[Apologetics] Obama Backers Outspend Conservative Opponents Nearly 3-to-1 on Healthcare Ads

[Art Kelly]

Conservatives must make a determined effort to communicate with the
public about the evils of Obamacare through extensive use of talk radio,
letters to the editor, and blogs.
 
Art
 
Newsmax.com


Obama Backers Outspend Conservative Opponents Nearly 3-to-1 on
Healthcare Ads

Sunday, August 16, 2009 9:25 PM




 
	

Supporters of President Barack Obama's healthcare plans are outspending
rivals nearly 3-to-1 even as Democrats complain about the grass-roots
protests that have broken out around the country. 

Those backing the administration's plans to overhaul the U.S. healthcare
system radically have spent nearly $24 million worth of advertising,
compared with just $9 million from opponents, according to The New York
Times. 

"I'm up against a dozen groups running ads that will spend between $50
million and $80 million to promote a public plan and promote an employer
mandate, regardless of the cost," said R. Bruce Josten, executive vice
president for governmental affairs for the United States Chamber of
Commerce, which has produced ads attacking the Obama administration's
ideas about healthcare. "We're trying to create a dialogue rather than
cede the ground." 

An additional $24 million has been spent broadly in support of
overhauling the system without backing a specific plan. And even that
figure doesn't include much of the money being spent by think thanks,
sympathetic political media sites, and other elements of the Democratic
Party's media machine. 

Geoff Garin, a Democratic pollster who is advising several Democrats on
Capitol Hill, told the Times that whoever defines the debate would win
it. 

"Opponents are trying to cement the notion that this is all about
government-run health care," Garin said, "while supporters want to
cement the notion that this is about fixing a badly broken system." 

But the Democratic message has been crippled by in-fighting within its
own ranks as the far left of the party has slammed Obama and centrists
for readily dropping the idea of "single-payer" socialized medicine.
Some pollsters attribute the severe erosion in support for the
president's plans to this trend, in addition to the unexpected
groundswell at town hall meetings around the country. 

In a highly unusual move, the Democratic committee attacked senators
from its own party - Kent Conrad of North Dakota, Evan Bayh of Indiana,
Bill Nelson of Florida, Mary L. Landrieu of Louisiana, Blanche Lincoln
of Arkansas, and Ben Nelson of Nebraska - who have been skeptical about
an overhaul or the public option. The spot shows average voters with
tales of woe who say "It's time" for an overhaul. 

Organizing for America, the reconstituted Obama campaign team, is
working hand in hand with the Democratic National Committee and features
the "It's time" commercial on its Web site. 

Liberal groups such as MoveOn.org are presenting more personal attacks
against conservative House Democrats, including Representatives John
Barrow of Georgia, Jim Matheson of Utah, and Charlie Melancon of
Louisiana, all of whom voted against a Democratic health bill in
committee. The advertisements tell viewers in those districts that their
congressman "sided with the special interests and insurance companies." 

In addition, the conservative message implicit any many anti-overhaul
ads is much easier to convey: no government bureaucracies, no rationing
of healthcare, and the freedom to choose one's own physician. 

As an example, the Times cited one commercial showing a red balloon that
expands as the narrator warns that an overhaul would increase deficits,
taxes, and government control. Eventually, the balloon pops. 

The White House conceded to the Times that Obama, who is stumping the
country for his healthcare plan, has lost some ground. They blame it
partly on what they call "misleading advertisements" suggesting that the
government will ration healthcare or that senior citizens will be denied
end-of-life care. 

Both sides are broadcasting their message in many of the same
battleground states - including Arkansas, Colorado, Louisiana, Maine,
Nebraska and North Carolina - to reach conservative Democrats and
moderate Republicans who may determine the fate of the bill. 

In a $12 million advertising buy that began in 12 states last week, a
coalition of drug companies, doctors, for-profit hospitals, and union
members defended overhauling the system. With piano music playing over
pictures of patients with health care workers, the commercial portrays
the overhaul as providing "quality, affordable care you can count on."
The coalition calls itself Americans for Stable Quality Care. 

"It's very carefully drafted," Ken Johnson, senior vice president of the
Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, one of the biggest
players in the debate in support of an overhaul, said of the commercial.
"We don't want to fan the flames; we want to calm people down." 

The "red balloon" commercial was sponsored by the United States Chamber
of Commerce. Josten told the Times that his group started advertising in
Arkansas, Colorado, Louisiana, Maine, and North Carolina to bolster
lawmakers who had expressed opposition to a government-run insurance
option. The chamber expanded its multimillion-dollar advertising
campaign last week to 15 more states. 

"I'm up against a dozen groups running ads that will spend between $50
million and $80 million to promote a public plan and promote an employer
mandate, regardless of the cost," Josten said. "We're trying to create a
dialogue rather than cede the ground." 




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