Judicial Watch Releases Records of Hillarys Health Care Plan

[GaryC 7]

Internal Memos Detail Creation of Government “Interest Group Database” to Collect Personal Data on Health Care Debate Activists

(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, today released records obtained from the Clinton Presidential Library related to the National Taskforce on Health Care Reform, a “cabinet-level” task force chaired by former First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton during the Clinton administration. Specifically, these documents come from the White House Health Care Interdepartmental Working Group.

Among the highlights of the documents released by Judicial Watch:

• A June 18, 1993 internal Memorandum entitled, “A Critique of Our Plan,” authored by someone with the initials “P.S.,” makes the startling admission that critics of Hillary’s health care reform plan were correct: “I can think of parallels in wartime, but I have trouble coming up with a precedent in our peacetime history for such broad and centralized control over a sector of the economy…Is the public really ready for this?... none of us knows whether we can make it work well or at all…”

• A “Confidential” May 26, 1993 Memorandum from Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) to Hillary Clinton entitled, “Health Care Reform Communications,” which criticizes the Task Force as a “secret cabal of Washington policy ‘wonks’” that has engaged in “choking off information” from the public regarding health care reform. The memorandum suggests that Hillary Clinton “use classic opposition research” to attack those who were excluded by the Clinton Administration from Task Force deliberations and to “expose lifestyles, tactics and motives of lobbyists” in order to deflect criticism. Senator Rockefeller also suggested news organizations “are anxious and willing to receive guidance [from the Clinton Administration] on how to time and shape their [news] coverage.”

• A February 5, 1993 Draft Memorandum from Alexis Herman and Mike Lux detailing the Office of Public Liaison’s plan for the health care reform campaign. The memorandum notes the development of an “interest group data base” detailing whether or not organizations “support(ed) us in the election.” The database would also track personal information about interest group leaders, such as their home phone numbers, addresses, “biographies, analysis of credibility in the media, and known relationships with Congresspeople.”

These records released by Judicial Watch were obtained from the approximately 13,000 records made publicly available by the Clinton Library. The National Archives admits there may be an additional 3,022,030 textual records, 2,884 pages of electronic records, 1,021 photographs, 3 videotapes and 3 audiotapes related to the Task Force that are being withheld indefinitely from the public. On November 2, 2007 Judicial Watch filed a lawsuit with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against the National Archives to force the release of all the Task Force records.

“These documents paint a disturbing picture of how Hillary Clinton and the Clinton administration approached health care reform – secrecy, smears, and the misuse of government computers to track private and political information on citizens,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “There are millions more documents that the Library has yet to release. The Clintons continue to play games and pretend they have nothing to do with this delay. The Clintons should get out of the way and authorize the release of these records now.”

http://judicialwatch.org/judicial-watch-re...e-reform-plan-0

Edited January 18, 2008 by GaryC

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

I stand behind the idea of healthcare reform but not sure if HC is the right person to do it, given that she accepted "donations" from the insurance industry money to keep quiet.

[Peikko 1,575]

Politics going on in the normal way and?

I realise that some people think the very idea of a universal health care program is akin to suggesting that the US adopts communism, but quite frankly those people are wonky in the head.

[GaryC 7]

Politics going on in the normal way and?

I realise that some people think the very idea of a universal health care program is akin to suggesting that the US adopts communism, but quite frankly those people are wonky in the head.

This story is less about the health care proposal that HC wanted, that bombed badly, and more about the spying that HC wanted with the database of opponents. It shows what a HC presidency would be like. She would make Cheney look like Mr Sunshine.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

I watched the Michael Moore movie the other day - the take he has on that is quite funny and typically cartoonish - with excerpts of old Soviet public information films, and (more seriously) a public information LP read by Ronald Reagan, suggesting that Socialized Healthcare would be the beginning of the end.

[Peikko 1,575]

I still think it's farcical to suggest that only HC would/does/could engage in such tactics. To me, that's like head-sand-buried.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Judicial Watch is an American government watchdog organization founded in 1994.[1] The group uses litigation as its primary tool and came to public attention after filing 18 lawsuits against the administration of Democratic U.S. President Bill Clinton and figures in the Clinton administration. The organization was the first to expose John Huang's illegal fund-raising activities relating to the 1996 United States campaign finance controversy (also known as Chinagate).[2]

They have also received a great deal of funding from Clinton critics, including $7.74 million from conservative anti-Clinton billionaire Richard Mellon Scaife.[3] This led Clinton administration officials to accuse them of "abusing the judicial system for partisan ends".[4]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judicial_Watch

[GaryC 7]

Judicial Watch is an American government watchdog organization founded in 1994.[1] The group uses litigation as its primary tool and came to public attention after filing 18 lawsuits against the administration of Democratic U.S. President Bill Clinton and figures in the Clinton administration. The organization was the first to expose John Huang's illegal fund-raising activities relating to the 1996 United States campaign finance controversy (also known as Chinagate).[2]

They have also received a great deal of funding from Clinton critics, including $7.74 million from conservative anti-Clinton billionaire Richard Mellon Scaife.[3] This led Clinton administration officials to accuse them of "abusing the judicial system for partisan ends".[4]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judicial_Watch

So? It does not change the facts stated here. Just because a group has an agenda does not mean everything they say should be ignored. HC is as secretive if not more secretive than the Bush/Cheney administration has been. For those that hammered them over secretive back-room deals should take note that they will get the same thing with HC.

[Peikko 1,575]

Which shouldn't be a problem as she won't get even the nomination let alone be elected according the most VJ pundits.

However, to blithely assume that putting any of the other candidates in the WH is going to somehow produce clean politics...as I said, head-sand-buried.

[GaryC 7]

Which shouldn't be a problem as she won't get even the nomination let alone be elected according the most VJ pundits.

However, to blithely assume that putting any of the other candidates in the WH is going to somehow produce clean politics...as I said, head-sand-buried.

At least there is a chance (however small) that a cleaner version of politics would happen with someone (anyone) else than HC. With her it's a given.

[no name 1]

At least there is a chance (however small) that a cleaner version of politics would happen with someone (anyone) else than HC. With her it's a given.

According to YOU, Gary.

[Peikko 1,575]

How much cleaner? Honestly, I do think that's slightly farcical. Argue against her on her professed 'vision' by all means, but to suggest that one candidate is less clean than another just seems silly to me.

Actually, for me that should read less dirty. Personally, I think all politics is dirty and the more money in the pot, the dirtier it gets.

[GaryC 7]

At least there is a chance (however small) that a cleaner version of politics would happen with someone (anyone) else than HC. With her it's a given.

According to YOU, Gary.

Thats right, keep that denial going.

[no name 1]

At least there is a chance (however small) that a cleaner version of politics would happen with someone (anyone) else than HC. With her it's a given.

According to YOU, Gary.

Thats right, keep that denial going.

Name calling now to make your point?

[one...two...tree 2,762]

So? It does not change the facts stated here. Just because a group has an agenda does not mean everything they say should be ignored. HC is as secretive if not more secretive than the Bush/Cheney administration has been. For those that hammered them over secretive back-room deals should take note that they will get the same thing with HC.

This Richard Mellon Scaife has got it in for the Clintons. Call me when you can find some other 'non-partisan' source.