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Obama camp has history with star of new Super PAC ad
Representatives from the Obama campaign tried to distance themselves on Wednesday from a new ad released by the pro-Obama Super PAC Priorities USA that links actions taken by Bain Capital to the death of former steelworker Joe Soptic’s wife.
Aboard Air Force One, campaign spokesperson Jen Psaki told reporters that the campaign had “no involvement with any ads that are done by Priorities USA.”
“We don’t have any knowledge of the story of the family,” Psaki said when asked about Soptic’s story.
On CNN’s Early Start Wednesday morning, Obama for America Deputy Campaign Manager Stephanie Cutter also denied that she knew the details of Soptic’s story.
“Well, you do know that we don't have anything to do with Priorities USA,” Cutter told CNN’s John Berman. “That by law, we're not allowed to coordinate with them, and by law we don't have anything to do with their ads. I don't know the facts of when Joe Soptic's wife got sick or when she died.”
But in an interview with CNN on Tuesday, Soptic said that the campaign had asked him to appear at events on behalf of the president to talk about his experiences with Bain.“I was asked to fly to some of the battleground states, but I have been unable to do that,” Soptic said in a phone call.
On a May 14 Obama campaign conference call featuring both Soptic and Cutter, he even told an almost identical story to the one he tells in the new Super PAC ad.
In the ad Soptic claims that when Bain shut down the Kansas City steel mill where he had worked for nearly 30 years, his family lost their health insurance. His wife Ilyona became ill “a short time after,” and he says in the ad, “I think maybe she didn’t say anything because she knew that we couldn’t afford the insurance.”
He then describes taking his wife to the county hospital only to discover that she had cancer.
“She passed away in 22 days,” Soptic says.
On the conference call, Soptic phrased his story this way:
“After we lost our jobs, we found out that we were going to lose our health insurance, and that our pensions hadn't been funded like Bain promised they would be. I was lucky to find another job as a custodian in a local school district. They gave me some health insurance, but I couldn't afford to buy it for my wife. A little while later she was diagnosed with lung cancer. I had to put her in a county hospital because she didn't have health care, and when the cancer took her away, all I got was an enormous bill. That put a lot of stress on me. I thought I'd be paying it off until I died myself. That probably wouldn't have happened if Bain kept its promise and I was allowed to keep our health insurance. I know it wouldn’t have happened if I still had my old job at the steel mill. Its upsetting what Mitt Romney and his partners did to us here in Kansas City.”
At the end of his remarks, Soptic turns the call back over to Cutter.
“We really appreciate you sharing your experiences,” Cutter said.
SOURCE: http://whitehouse.blogs.cnn.com/2012/08/08/obama-camp-has-history-with-star-of-new-super-pac-ad/
Aboard Air Force One, campaign spokesperson Jen Psaki told reporters that the campaign had “no involvement with any ads that are done by Priorities USA.”
“We don’t have any knowledge of the story of the family,” Psaki said when asked about Soptic’s story.
On CNN’s Early Start Wednesday morning, Obama for America Deputy Campaign Manager Stephanie Cutter also denied that she knew the details of Soptic’s story.
“Well, you do know that we don't have anything to do with Priorities USA,” Cutter told CNN’s John Berman. “That by law, we're not allowed to coordinate with them, and by law we don't have anything to do with their ads. I don't know the facts of when Joe Soptic's wife got sick or when she died.”
But in an interview with CNN on Tuesday, Soptic said that the campaign had asked him to appear at events on behalf of the president to talk about his experiences with Bain.“I was asked to fly to some of the battleground states, but I have been unable to do that,” Soptic said in a phone call.
On a May 14 Obama campaign conference call featuring both Soptic and Cutter, he even told an almost identical story to the one he tells in the new Super PAC ad.
In the ad Soptic claims that when Bain shut down the Kansas City steel mill where he had worked for nearly 30 years, his family lost their health insurance. His wife Ilyona became ill “a short time after,” and he says in the ad, “I think maybe she didn’t say anything because she knew that we couldn’t afford the insurance.”
He then describes taking his wife to the county hospital only to discover that she had cancer.
“She passed away in 22 days,” Soptic says.
