Yanked: Bob Dole Tells DNC To Pull Health Care Ad Twisting His Position
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From Jake Tapper’s “Political Punch”:
The Democratic National Committee has agreed to pull a TV ad featuring former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, R-Kan., following objections Dole conveyed to the White House that the ad twists his support for a bipartisan compromise for health care reform legislation into something else entirely.
The ad, which was set to launch Monday, features Dole and other Republican former officials advocating in general terms for health care reform.
Dole is quoted saying, “I want this to pass. … We’ve got to do something,” and the ad attempts to contrast that attitude with that of current GOP congressional leaders, which the DNC describes as “siding with the insurance companies and just saying no to insurance reform.”
“I wish they hadn’t done it,” Dole said of the DNC ad in a phone interview with ABC News on Sunday afternoon, saying that the ad’s depiction of current GOP leaders “is just not my view.”
He found it a bit ironic that “all I’ve been doing is urging bipartisanship” and that was used for partisan purposes.
“The ad doesn’t reflect what I was trying to do,” he said. “I just didn’t think it was fair when I’ve tried to be helpful in encouraging a bipartisan solution for the DNC to run an ad that I interpreted and I know others did as a backhanded comment about Republicans.”
Dole also objected to any impression that the ad suggested he endorsed any specific legislation when he’s tried to keep what he’s supporting “pretty generic.”
Dole conveyed as much to White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel yesterday, who told the DNC to pull the ad.
“We have great respect for Sen. Dole and his commitment to reform,” a DNC spokesman told ABC News. “As soon as Sen. Dole’s concerns were communicated to us we immediately agreed to pull the ad.”
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