Johanns Criticizes Health Care Attack Ads

Statement

Senator Mike Johanns today issued the following statement in response to attack ads regarding health care launched against Senator Ben Nelson in Nebraska:

"I am appalled by the misleading tactics being used in Nebraska to bully Senator Nelson into jumping on a radical bandwagon. These attack ads are simply unacceptable. Let me be clear about the fact that I am not weighing in to defend Senator Nelson - he is more than capable of defending himself. I am defending the importance of an honest, open debate about a major policy initiative.

"Health care reform is a very complicated issue. It is the responsibility of every elected official to thoughtfully examine proposals and listen carefully to the wisdom being conveyed from outside the beltway. Many Nebraskans are rightly concerned about the potential loss of their private health insurance and the idea of a federal bureaucrat getting between them and their doctors. It appears to me Senator Nelson is doing what Nebraskans elected him to do - listen to their concerns. To suggest otherwise is nothing more than dirty politics.

"Attack ads are not the way we do business in Nebraska. It is time to turn down the volume on the rhetoric and allow an honest debate to occur."

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