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A Harsh Anti-Romney Ad Sparks Criticism (New! Soptic Chose Not to Insure Wife at Post-Steel Job)
The Wall Street Journal ^ | Wednesday, August 8, 2012 | Peter Nicholas and Colleen McCain Nelson

Posted on 08/08/2012 8:30:42 PM PDT by kristinn

...played a role in the death of Ilyona Soptic at age 55.

The ad features Joe Soptic, 62, of Missouri, who lost his job when GST Steel of Kansas City—owned by Bain and other investors for eight years—was closed. As melancholy music plays, Mr. Soptic says that when the plant closed, he and his family lost their health-care coverage and "a short time after that, my wife became ill." Her illness was diagnosed five years later. "I don't think Mitt Romney understands what he's done to people's lives by closing the plant," Mr. Soptic says in the ad.

The steel plant was purchased in 1993 and closed in 2001. Mr. Romney departed Bain in 1999 and had no role in the decision to close the plant, his campaign said.

In an interview, Mr. Soptic said he thought the ad was fair. But he also said of Mr. Romney: "I'm not blaming him for her death. I wouldn't do that."

Mr. Soptic said that his wife was receiving health insurance through her employer at the time he lost his job at GST Steel, though she later suffered an injury, left her job and lost her insurance coverage. He could not say precisely when this occurred.

Mr. Soptic said that after he lost his job, he found work as a school custodian about six months later and had the option to put her on his insurance plan. But he opted not to, he said, because he could not afford the more than $350 monthly premium on the $25,000 salary he was making, on top of paying his mortgage and a daughter's college tuition. Ilyona Soptic was diagnosed with cancer in 2006 and died that year.

(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...


TOPICS: Breaking News; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: agitprop; civility; demlies; joesoptic; mediawingofthednc; obama; obamalies; obamattacks; partisanmediashills; prioritiesusa; romneyattacks; soptic
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To: arrogantsob
The wife had insurance through her own job.

This entire case is a sick fraud.

41 posted on 08/08/2012 11:10:39 PM PDT by newzjunkey (Spread the word: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2915810/posts)
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To: smoothsailing

Wow, it keeps getting worse for Sopitc, his house of lies and the Obama campaign.


42 posted on 08/08/2012 11:13:33 PM PDT by newzjunkey (Spread the word: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2915810/posts)
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To: kristinn

Wow! Who would have thunk it, a Democrat lying? What’s next?


43 posted on 08/08/2012 11:43:50 PM PDT by pallis
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

Everyone get hyper the minute you mention COBRA, but it’s the real cost of health care if your employer is left out of the scheme. For the most part, it’s a decent plan....just pricey. For anyone who is about to be laid off...I would strongly advise you to sign up for COBRA, and use it if necessary.


44 posted on 08/08/2012 11:58:19 PM PDT by pepsionice
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To: kristinn; StarFan; Dutchy; alisasny; BobFromNJ; BUNNY2003; Cacique; Clemenza; Coleus; cyborg; ...
...Mr. Soptic said that after he lost his job, he found work as a school custodian about six months later and had the option to put her on his insurance plan. But he opted not to, he said, because he could not afford the more than $350 monthly premium on the $25,000 salary he was making, on top of paying his mortgage and a daughter's college tuition. Ilyona Soptic was diagnosed with cancer in 2006 and died that year...

Now Soptic says Romney didn't kill his wife, he had the chance to insure his wife but had other priorities and well, what was the point of the ad? Oh yeah, kill Romney's reputation.

Wow... great work on this, kristinn.

FReepers: Drop whatever you're doing and check this out! (Full info at top of thread)

45 posted on 08/08/2012 11:59:53 PM PDT by nutmeg (I'm with Sarah Palin and Ted Cruz: Anybody But Obama 2012)
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To: kristinn

Smells another contrived “controversy”, to push support for Extortion-Care. Wouldn’t even be surprised if the Hillary-Romney group even put it out there on purpose, right out of the movie theme “Oscar”, in attempt to garner sympathy in attempt to normalize Extortion-Care.


46 posted on 08/09/2012 12:18:40 AM PDT by Varsity Flight (Extortion-Care is the Government Work-Camp: Arbeitsziehungslager)
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To: kristinn

Thank god that all the laid off GM dealers and US coal workers are healthy.


47 posted on 08/09/2012 12:52:50 AM PDT by JIM O
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To: kristinn

I’m no lawyer but this ad is so dirty it may actually cross the line in libelous. The makers of the ad knew it to be untrue (or certainly should have) and it seems to have been maliciously used to sully Mr. Romney.


48 posted on 08/09/2012 1:08:20 AM PDT by Straight Vermonter (Posting from deep behind the Maple Curtain)
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To: ex-Texan; All

Filmmaker Reveals 'Deeply Disturbing' Obama Background

49 posted on 08/09/2012 1:15:40 AM PDT by Zakeet (Liberalism - Ideas so good that you have to be forced to accept them)
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To: kristinn; All
Obama Super PAC Chief Bill Burton: “What Fact In That (Cancer) Ad Is Wrong? Wolf Blitzer: You’re Joking, Right?…

From this:

BLITZER: It’s inaccurate, it’s not responsible, it’s misleading–you’re still going to go ahead and play it.

