Cornyn Questions WH’s Call to Report ‘Fishy’ Behavior on Health Care
Article Comments (96) Washington Wire HOME PAGE »Email Printer Friendly Permalink Share:
Yahoo! Buzz facebook MySpace LinkedIn Digg del.icio.us NewsVine StumbleUpon Mixx Text Size
Susan Davis reports on politics.
Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn is taking issue with a Tuesday posting on the official White House blog in which the Obama administration asks supporters to report back when they receive “an email or see something on the web about health insurance reform that seems fishy” to an official e-mail address: flag@whitehouse.gov.
Associated Press
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas. sent a letter to President Barack Obama on Wednesday questioning his administration’s request for supporters to report “fishy” behavior on health care to an official White House e-mail address.
“I am not aware of any precedent for a president asking American citizens to report their fellow citizens to the White House for pure political speech that is deemed ‘fishy’ or otherwise inimical to the White House’s political interests,” Cornyn writes today in a harshly worded letter to President Barack Obama in which he asks the president to immediately halt the effort.
It’s not the first time the Obama operation has asked supporters to report back on misinformation spread about the president on the Web—but those efforts were largely conducted through his campaign operation and more recently through the party’s political arm at the Democratic National Committee.
Cornyn, a former member of the Texas state Supreme Court, further suggests that the data that is collected by the White House could “raise the specter of a data collection program.”
“As Congress debates health care reform and other critical policy matters, citizen engagement must not be chilled by fear of government monitoring the exercise of free speech rights.”
If the effort continues, the Texas Republican is asking the administration to detail to Congress and the public the protocols employed by the White House on what they are doing with the data. He further inquires if the administration intends to notify the citizens reported for “fishy” speech.
“Do your own past statements qualify as ‘disinformation’?” Cornyn concludes, “For example, is it ‘disinformation’ to note that in 2003 you said: ‘I happen to be a proponent of a single-payer universal health care plan’?”
The White House blog post was done to respond to a viral video posted on The Drudge Report that used clips of Obama other Democrats to suggest his health care plan will eliminate private insurance and lead to a single-payer system.
Linda Douglass, the communications director for the administration’s Health Reform Office, appears in the video to dispute those claims. Douglass did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Cornyn’s letter.
One more Story on the same topic
evin McCullough
- FOXNews.com
- August 05, 2009
Go Ahead and Report Me -- I'll Shout Louder
What concern is it to the president or his administration if private citizens have disagreements, discussions, and dissections of his proposed take over of the health care industry?
So what has the White House told supporters to do when you run across those who spread "disinformation" about the new attempt by the Obama administration to install the anti-competitive practices of a "public option" into a federalized universal health care initiative?
Report them.
Whether its communicated through e-mail, web sites, blogs, or even casual conversation the executive branch of the federal government is asking you to make them aware of this "disinformation" because they can't keep track of all of the dissenters themselves.
From Tuesday's White House blog entry:
There is a lot of disinformation about health insurance reform out there, spanning from control of personal finances to end of life care. These rumors often travel just below the surface via chain e-mails or through casual conversation. Since we can't keep track of all of them here at the White House, we're asking for your help. If you get an e-mail or see something on the Web about health insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to (edit)
Pardon me for asking such an obvious question, but what concern is it to the president or his administration if private citizens have disagreements, discussions, and dissections of his proposed take over of the health care industry?
Last I checked I had the constitutional right to do so.
But now he wishes to turn one citizen against another?
At dozens of the town hall meetings taking place back in individual districts this month, numbers of reports have surfaced that ACORN members have taken to publicly berating normal citizens who are simply there to ask the questions they have about the viability of a plan that requires the government to spend an additional $1,000,000,000 dollars. They wonder this especially when 85% of people in America are satisfied and content with the health insurance system they've already chosen to engage.
So what's the answer to good old fashioned grass roots voters actually being engaged with their representatives in Congress while they're home during the August break?
The White House believes it's best to intimidate and silence, or at the bare minimum -- report.
The mistake this White House continues to make, seemingly on a daily basis, is that they reveal very much what they truly think of freedoms of the American political process.
Being generous, we can conclude it's not a very high opinion.
When President George W. Bush was being stalked by Cindy Sheehan and Code Pink on a daily basis, over a genuine issue of national security -- the War on Terror -- he met with Sheehan, acknowledged her pain, and wished her well, all while respectfully disagreeing with her over the policy.
By contrast, when more than 2,800 tea parties took place on April 15 and more than 1.5 million people turned out, President Obama showed these folks the back of his hand and insisted on marginalizing those who sought his attention on a fundamental issue of his job performance.
And now he's asking you to report those who disagree with him to his newly crafted e-mail address.
There could likely be many good reasons for the White House to set up an e-mail address "flag@whitehouse.gov." -- Like reporting a suspicious truck parked in a place it's not supposed to be. Or the systematic movement of people that seek to attack the nation. Or even a suspicious piece of baggage that should not be left unaccompanied.
But reporting your neighbors for simply disagreeing on the unknown outcomes of a federally controlled, centralized universal governmental control of health care is not an acceptable use of such an effort.
Perhaps it would be different if we felt the administration was dealing with us honestly. At this point, they've all but admitted that they will have to raise taxes on the middle class. That cheery news, coupled with catching significant personalities on video--i.e. Barney Frank, Jan Schikowski, and President Obama -- all opining about their desire for a new "public option" to lead to a single payer system, gives the nation pause and little confidence to think that what the president says at prime time press conferences is genuine.
So what should our response be?
Greater demands for free speech...
Louder volumes at town hall meetings...
Bigger belligerence the tighter they squeeze...
In short, when free speech is threatened, screeching screams of volition are the only thing preventing the mandated, manhandled, chokehold of silence.
So go ahead... report me... I will shout louder!
