Chamber Of Commerce Solicits Money For Economist Who Will Give Bad Review Of Health Care Bill

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is soliciting funds to pay an economist $50,000 to study health care reform legislation and issue (what the lobby presumes) will be a negative review, providing ammunition to shoot down health care reform in the Senate, according to The Washington Post.

The Newspaper obtained an e-mail from James P. Gelfand, the senior manager of health policy at the Chamber of Commerce detailing how the plan would work:

"The economist will then circulate a sign-on letter to hundreds of other economists saying that the bill will kill jobs and hurt the economy. We will then be able to use this open letter to produce advertisements, and as a powerful lobbying and grass-roots document.

The lobby's senior vice president seems to contradict Gelfand's email as he explains it, saying that the group never intended to say how the economist's study would turn out.

The Post report is the latest to document the business lobby's efforts to stop health care reform in the Senate and the House. On Oct. 27, the Chamber Of Commerce announced that it would air TV ads in seven states and on national cable television attacking the legislation and its government-run insurance option. The Chamber of Commerce aired its commercials in Maine, Louisiana and Arkansas. The House health care bill passed on Nov. 7 with a vote of 220-215 and the sole GOP vote for the bill came from Louisiana Republican Rep. Joseph Cao.

According to The National Journal's Under The Influence Blog, the Chamber of Commerce has spent $17.5 million in just three months (July-September), lobbying to shape health policy. The Chamber of Commerce spent more money on health care lobbying than any other group during the third business quarter.

Comments

[aseasonforreason]

Chamber of Horrors strikes again

[Shwazy]

Cart, pull this horse.

Hmm, wonder why nobody is taking this seriously?

[ReedYoung]

"The lobby's senior vice president seems to contradict Gelfand's email as he explains it, saying that the group never intended to say how the economist's study would turn out."

When cops ask suspected drunk drivers to recite the alphabet backwards, it's not to see whether they can. That can be leaned with a little practice, as easily as saying the alphabet forwards. It's so that you'll blurt out "I couldn't even do that if I WAS sober" at which point they cuff you.

The Chamber of Commerce senior vice president's apology is not directed to the public, but to its corporate members. He apologized for publicly being caught telling the truth.

[patsydecline]

from my own experience---- the former president of the local chamber of commerce
treated me like crap while i was doing elder care for their mother...i have never felt so exploited
by anyone doing elder care work... i was told one wage paid another, was expected to be her maid, dog keeper while caring for her mother... if this is any indication of the mentality that drives this organization, there is nothing moral or remotely valuing of humans(save for what they can get out of them for the least cost) about them... and from what i read, i don't think i'm too far off the mark...”

[NHGranite]

Yeah, look for that bogus factoid because God knows there are no other countries that are managing health care for everyone and at a much lower cost than here. Why, those democracies must all be socialist (huh?)

We now have a government of the Lobbyists, by the Lobbyists and for the Lobbyists

[groosemoose]

Don't you know? Socialism is for the rich. The rest of us have to fight for the very air we breathe.

[josephXY]

The media, first of all the newspapers are experiencing the phenomenon of readers deserting
them. There are at least several hundred motives to be found why readers get rid of a paper.
One of them could easily be to kill, once and for all, the messenger at all. No more ads from
lobbyists of all kinds for instance. A very effecient way to save problems, headaches and money.
Such voices / pundits may be one more nail in the coffin, against all other forecasts:
http://www.newspaperdeathwatch.com/

[Alexandre Laudet]

I am confused by many of the actions of the chamber of commerce, aren't they also holding up the e-verify program? who exactly are they supposed to be serving and why are they acting so counter to the public's interest?

[martiniandabotoxchaser]

One more voice heard. Kind of too little too late. Not enough to sway Congress.

[ChiGuy]

Thus far, I have only been able to obtain the names of a few of the Chamber's larger members.
I strongly urge you to bo ycott these supporters of the Chamber's activities:

Avis, Budget, Sam's Club, and Monster.com.

[ChiGuy]

Oh...and FedEx.

[Stop Wall Street]

Yay Stocks surging. Real unemployment (including those who 'stopped looking' lol) is at 20%. once again ,this proves that the government is in the tank for Wall Street or else there would be more jobs even if the jobs arn't considered efficient by economist standards.

good articles: http://financeopinionss.blogspot.com

The only beneficiaries of this 'v shaped' recovery are the bankers, fund managers, and rest of the top 1%

[wilywolf]

The U.S. Chamber of Congress promotes one thing: unfettered big business, monopolization, unaccounta­bility---a­ny policy that puts more money in the hands of the wealthy irregardless of the consequences to people, the environment, right and wrong. They are a patheitic lobbying arm fo big business. Kudos to Apple for dumping their sorry ass.

[autumncolors]

{{Lobbyists only serve to confuse the electorate. There are opposite views on everything, truthful or not.....,and they exploit that every time....,}]

They dont confuse the electorate: they THWART it.

[autumncolors]

{I think you are mixing up the power grab-it's not the government (yet) it's CORPORATE! They have slowly been taking over our gov't for a long time but it has become very evident now. They are writing our laws and the bought off Senate isn't even trying to hide that. You are partially correct but I hope you understand where the real threat is. Democracy is doomed if we allow it. It will now be "by & for Corporate" and we are just expected to buy their product and be silent and happy with the crumbs. We have been played for the last 30 years.}

bump

[autumncolors]

{{Er---the Chamber uses lobbyists and campaign donations to effect an elected officials vote on a particular policy--thus the corruption keepyourheaddown* speaks of.

It is have become glaringly obvious who the true voters are--the corporations and moneyed organizations.

It's unfortunate how jaded I have become--I was once a very optimistic person, but I don't remember when gov't passed a piece of legislation based on the needs of the people that wasn't completely gutted or defanged or amended by corporate interests.}}

we have to stop lobbyists before it is too late. We will never get any meaningful change done with corporate lobbyists entrenched in DC.

[LS1958]

Hey, at least they're being honest about what they want and what they're willing to pay for it.

[autumncolors]

It is all about Wall street folks and lobbying.