White House Talking Points Declare Open War On U.S. Chamber
The White House is seizing on the news of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s planned anti-reform study to declare open war on the organization, circulating talking points on the Hill declaring it an “intentionally skewed” effort to “safeguard the insurance companies’ bottom line at the expense of the American people.”
There is no report yet, but the talking points, sent over by a source, launch a preemptive strike, linking it to the insurance industry’s earlier, widely-criticized anti-reform study:
* This so-called study would be at least the third intentionally skewed report as part of the last-ditch effort to safeguard the insurance companies’ bottom line at the expense of the American people.
* You may recall that last month, the insurance lobby offered an “analysis” that even the company who produced it said was skewed because that’s what the insurance companies paid for.
* And just days after that report, another insurance company produced a similarly flawed study.
* The only difference this time is that the insurance industry’s defenders were caught red-handed before producing their intentionally misleading “study”.
* So whenever we finally see this supposed analysis, we should all take it with a huge grain of salt.
The White House had been treading carefully in its standoff with the Chamber, perhaps not wanting to hand ammo to those portraying the reform proposal as a threat to the private sector. But the Chamber’s planned study has given the White House an opening to put the Chamber on the defensive at a delicate moment for the organization, much as the insurance industry’s study did.
It appears that any fragile peace that may have existed between the Chamber and the White House is off.
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First the Insurance industry, now the Chamber.
I likes it.
The US Chamber of Commerce is as much a Republican political entity as Murdoch’s Fox Propaganda.
That the corporate-media allows these right wing entities pretend to be anything else is Orwellian.
This is called GETTING OUT IN FRONT OF THE STORY. I love it.
Don’t forget FOX Tena
Paul W. – true. I was thinking mainly about HCR, but you’re right.
Maybe the sadder point is that they COULD get an economist to say whatever they want. Just try to get a straight answer to what got us out of the last great depression.
Palin Around With Paranoia.
Now she claims that the Associated Press, which is owned by Right Wingers, is out to get her.
Quitter Palin never stops whining about being picked on. She suffers from a worse case of Persecution Paranoia than Tricky Dick Nixon did!
“they COULD get an economist to say whatever they want. ”
LOL
Economists are like the bible – you can use them to say anything at all that you want to say.
As some wise person once observed:
If you laid all the economists in the world, end to end, they still would not reach a conclusion.
Greg mentioned earlier that maybe the press is spending too much time on Palin. Maybe… but you have to ask what the NYT is thinking by showcasing, front and center, on their their website a story about a botched coaching call in a football game last night. I love football but please.
Right wing economists don’t understand math any better than the average right winger understands evolution or the evidence supporting that the earth is over 4.5 billion years old.
@News Reference…I am enjoying your posts..including
“The US Chamber of Commerce is as much a Republican political entity as Murdoch’s Fox Propaganda.”
This is true of local Chambers as well. Here in St. Pete the Chamber has been trying to hustle the populace into spending a quarter of a billion to a half billion (in a population of 250,000 that’s 1-2 thousand per person) on a new stadium for wealthy hedge fund guys from New York who bought our MLB team a few years ago.
Studies done AFTER the stadia are built always show they have minimal economic impact…”studies” done ahead always PROJECT huge economic gain for the city being blackmailed by baseball. Chambers of Commerce are always complicit in this truly shameless scam on the public.
rukidding, but what about civic pride? You can’t put a $ value on that! My chest swells and my eyes fill with tears whenever I see the fat cats at Fenway and Pats’ games, or watching the Yankees (my team) at their shiny new stadium.
I’ve been thinking how much I’d enjoy a panel with Paul Krugman/Austin Goolsbee and Sarah Palin/Michelle Bachmann on it to discuss how to get this country back on its feet again.
Two good must-read articles (Happy Hour?):
House Health Care Bill Discriminates Against Religious Freedom
The debate about abortion, particularly as connected to health care reform, has been characterized as a “conservative” versus “liberal” debate. What is missed in that approach is the fact that the foundational theologies among Jews, Muslims, and even many otherwise “conservative” Christians are more nuanced and complicated than the simplistic and absolutist stands taken by the “C Street” Democrats and their supporters.
The recently passed House health care bill might be paving the way to enact religious discrimination into law; on the important and fundamental issues of life and health, many religious Americans will be unable to live and act according to their own religious consciences and beliefs.
http://www.religiondispatches.org/archive/2034/house_health_care_bill_discriminates_against_religious_freedom__/
‘Death Panels’ Hypocrisy: RNC Health Insurance Provider Promotes End-Of-Life Counseling
But ThinkProgress has noticed that Cigna, the RNC’s health insurance provider, also urges beneficiaries to think about end-of-life services. Cigna’s website has a page called “Care at the End of Life,” which covers topics such as how to talk with “loved ones” about “end-of-life choices” and whether to stop life-prolonging treatment. [...]
