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OPINION

White House to Spend $20 million to Pitch ObamaCare

The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Townhall.com.

Ever since the Democrats passed ObamaCare "so we could find out what's in it," Americans have overwhelmingly said they didn't like the new law. 

Now, the Obama Administration is spending $20 million of taxpayer money on a new public relations campaign to try to sell us, yet again, on this unprecedented intrusion into our lives by legislation that 72% of Americans believe violates the Constitution.

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The new public relations campaign "will inform the American people about the many preventative benefits" of ObamaCare according to the White House spin machine.   Porter-Novelli, one of the planet's glitziest consumer marketing firms, has been awarded the $20 million contract to direct a "national multi-media campaign" - the key word there is "campaign."

Americans by a margin of 56:37 currently favor complete repeal of the President's signature piece of legislation, and the animosity against ObamaCare continues to grow according to Rasmussen's regular tracking of public opinion. That presents a significant challenge for a President seeking re-election.   

So under a ruse of informing the public, the White House is using another $20 million of your money for his personal campaign purposes.

The more I hear about ObamaCare, the more I feel sick.  

From Heritage:

A Freedom of Information Act request filed by the group Judicial Watch last year revealed the lengths to which HHS has gone to attempt to sell Obamacare to a skeptical public:

  • The Obama HHS launched a campaign to track Internet searches and to use online search engines such as Google and Yahoo to drive traffic to a government website promoting Obama’s health care overhaul. Using “pay-per-click” advertising tools, such as Google Adwords, HHS purposely targeted people searching the term “Obamacare,” a word that has been described as “disparaging” by political agents of the president.
  • According to a budget summary prepared by Ogilvy, from October 2010 through February 2011, the Obama administration spent $1,435,009 on these online advertisements alone, including advertising campaigns with Google and Yahoo, almost $300,000 per month.
  • A number of documents address the need to target the Obamacare propaganda campaign to Hispanics, blacks, and women. For example, according to an email from Chris Beakey, vice president of Ogilvy PR Worldwide, to HHS officials on Dec. 16, 2010, summarizing a conference call, “You want to utilize the bulk of their paid media efforts (which would include expenditures for Radio One and Univision) on media that reaches African Americans and Hispanics. The money will go farther and these audiences continue to be a top priority.”
  • A Jan. 18, 2011, email from Ogilvy to HHS New Media Communications Director Julia Eisman notes with respect to a Spanish banner ad campaign, “I realize we really can’t use the blond mom and child for this audience.”
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