ObamaCare: The Unreality-based Community vs. Sen. Nelson
posted at 8:30 am on August 4, 2009 by Karl
The HuffPo’s Nico Pitney reports on the Left’s counter-productive campaign for ObamaCare in Nebraska:
Senator Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) lashed out Friday at the ads being run against his position on health care reform in his home state, saying they would backfire — and might even derail the entire reform process.
In a statement issued late in the afternoon by Nelson’s office, spokesman Jake Thompson warned that if the new series of ads calling out the Senator’s “stalling” on reform were “an indication of the politics going into August, then health care reform may be dead by the end of August.”
“Nebraskans don’t need outside special interest groups telling them what to think. Senator Nelson has nothing but praise for Nebraska groups working toward health care reform. Unfortunately, he says, these outside groups undermine the sincere and dedicated efforts of people in our state,” Thompson wrote. “Recently, similar ads have run in Nebraska. Those ads by other special interests prompted hundreds of Nebraskans to call our offices, with 9 to 1 urging Senator Nelson to do exactly the opposite of what the special interest group wanted. In short, the ads backfired.”
The response to Nelson from the Left was sadly predictable. The Washington Monthly’s Steve Benen called his statement “petty.” At the misnamed Moderate Voice, Kathy Kattenburg calls Nelson “awfully touchy.” OpenLeft’s Paul Rosenberg goes straight to profanity.
All of the above — not to mention the New York Times blurb on the story — avoid the part about the hundreds of calls to Nelson’s office, running 9 to 1 against ObamaCare. While those telephone calls are not a scientific sample, they are a tangible reminder that poll after poll shows that strong opponents of ObamaCare greatly outnumber strong supporters. Intensity matters, as any study of issues like abortion or gun control will reveal. It is an incovenient truth for the Left.
Instead, Lefties like Rosenberg and the founder of one of the groups named in the HuffPo report prefer to accuse Nelson of being bought by health and insurance interests. It is true that Nelson has been both chief executive officer of an insurance company and Nebraska’s state insurance regulator, and has received a lot of donations from insurance and health care interests in his three campaigns for federal office. However, even by Rosenberg’s numbers, Nelson has collected more from Omaha and Lincoln than from the insurance and health industries. And the truth is that there is significant overlap. Nebraska has a sizeable insurance industry, most of it located in Omaha. Nebraska’s 25 largest employers include Mutual of Omaha and 10 different medical centers. It is thus no surprise that Nebraskans are intensely interested in the Democrats’ efforts to fundamentally restructure their businesses.
There is also the tiny little fact that Nebraska has been a red state since 1964.
The current state of play has the Democrats looking to steamroll moderates in the Senate (x2) and the House. Indeed, there is another round of sabre-rattling about ramming a partisan healthcare bill through the budget reconciliation process, though that is a risky gamble under the best of circumstances. Immaturely accusing a key Senator of being petty and corrupt probably worsens the Left’s odds, but I wish them the best of luck with that tactic.
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Update: There was intensity on display over the weekend in Philadelphia, where “[a] raucous standing-room-only crowd of more than 400 cheered, jeered, and booed Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter.” Let’s go to the video.
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The default position of the netroots is hatred. The attacks on fellow democrats are no surprise. In regards to the left you are either with them, or an enemy of the earth, the poor, racists, war criminal, fundie, etc. etc.
rob verdi on August 4, 2009 at 8:33 AM
everyone: go to a townhall event. and call all your Senator’s/Cong’s offices: the DC & local offices. the DC phone operators are liable to be sort of jaded,but the local people could actually respond to our overwhelming call volume!
kelley in virginia on August 4, 2009 at 8:34 AM
We may have reached our tipping point as ,normal,red-blooded,thinking Americans but unfortunately the obama-media will go down w/him!
ohiobabe on August 4, 2009 at 8:34 AM
by the way reconciliation is the least likely course of events, its sounds simple, it isn’t and if the democrats end up on that path there is a chance a bill wouldn’t get passed this year.
rob verdi on August 4, 2009 at 8:34 AM
Oh the irony! I remember in the 60s that the “Outside Agitators” were responsible for creating unrest among the otherwise contented Negroes (term of art for the time, no offense intended)
Filecchio on August 4, 2009 at 8:36 AM
by the way all of us who went to tea parties or are voicing opinions at town halls are on the payrolls of lobbying groups. Another default position of the left is that opposition cannot be grassroots but must astro-turfing, this is known as projection.
rob verdi on August 4, 2009 at 8:37 AM
Didn’t I read this somewhere yesterday?
