Pounding The Message
by digby
I mentioned last week that Blanche Lincoln was holding an online chat on health care Saturday. You can watch a replay of the event at this link. And you can see several Arkansans pointedly question the Senator about her opposition to a public option in health care.
Here are some sample comments, taken from the chat:
[Comment From Ray and Judy ]
We are terribly disappointed that you have caved in to the insurance industry and failed to support the public option for health care. It may very well affect our vote for you in the next election.[Comment From Nathan – Rogers ]
As long as hospitals and insurance company executive are paid based on the profits their comapnies make, how can we expect the focus to be on the patient without a public option?[Comment From Jesse Barr, Winslow, AR ]
Changing the rules will not work! The insurance companies will stall and obfuscate and pay any fines as a cost of doing business! Competition is the ONLY way to make the insurance corporations change their behavior![Comment From Shannon, Little Rock ]
Did the bill you supported in the Finance Committee have a public option?[Comment From “Doc” – Fayetteville ]
It seems to me that you are more inclined to keep insurance companies in the health care business than you are to see people provided health care… Please comment. Do insurance companies NEED to sell health care policies to survive?[Comment From Stan Wilson ]
Again why are you opposed to a public option or everyone having the same health care options that you have?
Dday writes that over half of the questions were along these lines and that Lincoln’s staff chose the questions, which indicates to me that these were all they had to choose from. After all, Lincoln dodged and weaved like Mohammed Ali trying no to answer them.
I have to think it may have helped that there were some TV ads playing all over the state for the past three months — thanks to you — asking those same questions.
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