New front in the War on Terror

Trial Lawyers:

The billionaire chairman of an insurance company describes members of the group as "terrorists." To the head of a national wholesalers group, they seem like "predators."

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is co-sponsoring a $10-million advertising campaign to "educate voters about the devastating impact" these people are having on the American way of life.

The target of these attacks is not Al Qaeda or some new pestilence sweeping the nation. It's trial lawyers.

These days, the people who bring personal injury lawsuits against corporations, insurers and healthcare providers have replaced "union bosses" as the group that corporate America identifies as its key public enemy. And this year, more than ever before, the war of words between corporate leaders and trial lawyers echoes in the battle for the White House.

This seems to echo Bush's sentiment that trial lawyers are causing a spike in health care costs.

First, I ask you when the last time you felt that corporate America had your well being as their primary goal.

Second, it's another attack ad from a group called "Facts against Bush":

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office concluded in January that imposing new limits on jury verdicts would have at most a tiny effect on the nation's bill for healthcare.

"Malpractice costs account for less than 2% of healthcare spending," the CBO said. So even a sharp drop in premiums would cut the nation's healthcare bill by less than one-half of 1%, the agency concluded.