(Could some one define “astrotrufing” for me?)
davidk on August 4, 2009 at 8:42 AM
Oh yea, then where’s my check…. I want my money damn it….
doriangrey on August 4, 2009 at 8:42 AM
also, on some Virginia blogs, the libs say that all those voicing opinions at townhalls are crazies & only represent some small percentage of the population.
they say we are all “birthers” & all Republicans are “racists”. see the website NotLarrySabato
meanwhile, the Republican gubernatorial ticket is up 10 points over Dem ticket. and i think that is mainly because people are dissatisfied with the Dems.
kelley in virginia on August 4, 2009 at 8:43 AM
It’s the political version of FUD….
doriangrey on August 4, 2009 at 8:44 AM
Does your Congressional clunker need to be traded in on the cash for clunkers program, and disabled?
tarpon on August 4, 2009 at 8:45 AM
FIFY… ;)
doriangrey on August 4, 2009 at 8:46 AM
It’s a term for faking a “grassroots” movement, astroturf being that green indoor sports carpet which is supposed to imitate grass.
LibTired on August 4, 2009 at 8:47 AM
It’s getting hard to keep track of all the town halls and rallies where the Tea Parties and the opponents to nationalized health care dominate. We had to create a special ‘Elsewhere’ sidebar just to keep up with the latest.
If Nelson wants to squash these leftists for good, all he needs to do is announce a town hall. The Tea Party movement will take care of the rest
michaelo on August 4, 2009 at 8:47 AM
Thank you.
davidk on August 4, 2009 at 8:48 AM
Laura Ingraham said on Fox and Friends this morning that the Senators and Representatives would rather stick with their self-imposed isolation in D.C. than listen to their constituents. Basically, it has gotten to the point where they feel like we serve them. They don’t serve us.
kingsjester on August 4, 2009 at 8:49 AM
Nelson probably isnt fool enough to risk a town hall, he may be having problems with the left but the Tea Party participants are not happy with any politician and he probably would be afraid to hear what they have to say.
doriangrey on August 4, 2009 at 8:52 AM
And don’t forget “RECESS.”
davidk on August 4, 2009 at 8:53 AM
I think Senator Nelson is getting lots and lots of phone calls, faxes, e-mails, and petitions to vote no on the Health Scam.
Keep it up Nebraska!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
yoda on August 4, 2009 at 8:55 AM
I see more “fact finding” trips for Congress then townhalls or even trips home. I hope the constitutents remember this behavior at election time.
Cindy Munford on August 4, 2009 at 9:01 AM
Kind of reminds me of the way many so called conservatives attack libertarians whenever the chance presents itself.
MarkTheGreat on August 4, 2009 at 9:01 AM
In a attempt to fight back against the outrageous spending spree and government control of our health care, the democrats are taking “deadly” aim at the insurance industry. Once again, the big bad insurance corporations, (owned by shareholders and public stockholders) is the “tool” being used by the democrats. While the insurance industry may be in need of reform, (along with tort reform), this is a typical ploy by the democrats who use social class warfare to pit “the rich corporations vs. the poor”—all under their “curtain” of taking over another free market industry and passing it into full government control. It’s all about money and power folks, and YOUR government is going after it full throttle.
Rovin on August 4, 2009 at 9:04 AM
“Stop informing people and we’ll be able to get this done. Fast.’ Ben Nelson, D, Nebraska.
TinMan13 on August 4, 2009 at 9:05 AM
I believe it was Doggett, who stated this weekend, that even if the majority of his constituents were against the health care bill, he would vote for it.
At one point in time, it was thought that we sent Representatives to congress to represent us.
Under the modern interpretation, we send them there to take care of us.
