Anti-Reform Group’s New Ad Attacks Obama’s Vacation — And Will Run On Martha’s Vineyard
As I first reported here earlier this week, the well-funded anti-reform group Conservatives for Patients Rights has been preparing a new ad attacking President Obama’s Martha’s Vineyard vacation.
Here’s the spot — and it will quite literally dog Obama on vacation. CPR confirms that it will run on Martha’s Vineyard and in the Boston area while Obama is on the island:
“The beach is nice this year, but while President Obama vacations, concerns mount about his health care plan,” the ad intones, showing a panorama of the ocean and then cutting to angry town halls. “Why? Because his public option health plan could lead to government-run health care.”
The ad’s primary focus is pressuring Obama to drop the public option, reflecting the anti-reform camp’s strategy of focusing all its firepower on killing the public option at a time when questions have arisen about the White House’s commitment to it.
It’s unclear, though, what can be gained by attacking Obama on the air in Martha’s Vineyard. The main decisions about the fate of the public option rest in the hands of Congress. “Dogging” Obama on vacation smacks of a stunt designed to get national TV play, which it undoubtedly will, but it risks making the anti-reform forces look like they’re hounding Obama while he’s seeking private time with his family.
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It also provides us with the ability to contrast Obama and Bush. While I think Obama has messed up the health care debate significantly, I will give the guy credit for legitimately looking his butt off so far this year. And he’s only taking a week off. Bush, meanwhile, broke the all-time record for total vacation days in only his fifth damn year.
Hunch: this won’t work. For all my complaints I say: Give the Pres and his family a week. He has worked hard, as has the First Lady.They deserve a break To the ad guys: stay “classy” chaps.
Attack anything and everything Obama says/does. Keep the airwaves filled with negatives and conflict. Inspire doubts and fears while, by filling up the airwaves, effectively prevent the other side’s message from being communicated. The ad seems silly (and is) but it helps fulfill the above criteria.
Greg, I don’t recall you being critical of protests outside Bush’s ranch or ads in local papers while he was “seeking private time with his family.”
You’re a hypocrite.
And, when you sign up for the job of president, you foresake “private time.”
“And, when you sign up for the job of president, you foresake “private time.””
The right has a lot of damn nerve talking about presidential vacations – you don’t have a leg to stand on. YOUR president spent 99% of his time on vacation so you can put a sock in it.
Attack anything and everything Obama says/does. Keep the airwaves filled with negatives and conflict.
? In metro Boston?
My sense is that these ads won’t make any difference here (no matter how many Lyndon LaRouchies there may be in Dartmouth!
)
“You’re a hypocrite.”
NO, you are.
when you sign up for the job of president, you foresake “private time.”
Obviously George W. Bush didn’t agree!
This weekend the only things people in Cape Cod and the Islands will be watching are Red Sox-Yankees and the Weather Channel.
How dense can one get? Obama deserves a nice quiet vacation. He has worked his butt off so to speak for the citizens for the United States. He is trying to get contol of Health Care to make it affordable for all. He will not let the insurance agencies cancel you for pre existing conditions and for things that should be covered by them and deneighed. If you were for the Health Care plan, PLEASE don’t change your mind. If you were against the Health Care Plan then you must be a Republican. Then again I can’t believe all Republicans are against the Health Care PLan. Remember you have a choice. There will be more than one plan to choose from. You can choose a plan that will fit your needs. Thanks for reading my comment. I stand for Obama and his Health Care Plan. Period. I will not change my mind no matter how many dirty, nasty ads go on the TV or elsewhere!
I think Greg is correct and this is pretty simple – it’s “designed to get national TV play,” and to possibly fundraise. That’s all – not a very good advert. Will it make “the anti-reform forces look like they’re hounding Obama while he’s seeking private time with his family?” Not at all, the President is always fair game.
“Not at all, the President is always fair game.”
As long as the president is a Democrat, he’a fair game. Republicans are always on the right side of a double standard here.
