I've caught this ad a few times being run by New Jersey Progress hitting Chris Christie over the mandate and mammogram issue:The ad features women talking about their personal experiences with mammograms and hits Christie's mandate-free proposal as only benefiting the insurance companies. Here is the documentation NJ Progress put out with their ad. Have you seen this in your area?
The poll states, "As he faced a withering assault from Corzine and independent groups over the issue of insurance coverage of mammograms, Christie has lost significant ground with women, especially independent women. He now posts a net favorability rating of - 19 with women, down from - 7 two weeks ago. Among independent women, the drop is even more pronounced: from - 7 two weeks ago to - 34 today, with half the independent women giving him an unfavorable rating. This has clearly benefited Corzine in the vote as the governor now leads among women by 14 points, up from 6 points two weeks ago.''
And that's why Christie changed his website to remove the word mandate-free and why they're trying to push back so forecfully. Because their position is very unpopular and causing women to flee. Here is the trend of all the recent polls from Pollster.com, which now shows the race as an average less than 1 point lead for Christie if you put it on the high sensitivity:
Here's a powerful new web ad out from the Corzine campaign responding to Christie's exchange with a breast cancer survivor and his categorizing the situation as an exception:
The Corzine campaign yesterday called out the Christie campaign for once again selectively editing their website to change their stance on issues. We first had this problem when the Christie campaign was "launching their new website" and they magically lost their "Shared Values" section of the site. I don't know what the excuse is this time, but now we're missing those magical words of his healthcare plan, "mandate-free". See the Christie campaign hasn't learned yet that the google is not their friend, because this thing called the cache actually keeps a record of the tracks you're trying to cover and hope people won't realize. Here's what the Christie campaign website said, along with a screenshot to back it up:
Offer "Mandate-Free" Policies. Insurance companies will be permitted to offer "mandate-free" policies. These policies might better fit the needs of some consumers who may not need extravagant benefits, such as young, single consumers.
Chris' plan will allow for insurance carriers to offer multiple plans in addition to a mandated plan so that people can pick and choose the type of affordable coverage the best fits their personal health care needs. Right now New Jersey has 45 mandates, which drive up the cost of health care plans and make it virtually impossible for some New Jerseyans to afford coverage. By allowing insurance carriers to offer multiple plans with different options, New Jerseyans currently priced out of the market and without insurance will now be able to afford a plan that works to fit their needs. Chris' plan will reduce the numbers of New Jerseyans currently without health insurance.
So at the same time he uses his mother and wife as props to help shield him and calls Governor Corzine a liar, his campaign is busy scrubbing any reference to the truth he doesn't want people to really see. Unfortunately for Christie, technology is still smarter than he and his campaign. Here's some of the stories his proposals have produced:
Associated Press: Christie's plan allows "insurers to offer mandate-free coverage...Two of the mandates involve mammograms." [AP, 10/4/09]
Star Ledger: Christie's plan "would allow any insurer to sidestep mandates, including the one requiring mammogram coverage for young women who have a family history of cancer." [Tom Moran, Star Ledger, 9/27/09]
Courier News: Christie advocates a "bare bones insurance policy that would eliminate many mandates...such as mammograms and prostate exams." [Rick Malwitz, Courier News, 9/23/09]
His real problem besides technology is that his policy proposal is so unpopular it's damaging his standing in the polls.
