The egg is on the face of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee this morning for calling Arizona Congressman Ben Quayle a "hypocrite" for accepting government funded health care. The problem being Quayle never actually accepted it.
The DCCC put out a press release yesterday with the headline "Health care hypocrite Ben Quayle's government funded care starts today."
Quayle, as you may know, is currently (ahem) "knocking the hell out of
Washington," and is one of the many GOP voices calling for a repeal of
President Barack Obama's health care reform bill, so if he were
accepting government funded health care, he could probably be considered
a hypocrite -- but he's not, which the DCCC apparently failed to check
out.
"It didn't take long for Representative Ben Quayle to go Washington.
Representative Quayle is accepting government funded health care,
despite continuing the push to repeal the health reform benefits for
middle income families," said Jesse Ferguson of the Democratic
Congressional Campaign Committee. "Representative Ben Quayle apparently
believes that repealing health insurance reform and putting private
insurance companies back in charge of our health care may be good for
his constituents, but it's not good for his very own family.
Representative Quayle is the worst kind of hypocrite - one who looks out
for themselves instead of their constituents."
It seems the DCCC
sent several versions of the same email, each with the name of a
different member of Congress who accepted their Congressional health
plan. As Quayle spokesman Richard Cullen points out, "perhaps next time,
before hitting CTRL+V, the DCCC will do a little fact checking."
See the full press release below
From: DCCC Press [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Tuesday, February 01, 2011 9:37 AM
To:
Subject: Health Care Hypocrite Representative Ben Quayle's Government Funded Care Starts Today
Health Care Hypocrite Representative Ben Quayle's Government Funded Care Starts Today
Despite running a campaign largely focused on repealing government funded health care, today Representative Ben Quayle's government funded health care benefits go into effect. Representative Ben Quayle opposed an effort to make sure that repeal of health insurance reform would only move forward if a majority of Members of Congress gave up their own government health care. He even opposed a simple measure to make transparent whether Members of Congress accepted government funded health care.
At least 15 Republicans, keeping with the spirit of their congressional campaigns, are not taking their government health care while they fight to repeal health care for millions of Americans.
"It didn't take long for Representative Ben Quayle to go Washington. Representative Quayle is accepting government funded health care, despite continuing the push to repeal the health reform benefits for middle income families," said Jesse Ferguson of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. "Representative Ben Quayle apparently believes that repealing health insurance reform and putting private insurance companies back in charge of our health care may be good for his constituents, but it's not good for his very own family. Representative Quayle is the worst kind of hypocrite - one who looks out for themselves instead of their constituents."
According to recent polling, "Most Americans think incoming Congressmen who campaigned against the health care bill should put their money where their mouth is and decline government provided health care now that they're in office."
Background
· Taxpayer funded health care for new Members of Congress begins on February 1, 2011. [POLITICO, 11/15/11]
· Representative Ben Quayle voted against a measure that would require a majority of Members of the House of Representatives and Senate to waive their FEHB benefits before enactment of the repeal legislation would go into effect. [H.R. 2, Vote #13, 1/19/11]
· Representative Ben Quayle voted to hide his government funded health care from constituents. [H Res 5, Vote #5, 1/05/11]
· Polling shows most Americans oppose health care hypocrisy. "Most Americans think incoming Congressmen who campaigned against the health care bill should put their money where their mouth is and decline government provided health care now that they're in office." [Public Policy Polling, 11/23/10]
· At least 15 House Republicans who ran in strong opposition to government health care have publicly announced they will not accept congressional health care. They include Representatives Cory Gardner (CO-04), Nan Hayworth (NY-19), Paul Gosar (AZ-01), Bobby Schilling (IL-17), Mike Kelly (PA-03), Joe Walsh (IL-08), Bill Johnson (OH-06), Daniel Webster (FL-08), Sandy Adams (FL-24), Frank Guinta (NH-01), Rich Nugent (FL-05), David McKinley (WV-01), Scott Rigell (VA-02), Bob Dold (IL-10), and Chris Gibson (NY-20).
###
For Immediate Release, February 1, 2011
CONTACT: Jennifer Crider & Jesse Ferguson (202) 485-3440
