The Orentlicher campaign made the following response to Woody Myers threatened lawsuit today.

"We stand by our ad. It is true and accurate. Stations will keep the ad up. This political stunt is designed to distract from the real issue in this race--the extraordinary influence of special interests on the other candidates," Orentlicher spokesman Chad Chitwood stated.

The facts are:

Andre Carson has taken hundreds of thousands of dollars from special interests, including the insurance companies, bankers and defense contractors that are blocking progress in this country.

Woody Myers sold out the public when Democrats in Congress were trying to protect patients and doctors from insurance companies that were putting profits over patient welfare. Myers testified before Congress not once but twice in 1999 on behalf of insurance companies, HMOs and large corporations against the Democratic version of the Patients Bill of Rights. Specifically, he maintained that insurance companies and HMOs, not doctors and patients, should be allowed to decide what treatments are medically necessary. Testimony like this helped the Republican majority in Congress succeed in killing the Patients' Bill of Rights that year.

We can understand why Woody Myers would like to keep his record hidden but the fact remains: when he could have made a real difference, Woody Myers sided with the insurance companies and HMOs against Indiana families and their doctors.

David Orentlicher lives on the North side of Indianapolis with wife Judy and children Cy (7) and Shayna (4) and he has represented the 86th district since 2002.