It’s unclear whether the RNC’s insurance plan covers these end-of-life consultations, and neither Cigna nor the RNC replied to inquiries from ThinkProgress. But nevertheless, the RNC’s insurance provider has posted information on its website advising beneficiaries about the complicated questions that accompany decisions at the end of someone’s life.
http://thinkprogress.org/2009/11/14/rnc-health-grandma/
A good but long read:
“Everything you need to know about the descent of the conservative movement into a hypocritical caricature is illustrated by two of its proudest constituencies: Republican deficit hawks and so-called “born again virgins.” Having already violated the moral strictures they claim to hold dearest, each now asks the American people to join them in pretending their sin never happened. But unlike a generation of Republican leaders who built a mountain of national debt for the United States, the secondary virgins only screwed themselves.
The Republicans’ shameless cynicism was perfectly captured by Vice President Dick Cheney, who in 2002 proclaimed, “Reagan proved deficits don’t matter.”
http://crooksandliars.com/jon-perr/born-again-deficit-virgins
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce never met a good idea that it liked. They reflexively genuflect to whatever idiocy du jour is in vogue at the GOP. As a small business owner, I find their politics repellent and their assertions ridiculous. They are not pro business, they are pro GOP and moving increasingly toward teabagging.
This is a must read. Go to the link
Anti-Racists Steal the Show at White Supremacist “Tea Party Against Amnesty”
http://twincities.indymedia.org/2009/nov/anti-racists-steal-show-white-supremacist-tea-party-against-amnesty
“”Columbus Go Home!”: Prepared transcript of “Robert Erickson’s” speech:
Hi, my name is Robert Erickson and I’m really excited to be here. Its people like all of you, and events like this that make our country great! Give yourselves a round of applause!
I just want to talk about a couple themes this afternoon because I love this country and I want to see America be the best place it can be.
Mr. Gutierrez is getting ready to propose an immigration bill in just a few short days, and we have to make sure he knows that we want a bill that’s tough on immigration. Now is the time for us to stand up and make our voices heard!
In Minneapolis, where I’m from, we have a huge immigrant population that’s been causing a number of problems. With the economy in recession, and so many people getting laid off, and unable to find work, immigrants should not be competing for the few jobs that are out there. Its just not fair to the folks who have a claim to this land and the right to be here. All across America, they are contributing to the flooding of our job markets making it hard for American’s to find jobs. Well I’m fed up and its time to let our politicians know that enough is enough, and we’re not gonna take it any more!
We need to secure our borders to protect our country. We need to restore order and put an end to the anarchy that’s sweeping the nation. We need tougher immigration laws to make sure that we send these people back where they came from. We need to protect the sovereignty of the real Americans. We need to hold our politicians accountable.
Its no secret that with an invasion of immigrants, comes waves of crime. We see them involved in massive theft, in murder, and bringing diseases like smallpox, which is responsible for the death of millions of Americans. These aren’t new problems though, they have been going on for hundreds of years, and continue to this day.
I say its time for us to say enough is enough! Are you with me? Are you with me? Lets send these European immigrants back where they came from! I don’t care if they are Polish, Irish, English, Italian, or Norwegian! European immigrants are responsible for the most violent and heinus crimes in the history of the world, including genocide and slavery! Its time to restore the sovereignty of people native to this land! I want more workplace raids, starting with the big banks downtown. There are thousands of illegals working in those buildings, hiding in their offices, and taking Dakota jobs. Let’s round them up and ship them out. Then we need to hit them at home where they sleep, I don’t care if we separate families, they should have known better when they came here illegally!
If we aren’t able to stand up to these European immigrants, who can we stand up to? We need to send every one of them back home, right now.
Thank you very much, and we’ll see you in the streets!
Columbus go home! Columbus go home! Columbus go home!”
@Kathleen Hussein…since I always respect your posts I want to be sure I’m correct here…you said…” but what about civic pride? You can’t put a $ value on that!”
Since you added a comment about the fat cats at Fenway I hope you’re being sarcastic
but then you added you love the HATED Yankees!!!
Civic pride is an argument they make…but ask folks around the country where the Tampa Bay Rays play…few know….you as a Yankee fan would know Kathleen…but most don’t…and where do the DALLAS Cowboys play…how about the NEW YORK Giants?
