Senate GOP Mailer Suggests Dem Health Care System Will Discriminate By Race

Senate Republicans are mailing out a "survey" insinuating that the president's health care reform agenda includes the creation of a lottery system to determine who gets medical treatment and a quota system that based on race and age.

Written under the vague and non-partisan title of "U.S. Senate Health Care Task Force," the mailing, which includes a fundraising letter, was commissioned by the National Republican Senatorial Committee and passed to the Huffington Post by a Democratic source. It asks recipients to respond to several misleading questions, including:

Are you concerned that health care rationing could lead to:

23. Denial of treatment in cases where the patient's prospects are deemed not good?
24. A "lottery" system of determining who will get priority treatment?
25. A "quota" system which would determine who would determine who would get treatment on the basis of race or age?

The mailer also suggests that the legislative proposals being considered by Congress would give the federal government the power to:

• Pick who is "eligible" for certain medical procedures? • Pick your doctor for you? • Restrict certain medical procedures on the basis of age? • Put strict price controls on medicine and drugs? • Penalize you for choosing to see a private doctor • Seriously undermine private health care insurers who currently serve tens of millions of Americans?

BELOW IS A PORTION OF THE MAILER:

NRSCsurvey1 -

Here is the survey:

All of these descriptions are either intentionally misleading or deeply contested interpretations of the health care provisions put forth by Democrats. And while the name and NRSC title -- "Chairman" -- of Senator John Cornyn, (R-Texas) is listed in the header, there is no mention of the fact that he's a Republican. Only in the sixth paragraph is it revealed that "Republican leadership of the United States Senate" commissioned the survey.

In addition to asking recipients to fill out the survey, Cornyn also encourages donations "of at least $25, $50, or even $100 to help finance this project and elect Republicans to the U.S. Senate."

Mailers such as these are standard fare in legislative and political battles, certainly those as hotly contested as the current health care debate. But recently they seem to be the preferred practice of Republican campaign committees. Several weeks ago, the Republican National Committee was roundly criticized for sending out a mailer which erroneously suggested that President Obama's health care proposal would discriminate against Republicans.

"It has been suggested that the government could use voter registration to determine a person's political affiliation, prompting fears that GOP voters might be discriminated against for medical treatment in a Democrat-imposed health care rationing system," read the mailer. "Does this possibility concern you?"

Comments

[SocialistBoy]

O.K. One more time:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/matt-mackowiak/gov-rick-perry-once-pushe_b_294060.html

[SocialistBoy]

This fellow John Corn-yn is slime in a suit!! He is from the same school as the thief, William Phil Gramm.
All the texas politicos go in for the money: See tom delay. End of Story

[SocialistBoy]

A little other something from HP:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/matt-mackowiak/gov-rick-perry-once-pushe_b_294060.html

[Rodger leMonde]

Why do they insist in projecting their evil plans on everyone else?
Because it's not evil when they do it, just when they project it on others..

[plaidsportcoat]

YAAA-A-A-AY!
SAMMY'S BACK!
I MISSED YOUR CUTE MUG ON ED SCHULTZ.
HOPE YOU HAD A GREAT VACATION OR WHATEVER YOU WERE DOING.

[DleitSwede]

Call them out! Call out all repubs who stand behind this. Then expose the falsehoods. No more tolerance for misinformation.

[evenso]

When asked on Faux News by Greta van-- what Republicans had done in the eight years they had power to reform healthcare, RNC Chair Michael Steele said he "had no idea". On NPR, Steele wouldn't answer the question, "what should the government role be in healthcare?"

That's republican leadership on healthcare....

[lvdragonlady]

Just one more reason why we have to make sure that NONE of these guys win in the next election. WE can not have destroying America because of their ignorance.