MarkTheGreat on August 4, 2009 at 9:05 AM
where can we get a copy of the bill that the Senate Energy & commerce committee pieced together last friday?
also, where is the latest bill that came out of committee in the House. I dare not ask a question in a town hall from a bill that has already been trashed.
kelley in virginia on August 4, 2009 at 9:05 AM
oh please, the libertarians are just like left-wing wackos…ever read lewrockwell.com?? hate-filled wackos.
right4life on August 4, 2009 at 9:06 AM
I wonder – IF the Feds take over health care, can they deny coverage for high risk behaviors, like drinking, smoking, and having guns in the house?
TinMan13 on August 4, 2009 at 9:07 AM
golly, when the Dems take down the insurance industry, they’ll have it all, won’t they?
kelley in virginia on August 4, 2009 at 9:07 AM
And Republicans are all hate filled racists. Ever listen to David Duke?
/sarc
MarkTheGreat on August 4, 2009 at 9:07 AM
Pants on fire
Wade on August 4, 2009 at 9:07 AM
tinman: my parents taught me never to lie, but i’m growing out of that. i will lie about guns in my house.
kelley in virginia on August 4, 2009 at 9:07 AM
FIFY.
TinMan13 on August 4, 2009 at 9:08 AM
Just relax… with the media reporting a tea party group at 300 while police estimated the crowd at 8-10 thousand, I’m sure that public opinion will be 65% in favor of government health care by September. CNN poll. NYT poll. You pick it… it will be above 60% in favor by the time they get back to DC.
CC
CapedConservative on August 4, 2009 at 9:09 AM
I’ve read lewrockwell, and dailykos…could have been written by the same person…bush-hating, lincoln-hating, wackos.
right4life on August 4, 2009 at 9:10 AM
I’ll let ‘em discuss it with the dog, first. He’s cranky.
TinMan13 on August 4, 2009 at 9:10 AM
caped conservative: yeah i saw that on beck yesterday. the media says 300 people showed up for tea party event in Missouri (?). judge napolitano spoke there & he said crowd was enormous. he said police told him crowd was 8-10,000.
such a blatant lie should get someone in media in trouble. alas.
kelley in virginia on August 4, 2009 at 9:14 AM
Classic Alinsky. Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it. The dems strategy is to make the insurance companies the evil enemy.
ICBM on August 4, 2009 at 9:14 AM
As the trolls said in the Hobbit: “Perhaps there’s more about, and we might make a stew”
Rovin on August 4, 2009 at 9:16 AM
So you actually believe that all libertarians are clones of lew rockwell????
By that logic, the left is justified in claiming that all Republicans are clones of David Duke.
MarkTheGreat on August 4, 2009 at 9:17 AM
lets start first by taking those insurance companies (the property & casualty part) that covers the Ca. wildfires. let those left-wingers pay for their own damn $10 zillion house.
yeah, health ins, life ins, disability ins, car & auto ins will be free. that will help in my household. yippee.
kelley in virginia on August 4, 2009 at 9:18 AM
BTW, what’s wrong with hating the man who felt that preserving the empire was more important than following the Constitution?
MarkTheGreat on August 4, 2009 at 9:18 AM
unfortunately I haven’t met any libertarians that disabuse me of that notion.
right4life on August 4, 2009 at 9:26 AM
thanks for confirming what I said.
right4life on August 4, 2009 at 9:27 AM
According to Sebelius, the HealthCare Bill has not been written yet so how can we expect the Congress to have read it.
But, hey, let’s pass it anyway–we’ll iron out the details later
davidk on August 4, 2009 at 9:29 AM
The liberals cannot handle massive pushback. They are not used to it, and were not expecting it.
They declared war on our taxes. They expected quick victory and a total surrender.
Unfortunately for them, they actually have a WAR.
Yoop on August 4, 2009 at 9:29 AM
Respectfully Mark, are you suggesting that preserving the Union was not also de facto preserving the Constitution? I would also submit that “hating” the idea would lead to more credence to your argument than hating the man.
Rovin on August 4, 2009 at 9:32 AM
I personally can’t understand why they are doing Townhalls. Until there is an actual bill to discuss, the general nature of these meetings is going to, of course, offer nothing but opportunities to express fear of the unknown and will increase, not decrease, concerns.