Seriously..a half billion invested in parks/education/the arts/more police officers/cleaner streets can also buy a LOT of civic price. But I am OT here and so for anybody truly intereested in the scam of professional sports stadia…here you go…
http://www.heartland.org/policybot/results/9474/No_85_Sports_Stadium_Madness_Why_It_Started_How_to_Stop_It_summmary.html
Yeah, and I wonder what the White House has to say about the study produced by the CMS? You know the study that shows ObamaCare will drastically cut services to seniors and will add another $289 Billion to the cost? Funny how this site has about a dozen mentions of Sarah Palin and no mention of that report, at least that I can see. Even more amazing is the fact the White House actually believes anyone but Obamabot sycophants trusts what is has to say anymore.
The Obama Record: Record unemployment, record deficits, no legislative accomplishments.
@Joe Leiberman…you picked a great name..you’re about as bright as the original loser.
“The Obama Record: Record unemployment, record deficits, no legislative accomplishments.
The unemployment and record deficits are the gift that keeps on giving from the rethugs and their economic genius….just as it took Coolidge, Harding and Hoover to give us the first Great Depression..which took FDR some time to recoup from…and he even had repubs who knew the meaning of dithering without having to look it up…it’s going to take some time to straighten up the Reagan/Bush/Bush mess. Clinton at least got the budget balanced until the Cowboy took his turn at the wheel. What an unmitagated disaster you repubs have been for our nation!!!
@Liam OMG Robert Erickson is HILARIOUS!!
“Record unemployment”
Republican’s fraudulent economic ideology destroyed the global American economy and put US on the edge of a Second Republican Great Depression.
The only thing that could have alleviated the job losses that have been the inevitable of the Republicans selling out America to foreign interests is a an America-first trade policy that doesn’t let right wingers sell out American jobs and America’s manufacturing base to foreign interests.
But Republicans work for the Communist Chinese. It was the right wing that opened up trade with fascist China, the right wing empowered China to drink our milkshake.
record deficits
The Republican Debtor Party has been increasing the US debt for over 40 years.
The right wing’s Orwellian lies about their indebting our nation basically comes down to right wingers think 2+2=5.
Republican Reagan increased the US debt by 260%
Republican Bush 1’s debt with Reagan’s debt was over 400%.
Republican Bush 2 more than DOUBLED the US debt AGAIN.
Guess who paid down the debt: Every Democratic President.
Democratic President Bill Clinton even left office with a surplus.
Republicans promptly squandered the surplus, they ate America’s seed corn, and let China drink our American milk shake.
Republicans love the Communist Chinese.
Why do Republicans hate America?
(heh, is there a “preview” button I’m missing because I’ve got scripts turned off? Clearly that last post could have used one:)
Why is it? We can take care of the needs of the rest of the World but ignore the needs of American taxpaying citizens? American citizen needs should be a top priority, after meeting America’s needs then we can provide help for other countries. I am all for helping country’s with food and medicine, but I am totally against “giving” Military weapons at taxpayers expense to country’s who can afford to purchase them. *As an example, Israel is one of the Worlds wealthier country’s, the World Bank has them ranked as the 26 richest on the planet, they certainly can afford to purchase their military weaponry. Israel might not be so free to use weapons of mass destruction such as cluster bombs, white phosphorous bombs or depleted uranium shells on areas populated by civilians if they have to purchase them instead of receiving them free of charge by the American taxpayer. I note that you have recently made two highly publicized trips to Israel our friend. Israel is in serious danger from no one…they have all kinds of WMD’s, including biological and 300+ nuclear weapons. Seriously, who in their right mind is going to launch a serious attack against them? I understand the discussion of Israel is a taboo subject, but I also understand Israel and Egypt receive one third of all U.S. foreign aid, I think that is shameful. The public is mislead too believe that Israel receives about $3 Billion per year in assistance; according to my research, the true number is more like $15 Billion per year.
*Note I have nothing against Israel other than they are “freeloaders and thugs” Israel’s actions justified or not come at a huge expense to the USA both financially and World view. America’s infrastructure is crumbling schools, roads, bridges, water systems dams and locks, public drinking water; many critical projects rebuilt without adding to the deficit if we stopped the give away. America first!
So I hope the White House doesn’t follow the Chamber’s latest survey of school “winners and losers” when distributing the Race to the Top funds.
http://www.uschamber.com/icw/reportcard/default
Since the Republicans pretty much control both the media and talking points, I don’t see the White House doing much damage to anyone, whether they deserve it or not.
Instead, Fox News will turn this into another “nontroversy” and get all worked up about it.