This is some low down and dirty skulduggery.
Following our post on California Republicans’ misleading health insurance website, numerous readers reached out to us with examples of how the Assembly Republican Caucus, which created the thing, has been marketing it.
As we reported, the GOP website, coveringhealthcareca.com, looks like an effort to steer citizens away from coveredca.com, which is the legitimate enrollment site for California’s individual insurance exchange. (Kudos to the sites crooksandliars.com and dailykos.com, which glommed on to the GOP stunt on Monday even before we did.)
As we reported, the GOP site was launched during the summer, but Republican legislators appear to have stepped up their promotion of the site in recent weeks. A good example is this mailing from Assemblyman Jeff Gorell (R-Camarillo), which has been landing in constituents’ mailboxes over the last week or so. Like the website, the mailing purports to be a “resource guide” for Californians. It’s not: It’s merely a promotion for the website.
The best resource for Californians seeking information about the Affordable Care Act and how it affects them is coveredca.com. But that link appears nowhere in Gorell’s mailing, and the exchange itself is mentioned only once, referred to as a “marketplace called Covered California.” Gorell’s staff didn’t respond to our calls for comment.
Here’s my fantasy. I wish the president would fly out to Camarillo, California and start knocking on some of the doors in Assemblyman Jeff Gorell’s district.
[Knock, Knock]
(Door opens)
“Hi, I am President Barack Obama.”
“I was wondering…” (Holds up mailer) “…did you get this mailer on ObamaCare?”
“Yeah, your assemblyman Jeff Gorell sent that to you because he wants my signature piece of legislation to fail so he’s trying to confuse you. His mailer is filled with lies.”
(Holds out different mailer). “Here’s the real info on ObamaCare.”
“If you are interested in looking at rates or have any additional questions, Bob here can stay behind to help you out.”
“Have a nice day.”
I bet Jeff Gorell would really enjoy it if the president lavished that kind of attention on his constituents.