July 31, 2009 – Following is a statement released today by Jake Thompson, Senator Ben Nelson’s spokesman, in response to an ad running in the Nebraska media concerning Senator Nelson and health care.

“Nebraskans don’t need outside special interest groups telling them what to think. Senator Nelson has nothing but praise for Nebraska groups working toward health care reform. Unfortunately, he says, these outside groups undermine the sincere and dedicated efforts of people in our state.

“Recently, similar ads have run in Nebraska. Those ads by other special interests prompted hundreds of Nebraskans to call our offices, with 9 to 1 urging Senator Nelson to do exactly the opposite of what the special interest group wanted. In short, the ads backfired.

“If the impact is the same this time, Howard Dean’s Democracy for America will be sorely disappointed. Further, these scare tactics are certain to further divide the public on health care reform, make it less likely Congress will pass real reform and call into question the motives of those who say they want reform, but use the issue to raise money to try to buy influence inside the Beltway.

“Senator Nelson believes that while most Nebraskans want health care reform, they don’t want it rushed; they want it done right.  He has said he will consider a “public plan” as long as it doesn’t undermine the health coverage 200 million Americans have now. He supports Medicare, TRICARE and S-CHIP, and each is a public plan. He also helped establish Kids Connection, Nebraska’s public-plan health insurance for children.

“In the Washington debate, various ‘public plans’ are still being considered, but no single plan has emerged. So, it’s ridiculous to suggest that Senator Nelson is “leading the charge” --as the ad says--against something that doesn’t exist. 

“Nebraskans know Ben Nelson is an independent thinker. He also has a long record in the governor’s office and the U.S. Senate of bringing people together and working constructively so important legislation becomes law. Today, he’s looking to support bipartisan legislation that reduces health care costs, boosts the quality of care and expands coverage to people who can’t obtain it now.

“If this is an indication of the politics going into August, then health care reform may be dead by the end of August.”

###

Sorry for the late-day email, but Ben Nelson just reacted to the new PCCC/DFA TV ad <http://www.healthcarecantwait.com/>  targeting him in Nebraska.

In his response, he called a Nebraska small businessman's heartfelt health care story an "outside special interest group" who should stop "telling [Nebraskans] what to think" and he threatened that if the grassroots keep pressuring him like this, "health care reform may be dead by the end of August." Seriously?

Response, Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee

"Ben Nelson just called a Nebraska small businessman whose health insurance costs went up 42% an out-of-state special interest, while never disputing that he is bought and paid for by health and insurance interests who gave him millions to vote against his own constituents. If Ben Nelson stands behind his spokesman's words, he just proved himself a fundamentally corrupt and out-of-touch politician who feels perfectly comfortable lying to his constituents and going to bat for private insurers who fear competition and want to rip off the people of Nebraska."

"We will be increasing our Nebraska ad buy on Monday morning."

Sidenote: 83% of Nelson's health and insurance industry contributions are from out of state.
http://www.campaignmoney.org/healthcare/nelson