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By Karoun Demirjian (contact) 
Monday, Oct. 8, 2012 | 2 a.m.
More Line of Attack stories
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- Does Dean Heller associate with shady businessmen? (9-23-2012)
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- Is Danny Tarkanian skipping out on his bills to pay for his campaign? (9-9-2012)
- Mitt Romney ad has hits and misses in the message (9-2-2012)
- Does the GOP want to kill Medicare, outsource jobs and raise taxes? (8-26-2012)
- Does Shelley Berkley have a history of public corruption? (8-19-2012)
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Line of Attack is a weekly feature in which we parse a political attack, looking at the strategy behind it, how the campaign is delivering it and what facts support or refute it. We’ll assign it a rating on the fairness meter: Legit, Eye Roll, Guffaw, Laughable or Outrageous.
Attack: Joe Heck voted against requiring insurance companies to pay for the cervical cancer vaccine for human papillomavirus (HPV). Hence, he is “too extreme” for Nevada.
Method of delivery: This is the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s second commercial about votes Heck took, mostly while a state senator, on women’s health issues. The first charged that Heck “opposes a woman’s right to choose” and “voted against funding Planned Parenthood”; the newer commercial just focuses on cervical cancer, starring a nurse who says the disease is preventable and argues Heck “sided with insurance companies” and “voted against saving lives.”
Strategy: This line of attack tries to tie Heck to the war on women Democrats say Republicans are waging through their votes on health care.
Fairness meter: Heck did vote against a bill requiring health insurance providers in Nevada to cover HPV vaccinations in 2007. Heck opposes abortion rights, though he makes exceptions for abortion in cases of rape, incest or health of the mother. And he did back an amendment to eliminate government funding for Planned Parenthood. So the attack is solid on facts.
But this feature is called "line of attack." And there, we have to wonder what the DCCC is thinking.
The only issue from Heck’s time in Congress is the Planned Parenthood vote. But the DCCC chose to double-down on Heck’s cervical cancer vote instead, even though it’s older and less clear-cut. In 2007, there was only one HPV vaccine on the market — Gardasil — and still many questions about its safety (the FDA approved it in 2006). Even the chairman of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was out in 2007 recommending states not pass laws requiring girls to get vaccinated.
Nevada’s law didn’t go that far. And despite new research, it seems Heck hasn’t tried to reverse his position.
Still, considering the age of the charges and the circumstances surrounding them, we rate this line of attack an Eye Roll.
It is not an eye roll... people generally vote the way they truly believe. Heck is a non abortion candidate... it would not matter as you stated if the drug was fully tested and approved or not... he would oppose it! On religious grounds.. they can call it what ever they want.. but it is religious grounds... for that reason.. he gets a vote of no confidence from me..
The constitution clearly states an individual has the right to pursue life (theirs), Liberty (does that need to be explained?), and the pursuit of happiness (I hope that doesn't need to be explained). Given that and the 14th amendments Court interpreted right to privacy makes Hecks position to be that the government feels it has the right to violate at least 2 if not more of those rights!
So Heck is not supporting freedom.. as the Republicans like to imply.. he wants to take them away! In the name of freedom ! How Ironic!
No thanks ! I like my freedoms served plain and simple.. Constitutional style!
Stay out of peoples personal lives... you appear to be perverts always focusing on peoples sex lives and women's genitals! Get over it already or get a subscription to the porno channels you perverts!
We elect you to run the affairs of government not our personal lives! Do your job or you will be fired! With so many people out of work and this issue even coming up in the top 10 as an issue says you are not focused and the wrong man for the job! Really ??? Porno over the LV economy?? Is that what you think we elected you for?
These television commercials are nonscense! They are part truth, very selective and do not offer an explaination. This is why it hard to find decent people to run for political office.
He's anti-choice which makes him too extreme with regard to women's health issues. He will not be receiving my vote.
Joe's votes in concert with the extreme agenda of the Republican right is the threat. To weaken the Republican war on all women, we need to remove all Republicans from congress. Joe is a nice guy, but he has to go. How has that push to privitize VA medical benefits going for you Medic?
So women dying from a preventable disease that Joe Heck (First do no harm) voted against vaccinating for merits an "eye roll"? Some woman Karoun Demirjian is!
I wish Joe had voted for it
Definite eye roll. HPV vaccine at the time was of questionable safety, so opposing requirement that insurance companies cover vaccine was warranted. Joe should support now, putting it in the same category as other optional vaccines, but I don't know as Congress or the State Legislature has gotten off their butts and actually addressed the issue. As to Joe being pro-life, that's never been in doubt (and linking "pro-life" to being "anti-woman" is ridiculous -- killing babies in the womb is NOT anti-woman!)
Dang. Make that "..opposition to killing babies in the womb is NOT anti-woman!)" Need to proof read....
War on women! What war on women? Oh the one perceived and made up by the democratic party to garner votes! That one! Oh yes how many years are you going to run that stupid commercial....Enough! I would like to see a campaign where the truth is told and the candidates run on their records....Oh yes, when you do not have a record to you assassinate the other guys character. You know like Obama does! He has a lousy record so he goes and lies about the other guy to explain his shortcomings. Just like this crap! Okay so lets get the women's vote... Lets make up a fake war on women.....Idiotic!
Attempts to restrict access to certain contraceptives (i.e. the pill) because on extremely rare cases they might act as an abortifacient, attempts to restrict all access to abortion (even rape, life of mother), attempts to restrict poor women's access to health care (restricting funding to planned parenthood and other low-cost clinics). Sounds like a war on women to me.
Heck IS an extremist and obviously a poor doctor if he is against a vaccination for this dangerous disease!
The only thing more extreme than Dr. Joe Heck's position on not wanting to MANDATE insurance companies to provide the HPV vaccine, is John Oceguera's record of not putting Nevadan's first during his tenure as Nevada State Assemblyman. While the Assemblyman claims to be the champion of anything and everything holy to the modern day liberal, John Oceguera has actually voted to cut education spending, he voted to raise taxes on middle income families & small business owners, and he collected 2 tax payer funded pay checks while in Carson City.
Who is really too extreme?
The nurse in the ad uses the words "our Congressman," though she has a New England accent. I respect her opinion and right to utter it but want to verify that she's from Heck's district and is a nurse here. All in the name of truth in adverising.
For a supposed "doctor", Heck doesn't vote like he gives a crap about patients or consituents health.
This repugnican is out of touch with reality.
He certainly does not represent women or women's rights.
He certainly does not represent the 99%.
Vote him out.
Aside from the fact that the guy they're running against Heck is a lightweight, it's a cheap shot to use photos of Heck's sunburned nose. DCCC can do better.
Joe Heck is a member of the Todd Akin, Paul Broun team who believe the old testament should be used to direct what science is allowed to say and also govern America. Old Testament thoughts from 3500 years ago in the Egyptian desert, the 6000 year old Earth and 6 day Creation period. The name 'Moses' is 100% Egyptian, not Hebrew. Keep these creeps in Government and this country will wither and slide back into a bronze age mentality. Their beliefs make them some of the most dangerous people in America.
You're all being "too extreme". Perhaps if you pulled your heads out of your rear ends, then you might realize that Joe Heck is a son, husband, and father who cares about the women in his life and his district very much. Tax Man Johnny is getting desperate!