Paula Brooks Finally Takes Stance on Healthcare Bill with Desperate Fundraising Pitch

Paula Brooks Finally Takes Stance on Healthcare Bill with Desperate Fundraising Pitch

Ohio Children’s Hospitals Take a Hit in the Process

Washington- Democrat candidate Paula Brooks has done her best to remain silent about the Democrats’ resoundingly unpopular government healthcare takeover, but it looks like she finally let her stance slip in a desperate attempt to raise cash for her uphill climb to Election Day. In a recent fundraising letter, Brooks attacked her opponent for his vote against the Democrats’ reckless healthcare agenda while claiming the mantle of Ohio values:

“My campaign is based on the principles of my Ohio roots.  Growing up on a small farm, I was raised on commonsense and hard work. These core values continue to drive my lifetime commitment to public service.”

“My opponent, however, has unfailingly put his friends in Washington before our needs. His recent ‘NO’ vote on healthcare is just another sign of his dedication to the partisan divisiveness in Washington.” (Paula Brooks Fundraising Letter, 12/07/09)

Apparently, Brooks’ idea of “core” Ohio values includes opposing local healthcare providers, including Ohio children’s hospitals, who spoke out against the Democrats’ healthcare bill just as Brooks embraced it:

“Ohio children’s hospitals say they will be hurt disproportionately byfunding cuts in proposed federal health care legislation because of the large percentage of patients they serve who are covered by Medicaid.”

“Children’s hospital officials fear the funding cuts would be particularly damaging to them. Industry officials say Medicaid only covers 67 percent of the cost of care, leaving hospitals to depend on the federal payments and private insurance to recoup their costs.

“‘It could be a disaster,’ said Akron Children’s Hospital Executive Vice President Shawn Lyden. ‘I think there’s either a fundamental lack of understanding or a misconception in Washington around what this means for children’s hospitals.’” (“Ohio Children’s Hospitals Wary of Health Care Bill,” Associated Press, 12/06/09)

“Paula Brooks’ latest ploy to beef up her campaign account is not only shameless, it’s an affront to the people who actually have to deal with the consequences of her own big-government agenda,” said NRCC Communications Director Ken Spain. “It’s nice to finally know where Brooks stands on her party’s reckless attempts to force their healthcare agenda on Central Ohio families, but her claim that government-run healthcare is a ‘core’ Ohio value is laughable. Now that Brooks has come clean on healthcare, she should feel free to embrace the rest of the Democrats’ destructive policies and let voters know the truth – that she’s more than willing to rubber stamp her party’s push to kill jobs, raise taxes, and halt economic recovery in its tracks.”

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