Hi PlumLine Peeps~
Just a little insight from MM on the new ABC/WaPo poll that talking heads are talking about this morning…it so reminds me that many people are focused on the small stuff and not the big picture…aside from the fact that pollsters use their polls to feed into the MSM talking points (otherwise the MSM would pay for them)…it also reminds me of all the short-sighted concern trolling that goes on with the Prez and Dems…buried in this ABC/WaPo poll is that the Prez’s overall approval rating is still at 57%…holy ****…that is stinking unbelievable…an overall approval rating of 57% while going through all this healthcare reform drama…that is outstanding…of course, that is not what the focus is…ABC/WaPo buried the overall approval in the 7th paragraph and headlined with the confidence mantra, which I am also surprised by…I would have thought confidence would have been lower than that because he is being questioned and/or slammed from all sides right now…what we seem to forget sometimes (as we did during the election) is that we are all political junkies and we watch this stuff every single day, every hour for some, but the average American out there, just does not pay attention to much of this, for us it dominates, but for them they just know that they are working on H/C, but not all the drama surrounding, so again, when the dust settles and something is passed because the Dems will work it out, they will get something together on it and the GOP will all vote no (as usual), and it will be the Prez and Dems that get credit and if he comes out of this with approval ratings that are still 50+, it will be quite an accomplishment considering the historical and difficult nature of healthcare issue.
Link to MM insight
http://mediamatters.org/blog/200908210009
The right is hallucinating itself into a place where it really does think it is on the brink of a major victory. You can see the note of manic euphoria tinging the emails that the freepers are leaving on sites like this one and TNR. And it’s absoutely hallucinatory. Worst case scenario for the Democrats is that a health care bill that’s a lot less than we’re expecting will pass once recess is over and the boys and girls in Congress get back to school and pick up where they left off. The Psychopublicans, however, have already defined the passage of any kind of health care bill as a defeat, and, indeed, as the tocsin sounding for the death of freedom. So the crash when the trip they’re on now is over is going to be bad. Not just bad for them, but probably pretty much the whole country. When the anger and disappointment mix with the increasingly dangerous anti-social behavior they’ve been egging on, we’re going to see some serious crazy.
Did he schedule the vacation after failing to read a Presidential Daily Briefing titled “Bin Laden determined to strike within U.S”, and then telling the briefer “OK, you’ve covered your ***, get out of here”?
No?
I don’t see a problem.
The Obama “Bipartisan consensus pursuit, Paradox.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jifjRVLVjzA
“These are the folks who created the mess” President Obama.
That is why the nation turned away from the Republicans, and left them with record low approval ratings and support.
Why then is the President, who says that they created the mess, so desperately trying to rehabilitate the Republicans who created the mess. The country came to the conclusion that the were sick of what the Republicans had wrought, and turned to Obama to undo the mess.
Why then is he trying to include those who created the mess, in providing the cure.
It is absurd. Republicans were following their deeply held convictions, when they created the mess, and they are not going to abandon those convictions, just because President Obama gives them a come hither smile.
Look what has happened. President Obama has been weakened, and the Republicans have become emboldened.
President Obama, you were elected to rehabilitate the nation, and not the Party that create the mess.
National tv play or not, it’s still just shy of crazy to complain about presidential vacations when Bush took more vacations than any president in history. It’s the same ol’ tune, however. Forget the last 8 years and focus only on today. Same thing with spending, same thing with presidential powers. The GOP is shortsighted if not out of their mind.
LOL
Uhmmm allow me to say that this is really going to back fire if the Democratic establishment handles it right. If I were them I would hold this ad up as proof that the townhall disruptions are all astro turfed. Really the DNC could just take some of Rachel Madddow’s footage exposing who all these players are and put up an ad exposing them for who they are.
This should really be turned around like a big red flag showing that it was all a ploy to fool the people into beliving they were grass roots.
Rim shot for kenga!
Liberals lack spines.
People, stop taking the bait.
The issue is what sort of Health Insurance reform bill will we get, if any. Going off on tangents about vacation debates is playing right into the Republican’s hands. Stop been such suckers for every bit of rancid bait that they drag under your noses.
Keep your eyes on the prize. A Robust Public Option. That is the goal. All those silly distractions that the Republicans are getting you to focus on, are making us look like a bunch of saps.
If the President Obama demands that he must have Public Option, in the final bill, he still might not get it, but guess what folks;
If he demands it, he stands a far better chance of getting it, than if he does not push for. As of now, he is not pushing for it.
