Told you so.

A couple of days ago, I wrote about the latest in Republican scare tactics on health insurance reform - namely a fundraising solicitation by the Republican National Committee. In said fundraising piece, phrased as a survey, the RNC states that under the Democratic plan for health insurance reform:

GOP voters might be discriminated against for medical treatment in a Democrat-imposed health-care rationing system.

Today, the AP has ahold of it, and the RNC's answers are less than forthcoming. In fact, they're downright shady. Go read it for yourself. I'd quote from it, but the AP hasn't quite adjusted to the world of blogs, and they get grumpy about quoting their content. (I promised JMac I'd try not to get us sued this week.)

Anyway, this is important. The distortions (and that's putting it politely) being spewed out about health insurance reform are well-established (death panels, anyone?), but usually they're limited to random crazies at town halls, or television talking heads like Rush, Hannity, or Glenn Beck.

Now however, you have a lie that can be instantly proven false, being pushed by a much more credible source - the Republican National Committee - i.e. the national Republican Party.

Is this a sign of desperation? Or is Michael Steele truly just that insane? In any event, the RNC has been politicizing this event from day one - it's all they've got. Remember, these are the same guys who brought you a budget with no actual numbers in it.

Now they're bringing you health care pushback with no real truth to it.

More on health care, or perhaps "morons on health care"

Two quick things of note, for those of us who can't get enough of health insurance reform:

This is an actual question from an actual survey (read fundraising solicitation) sent out by the actual chairman of the actual Republican National Committee.

I don't know which depresses me more, the fact that the whizkids at the RNC actually think people will fall for this, or that fact that, at least as far as their base is concerned, they're right.

Hello, new meme.

And this is an actual quote, from an actual United States Senator, who was actually elected by people to actually represent them, and actually gets to vote on health care:

"I don't have to read it, or know what's in it. I'm going to oppose it anyways."

-- Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK), quoted by the Express-Star, on the health care reform bill.

There you go. There you have it. The entire Republican anti-health insurance reform strategy.

Stupid Republican survey via Wonkette, stupid Republican quote via Political Wire.