Union vs. McCain: Round Two

My last post on this blog talked about the recently launched ad campaign levied against Sen. McCain by the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE). In that post we looked at an example of the YouTube ad and I offered ruminations on the way that the union is leveraging old and new media to get the word out.

Today lets take a look at what the Annenberg Political Fact Check has to say about the content of those ads. (I really hope these guys pay a lot of attention to health care during the upcoming six months. Their objective analysis of the facts behind the spin is usually indispensable.) Here is one small excerpt from their extensively documented breakdown:

The AFL-CIO, in documentation it provided to FactCheck.org, cites four specific votes as support for this allegation. Three of them were against Democratic amendments to the annual budget bill in 2004, 2005 and 2006. And all of them failed along party lines in a Republican-controlled Senate. But in each case, McCain later supported different amendments to increase veterans' health benefits, either on the same day or the following day.

Specifically, in 2004 McCain voted against an increase of $1.8 billion, but an increase of $1.2 billion passed by unanimous consent. In 2005 he voted against an increase of $2.8 billion, then voted for a $410 million increase. And in 2006, he voted against a $1.5 billion increase, then voted for an $823 million increase.

In the increasingly complex flurry of opinion, fact, spin, and rhetoric that surrounds this issue it is more vital than ever to dig down to the roots of any claims made. This is true for both the views you support and the ones that you disagree with.

Think of it like electronic medical records vs. the current system. In the current system the details of a patients health issues can be fragmented across several different hard copy filing systems, each offering only an incomplete picture of the case. The confusion and possibility for mis-diagnosis is high, just as it is when bombarded by the (often ad hominem) arguments and spin surrounding the debate. Just as electronic medical records, once implemented, will allow reconciliation of data from disparate sources and act as a preventative against mistaken assessment of the situation, use of fact checking resources like the Annenberg Political Fact Check can help you reconcile the claims with the realities as the national discussion continues.

SOURCE: "AFL-CIO Falsely Attacks McCain" 07/10/08
photo courtesy of World Economic Forum, used under its Creative Commons license

Critical Condition: Tom Daschle Speaks Out on American Health Care

On the AFL/CIO's Blog is a very interesting piece about former Democratic Senator Tom Daschle who was a speaker on March 5 at the Center for American Progress in Washington, D.C.

At $2 trillion per year, the United States has the most expensive health care system in the world (16% of our economy and rising), but the results it produces are poor when compared to other nations.

Although Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) claimed on Tuesday night that the United States has “the world’s best medical care,” Daschle said that what we actually have are “islands of excellence in a sea of mediocrity,” with the highest-quality options for those who can afford it and inadequate or inconsistent service for millions more.

Daschle critiqued the myths and outright lies spread by opponents of health care reform. Among them, that any change to the system would be “socialized medicine,” which Daschle says creates a false choice. Opponents also claim we “can’t afford” reform, even though the flaws in the system are raising costs.

Among the other topics Daschle addressed were the following:

1. Reform would require "rationing." According to the former Senator, the differences in quality of care, access to care, and a pattern of claims denials under the current system already creates "the worst kind of rationing."


2. The desperate need for true leadership on the issue, especially from the President's office. To illustrate, he referred to the recent Presidential veto of SCHIP by President Bush.


3. The McCain approach, which he refers to as "cost shifting" without any real tangible gains.

All in all, the Senator's views continually stress effective political leadership as the key element needed to enact true and lasting reform. Take a look at what he has to say and let us know your opinion.

SOURCE: "Daschle: America’s Health Care System in Critical Condition" 03/06/08
photo courtesy of NARA/EPA via pingnews, used under this Creative Commons license