BURTON: Well, Wolf, just like we just talked about: What this ad does is tell the story of one guy and the impact that Mitt Romney had on him.

BLITZER: It’s misleading to tell–

BURTON: Well, this is your opinion. But, but–

BLITZER: Most independent fact-checkers, and we’re independent–

BURTON: What fact in that ad is wrong?

BLITZER: The impression that you get that he killed her.

BURTON: So you’re saying that that’s an impression.

BLITZER: Anyone who watches that 60-second ad comes away and says, “Mitt Romney’s responsible, at least indirectly, for this lovely woman’s death.”

BURTON: I just don’t think that’s true. And we would never make that case. The point of the ad–

BOLDUAN: Well then, the ad fails, because that’s the message you take away from it, Bill. Whatever message was intended in this commercial is not–nobody hears.

BURTON: It’s clearly lost on some folks, make no mistake about that. But the truth is, is that what this ad is about, is what Mitt Romney wants his campaign to be about.

A video of the exchange is in the linked source.
50 posted on 08/09/2012 1:36:14 AM PDT by Zakeet (Liberalism - Ideas so good that you have to be forced to accept them)
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To: Zakeet
This guy needs to be asked how many Obama campaign workers or vendors were present the day the PAC ad was filmed.
51 posted on 08/09/2012 1:47:08 AM PDT by JIM O
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To: kristinn; Tax-chick
The message I took away from this ad is that Mr. SoThick expected a Utopian commie life free of personal responsibility and decisions, one in which he could be cradled with a guaranteed mindless permajob and free health care. It should be enough to just vote Rat!
52 posted on 08/09/2012 2:02:51 AM PDT by Ezekiel (The Obama-nation began with the Inauguration of Desolation.)
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To: arrogantsob

“As though the daughter could not have attended Junior college or gone part time and worked.”

Or, heaven forbid, taken out a loan. The average college grad earns $1.3 million more in lifetime earnings than a high school grad. http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/moneymatters/a/edandearnings.htm In families with limited resources, there’s no good reason for kids not to be self-financing their own higher education costs. And if she planned to work a career that wouldn’t confer her an income advantage over simply graduating from HS, she has no business squandering scarce resources on college in the first place. College is an INVESTMENT, not an entitlement to 4 years of goofing off.


53 posted on 08/09/2012 3:21:58 AM PDT by DrC
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To: kristinn

((((((and a daughter’s college tuition))))))

So why the hell didnt you let kiddo in on some bad news?


54 posted on 08/09/2012 3:43:27 AM PDT by VanDeKoik
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To: pepsionice

Unless you have pre-existing conditions that require immediate ongoing attention COBRA is not your best option after being laid off of a job. Strapped with bills and dwindling savings, you are much better off buying a catastrophic hospitalization type policy and paying cash for regular health check ups or going to economy clinics. The cost of the COBRA insurance will quickly drain your resources, which you need to pay for your housing, utilities, groceries and other basics.


55 posted on 08/09/2012 3:47:15 AM PDT by antceecee (Bless us Father.. have mercy on us and protect us from evil.)
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To: antceecee

COBRA is meant to be a short term solution when you lose a job. It’s funny, whenever I see a conversation about COBRA, the narrative is the same, it will drain all of your resources........because in this country, it seems nobody EVER thinks, hey, I better find another job!


56 posted on 08/09/2012 3:55:26 AM PDT by swpa_mom
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To: VanDeKoik

Right. I and many worked our way through college. No loans, no parents. The guy probably also did not want to forego the country club membership. Cable TV, magazine subscriptions. The dog groomer. on and on.

But what does Mitt campaign say? “The wife would not have died if they lived in Massachusetts.” OMG!


57 posted on 08/09/2012 4:10:54 AM PDT by shalom aleichem
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To: kristinn
WHO were the reporters during the conference call? They have been silent and knew Obama administration was lying about knowledge of this ad.

http://www.c-span.org/Campaign2012/Events/C-SPAN-Event/10737430659/

58 posted on 08/09/2012 4:28:02 AM PDT by TornadoAlley3 (Obama is everything Oklahoma is not.)
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To: kristinn

In an interview, Mr. Soptic said he thought the ad was fair. But he also said of Mr. Romney: “I’m not blaming him for her death. I wouldn’t do that.”


Well, isn’t that just peachy. The damage has already been done.


59 posted on 08/09/2012 5:07:28 AM PDT by chessplayer
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To: doug from upland

What kind of scum would participate with the DNC in doing this kind of ad?


Someone who is being paid a lot of money to do it.


60 posted on 08/09/2012 5:09:40 AM PDT by chessplayer
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