A new Democratic National Committee radio ad attacks Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL), the Republican nominee for President Obama’s former Senate seat, for voting against reform — and in the course of the attack, the ad co-opts a long-running GOP talking point against government involvement in health care.
“Now Mark Kirk is vowing to repeal reform - and put the insurance industry back in charge of your health care,” the announcer says. “Call Congressman Mark Kirk at (202) 225-3121 and tell him - hands off our health care.”
Of course, “hands off our health care” has been the long-time slogan of the kinds of folks decrying supposed government takeovers — to the point of its ultimate absurdity, the sort of people who would tell their Congressman to keep their government hands off of Medicare.
But now that the Democrats have passed a comprehensive health care bill, “our health care” now means the collective social responsibilities of mandated health insurance with accompanying regulation of the insurance industry. Can it fit on a bumper sticker?
Eric Kleefeld
Eric Kleefeld joined TPM as an intern for the final months of the 2006 midterm elections, and then kept showing up for work. His other interests include guitars, old comic books and the politics of various English-speaking countries.
Facebook Conversations
Questions about commenting with non-Facebook accounts like Yahoo, or other concerns? Click here to read the TPM Commenting FAQ.