The DEM'S are Controling FREE SPEECH

chefdennis · Jul 25, 2009

GOP Not Allowed to Say 'Government-Run Healthcare" - HUMAN EVENTS

GOP Not Allowed to Say 'Government-Run Healthcare'
by Connie Hair

07/24/2009

Rep. John Carter (R-Texas), the secretary of the House Republican Conference and a former District Court Judge, is having his messages to constituents censored by Democrats on the Franking Commission. Republicans are no longer allowed to use the words “government run health care” in the communications to their constituents.

Carter received an email from the Franking Commission informing him of the censorship.

“It came to me from the Franking Commission and I have the email from the Franking Commission here if you’d like to see it,” Carter said. “We held a telephone town-hall… When you hold telephone town-halls you have a recorded message that introduces the town-hall and the subject matter you’re going to be talking about. You have to now submit that language to the Franking Commission.

“What we proposed as language was as follows, ‘House Democrats unveiled a government-run health care plan,’” Carter said. “Our response from Franking was, ‘You cannot use that language. You must use, ‘The House majority unveiled a public option health care plan,’ which is Pelosi-speak or ‘just last week the House majority unveiled a health care plan which I believe will cost taxpayers…’”

“I would submit to you this is a free speech issue, guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States,” Carter said. A highly-placed Hill staff source tells HUMAN EVENTS this is the new policy being enforced by Democrats. Republicans will be forced to use the Democrats’ version of language describing their attempted government takeover of healthcare on their official communications with their constituents or they will have to pay for the postage personally.

Developing…

greg334 · Jul 25, 2009

I didn't know that the Franking commission has the right to censor any Representative outside of written mass communications.

They can not tell a any member of the house what they can or can not say to a constituent in person, in a meeting or other forms of verbal communications.

The commission has the right to allow or reject anything written by a house member and has had that right since 1789.

chefdennis · Jul 25, 2009

The key word is "written"..... as you pointed out...

LDB · Jul 25, 2009

You mean the democrats are prohibiting free speech. This is a case of abuse of power because there is nothing in that to warrant censorship by the franking commission. This is another example of the need for an overthrow. 2010 and 2012 can't get here soon enough.

greg334 · Jul 25, 2009

LDB said:
You mean the democrats are prohibiting free speech. This is a case of abuse of power because there is nothing in that to warrant censorship by the franking commission. This is another example of the need for an overthrow. 2010 and 2012 can't get here soon enough.

Leo,
THIS IS NOT a case of censorship, it is something that was setup by the congress when the country was founded. It is because the US postal service is setup as a separate entity and NOT controlled by the US government. Think of it this way, the US postal service is not used as a propaganda arm of the government and this is one of three checks that are in place to ensure they are not used as a propaganda arm.

Every piece of mail you get outside of one on one correspondence from your representatives goes through the Franking Commission - no exceptions.

The representative in this case, Rep Judge Carter, knows what it is all about and to put this out like it was was wrong. He can do so much more than worry about words....

The dems are in control, they are doing the same thing that the republicans did in 1994 and again in 2001 - make sure that legislative terms used according to the administration in power or majority in the congress. so it is always the case of the minority claiming they are being restricted.

RLENT · Jul 25, 2009

Careful greg .... you are likely to become unpopular here ...... actually posting real facts and data ..... rather than just some emotional rant based on ..... nada ......

dieseldiva · Jul 25, 2009

sponsorship_tools;abr=%21ie;sz=88x31;ord=10702721;

Then there's "THE CHART" they don't want anyone to see.....

Democrats Block GOP Health Care Mailing

[FONT=verdana,arial, helvetica, geneva] July 23, 2009
By Jackie Kucinich
Roll Call Staff [/FONT]

