Rep. Boehner Used Five Luntz Talking Points In One Sentence
On June 2, 2009, House Minority Leader John Boehner issued a press release criticizing a health care report by President Obama's Council of Economic Advisers. The press release was wholly unremarkable and easily overlooked. Yet buried in the second paragraph, Rep. Boehner releases his inner-Frank Luntz by utilizing FIVE talking points in ONE sentence.
The Advice Man Cometh
As Media Matters Action Network has noted time and time again, Republicans rely on insurance industry-funded talking points peddled by GOP pollster Frank Luntz.
In ONE sentence, Rep. Boehner managed to utilize FIVE separate Luntz talking points:
Rep. John Boehner: "We don't need a government takeover of health care that raises taxes, rations care, and puts government bureaucrats in control of decisions that should be made by families and doctors." [Boehner Release, 6/2/09]
The Breakdown
Here is the phrase-by-phrase breakdown of Rep. Boehner's Luntz-crammed sentence:
"...government takeover..."
Luntz Memo, Rule 5: "You'll notice we recommend the phrase 'government takeover' rather than 'government run' or 'government controlled' It's because too many politician say 'we don't want a government run healthcare system like Canada or Great Britain' without explaining those consequences." [The Language of Healthcare 2009, by Frank Luntz, accessed 5/21/09, emphasis original]
"...raises taxes..."
Luntz Memo, Page 10: "We should be cautious of proposed government fixes that increase taxpayer costs and shrink personal choices. And we should avoid government intrusion that decreases quality and increases bureaucracy." [The Language of Healthcare 2009, by Frank Luntz, accessed 5/21/09; emphasis added]
"...rations care..."
Luntz Memo, Page 8: "It could lead to the government rationing care, making people stand in line and denying treatment like they do in other countries with national healthcare." [The Language of Healthcare 2009, by Frank Luntz, accessed 6/2/09]
"...puts government bureaucrats in control..."
Luntz Memo, Rule 7: "One-size-does-NOT-fit-all." The idea that a "committee of Washington bureaucrats" will establish the standard of care for all Americans and decide who gets what treatment based on how much it costs is anathema to Americans. Your approach? Call for the "protection of the personalized doctor-patient relationship." It allows you to fight to protect and improve something good rather than only fighting to prevent something bad. [The Language of Healthcare 2009, by Frank Luntz, accessed 5/21/09, emphasis original]
"... decisions that should be made by families and doctors."
Luntz Memo, Rule 2: "Doctors and patients should be making healthcare decisions, not some Washington bureaucracy." [The Language of Healthcare 2009, by Frank Luntz, accessed 5/21/09, emphasis original]