If you get off the bench ,and go up and take a swing, you have some chance of getting a hit. If you do not take a swing, you have no chance.
As of now,when it comes to a Robust Public Option, President Obama is not even at the plate.
Isn’t this group anti-health insurance reform?
Wouldn’t the president vacationing be a GOOD thing to their cause???
Conservatives are so juvenile.
What’s this about “literally” dogging the president? I expected I would at least be seeing Rick Santorum in this ad.
Steve — I like the way you think.
August 2001, Bush takes most of the month off. September 2001 the US is attacked. August 2005, Bush takes most of the month off. When Hurrican Katrina hits NO at the end of the month, the US government is caught unprepard. August 2008. Bush takes most of the month off. In September, the financial sector in large part disintegrates, taking alot of the US economay with it.
President Obama really needs to find a place to clear brush. The wingnuts amongst us have no problem with th
Gosh, that was one of the most brutal attack ads I have ever seen! Those ******* evilmongers will ruin the Obamas’ well deserved million dollar vacation (paid for by you and me) after 200 something days of gruelling work in the oval office and without any head!
Like Brad said, “I will give the guy (Obama) credit for legitimately looking his butt off so far this year.” Uh..What? Brad? Did you mean licking or some sort of narcissistic kink thing? Whatever.
Steve is having a freaky trip too: “When the anger and disappointment mix with the increasingly dangerous anti-social behavior they’ve been egging on, we’re going to see some serious crazy.”
Yeah, Steve, Dissent is so un-American. So is a sense of irony or humor. Don’t forget to report any fishy protest activities and smirking to the White House website Gestapo.
Maybe Cindy Sheehan will set up camp outside of the Obama vacation beach house to protest his criminal warmongering in Afghanistan and the illegal detention of innocent terrorists in gitmo. Where’s the Hague war crimes tribunal when you need ‘em?
Liam is also on bad trip: “Why then is the President…so desperately trying to rehabilitate the Republicans who created the mess.” Dude, take the blue pill. The BLUE pill, pluuuzee. Believe me, they want to flush you out of their system.
Chris- the fold is a heavy user,” It’s the same ol’ tune, however. Forget the last 8 years and focus only on today.” He’s got a point, without Bush/Nixon to kick around, the Dems ain’t got a leg to stand on a la current events. So let’s all fight the good 1968 fight over and over and over again…It’s like being stuck in Hotel California but they ain’t had that spirit since 1969…warm smell of colitis rising up through the air…Chris has brought the alibi.
Squwhiteinfla isn’t on drugs but should be: “This should really be turned around like a big red flag showing that it was all a ploy to fool the people into beliving they were grass roots.” That’s right, call out the tanks and disperse those “disrupter.” Hey, it worked in 1989 at Tiananmen Square. What? It didn’t? Quick, Rahm get me the Pentagon on the horn!
Don K is totally clueless: “Wouldn’t the president vacationing be a GOOD thing to their cause???” Like NOT! Obama has proven that he is even more efficient than Bush at misspokening all the wee weed up things in perfect synchronicity with Murphy’s Law. Can you imagine if the MSM wasn’t totally covering for Obama?
The Man needs a rest! God Bless him.
Last thing I remember, I was
Running for the door
I had to find the passage back
To the place I was before
Relax, said the Public Option Health Care man,
We are programmed to receive.
You can checkout any time you like,
But you can never leave!
Conservatives for Patients Rights was started by Richard Scott. Scott previously started the for-profit hospital chain in 1987 that later became the $23 billion Columbia/HCA. He was ousted from this post in 1997 after an FBI investigation of Columbia/HCA that led to 14 felony convictions and $1.7 billion in criminal and civil fines for Medicare fraud. ‘Nuff said?
OMG! Millions are unemployed, Obama has started a lot but completed anything and he goes on vacation. Most Americans hope he stays on vacation forever.
Your web log is so informative … Preserve up the prestigious exercise!!!!
Interesting how all the previous comments(including the Ad),given time, have revealed themselves as facts as the “plan(s)” has been finally released…It seems many Americans are reading all versions of the bill and have the ability to comprehend it’s meaning as it relates to all Americans…Good or Bad !!