Paul Welday: Health (s)care tactics

There he goes again.

Today’s Detroit Free Press has made 9th Congressional District candidate Paul Welday the official poster-boy for the right-wing health care reform propoganda machine. Now, before anyone accuses me of socialism or communism, let me say that all I really care about is taking the words “for profit” out of health care. I want an honest, reasonable discussion about reform, and if you just don’t trust the government to run it, I understand. I feel the same way about the fewer than half a dozen private insurance companies that make their millions by denying coverage based on pre-existing conditions, and refusing to pay for certain drugs and medical treatments.

I also care that politicians do not prey on us with lies, misdirection and fear. And Mr. Welday is employing all three of those tactics.

As the Detroit Free Press reported today, he posted a collection of statements about health care reform that range from a bit misleading to absolutely false. What’s exceptionally egregious about this particular list is that it isn’t even original – it’s copied almost word-for-word from a collection of lies, half-truths and scare tactics now quite popular in the blog-o-sphere and via e-mail. (If you doubt this, copy any sentence from the flier and paste it, inside quotation marks, into a search engine.)

The points have been clarified and refuted by a number of sources, including The St. Petersburg Times’  award-winning Politifact, USA Today and the AARP, just to name a few. But some of the statements are just plain silly, especially coming from the “family values” coalition. My favorite is this one:

Page 489: Government will cover marriage and family therapy. Government intervenes in your marriage.

So if my private insurance carrier covers marriage and family therapy, does Mr. Welday think the insurance company’s board of directors and millionaire CEO are intervening in my marriage?  Well, no. As I am sure he’d tell you, that’s just my interpretation.

Mr. Welday told the Freep reporter that everything on his flier is only an interpretation as well. And I would believe that, except the headline reads:

PAUL WELDAY
WANTS YOU TO UNDERSTAND
WHAT’S IN THE OBAMA- PELOSI EXPERIMENT WITH OUR
HEALTH CARE

Not, “Paul Welday is afraid this will happen if the current plan for health care reform makes it through Congress.”

Or “Paul Welday believes House Bill 3200 will bring about these horrifying changes to our health care system.”

He’s telling his supporters, “This is what’s coming.” And he’s making plenty of references to ACORN, SEIU and other unions, illegal immigrants and other wedge issues to make them afraid of it. It’s the same tactic being used by many, many others, from conservative talk show hosts like Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity to fomer Alaska Governor Sarah Palin and even prominent Congressional leaders, who really should know better.

In other words, Mr. Welday has no original ideas for health care reform, as he had no original ideas for state government reform when he ran his largely negative campaign against Vicki Barnett. And I’m betting this one is just as successful.

–JH-G

You saw it here first, folks

It’s official: A headline on the front page of Sunday’s Farmington Observer confirms Farmington Mayor Valerie Knol will marry Paul Welday, owner of a consulting firm and Republican candidate for the 9th Congressional District seat held by Democrat Gary Peters. A small wedding with family and friends is planned on August 29, at the Governor Warner Mansion.

The article, by reporter Sue Buck, notes the couple’s wedding plan supports Farmington area merchants, and it even reveals their honeymoon destination. Read the details in tomorrow’s Farmington Observer, which should be on newsstands now and will be updated early Sunday at http://www.hometownlife.com

Welcome to the 2010 campaign season

Last night, we received an e-mail letting us know a big announcement would be made this morning regarding the 2010 9th District Congressional race.

Note the date: April 15, 2009, more than 18 months away from election day. Only one person would start a campaign this early.

Paul Welday, who lost to House District 37 Representative Vicki Barnett in November, has announced his bid for the 9th Congressional seat currently held by Democrat Gary Peters. Peters sailed into office in November, and since then, has had a big target on his back. Republicans are desperate to win this seat; they held it for decades before Democrats pulled the rug out from underneath them.

Look for the following campaign messages:

Gary Peters is responsible for thenational debt.
Gary Peters will bankrupt the country.
Gary Peters is responsible for the Obama recession.
Gary Peters is making America vulnerable to terrorist attacks.
Gary Peters… well, you get the idea. It won’t matter that Congressman Peters has been in office only a few months. It won’t matter that even former Congressman Joe Knollenberg realized you can’t get anything done in Washington in one or two terms – and broke a campaign promise to stay for seven.

I am no fan of Paul Welday, but I would feel that way whether he was a Republican or a Democrat. It’s not the man, it’s the way he runs a campaign. It’s the way his campaign pieces use highly unflattering photos of his opponent, the way he pulls words out of context from newspaper editorials to give the impression they endorsed his campaign, when they had not.  It’s the way he claims his opponent is responsible for actions and decisions he or she could not possibly have even influenced.

Paul Welday’s last campaign was politics at its worst. Of course, that doesn’t mean this campaign will be run the same way. Perhaps in this campaign, he will talk more about his own ideas than his opponent’s. Perhaps in this campaign, his mailers will outline his own agenda, rather than ridiculing his opponent’s. Perhaps in this campaign, he will speak honestly about the strengths and weaknesses within his own party, and outline his plan, as a party leader, to improve it. Perhaps in this campaign, he will not use the phrase “Gary Peters and President Obama” at every turn. Perhaps in this campaign, he will communicate more of what he believes, and spend less time attack-dogging his opponent.

Hey, I can dream, can’t I?

—Joni Hubred-Golden
Publisher, The Enterprise

Welday withdraws

It’s official – former House District 37 Republican candidate Paul Welday has withdrawn from consideration for the state party chair position vacated by Saul Anunzis.

Wonder what’s next?

Welday watch

When we last left Paul Welday, former Republican House candidate, he was being approached to run for state party chair and circling the wagons.

Apparently, he’s also getting on the bus. As reported in the Michigan Republican Party Watch earlier this month, Welday has launched “the GOP Road to Renaissance Bus Tour into each of Michigan’s fifteen congressional districts” to meet with Republicans around the state and plead his case.

Among many other things, this caught my eye:

“Our Party has to get younger, hipper, faster, and more agile,” Welday continued. “We should build upon the work done by Chairman Saul Anuzis and take technology to another level. We can start amongst ourselves. But, ultimately it isn’t about the tools we employ. Rather, we will be judged as candidates for the chairmanship based on our ability to bring people together around a set of guiding principles that make our Party more relevant in the lives of Michigan citizens. That’s our objective.”

Perhaps someone should take a look at the nasty campaign Welday ran against a candidate from his own party – heck, his own hometown – while considering whether he’s capable of bringing people together.

If you’re interested in the “inside” chatter, you’ll find “Insiders unimpressed…”, “Welday, a Milliken Republican?” and “Reader reacts to Welday” interesting as well.

—Joni Hubred-Golden
Publisher, The Enterprise