The spin from the Obama campaign is getting ever more desperate over the vicious and misleading ad blaming Romney for a death from cancer.
Yahoo News reports:
“I don’t know the facts about when Mr. Soptic’s wife got sick, or the facts about his health insurance,” deputy campaign manager Stephanie Cutter told CNN on Wednesday.
But there’s a problem. As Politico first reported, Soptic told essentially the same story in a May 14, 2012, conference call hosted by the Obama campaign. Here’s what he said then, according to a partial recording of the call passed along by a Republican official:
After we lost our jobs, we found out that we were going to lose our health insurance, and that our pensions hadn’t been funded like Bain promised they would be. I was lucky to find another job as a custodian in a local school district. They gave me some health insurance, but I couldn’t afford to buy it for my wife. A little while later she was diagnosed with lung cancer. I had to put her in a county hospital because she didn’t have health care, and when the cancer took her away, all I got was an enormous bill. That put a lot of stress on me: I thought I’d be paying it off until I died myself. That probably wouldn’t have happened if Bain kept its promise and I was allowed to keep our health insurance.
“It’s upsetting what Mitt Romney and his partners did to us,” he added.
In other words, Obama’s people knew about Soptic and his story months ago, and they’re trying to hide that connection, for obvious reasons now that the ad has gone sour on them.
Another attempted defense from the Obama supporters is that campaigns are legally prohibited from coordinating with PACs, but that doesn’t mean as much as they seem to think, given the multiple dishonesties we’ve seen from this gang of Chicago thugs turned politicians.
Let me explain it this way:
- If they had illegally coordinated with the PAC, what would they say?
- If they hadn’t illegally coordinated with the PAC, what would they say?
It’s obvious, in both those cases, they’d deny it. So their denial means very little.
This morning on Fox and Friends, Rudy Giuliani offered the opinion that the Obama campaign would rather have people talking about this than the economy. While that may be what the Obamaites are thinking, I’m not sure that people focusing on this particular ad is a net positive for The One, especially given their transparently false attempts to spin the story now.
(originally posted on conservative-wanderer.com)
UPDATE: And now, the Obama campaign has backpedaled and admitted that yes, they knew all about Joe Soptic.
Obama campaign spokeswoman Jen Psaki acknowledged Thursday that the campaign was no longer pleading ignorance about the story of a man who has appeared in both a super PAC ad and a campaign ad.
"No one is denying he was in one of our campaign ads. He was on a conference call telling his story," Psaki told reporters on Air Force One.
Typical Chicago tactics: smear, deny, then when you can't deny any more, admit it; then do it again. Lather, rinse, repeat.
Romney's camp is hitting back, though, and I think that's a good thing.
Amanda Henneberg, a spokesperson for the Romney campaign, said this in a statement: "President Obama’s campaign has been caught lying about its knowledge concerning a vicious smear run by his Super PAC. And now, they have doubled down with another dishonorable and dishonest attack. In 2008, candidate Obama said ‘you make a big election about small things’ when you don’t have a record to run on. Since President Obama can’t run on record unemployment, falling incomes, and massive debt, he has decided to run a dirty campaign that is an affront to everything he claims to stand for."
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May '10
Re: Obama Camp: That Guy On The Cancer Ad? Don’t Know Him, Even Though He Was On A Conference Call Three Months Ago (UPDATE: Now They Admit It)
It does not matter. The press is in the bag. Obama could be eating dogs, and the press won't cover it.
May '12
Re: Obama Camp: That Guy On The Cancer Ad? Don’t Know Him, Even Though He Was On A Conference Call Three Months Ago (UPDATE: Now They Admit It)
If just 25% of the mainstream media was objective and professional the Obama campaign would be cooked like fried chicken.
The reason we have the majority leader of the U.S. Senate outright lying on the floor of the chamber is because there is no public/press consequences for such.
May '10
Re: Obama Camp: That Guy On The Cancer Ad? Don’t Know Him, Even Though He Was On A Conference Call Three Months Ago (UPDATE: Now They Admit It)
Exactly. How can we win in the face of that?
