Subverting Health Care Reform / THE INFLUENCE GAME: Front group fights health bill »
Posted By Tumultuous 1 week, 4 days ago in Political OpinionThe fight against health care reform is being waged partly by secretive front groups such as Americans for Quality and Affordable Healthcare. While its sponsorship may be cloaked in mystery, its aims fit nicely with those of the health insurance industry.
The Associated Press:
One operative tried to enlist trade groups in Maine to oppose government-run health coverage. Another helped a member of a Las Vegas conservative group appear on local talk radio to criticize the proposal. A third persuaded a Louisiana activist to post an opinion piece on a conservative blog.
These below-the-radar activities were the handiwork of a law firm in Charlotte, N.C., that operates a secretive group called Americans for Quality and Affordable Healthcare. The organization's sponsors remain a mystery - its Web site offers no clues, and the law firm won't say.
In a year that has seen hundreds of millions of dollars spent on health care lobbying and TV ads, the advocacy group's impact is hard to gauge since the full scope of its operations is unclear. But its activities illustrate how some are furtively trying to shape public and congressional opinion through front groups - seemingly independent organizations that pursue their founders' goals while masking their identity.
One clue to the mystery group may lie in its goals: to oppose any government-run insurance option, the approach favored by President Barack Obama and most Democrats, and to support requiring all Americans to buy insurance.
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Tumultuous
"Culture war has become the organizing principle of the Right" - Kevin Baker
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