Author Topic: White Houses' botched 'op" with doctors on lawn.  (Read 603 times)

Soul Crusher

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White Houses' botched 'op" with doctors on lawn.
« on: October 07, 2009, 08:26:51 AM »
White House's botched 'op
'By CHARLES HURT, Post Correspondent
Last Updated: 12:27 PM, October 6, 2009

Posted: 3:05 AM, October 6, 2009

     WASHINGTON -- President Obama yesterday rolled out the red carpet -- and handed out doctors' white coats as well, just so nobody missed his hard-sell health-care message.<p>

In a heavy-handed attempt at reviving support for health-care reform, the White House orchestrated a massive photo op to buttress its claim that front-line physicians support Obama.<p>

A sea of 150 white-coated doctors, all enthusiastically supportive of the president and representing all 50 states, looked as if they were at a costume party as they posed in the Rose Garden before hearing Obama's pitch for the Democratic overhaul bills moving through Congress.

The physicians, all invited guests, were told to bring their white lab coats to make sure that TV cameras captured the image.

But some docs apparently forgot, failing to meet the White House dress code by showing up in business suits or dresses.
            
So the White House rustled up white coats for them and handed them to the suited physicians who had taken seats in the sun-splashed lawn area.

All this to provide a visual counter to complaints from other doctors that pending legislation is bad news for the medical profession.<p>

"Nobody has more credibility with the American people on this issue than you do," Obama told his guests.

The president was flanked by four white-coated doctors at a podium as he delivered his pep talk.

"When you cut through all the noise and all the distractions that are out there, I think what's most telling is that some of the people who are most supportive of reform are the very medical professionals who know the health-care system best," the president said.
              
"I want to thank every single doctor who is here," Obama said. "And I especially want to thank you for agreeing to fan out across the country and make the case about why this reform effort is so desperately needed."
              
Underlying the strictly photo-op nature of the event, The Associated Press noted that Obama broke no new ground in his remarks.
              
The president told the doctors that if they back him, "I'm confident we are going to get health reform passed this year."
              
The Republican National Committee shot back with a response from Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.), who was an orthopedic surgeon before being elected to Congress.<p>
              
"Today, the president wants you to believe that the medical community supports his government takeover of health care. Don't be fooled," Price said.
              
He said he had spoken to "thousands of my colleagues" who oppose the Democrats' legislation.<p>
              
House Minority Leader Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) said large numbers of doctors fear it would cripple their ability to care for patients. "Members of the medical community -- who deal with red tape day in and day out -- rightly recognize that the Democrats' government takeover would weaken the doctor-patient relationship that is so critical to making the right health-care decisions," he said.<p>
              
Obama made no mention of the "public option" -- a controversial government-run insurance plan favored by liberal Democrats -- in his Rose Garden spiel.
              
A key version of the legislation, which doesn't include the public option, is expected to reach the Senate floor for debate later this month.
              
churt@nypost.com

              

Soul Crusher

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Re: White Houses' botched 'op" with doctors on lawn.
« Reply #1 on: October 07, 2009, 08:29:39 AM »
Doctors for Obama: Partisans in Lab Coats
John on October 6, 2009


Yesterday the White House hosted a bevy of white-coated doctors as a show of support for ObamaCare. The idea was to have one from every state to show how representative they were of doctors across the country.

Over at Hot Air, Ed notes that the lab coats were handed out to those who’d forgotten theirs. But that’s really just scratching the surface. This group is far from representative.

I’ve been following Doctors for America since the election. Back then they were called Doctors for Obama. It appears they got started as part of a smear on John McCain. Maybe you remember this bit of fear mongering courtesy of Brave New Films?

That commercial actually ran on MSNBC (of course) for two days prior to the first debate. They then pulled it and claimed they hadn’t vetted it properly.

It appears from reading the description posted along with this longer, related clip that Doctors for Obama was created (or at least greatly expanded) by Brave New Films as part of their election smear effort called The Real McCain. Here’s what the video sidebar says:

We have enlisted a group of doctors from around the country to lead the effort to make sure the public is able to see and make judgments for themselves. Secrecy is not of service to our democracy, transparency is. Please have other doctors sign the open letter.

Cancer is a serious issue. That’s why 30 medical doctors have already signed our open letter telling McCain to issue a full, public disclosure of all his medical records. Send this video far and wide to request that McCain release his full health records.

If you actually go to the Real McCain website where this open letter and the video were hosted, you’ll see that they eventually had 2,908 doctors sign it. They also produced a full page ad in the NY Times with a list of 2,768 doctors demanding McCain release his records. Click for the full ad in pdf.

So far as I can tell, the group of signatories to this McCain cancer smear either became or joined Doctors for Obama. Certainly the people in the video were key players in the group.

One of the doctors who appears prominently in the video, Michael Fratkin, also wrote this letter demanding the release of McCain’s records at the same time this video came out. As you can see, the letter is written by Fratkin on behalf of Doctors for Obama. Apparently he was the leader or spokesperson at this early point.

