Posted on 07/22/2009 9:49:47 PM PDT by Maelstorm
Democrats are preventing Republican House Members from sending their constituents a mailing that is critical of the majority’s health care reform plan, blocking the mailing by alleging that it is inaccurate.
House Republicans are crying foul and claiming that the Democrats are using their majority to prevent GOP Members from communicating with their constituents.
The dispute centers on a chart created by Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas) and Republican staff of the Joint Economic Committee to illustrate the organization of the Democratic health care plan.
At first glance, Brady’s chart resembles a board game: a colorful collection of shapes and images with a web of lines connecting them.
But a closer look at the image reveals a complicated menagerie of government offices and programs that Republicans say will be created if the leading Democratic health care plan becomes law.
In a memo sent Monday to Republicans on the House franking commission, Democrats argue that sending the chart to constituents as official mail would violate House rules because the information is misleading.
In their eight-point memo, which was obtained by Roll Call, Democrats identify a litany of areas where they believe the chart is incorrect.
For example, Democrats argue that the chart depicts a “Health Insurance Exchange Trust Fund” that is “simply a recipient of IRS funds, with no outflow. ... This is false.”
The chart’s illustration of low-income subsidies is also “misleading and false,” Democrats argue.
Congressional rules for franked mail bar Members from using taxpayer-funded mail for newsletters that use “partisan, politicized or personalized” comments to criticize legislation or policy.
The dispute over Brady’s chart is being reviewed by the franking commission, which must approve any mail before it can be sent. No decision had been made on the matter by press time.
Brady adamantly denied that the chart was misleading and said Democrats are simply threatened by the content of the graphic.
“I think their review was laughable,” Brady said. “It’s ... downright false in most of the cases. The chart depicts their health care plan as their committees developed it.”
“The chart reveals how their health care bureaucracy works, and people are frightened by it,” he added. “So this is their effort to try and discredit” the chart.
Republican Members have made 20 requests to mail a version of the chart to their constituents and have been told that the requests are being delayed while the commission reviews allegations that the chart is misleading.
“Hiding the truth about wildly unpopular policies is a Democrat specialty,” said one GOP aide. “I’d like to see the flow chart on how Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi plans on implementing the open and transparent government she keeps promising everyone.”
“We have initiated discussions with the minority to try and resolve current differences and are operating in good faith to achieve that goal,” said Kyle Anderson, a spokesman for House Administration Chairman Robert Brady (D-Pa.). The committee has oversight of the commission.
Rep. Dan Lungren (R-Calif.), ranking member of the committee and a member of the franking commission, said through a spokeswoman that he is also aware of the situation and is working with the members of the franking commission to resolve the differences, but he added that he believed Democrats on the commission were overreaching.
“He strongly believes that the franking commission does not have the authority to deny Member communications based on partisan differences of pending legislation,” said Salley Collins, a spokeswoman for Lungren.
The franking commission is made up of three Democrats and three Republicans.
Republicans quickly embraced Brady’s chart, and over the past week about 50 Members have posted it on their Congressional Web sites or used it in a floor speech. It has also been posted on the home page of the Republican National Committee.
SUE THEIR CRAZY ASSES!
You are missing the point I believe.
Mailings are the last thing the Republicans are worried about, they know they can get this info out with a simple mouse click.
What they've done is maneuvered the Dems into suppressing a mailing initiated by the Republicans. NOW the Republicans have the Democrats on record using Censorship to stop the real story of the Healthcare issue getting to the people.
Its a masterstroke of political maneuvering!
I hope those pansy asses tell the dems to KMA and mail them anyway. Pinko dems.
If they wanted to get this message out, they would find a way. I smell BS and an attempt to keep themselves from being blamed.
Looks like a good chart. Can not read it very well, did not come out clear enough. If I could make it easier to read would email it to everyone. Would make a great email campaign.
EGGSACTLY BATMAN!
See Post 22 for more...
See Post 22
The scumbag rats may have cut off their noses to spite their faces. Thanks to their tyranny, this chart is getting more publicity than it otherwise would. I hope to see it on TV real soon, again and again. Heck, the GOP should run an ad inviting people to send away for a wall-size poster of the chart.
Geez. How much does the mailing cost? Set up a quickie 501c4 fund and I’ll mail a check tomorrow. Let’s get this out there.
They’re blocking them from sending out mail?
PAGING HENRY BOWMAN
It would help if the GOP would grow a backbone and tell the demo-rats to kiss it.
Yep they plan to fix that hole in the dike once they get us all on their health and energy plans. They fully intend to put the screws to anyone who dares stand in their way. That is what these bills are about. They aren’t about their contents they are about getting more and more control over the lives of each citizen. They want to end the debate once and for all about large or small government and the role of government even though the American people want the government to cut not expand its role.
Rube Goldberg would be envious!
Not so sure about that.
My sister received an urgent call from our 91 year old mother asking her to prepare a petition to send to reps in Washington and bring to the retirement home for all to sign. These people never discuss politics and many are very liberal, but this health care thing is scaring them to death.
Liberalism is a disease.
This might energize even some DemoRats.
What is this, a little kids football game? It's about our lives and our freedom d@mnit.
Click the flipping mouse already and send this important info out now.
Its already out there, I mean the dang thing is all over FRee Republic and the rest of the internet.
I’ll tell you one thing, the scum sucking Democrats sure as hell know how to play the political game on everything.
I see now they claim speech is “inaccuracy”.
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