BrentB67: If just 25% of the mainstream media was objective and professional the Obama campaign would be cooked like fried chicken.
The reason we have the majority leader of the U.S. Senate outright lying on the floor of the chamber is because there is no public/press consequences for such. · 45 minutes ago
Aug '11
Re: Obama Camp: That Guy On The Cancer Ad? Don’t Know Him, Even Though He Was On A Conference Call Three Months Ago (UPDATE: Now They Admit It)
I wish we wouldn't call "spin" what are actually flat-out lies.
We now know that Joe Soptic was offered a buy-out when GST Steel closed. We know he took another job. We know he was offered insurance at that job and declined it. And we know his wife had her own insurance at the time.
We also know that it wasn't until 2006 that his wife was diagnosed with cancer, and that she died a mere 22 days after diagnosis. This is incredibly sad.
But blaming Mitt Romney requires the analytical reasoning of a three-year-old.
Jun '12
Re: Obama Camp: That Guy On The Cancer Ad? Don’t Know Him, Even Though He Was On A Conference Call Three Months Ago (UPDATE: Now They Admit It)
DrewInWisconsin: I wish we wouldn't call "spin" what are actually flat-out lies.
We now know that Joe Soptic was offered a buy-out when GST Steel closed. We know he took another job. We know he was offered insurance at that job and declined it. And we know his wife had her own insurance at the time.
We also know that it wasn't until 2006 that his wife was diagnosed with cancer, and that she died a mere 22 days after diagnosis. This is incredibly sad.
But blaming Mitt Romney requires the analytical reasoning of a three-year-old. · 1 minute ago
My apologies, Drew... when I say "spin" in this context I pronounce it like I am spitting... hard to convey online.
As for the analytical reasoning of a three-year-old, I know one or two three-year-olds that could do better.
Aug '11
Re: Obama Camp: That Guy On The Cancer Ad? Don’t Know Him, Even Though He Was On A Conference Call Three Months Ago (UPDATE: Now They Admit It)
I think there should be some sort of legal consequences when a sitting Senator slanders someone from the floor of the Senate.
Impeachment, perhaps?
Aug '11
Re: Obama Camp: That Guy On The Cancer Ad? Don’t Know Him, Even Though He Was On A Conference Call Three Months Ago (UPDATE: Now They Admit It)
ConservativeWanderer
My apologies, Drew... when I say "spin" in this context I pronounce it like I am spitting... hard to convey online.
Oh, no . . . I didn't mean to impugn you. I've seen that word used all over the web for various Obama lies -- flat-out lies. Drives me nuts!
It's sort of like when a guy goes into a movie theater, murders a bunch of people, and the press insists on referring to him as "the alleged shooter."
Jul '11
Re: Obama Camp: That Guy On The Cancer Ad? Don’t Know Him, Even Though He Was On A Conference Call Three Months Ago (UPDATE: Now They Admit It)
Some Soptic sophistry.
Mar '12
Re: Obama Camp: That Guy On The Cancer Ad? Don’t Know Him, Even Though He Was On A Conference Call Three Months Ago (UPDATE: Now They Admit It)
with regard to Obama, his promises, and the attack ads, it appears that virtually nothing is what it originally appeared to be. That said, the truth comes out eventually, and the truth about Obama, his promises, and his attack ads is coming out now, in real time, in his face, and in the face of the American electorate.
Hurrah!!!
Jun '12
Re: Obama Camp: That Guy On The Cancer Ad? Don’t Know Him, Even Though He Was On A Conference Call Three Months Ago (UPDATE: Now They Admit It)
LOL! I love it, Doc!
Mar '12
Re: Obama Camp: That Guy On The Cancer Ad? Don’t Know Him, Even Though He Was On A Conference Call Three Months Ago (UPDATE: Now They Admit It)
Drew: But blaming Mitt Romney requires the analytical reasoning of a three-year-old.
Actually, at three years old, my kids would not have understood this at all. If they had been concerned in the slightest, they would have brought it to me or their mother.
CS Lewis noted that the mind is the organ of reason and that it should direct the heart in preparing the proper emotion. Liberals work this backward, and when they fail (regularly), they don't understand why.