After the election these partisans in lab coats changed their name to position themselves for the health care debate to come. Now they are just Doctors for America. However, as the NY Times notes, DFA head Alice Chen (who has been to the White House to lobby for reform prior to yesterday) is working closely with Organizing for America and posted this note on the OFA website yesterday.

Finally, I can’t help but note that one of the “Senior Advisers” of DFA is none other than Jacob Hacker, architect of the public option and of much of Obama’s plan. DFA is not an independent group of doctors. They are highly partisan and well connected to the White House.

Category: Politics |

________________________ ________________________ _

And you guys claim the Town halls are astroturf? 

Please. 


Soul Crusher

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Re: White Houses' botched 'op" with doctors on lawn.
« Reply #2 on: October 07, 2009, 08:32:52 AM »
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Astroturf FAIL! Obama minions hand out lab coats to liberal doctors for photo op

________________________ ________________________ ________________________ __

That speech Obama made yesterday to doctors from every state that support Obamacare? Astroturf.
By definition.

The doctors were part of "Doctors For America" which used to be called "Doctors for Obama." It was by invitation only. The kicker was that White House staffers handed out photo-op-ready lab coats:From the NY post via memeorandum: White House's botched 'op'.

A sea of 150 white-coated doctors, all enthusiastically supportive of the president and representing all 50 states, looked as if they were at a costume party as they posed in the Rose Garden before hearing Obama's pitch for the Democratic overhaul bills moving through Congress.

The physicians, all invited guests, were told to bring their white lab coats to make sure that TV cameras captured the image.

But some docs apparently forgot, failing to meet the White House dress code by showing up in business suits or dresses.

So the White House rustled up white coats for them and handed them to the suited physicians who had taken seats in the sun-splashed lawn area.

All this to provide a visual counter to complaints from other doctors that pending legislation is bad news for the medical profession.

But wait - there's more. Not mentioned in the NY Post article is who the doctors were. FoxNews has that report via Gateway Pundit:

The doctor made a White House call Monday -- 150 of them, in fact, all costumed in white hospital coats -- to try to help President Obama administer a booster shot to his ailing health care reform drive.

White House spokesman Reid Cherlin described the assembled physicians, from all 50 states, as the best voices for reform because they witness the current health care system on a day-to-day basis.

"These folks know better than anybody about what works and what doesn't," Cherlin told FOXNews.com, adding that the physicians come from "a variety of groups that we work with."

But the doctors in the Rose Garden were all supporters of health care reform -- and the invitation-only guest list drew heavily from Doctors for America, a grassroots organization that backs a government-run insurance option.

Roughly 98 percent of the group's 15,000 members support a public insurance option, Doctors for America spokeswoman Megan Smith told FOXNews.com. She said roughly 40 of the 150 doctors who attended the meeting were from the organization.

Cherlin insisted that the doctors "were not invited based on their support for a public option."

Yeah - right. As if the White House has any credibility left whatsoever. As a matter of fact, as Pundette astutely points out, an IBD poll revealed that 45% of physicians would consider giving up the practice of medicine should the democrats' reforms go through.


Colossus_500

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Re: White Houses' botched 'op" with doctors on lawn.
« Reply #3 on: October 07, 2009, 08:33:55 AM »
Sorry about that, bro. I didn't know you had posted this.  I posted on your comment in the thread about Sarah Palin.  There will be crickets on this one anyway.  lol 

shootfighter1

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Re: White Houses' botched 'op" with doctors on lawn.
« Reply #4 on: October 07, 2009, 08:36:11 AM »
This is pretty disgusting actually, pure photo op sales pitch.  These doctors in no way speak for all or most of us.  The vast majority of us want change and better coverage for people but we are very divided on any kind of public option.  They are speaking to a politically charged organization who support Obama.

I met with a group of 4 docs last night, all completely against a public option.  Most private doctors aren't in favor of the public option.  I wish they'd do a poll between private docs and hospital owned docs.

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Re: White Houses' botched 'op" with doctors on lawn.
« Reply #5 on: October 07, 2009, 08:38:10 AM »
[_________________________________________________
And you guys claim the Town halls are astroturf? 

Please. 

Today, 333386 is realizing BOTH SIDES HAVE BEEN DOING THIS ASTROTURF SHIT ALL ALONG!


Soul Crusher

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Re: White Houses' botched 'op" with doctors on lawn.
« Reply #6 on: October 07, 2009, 08:39:45 AM »
Today, 333386 is realizing BOTH SIDES HAVE BEEN DOING THIS ASTROTURF SHIT ALL ALONG!



Stick with the topic.  Do you acknowledge that this was phoney ploy?. 

shootfighter1

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Re: White Houses' botched 'op" with doctors on lawn.
« Reply #7 on: October 07, 2009, 11:18:06 AM »
Just appears cheap to me.

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Re: White Houses' botched 'op" with doctors on lawn.
« Reply #8 on: October 07, 2009, 11:26:03 AM »
Stick with the topic.  Do you acknowledge that this was phoney ploy?. 

shit yeahhhhh baby

shootfighter1

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Re: White Houses' botched 'op" with doctors on lawn.
« Reply #9 on: October 07, 2009, 12:14:46 PM »
There's still some hope for him 333   ;D