Complete with a photo of her late parents, ABC's Jonathan Karl
concluded his Friday night story on undecided Democratic House members
by conveying the complaint of Pennsylvania's Kathy Dahlkemper [1],
who contended a TV ad about how further government control of health
care will lead to delays in cancer treatment as has occurred in Britain,
is inappropriate because her parents recently died from cancer.
"Perhaps the most powerful personal story belongs to
Pennsylvania's Kathy Dahlkemper," Karl intoned, pointing out "her
father died of leukemia in February, and her mother died just two weeks
ago, and now she finds herself among the undecided Democrats targeted
by this ad." Viewers then saw a very brief clip of an ad [2] from Americans for
Prosperity [3] in which a woman maintained: "If you find a lump, you
could wait months for treatment and life-saving drugs can be
restricted."
Karl relayed Dahlkemper's indignation: "She says the group that
made the ad is wrong, and takes it personally." In a soundbite, the
freshman representing the Northwestern area of the Keystone State
squeezed between Ohio and New York, decried: "So, for these ads to come
out and somehow say that I'm soft on cancer, after having just lost two
parents within the last six weeks from cancer, and with having the
record I have really for supporting wellness, to me, is wrong."
How dare citizens subject Members of Congress to political advocacy
and arguments with which they disagree!
March 16 Dahlkemper press release: "After Dahlkemper loses her parents to cancer, tobacco
front group launches attack [4]."
Erie Times-News posting of an AP dispatch from DC: "Dahlkemper says health care ad distorts and hurts [5]."
From the end of Karl's story on the Friday, March 19 World News on
ABC:
JONATHAN KARL: ...Perhaps the most powerful personal story belongs to Pennsylvania's Kathy Dahlkemper. Her father died of leukemia in February, and her mother died just two weeks ago, and now she finds herself among the undecided Democrats targeted by this ad.
WOMAN IN TV AD FROM 'HANDS OFF MY HEALTH CARE.COM': If you find a lump, you could wait months for treatment and life-saving drugs can be restricted.
KARL: She says the group that made the ad is wrong, and takes it personally.
U.S. REPRESENTATIVE KATHY DAHLKEMPER (D): So, for these ads to come out and somehow say that I'm soft on cancer, after having just lost two parents within the last six weeks from cancer, and with having the record I have really for supporting wellness, to me, is wrong.
KARL: Congresswoman Dahlkemper tells tonight she is still undecided but, Diane, even for those today who made up their mind, this is not over. They are under attack from one side or the other back home in their districts.
- Brent Baker is Vice President for Research and Publications at the Media Research Center. Click here [6] to follow him on Twitter.