[steamboat]

Unlike all of you, I'm a recipient of PUBLIC HEALTHCARE (the Veteran's Administration). I'm a disabled Vietnam vet.......Its messed-up, but NOT BECAUSE OF RACE......I have fellow vets (of all races) who are given bad care. Honestly, it depends on location. Which VA Hospital. Which Out-Patient Clinic. Some are far far better then others. I go to my Wednesday meetings at my Vet Center. We got one guy who is finally getting his needed radiation (cancer), but 5 months late because some worker lost his paper-work. Happens alot. I have another friend denied a needed diabetes pump because some civil-service worker at the VA deemed it too expensive. The Marian (IL) VA Hospital used non-certified doctors and staff. 1200 vets misdiagnosed been told they have a fatal disease when they didn't. Vets in 3 VA hospitals coming-up HIV due to dirty equipment used. This happens. I've twice experienced having a 9:30AM appointment and when noon comes around and a bunch of us still aren't seen, we inquire only to be told, "oh, they didn't come in today." ....I bring this up because the VA services about 2 million vets. So I have a right to worry that servicing 300 million people will be a huge failure. That doesn't make us racists and nazi's. I've witnessed and am a recipient, are you?

[babyboomerorig]

We've been through the VA Health Care, too. My late husband had a number of experiences with the hospitals. One doctor at the Cinncinati, Ohio, hospital, never checked his heart, blood pressure, lungs...nothing, but felt he'd done enough to lower his disability from 100% to 60%. (He'd had 4 heart attacks at the end of his Nam tours, quad bypass, excessive steroids) , however the WPAFB had some of the best care in the country at the time. Then, on to Eglin AFB, FL, excellent care and diagnostic procedures....finally to Columbia, SC. He had access to both the VA Hospital and Ft. Jackson Hospital and doctors. Ft. Jackson used many doctors from the surrounding hospitals to come in on various days to see patients and would see them at their offices off base. Fantastic care. Our 4 kids spent a lot of time in ER with broken bones, sprains, etc. Again, excellent care.

Hospital uses outside the VA system. Maybe 1 out of 10 isn't bad, but it's sure not good enough. We get better service from the techs than the doctors with one huge exception...a heart hospital. We don't go to the doctor any more because there's no coverage due to pre-existing conditions. My doctor is wonderful and has me come in for B/P at no charge.

I'd much rather be able to get a yearly physical and know if something's amiss than taking the chances I am now.

[armadillo]

OK.... Everyone who thinks my senator gives one wit about folks with brown skin please stand up....

Crickets.....

[mamalisa38]

The Republican party is morally bankrupt.

[ladyearth]

Just as there are no statesmen in the Republican party, there is no integrity in the Republican party. The only values the Republican party holds is lies and provoking hysteria. The Republican party is busy building a critical mass of mediocrity gleaned from the hysteria it evokes in its followers.

[osage]

TODAY’S REPUBLICANS ARE AMERICA'S ENEMY WITHIN

Republicans ARE practicing seditious DEMAGOGUERY and purposefully counterproductive OBSTRUCTIONISM intended to destabilize our economy for purposes of political exploitation.

Republicans AREN'T making a sincere effort to STOP the bleeding THEIR incompetent leadership and failed policies created. Instead, they're using inflammatory lies and accusations as a smokescreen to conceal their subversive agenda, which is to cause President Obama and America to fail so they can blame Democrats for the consequences of THEIR calamitous mismanagement.

Republicans ARE preposterously professing that THEIR disgraceful political WHORING had nothing to do with the banking, real estate, stock market and employment catastrophes that resulted.

Republicans ARE trying to hamstring Democrats to prevent them from repairing the damage caused during a Republican presidency.

Republicans ARE offering ridiculous arguments meant solely to disrupt and prevent progressive change. They'd rather divide America and create political gridlock than endure the political consequences of effective Democratic governance.

Republicans AREN'T the LOYAL OPPOSITION; they ARE the ENEMY WITHIN whose mercenary personal priorities have eroded their moral and ethical standards to the point that duplicity and betrayal are their preferred modus operandi.

It's one thing to advocate their conservative beliefs; it's another thing entirely to willfully sabotage America's government because a successful Democratic presidency would not be vulnerable to the greed, fears and hatreds that have produced and sustained the radical Republican corporatism and anti-Christian racist social divisions that are poisoning and crippling America.

[lvdragonlady]

Well said!! Bravo!!

[Bude]

D
O
G

[ilse]

The republican party is absolutely worthless. They have spent the entire year with one lie after another. They do nothing for this country. Their only interest is to mud sling and prevent president Obama from passing a public healthcare plan in hopes that will ruin the democratic party and give them more power. Never gonna happen. They have disgraced their party and are an embarassment to our country.

[imsosure]

This guy is the bigoted racist, no one has to buy into his ludicrous accusations.