On the conference call, Soptic phrased his story this way:
“After we lost our jobs, we found out that we were going to lose our health insurance, and that our pensions hadn't been funded like Bain promised they would be. I was lucky to find another job as a custodian in a local school district. They gave me some health insurance, but I couldn't afford to buy it for my wife. A little while later she was diagnosed with lung cancer. I had to put her in a county hospital because she didn't have health care, and when the cancer took her away, all I got was an enormous bill. That put a lot of stress on me. I thought I'd be paying it off until I died myself. That probably wouldn't have happened if Bain kept its promise and I was allowed to keep our health insurance. I know it wouldn’t have happened if I still had my old job at the steel mill. Its upsetting what Mitt Romney and his partners did to us here in Kansas City.”
At the end of his remarks, Soptic turns the call back over to Cutter.
“We really appreciate you sharing your experiences,” Cutter said.
SOURCE: http://whitehouse.blogs.cnn.com/2012/08/08/obama-camp-has-history-with-star-of-new-super-pac-ad/
Sorry... "1999 to be exact".
I, at one point in the past (199 to be exact), lost my job and was without insurance. My former employer ensured me, when I was released from employment, that I'd be covered by COBRA (which had a 'minimal' cost associated with it, according to them). Even the 'minimal' cost, was approximately $600/month, which I couldn't afford.
I was forced to go to a county hospital, when I got an "unpassable" kidney-stone, and subsequently received an $85K bill from said county hospital, about a month after I was discharged.
I simply wrote the hospital a letter, informing them I'd not be paying the bill as it was financially impossible (I was BARELY making ends meet with the unemployment benefits I was receiving), and that's the last I heard of it. It never showed up on my credit-report, nor did I receive any nasty calls from debt-collectors.
I'm not saying this has anything to do with this guy (and his wife), or the bill he received, but all he had to do was write them a letter, or get an attorney to write them a letter, demonstrating financial hardship, and the bill would have been written off by the hospital.
Someone please correct me if I'm wrong on this...
As far as the lies of the ad, and misleading information presented therein, BOTH sides are guilty as h3ll of lying through their teeth.
Nuff said.
I was forced to go to a county hospital, when I got an "unpassable" kidney-stone, and subsequently received an $85K bill from said county hospital, about a month after I was discharged.
I simply wrote the hospital a letter, informing them I'd not be paying the bill as it was financially impossible (I was BARELY making ends meet with the unemployment benefits I was receiving), and that's the last I heard of it. It never showed up on my credit-report, nor did I receive any nasty calls from debt-collectors.
I'm not saying this has anything to do with this guy (and his wife), or the bill he received, but all he had to do was write them a letter, or get an attorney to write them a letter, demonstrating financial hardship, and the bill would have been written off by the hospital.
Someone please correct me if I'm wrong on this...
As far as the lies of the ad, and misleading information presented therein, BOTH sides are guilty as h3ll of lying through their teeth.
Nuff said.
No of course Romney is not responsible for her death, he did play a part in his job loss and loss of insurance that may have contributed to their plight. I can relate to that much, lots of people in that same situation for whatever reason right now.. As far as past establishment with this guy. I did hear he was in another ad for the Obama campaign some time back. Just like the you didnt build it ad, where the guy in it actually took tax dollars to help him with his business. They are all guilty of distortions. I will not argue that.
So I guess the County Hospital is to blame for this woman's death, not the cancer?
It's a shame that she died of cancer, and that she wasn't covered under Bain's healthcare plan, and that her husband had to put her in a County Hospital, and the he subsequently received a bill from said County Hospital, but is Mitt Romney to blame for her death?
And for the Obama camp to vehemently deny having personal connections to this guy, as described in the article, is a bold'faced lie.
So there's 2 things at play here:
1) Was Mitt Romney to blame for her death, as the ad insinuates
2) Did the Obama campaign-team have connections to the guy and support the add (of which they SAY they know nothing about)
#1: NO
#2: YES
And the lies continue...
It's a shame that she died of cancer, and that she wasn't covered under Bain's healthcare plan, and that her husband had to put her in a County Hospital, and the he subsequently received a bill from said County Hospital, but is Mitt Romney to blame for her death?
And for the Obama camp to vehemently deny having personal connections to this guy, as described in the article, is a bold'faced lie.
So there's 2 things at play here:
1) Was Mitt Romney to blame for her death, as the ad insinuates
2) Did the Obama campaign-team have connections to the guy and support the add (of which they SAY they know nothing about)
#1: NO
#2: YES
And the lies continue...
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