Healthcare

Anyone, John?

Posted by Redmond

House Minority Leader John Boehner has been reduced to blatantly talking out his ass now and told reporters he can't find anyone in support of the public option:

"I'm still trying to find the first American to talk to who's in favor of the public option, other than a member of Congress or the administration" said Boehner, whose sole recent foray into a public discussion of health care reform was a tea-party-style event in Ohio a few weeks back.
"I've not talked to one and I get to a lot of places," he told reporters at his weekly press availability. "I've not had anyone come up to me -- I know I'm inviting them -- and lobby for the public option .
"This is about as unpopular as a garlic milkshake."

Not surprisingly, it didn't take long to pop Boehner's slimy, bullshit balloon:

Terri Nelson, a psychotherapist who lives and works in Oxford, Ohio, in Boehner's district, told the Huffington Post that she has repeatedly contacted the leader's office to voice support for the public option.
"I've contacted him twice in writing since the spring, and he's responded to me twice in writing," Nelson said. "And I contacted his office by phone maybe six or eight times."
Her repeated message to Boehner, she said, goes like this: "It is imperative that we have a public option."
Boehner spokesman Michael Steel responded in a statement to the Huffington Post: "Obviously, Boehner was glad to hear Ms. Nelson's concerns, and hopes his response convinced her of the dangers of a government takeover of health care."

So, in case there were any doubts, the Republican's healthcare strategy revolves completely around making shit up and hoping it sticks. Next up: Newt Gingrich claims the public option turns kittens into vampires, and not the adorable Twilight kind.