There are plenty of distortions and inaccuracies finding their way into the public forum these days, so it is doubly important that our sterling roster of Democratic gubernatorial candidates remain scrupulous about their facts. If not, there may be hell to pay. This week, when the Shumlin campaign made certain questionable assertions of primacy in the area of single-payor healthcare advocacy, Matt Dunne's campaign responded by crying "foul:"
In a mailing sent out to Vermonters this week, Shumlin writes," "I am the only candidate in this race who has sponsored a single payer health care bill..."
Similarly, in a response to questions from the Burlington Free Press on Vermont's social safety net, Shumlin writes "I am the only candidate who sponsored a single-payer health care bill."
However, in the 1993-1994 Legislative Session, House Bill 0763 titled, "Vermont Health Security Plan/Single-Payer Health Plan" was co-sponsored by several House Members including Matt Dunne. In fact, Dunne has had a long history supporting single payer health care legislation and his current health-care plan is based on a single payer system.
The Dunne campaign is asking the Shumlin campaign for a public apology. It is also demanding that a Dunne-approved correction from Shumlin be sent (at Shumlin's expense) to all the voters who received the original mailer that contained the erroneous statement.
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