Huffington Magazine Issue 90 | Page 12

Enter people from having their speech scrutinized — whether it comes in a campaign ad or not. Not that the Examiner is antiscrutiny! “No one is arguing in favor of misleading political ads,” they write. “But what’s important here are the facts no one disputes: Boonstra’s health insurance was canceled due to federal regulations, she was forced to restructure her care while suffering from a deadly disease and Peters did vote for Obamacare.” It reminds one of an ad that ran in the 2012 campaign cycle, from Obama-supporting super PAC Priorities USA Action. Here are some facts that no one disputes: Joe Soptic worked at a steel plant, Bain Capital invested in the company that ran this plant, the plant was closed, Soptic lost his job, his wife died of cancer. But the claim that Mitt Romney was somehow culpable in Soptic’s wife’s death was a grotesque lie. Glenn Kessler said of this ad, “On just every level, this ad stretches the bounds of common sense and decency.” That is 100 percent correct. And at the time, the Washington Examiner could not agree more, never mind Soptic’s First Amendment rights. LOOKING FORWARD IN ANGST HUFFINGTON 03.02.14 My advice to Americans for Prosperity is that if they want to create an attack ad around an Obamacare victim, they should go out and find one whose claims actually authentically fit the bill. Look for people whose premiums have increased or the ones who actually had to break the continuity of their care by shopping around for a new doctor. Then they’ll get themselves a “true” rating from The First Amendment doesn’t protect people from having their speech scrutinized — whether it comes in a campaign ad or not.” the fact-checkers to celebrate. By the way, if you’re interested in what the American Cancer Society thinks about Obamacare, well, they are for it. And if you find the implications of the new l aw “confusing” or “overwhelming,” they have “a staff of trained experts available to answer questions, free of charge,” through a 24-hour hotline. They promise to keep it politics-free, which, for cancer patients, is probably a pretty good prescription.