Republican Nevada Senate hopeful Sue Lowden is, predictably, blasting away at Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid for pursuing comprehensive health care reform, issuing all the standard warnings: “a bureaucrat between you and your doctor,” etc., etc.
But in her most recent ad, Lowden falls into a familiar trap.
Did you catch it?
Here’s a hint: “Harry Reid’s big government health care plan will raise taxes, put a bureaucrat between you and your doctor, weaken Medicare, kill jobs, push us further into debt. I’m Sue Lowden and I approve this message because government run health care is wrong.”
National Journal’s Mark Blumenthal, who first flagged the obvious contradiction had this to say: “I worked as a political consultant for about 20 years, and I’m not naive about the, shall we say, exaggerations that are common in campaign advertising. But the absurdity of this one is really remarkable.”
Absurd, but not uncommon. Republicans have waged a consistent campaign against health care reform by warning of the perils of “government health care” while complaining that the proposed reform “cuts Medicare.” Indeed, Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) came to prominence early in the legislative tussle by forcing a vote in the House Energy and Commerce Committee on an amendment to end “government-run Medicare.” Not a single Republican voted for it.
Brian Beutler
Brian Beutler is TPM's senior congressional reporter. Since 2009, he's led coverage of health care reform, Wall Street reform, taxes, the GOP budget, the government shutdown fight, and the debt limit fight. He can be reached at brian@talkingpointsmemo.com.
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