What Was Bad Is Now Good
on April 13th, 2010 at 9:05 am
The same PR firm (a.k.a. Armstrong Williams former employer) that was paid with Federal money to promote Bush’s “No Child Left Behind” is now getting stimulus money to promote Obama’s push for electronic medical records.
So last week, the U.S Department of Health and Human Services hired a public relations firm to try to win consumer trust.
The irony? The firm chosen for the job — Ketchum Inc. — was hip-deep in controversy a few years ago for producing a series of fake TV news stories that violated a federal ban on propaganda. The company also drew fire for channeling taxpayer funds to a conservative pundit to promote the Bush administration’s education policies.
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Consumer advocates warned that the PR contract will only heighten skepticism about the security of online health records. A poll conducted last year by NPR, the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health found that roughly six in 10 Americans lack confidence in the privacy of online health records.
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During the Bush administration, Ketchum and its former lobbying arm, the Washington Group, had several prominent Republicans on the payroll, including former New York Rep. Susan Molinari. In the last year, it has beefed up its Democratic credentials, hiring Jonathan Kopp, a member of the Obama campaign’s national media team, and Donald J. Foley, a longtime Democratic strategist.
Now those of us who are not crazy will immediately notice that the same people who raised pure hell and called this government propaganda a few years ago will now defend this with silence.
“President Obama has fought for us — and we must fight for him. . . .”
Do you now see why statements like this coming from out of all places–the church are completely insane and out of touch?