The fact that there are now organized disruptions in the meetings makes it even more sure that the townhalls won’t accomplish much of what was hoped.
But mostly, people would like to see what’s actually going to be in a bill before talking about it.
AnninCA on August 4, 2009 at 9:39 AM
thats never stopped this congress for voting for a bill now has it?
right4life on August 4, 2009 at 9:41 AM
Mandatory “End of Life” counseling starting at 65 and increasing in frequency to have grandma “off herself”,and mandatory “family planning” counseling to channel women into Planned Parenthood clinics, and mandatory “parenting skills” counseling to teach parents the lefty “government” way of doing things. ALL PART OF OUR LEADERS PLAN
Jeff from WI on August 4, 2009 at 9:44 AM
right4life on August 4, 2009 at 9:46 AM
Ich bin der Herrscher der Gesundheitsversorgung.
Johan Klaus on August 4, 2009 at 9:48 AM
I see in the restaurant owner attack ad, they carefully hid his hippie pony tale.
Jeff from WI on August 4, 2009 at 9:52 AM
Do you mean, like the stimulus bill?
Johan Klaus on August 4, 2009 at 9:53 AM
That’s statistically correct right4, but you have to remember, that the black race in general doesn’t care about abortion or planned murder of a race.
Jeff from WI on August 4, 2009 at 9:53 AM
Right Ann. They, (the liberal socialist democrats), had hoped they could control the conversation and this ill-conceived attempt to turn private health care over to the government at a cost that will literally break this nation’s fiscal stability. Your inability to grasp this concept, (or in your case embrace it), speaks volumes about your appearent lack of understanding.
The “organized disruptions” are the general public showing their honest and genuine concern for another government power-grab of a private industry. While Medicare and Social Security are now unfunded and broke, how could any sane citizen condone allowing this government to take control of a program that is 1/6th of this nations economy?
Rovin on August 4, 2009 at 9:59 AM
Pot meet kettle.
chemman on August 4, 2009 at 10:00 AM
But that will mean your beloved Government Option won’t get passed.
chemman on August 4, 2009 at 10:02 AM
Nelson thus far seems unmovable on Obamacare. He strikes me as another “I’m doing this for your own good no matter how much you don’t want it and no matter how much it hurts” types.
There is no way I’ll ever vote this guy again. I believe he’s up for re-election 2012 and as far as I’m concerned, he’s fired. The guy has been a rubber stamp for virtually every piece of Obama’s disastrous fiscal policy.
Yakko77 on August 4, 2009 at 10:05 AM
I can think of several dozen who post on this site on a regular basis. On the hand, when you definition of whacko is, “disagrees with me”, I can understand how you might come to such a conclusion.
MarkTheGreat on August 4, 2009 at 10:08 AM
Thanks for confirming my belief that conservatives don’t care for the constitution any more than do liberals.
The only difference between liberals and conservatives, is what part of your life they want govt to control.
MarkTheGreat on August 4, 2009 at 10:09 AM
I’m thinking about installing a second large spectic tank on my property for hiding my weapons if a gun ban were to occur. But no way will I surrender my firearms
chemman on August 4, 2009 at 10:10 AM
Preserving the Union had absolutely nothing to do with preserving the constitution.
1) The constitution permitted states to leave. So by going to war to force states to stay in, Lincoln violated the constitution.
2) Had the South been allowed to leave, the North still would have had the constitution, so it would have still been preserved.
MarkTheGreat on August 4, 2009 at 10:11 AM
There are no final bills, but there are proposed bills being discussed in committee.
