her recent hackneyed op-ed on cap-and-trade in the Washington Post, Republicans may be moving to position Palin as their new leading voice on energy.
Hatch distances himself from right-wing attack ad on Sotomayor.
Hatch distances himself from right-wing attack ad on Sotomayor.
Earlier today, Think Progress pointed out that Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) was present at a fundraiser for the right-wing Committee for Justice, a the group that is now sliming Judge Sonia Sotomayor as a terrorist. We wondered whether Republican senators are willing to defend CFJ’s ad. Huffington Post’s Sam Stein asked Hatch’s office, which responded by distancing itself from CFJ:
Asked if he agreed with the ad pushed by the group for which he once raised money, the senator’s spokesperson, Andrea Saul, relayed the following message from Hatch himself: “I haven’t seen the ad, but it sounds pretty harsh. Not the type of ad I would run.”
Is Jeff Sessions prepared to follow Hatch’s lead?
Will GOP Senators Defend Right-Wing Ad Calling Sotomayor The Leader Of A Terrorist Group?
Will GOP Senators Defend Right-Wing Ad Calling Sotomayor The Leader Of A Terrorist Group?
Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), a member of the Judiciary Committee, was a featured guest at a Georgetown fundraiser for the Committee for Justice in 2003. According to the New York Times, the event raised at least $50,000 for the right-wing group that is responsible for the recent Sotomayor slime piece. The attack ad makes the claim that Judge Sonia Sotomayor “led a group supporting violent Puerto Rican terrorists.” It attempts to link Sotomayor to “Obama’s buddy Bill Ayers, the unrepentant terrorist who bombed American buildings in the seventies.” Watch it:
The right-wing group also has other ties to GOP Senators. CFJ’s Chairman of the Board worked on John McCain’s presidential campaign as a “Director of Conservative Outreach.” In 2003, a CFJ ad led Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) to characterize CFJ as a “partisan hate group.” In response, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) defended CFJ and its ad on the Senate floor:
There has been an awful lot of railing about this ad by the Committee for Justice. It has a courthouse chambers with a little sign on it, and the sign says ‘Catholics need not apply.’ Isn’t this a legitimate commentary on how people feel about what is happening here? You can agree or disagree, and say it is not a really an accurate statement if you want to. I say it is legitimate commentary.
Are Sessions, Hatch, and their conservative colleagues still willing to defend the Committee for Justice and argue that it is “legitimate commentary” to imply Sotomayor is a terrorist?
TP’s Ian Millhiser is live-blogging today’s hearings. Check out his coverage here.
Boehner Uses Press Conference To Push Heritage Foundation’s Green Job Smears
Boehner Uses Press Conference To Push Heritage Foundation’s Green Job Smears
Responding to the most recent findings by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office indicating that the Waxman-Markey Clean Energy Bill will cost American families only a postage stamp a day, House Minority Leader Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) is changing up his strategy on attacking the bill, with guidance by The Heritage Foundation.
With the CBO and EPA findings backing energy reform opponents into a corner on the household cost argument, Heritage is arming conservatives with a new strategy — smearing Waxman-Markey as a job killer:
An analysis of the Waxman-Markey bill (as reported out of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce) by The Heritage Foundation found that unemployment will increase by nearly 2 million in 2012, the first year of the program, and reach nearly 2.5 million in 2035, the last year of the analysis.
After Heritage’s report was issued on Thursday, GOP Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) held a press conference to push the think tank’s job killer claims:
This bill will also cost 2.3 million to 2.7 million Americans their jobs. That’s because high energy industries, like the steel- making industry, won’t be located in the United States anymore.
Watch Boehner’s briefing here:
With the House debating the American Clean Energy & Security Act today, other opponents of reform can be expected to follow Heritage’s lead. Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) already spoke on the House floor this morning, saying “there’s a lot of debate about what this bill will cost the average American household, from hundreds of dollars to thousands of dollars, but there actually is no debate over the fact that this legislation will cost millions of American jobs.”
A report by the Center for American Progress shows that investing $150 billion in clean energy will create an estimated 1.7 million new jobs — three times more jobs than a similar investment in fossil fuels. In Boehner’s home state alone, 67,356 new jobs would be created by a clean energy economy. This interactive map shows how many green jobs could be created in each state by Waxman-Markey.
Gingrich-Run Coal Company Front Group Airing Anti-Climate Legislation TV Ads
Gingrich-Run Coal Company Front Group Airing Anti-Climate Legislation TV Ads
Newt Gingrich’s 527 organization, American Solutions for Winning the Future (ASWF), took to the airwaves yesterday in opposition to the Waxman-Markey clean energy reform bill. The 30-second attack ad falls highlights the Gingrich-inspired Republican strategy of calling the bill a “national energy tax”:
Now Congress is about to make things dramatically worse by passing a new national energy tax. We’ll lose more jobs, pay more for gas and electricity, pushing our economy to its breaking point. Stop the national energy tax, call your member of Congress before it’s too late.