[FONT=verdana,arial, helvetica, geneva] Democrats are preventing Republican House Members from sending their constituents a mailing that is critical of the majority’s health care reform plan, blocking the mailing by alleging that it is inaccurate. [/FONT][FONT=verdana,arial, helvetica, geneva]House Republicans are crying foul and claiming that the Democrats are using their majority to prevent GOP Members from communicating with their constituents. [/FONT]
[FONT=verdana,arial, helvetica, geneva]
The dispute centers on a chart (view PDF) created by Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas) and Republican staff of the Joint Economic Committee to illustrate the organization of the Democratic health care plan. [/FONT]
[FONT=verdana,arial, helvetica, geneva]
At first glance, Brady’s chart resembles a board game: a colorful collection of shapes and images with a web of lines connecting them. [/FONT]
[FONT=verdana,arial, helvetica, geneva]
But a closer look at the image reveals a complicated menagerie of government offices and programs that Republicans say will be created if the leading Democratic health care plan becomes law. [/FONT]
[FONT=verdana,arial, helvetica, geneva]
In a memo sent Monday to Republicans on the House franking commission, Democrats argue that sending the chart to constituents as official mail would violate House rules because the information is misleading. [/FONT]
[FONT=verdana,arial, helvetica, geneva]
In their eight-point memo, which was obtained by Roll Call, Democrats identify a litany of areas where they believe the chart is incorrect. [/FONT]
[FONT=verdana,arial, helvetica, geneva]
For example, Democrats argue that the chart depicts a “Health Insurance Exchange Trust Fund” that is “simply a recipient of IRS funds, with no outflow. ... This is false.” [/FONT]
[FONT=verdana,arial, helvetica, geneva]The chart’s illustration of low-income subsidies is also “misleading and false,” Democrats argue. [/FONT]
[FONT=verdana,arial, helvetica, geneva]
Congressional rules for franked mail bar Members from using taxpayer-funded mail for newsletters that use “partisan, politicized or personalized” comments to criticize legislation or policy. [/FONT]
[FONT=verdana,arial, helvetica, geneva]
The dispute over Brady’s chart is being reviewed by the franking commission, which must approve any mail before it can be sent. No decision had been made on the matter by press time. [/FONT]
[FONT=verdana,arial, helvetica, geneva]
Brady adamantly denied that the chart was misleading and said Democrats are simply threatened by the content of the graphic. [/FONT]
[FONT=verdana,arial, helvetica, geneva]
“I think their review was laughable,” Brady said. “It’s ... downright false in most of the cases. The chart depicts their health care plan as their committees developed it.” [/FONT]
[FONT=verdana,arial, helvetica, geneva]
“The chart reveals how their health care bureaucracy works, and people are frightened by it,” he added. “So this is their effort to try and discredit” the chart. [/FONT]
[FONT=verdana,arial, helvetica, geneva]
Republican Members have made 20 requests to mail a version of the chart to their constituents and have been told that the requests are being delayed while the commission reviews allegations that the chart is misleading. [/FONT]
[FONT=verdana,arial, helvetica, geneva]
“Hiding the truth about wildly unpopular policies is a Democrat specialty,” said one GOP aide. “I’d like to see the flow chart on how Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi plans on implementing the open and transparent government she keeps promising everyone.” [/FONT]
[FONT=verdana,arial, helvetica, geneva]
“We have initiated discussions with the minority to try and resolve current differences and are operating in good faith to achieve that goal,” said Kyle Anderson, a spokesman for House Administration Chairman Robert Brady (D-Pa.). The committee has oversight of the commission. [/FONT]
[FONT=verdana,arial, helvetica, geneva]
Rep. Dan Lungren (R-Calif.), ranking member of the committee and a member of the franking commission, said through a spokeswoman that he is also aware of the situation and is working with the members of the franking commission to resolve the differences, but he added that he believed Democrats on the commission were overreaching. [/FONT]
[FONT=verdana,arial, helvetica, geneva]
“He strongly believes that the franking commission does not have the authority to deny Member communications based on partisan differences of pending legislation,” said Salley Collins, a spokeswoman for Lungren. [/FONT]
[FONT=verdana,arial, helvetica, geneva]
The franking commission is made up of three Democrats and three Republicans. [/FONT]
[FONT=verdana,arial, helvetica, geneva]
Republicans quickly embraced Brady’s chart, and over the past week about 50 Members have posted it on their Congressional Web sites or used it in a floor speech. It has also been posted on the home page of the Republican National Committee.

[/FONT]

Dreammaker · Jul 26, 2009

The Donkeys are acting as if they will control both the Senate and the House ad infinitum. They forget they were banished to the hinterlands when Sir Newt and his friends rested the reins of power from them for several election cycles. It will be interesting to see what happens to the Donkey's franking privileges when the tables are once again changed.

FIS53 · Jul 26, 2009

Well the language of the communication should matter as the health care plan was a public one which anyone could join and it is government supported but not government run. Meaning it is a separate entity from the government but utilizes public monies from both individual and taxation contributions.

Minor point maybe but still a fine one. I suppose there is some party haggling over the words as well but all parties engage in it.
Rob

chefdennis · Jul 26, 2009

it is government supported but not government run.

I hope you are talking about canadas program, because the bill that is being stuff on the American people is FULL OF GOVERNMENT MANDATES AND RUN BY THE GOVERNMENT....not just funded by the use of tax dollars....