MarkTheGreat on August 4, 2009 at 10:12 AM
Just watched Bill Press on Fox. Called protesters at healthcare reform townhall meetings “ugly”. He said they will hurt republicans. I shouted some very obscene names at the poor tv. He is typical of liberals who have no idea of how the grassroots feel about this topic. Completely out of touch!
donh525 on August 4, 2009 at 10:26 AM
That’s all they know how to say, “if you don’t do what we want you’re bought by this company…you’re bought by that company”. They always leap to the conclusion that their mortal enemy, capitalism, is to blame. It never occurs to them that they just might be the ones who are wrong.
clearbluesky on August 4, 2009 at 10:32 AM
so slavery is OK on an individual basis, but its not OK for the government to enslave…right…that makes total sense…take your tin-foil off!
yeah you libertarians can be the pro-slavery party!!
enjoy!
right4life on August 4, 2009 at 10:45 AM
and of course you libertarians are just fine with killing unborn babies…and you think conservatives can ally themselves with people like you, or even want to??? please. you’re just like the liberal wackos.
right4life on August 4, 2009 at 10:47 AM
wacko is thinking lincoln was a tyrant…who wanted to ‘preserve the empire’ rather then the constitution.
and you prove what wacko is with every post..
right4life on August 4, 2009 at 10:49 AM
Again, I’m basing my assertion on the premise that Lincoln was attempting to not only preserve the union, (both the north and south), but in doing so, also preserving the consititution as written.
Rovin on August 4, 2009 at 10:54 AM
I haven’t seen the country this angry or divided since 1968 and there was a Democrat president in the White House… Remember who got elected in November 1968?!
Khun Joe on August 4, 2009 at 11:00 AM
The WH has a new spokesman for Obama care Spokesman
sonnyspats1 on August 4, 2009 at 11:11 AM
Your assertion fails because letting the South leave wouldn’t have altered a single word or letter of the constitution. On the other hand, forcing the south to stay violated almost every part of the constitution. Not to mention the many unconstitutional things Lincon did in order to prosecute his war.
MarkTheGreat on August 4, 2009 at 11:24 AM
Why is it that conservatives can’t discuss any topic without getting insulting?
I suppose that you actually believe that the Civil War was fought over slavery?
MarkTheGreat on August 4, 2009 at 11:25 AM
Not all libertarians favor abortion, just like not all conservatives oppose it.
Is your mind truely so small that you must assign every member of any group to a single set of characteristics?
MarkTheGreat on August 4, 2009 at 11:26 AM
you’re right, slavery had NOTHING to do with it…it was a conspiracy by LINCOLN, and space aliens, to impose a NEW WORLD ORDER !!!
right
right4life on August 4, 2009 at 11:27 AM
Lincoln was willing to kill millions in order to force the south to stay in a union that it wanted to leave.
Lincoln was willing to shred the constitution in order to do the same.
Lincoln himself said that he didn’t care if the south kept their slaves, so long as they stayed in the union.
Your attempts at deification fail.
MarkTheGreat on August 4, 2009 at 11:28 AM
oh yeah there may be one or two democrats who oppose abortion too…who cares? libertarianism is pro-abortion…get a clue.
right4life on August 4, 2009 at 11:28 AM
you attempt at wackoification succeed!!
Thank God Lincoln freed the slaves…but apparently dehumanizing groups is ok with democrats and libertarians…so much for ‘freedom’
right4life on August 4, 2009 at 11:30 AM
Maybe you should try to read a few history books, before you go out of your way to look so utterly ignorant.
Try reading some of Lincoln’s writtings in which he declared that he was willing to preserve slavery, if it meant preserving the union.
If the war was about slavery, and only slavery, why did Lincoln not issue the Emancipation Proclamation until the war was 2 years old? And why did Lincoln explicitly only free those slaves in southern states, while permitting those in norther states to remain in bondage?
Your desire to deify Lincoln only make you look petty, and ignorant.
MarkTheGreat on August 4, 2009 at 11:30 AM
Oh the irony, and the small minds that don’t perceive when the engage in it.
MarkTheGreat on August 4, 2009 at 11:31 AM
this is the typical libertarian wacko line. its beyond stupid and ignorant.
here’s what your ‘dicator’ said…and its applies to wackos like you…
“Those who deny freedom to others, deserve it not for themselves; and, under a just God, can not long retain it.” The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln edited by Roy P. Basler, Volume III, “Letter To Henry L. Pierce and Others” (April 6, 1859), p. 376.