Jul '11
Re: Obama Camp: That Guy On The Cancer Ad? Don’t Know Him, Even Though He Was On A Conference Call Three Months Ago (UPDATE: Now They Admit It)
CW, take it for your blog:). I checked on this story last night and could not find out how heavy a smoker Ilyona Soptic was. I did find some odd timelines though. I didn't see Philip Morris blamed but Soptic has his own PTSD entitled axe to grind here and God forbid their own choices may have contributed to the issues. Like nearly everyone with lung cancer she was doomed when she got it and delays actually gave her time without worrying about it's inevitable course.
Jun '12
Re: Obama Camp: That Guy On The Cancer Ad? Don’t Know Him, Even Though He Was On A Conference Call Three Months Ago (UPDATE: Now They Admit It)
I hadn't considered the smoking angle before, but you're right, that's worth checking into.
What still amazes me is that apparently no one at this PAC said, "wait a minute, we used this guy before, and he was on that conference call a few months ago, aren't people going to smell a rat?" Or if someone did raise that point, it was ignored by the brass.
Jul '11
Re: Obama Camp: That Guy On The Cancer Ad? Don’t Know Him, Even Though He Was On A Conference Call Three Months Ago (UPDATE: Now They Admit It)
Conservative Wanderer, I think they all knew and not only did not care, but were hoping for a response. I suspect their goal is to get the Romney camp to speak about anything other than our economy, which they foolishly did when a Romney aide said if she was in Massachusetts she'd have been covered. Oof. The media is primed to spin every Romney comment with pure negativity and getting Romney to engage the media may be the goal here. Like no election before, citizen journalists must hold the media and spin machines in check and in this case it appears to be gaining momentum considering the overt lies and ethical misconduct here.
Jun '12
Re: Obama Camp: That Guy On The Cancer Ad? Don’t Know Him, Even Though He Was On A Conference Call Three Months Ago (UPDATE: Now They Admit It)
That may indeed have been the individual idea, but the way it's turned out (Drudge refers to it as "turn[ing] malignant," a turn of phrase I particularly like), it's turning into a net negative for the Obamacrats, as they struggle to explain why they ran such a bad ad in the first place.
Feb '12
Re: Obama Camp: That Guy On The Cancer Ad? Don’t Know Him, Even Though He Was On A Conference Call Three Months Ago (UPDATE: Now They Admit It)
Did Mr Soptic sound to you like he was reading from a script in that tape? At one point there is a pause that was is natural sounding, like someone turning a page and continuing. Also, weird how he wore the same shirt-- just a coincidence, I'm sure. And why would a guy exploit his dead wife for a campaign? Could he be paid for doing this? Ugh, if so, what a creep.
Jun '12
Re: Obama Camp: That Guy On The Cancer Ad? Don’t Know Him, Even Though He Was On A Conference Call Three Months Ago (UPDATE: Now They Admit It)
Good questions, all of them.
Hate to reference a tabloid, but, "Inquiring minds want to know."
Mar '11
Re: Obama Camp: That Guy On The Cancer Ad? Don’t Know Him, Even Though He Was On A Conference Call Three Months Ago (UPDATE: Now They Admit It)
Yeah, and Prof. Ayers was just a guy in the neighborhood.
Jan '11
Re: Obama Camp: That Guy On The Cancer Ad? Don’t Know Him, Even Though He Was On A Conference Call Three Months Ago (UPDATE: Now They Admit It)
The Obama Administration governs with this same attention to detail.
They've never worried about it for the same reason they aren't seriously worried about this one ... they know that they won't be held accountable for it.
Jun '11
Re: Obama Camp: That Guy On The Cancer Ad? Don’t Know Him, Even Though He Was On A Conference Call Three Months Ago (UPDATE: Now They Admit It)
Ok, I'll say it. Based on the telephone transcript above, sounds like maybe Joe Soptic killed his wife. He chose not to cover her due to the expense- but he thinks Mitt Romney, who was NOT married to her, never even met her, should have been paying for her insurance.
Or maybe lung cancer killed his wife.