The ‘Let him die’ cheer from Monday night’s Republican debate is not going away.
The progressive pro-health care reform group Protect Your Care promised to pressure Republicans over the memorable moment — when members of the audience cheered on the idea of letting the uninsured die rather than provide them with government-funded care — and on Wednesday they delivered.
The group has launched LetHimDie.com, a petition site based around debate moderator Wolf Blitzer’s debate question that led to cheers. Going along with the site is a online ad campaign that features the face of the Republican candidates with “Would [NAME] Let An Uninsured Man Die?”
Progressive groups have seized on the moment from the debate, even as Democrats have shied away from using it on the campaign trail.
The new Protect Your Care campaign is part of what the group called “a growing drumbeat” leading up to the next Republican debate on Sept. 22 in Orlando, FL. The group is “testing” the web ads with a $5,000 buy Wednesday that web users Florida, Iowa, New Hampshire and Washington, DC. After that, the group says they’ll “tweak” the buy and keep it running through next week’s debate.
The cheer for letting a hypothetical uninsured man die at the debate shocked many who witnessed it, including GOP frontrunner Rick Perry, who was on stage while Blitzer was questioning Ron Paul, which led to the cheer. On Tuesday, Perry told reporters he was “taken aback” by the comment.
“We’re the party of life,” Perry said. “We ought to be coming up with ways to save lives.”
Despite his remarks, Perry’s name will still be included in the Protect Your Care campaign ads, suggesting that progressives think the moment will let them draw a sharp contrast with the entire Republican field.
Evan McMorris-Santoro
Evan McMorris-Santoro has covered politics for TPM since 2009. Before that, he was a reporter at National Journal’s Hotline covering election 2008. He started his career covering local politics at newspapers in TN and his native NC.
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