right4life on August 4, 2009 at 11:40 AM
oh the stupidity. laughable and idiotic. typical libertarian ‘logic’
right4life on August 4, 2009 at 11:43 AM
HOW COME FOR THE LEFT FREE SPEECH AND FREE PRESS ALOWS THEM AND ONLY THEM TO STATE LIES SLANDER AND SHOW HOW F-IN ANTI- AMERICAN THEY ARE DAM IF I OR SOME ON THE RIGHT WHERE TO SAY THE SAME THINGS ABOUT THEM WE ARE HATERS RACISTS AND LAWBREAKERS HOWWWWWWWWWWW COME HOWWW COME I QUOTE THE LATE SEN. SCOOP JACKOSNS TO THEM AND THE CONGRESS
“BEWARE OF AN ANGRY AMERICA”
rone5847 on August 4, 2009 at 11:43 AM
and where did I do this? post the line you think I wrote that ‘deifies’ lincoln.
you are a post boy for liberatarian talking points and stupidity.
right4life on August 4, 2009 at 11:44 AM
guess you missed this from him…
right4life on August 4, 2009 at 11:48 AM
so you liberatarians have no problem with racism and slavery..and killing unborn babies…
shows your character
right4life on August 4, 2009 at 11:50 AM
as far as upholding the constitution there mark…
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
lincoln enforced the constitution…while you liberatarians are OK with men being left unequal.
right4life on August 4, 2009 at 11:54 AM
This is what I love about conservatives (unless you agree with them on everything, you are evil)
I never said that I supported slavery, racism, abortion, or anything, yet r4l assumes that I must.
And to think, liberals often accuse conservatives of being stupid. (in some cases, they are correct)
MarkTheGreat on August 4, 2009 at 11:54 AM
you’re against the civil war, and what lincoln did…so you are OK with the south holding slaves, obviously. how else would you have ended slavery?? war was the only way.
and libertarians are all for abortion…again dehumanizing a group of people, just like slavery does…
so yeah if the shoe fits….
you sure are proving your stupidity with every post.
right4life on August 4, 2009 at 12:04 PM
No, you’re just simply wrong Mark…..on both accounts.
Rovin on August 4, 2009 at 12:41 PM
Slavery was already a dying institution.
Since you are too ignorant to do any research, tell me how slavery was eliminated in the rest of the world.
Your assertions are as usual, based on your ignorance and worshipfull desire of a mass murderer.
MarkTheGreat on August 4, 2009 at 1:55 PM
Since your so convinced that allowing the south to leave would have destroyed the constitution, why don’t you, for once, declare how this would come about.
The north would still have the constitution, and not a single word in the constitution would have been changed.
How pray tell, does that work out to “the destruction of the constitution”?
MarkTheGreat on August 4, 2009 at 1:57 PM
this just proves what a complete and utter wacko nut-case you are. calling lincoln a mass murderer…is beyond the pale, and typical of you left-wing wackos who call yourselves ‘libertarians’
and you think to ally yourselves with conservatives?? we don’t want trash like you.
by Great Britian using their navy to end the slave trade…ie BY FORCE…you jackass
right4life on August 4, 2009 at 2:07 PM
waht is it about ‘all men are created equal’ that you find so offensive???
right4life on August 4, 2009 at 2:08 PM
What else would you call someone who caused the deaths of millions of people because he wanted to force his will on others?
MarkTheGreat on August 4, 2009 at 2:14 PM
again we’re back to the issue of dehumanizing groups, like blacks or unborn babies…that you find either ‘inconvenient’ or somehow beneath you.
you refuse to acknowledge that black people are human beings and entitled to the same CONSTITUTIONAL PROTECTIONS that white people are…that people are equal…and how can be people be slaves to one another when they are equal??? but for people like you, some pigs are more equal than others….
lincoln ENFORCED THE CONSTITUTION…he UPHELD IT…when people like you deny the constitution…
right4life on August 4, 2009 at 2:15 PM
Great Britain blockaded themselves????
That’s an interesting take on reality.
MarkTheGreat on August 4, 2009 at 2:15 PM
he enforced the CONSTITUTION that you say you love so much…
right4life on August 4, 2009 at 2:15 PM
And to think, you actually compared me to the Kos Kids.
Do you have even the foggiest notion how much you sound like them?
MarkTheGreat on August 4, 2009 at 2:16 PM
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