Health care opponents attack Dingell remark on 'control the people'

U.S. Rep. John Dingell (D., Dearborn) yesterday clarified his widely circulated remark that the purpose of the health-care reform bill was to "control the people," while an opponent jumped on the comment as a "Freudian slip."

Mr. Dingell said his verbal misstep was being "distorted by right-wing blogs for political purposes."

The veteran congressman, who is from the southwest Michigan district that includes Monroe County, was a strong supporter of the bill that was signed by President Obama on Tuesday.

Speaking on the Paul W. Smith Show on Detroit's WJR-AM Radio (760), Mr. Dingell commented on why many of the bill's benefits won't take effect until 2014.

"The harsh fact of the matter is when you're going to pass legislation that will cover 300 [million] American people in different ways it takes a long time to do the necessary administrative steps that have to be taken to put the legislation together to control the people," Mr. Dingell said.

The audio comment was distributed by Drudge Report and other Web sites under headlines such as, "Shocking Audio: Rep. Dingell Says ObamaCare Will Eventually 'Control the People.'•"

In his clarification, Mr. Dingell said it would be clear to someone listening to the entire interview that, "by 'people' I was referring to the insurance companies who we must do a better job of overseeing."

"We have a lot of work ahead of us to bring the insurance companies in line with the new law and to ensure that they are doing what's right for the American people. It will take time to make sure the system designed to make sure the companies are accountable is up and working as it should be - for the benefit the citizens of the United States of America, not to control them," Mr. Dingell said.

Jack Lynch, an Ann Arbor information technology project manager seeking the GOP nomination to run against Mr. Dingell, said the comment was revealing of Democrats' intentions.

"To me that is exactly what is wrong with this bill, an attempt to control health care from Washington, D.C.," rather than leaving medical decisions to be made between a doctor and patient.

"That seems to be emblematic of the entire mind-set of the Obama Administration and all the Democrats who worked to pass the bill," Mr. Lynch said.

"The whole issue of control is at the heart of what the health-care takeover was all about. Dingell probably didn't mean to be as honest about that as he was. I think it might have been a Freudian slip."

The deadline to file for the Michigan Republican primary is May 11. Also running for the GOP nomination for Michigan's 15th District is Robert Steele.

He could not be reached for comment.

Mr. Dingell, who was first elected in 1955, was re-elected in 2008 with 70 percent of the vote. Mr. Lynch got 25 percent.