White House Disables Email to Snitch on Pro-Abortion Health Care Bill Opponents
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
August 17, 2009
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — The White House has quietly disabled the email address it promoted for backers of the pro-abortion health care bills pending in Congress to tattle on opponents of the legislation. Without fanfare, the White House has disabled the email address and is asking people to visit the main web site instead.
Following a huge negative public outcry, Obama administration officials have apparently taken down the [email protected] email address meant for "fishy" claims about the president’s health care proposal.
“The e-mail address you just sent a message to is no longer in service. We are now accepting your feedback about health insurance reform via https://www.whitehouse.gov/realitycheck," the White House says now in any emails responding to notes sent to the address.
The web site is the new Obama factsheet that was noted for appearing to admit that the government-run health care plan includes abortion funding.
The Obama administration introduced the flag email address on August 4, saying, “There is a lot of disinformation about health insurance reform out there, spanning from control of personal finances to end of life care. These rumors often travel just below the surface via chain emails or through casual conversation."
"Since we can’t keep track of all of them here at the White House, we’re asking for your help. If you get an email or see something on the web about health insurance reform that seems fishy," it added.
Though the email address no longer functions, the above request still appears on the White House web site.
Jill Stanek, a pro-life blogger, also noticed the email address is not functioning. She said what is more fishy is that no Obama officials made an announcement about it being taken down, which she says shows the attitude of the administration.
"First, this is how the Obama corrects things, on the sly. He just can’t admit when he’s wrong," Stanek writes.
"Second, who in the world thought this was a good idea to begin with? Here was an example of almost unfathomable ineptitude and inexperience. The wrongness was so basically clear. Hard to believe the White House did this," Stanek added.
Sen. John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, had asked Obama to get his administration to stop the effort, saying that free expression on the health care bills could be "chilled."
"As Congress debates health care reform and other critical policy matters, citizen engagement must not be chilled by fear of government monitoring the exercise of free speech right," he wrote in a letter to Obama.
"I am not aware of any precedent for a President asking American citizens to report their fellow citizens to the White House for pure political speech that is deemed ‘fishy’ or otherwise inimical to the White House’s political interests," Cornyn went on to say.
"I can only imagine the level of justifiable outrage had your predecessor asked Americans to forward e-mails critical of his policies to the White House," Cornyn wrote.
In his letter, Cornyn asked that the information effort cease immediately and that no lists or sources of information or opponents be compiled.
The email address controversy is reminding some of an incident earlier this year, that saw the Department of Homeland Security produce a report saying "opponents of abortion" are likely to engage in extremism or terrorism.
In the new document, the Department of Homeland Security warned law officials about a supposed rise in "rightwing extremist activity," saying the poor economy and presence of a black president could spark problems.
A footnote attached to the nine-page report from the Homeland Security Office of Intelligence and Analysis said the activities of pro-life advocates is included in "rightwing extremism in the United States.”
"It may include groups and individuals that are dedicated to a single-issue, such as opposition to abortion or immigration," the warning said.
The Obama administration sent the document to police and sheriff’s departments across the country on April 7 under the headline, "Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment."
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