Contradicting ASWF’s “energy tax” attack, a Congressional Budget Office analysis of Waxman-Markey found that the legislation only costs the equivalent of a postage stamp a day, while sharply cutting greenhouse gas emissions. Watch the ASWF ad:
An investigative piece by the Wonk Room’s Brad Johnson exposed Gingrich’s American Solutions as a front group for Peabody Energy, the world’s largest coal company. ASWF raked in over a quarter-million dollars in contributions in 2008 from the coal juggernaut, while receiving much of its remaining funding from a host of right-wing billionaires including casino kingpin Sheldon Adelson.
As climate change reform comes closer to a reality, expect to see more fear-mongering from these fossil-fueled front groups. Yesterday the GOP sent candles to lawmakers to “thank” Obama for “taxing our lights out.” Republicans called for the construction of 100 new nuclear power plants that same day. The fossil-fuel-dependent future promoted by Gingrich’s front group is catastrophic, as it “ignores the nightmarish damages that would be caused to our air, water and climate.”
GOP ‘Rural American Solutions Group’ Peddles Coal Company Document As Its Own
GOP ‘Rural American Solutions Group’ Peddles Coal Company Document As Its Own
Leaders of a new GOP group, the “Rural American Solutions Group,” are distributing a document attacking climate change legislation as an economic burden to most of the country. As it turns out, the information in the press release was provided to the Republican congressmen by Peabody Energy, a juggernaut of the coal industry. Staffers for GOP Reps. Frank Lucas (R-OK), Sam Graves (R-MO), and Doc Hastings (R-WA) are emailing around a map that purports to detail “how the Democrats’ National Energy Tax unfairly targets rural Americans.”
A closer look at the source of the image reveals the document’s origins:
Two employees of Peabody Energy are listed in the metadata of the map document: Chairman and CEO Greg Boyce and Communications Manager Chris Taylor. The congressmen opposing climate change legislation — Reps. Lucas, Graves, and Hastings — are simply copying-and-pasting information that has been directly fed to them by Peabody Energy.
Peabody Energy’s outsized political influence is well-documented:
– From 2004 to 2008, the Peabody Energy PAC contributed $579,538 to federal candidates including Rep. Sam Graves and Rep. Frank Lucas. In 2008, Peabody contributed $150,290; $180,500 in 2006; $130,250 in 2004; $118,498 in 2002. [Opensecrets]
– Peabody Is An $8.4 Million Lobbying Juggernaut. Peabody Energy directly spent over $8.4 million lobbying Congress in 2008, up 3,200 percent from 2004, as legislation to limit coal pollution became an election-year issue. In addition, the Peabody-supported front groups ACCCE and the National Mining Association spent a further $9.95 million and $4.56 million respectively on lobbying efforts. [OpenSecrets]
FLASHBACK: Obama Promised To End ‘Secret Meetings’ And Make The White House The ‘People’s House’
FLASHBACK: Obama Promised To End ‘Secret Meetings’ And Make The White House The ‘People’s House’
MSNBC reports that the Obama administration has denied its request for the names of individuals who have visited the White House since the Inauguration. Additionally, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington announced today that it is suing the Department of Homeland Security after the non-partisan organization was denied a request for records of visits of “leading coal company executives.” The Obama administration’s explanation:
The administration ought to be able to hold secret meetings in the White House, “such as an elected official interviewing for an administration position or an ambassador coming for a discussion on issues that would affect international negotiations,” said Obama spokesman Ben LaBolt.
The Bush administration made the same arguments, which were ruled against twice in federal court. In fact, before his election, Obama promised that he would end the Bush administration’s practice of holding secret meetings in the White House, which is supposed to be “the people’s house”:
– In 2006, Obama critized Cheney’s secret energy meetings: “When big oil companies are invited into the White House for secret energy meetings, it’s no wonder they end up with billions in tax breaks.” [1/26/06]
– In 2007, Obama promised on his first day to: “launch the most sweeping ethics reform in history to make the White House the people’s house and send the Washington lobbyists back to K Street.” [6/22/07]
– In 2008, Obama told Wisconsin voters: “This change will not be easy. It will require reforming our politics by taking power away from the lobbyists who kill good ideas and good plans with secret meetings and campaign checks.” [9/22/08]
The day after the Inauguration, Obama issued a memo saying, “my Administration is committed to creating an unprecedented level of openness in Government.” Obama had a long record of increasing accountability and transparency in government before he entered the White House. By opening up access to the White House visitor logs, Obama has an opportunity to fulfill his promise of making the White House the people’s house.
Martinez dismisses uproar over Sotomayor’s ‘wise Latina’ comment: ‘I understand what she is trying to say.’
Martinez dismisses uproar over Sotomayor’s ‘wise Latina’ comment: ‘I understand what she is trying to say.’
CNN reports Sen. Mel Martinez (R-FL) is now predicting the successful confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, although he stopped short of endorsing her. Dismissing the controversy over Sotomayor’s “wise Latina” statement, Martinez said:
For someone who is of Latin background, personally, I understand what she is trying to say. Which is, the richness of her experience forms who she is. It forms who I am.
Sen. Martinez’s comments come following a one-on-one meeting he had with Sotomayor.
Topic Cloud
ArchivesBlog Roll