Last week, a lot of political observers were scratching their heads after reports that the Romney campaign is sending direct mail to Virginia voters on, of all things, Lyme Disease. It looked like evidence of campaign micro-targeting reaching new levels of sophistication.
At first blush, the mailing doesn't even make any sense. Romney/Ryan promises to combat Lyme Disease though "improved synergy"? What does that even mean? And what happens to those who contract the illness, but lack basic coverage after Romney/Ryan destroys the Affordable Care Act?
But it turns out, there's more to it than that. Laura Helmuth explained over the weekend that there are niche conspiracy theorists on this issue in Virginia, and in classic dog-whistle fashion, Romney's appealing to them by speaking their language.
Let’s play doctor. A patient comes to you with joint pain, difficulty concentrating, anxiety, poor attention, and mood swings. You might run a series of tests to rule out a persistent infection or other disorder. If your patient lives in a tick- and Lyme-disease-infested area, you would be wise to test for the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi and, if detected, prescribe a course of antibiotics. But suppose the tests come back negative and there is little evidence that your patient was bitten by a tick or was infected with the Lyme disease bacterium. If you are a good doctor, and you are, you might explore a diagnosis of depression, a disease that afflicts almost 10 percent of the population at any given time.
If you are a doctor who believes that the CDC and NIH have misrepresented carefully vetted clinical trial data about the diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease, however, you might diagnose your patient with chronic Lyme disease and prescribe an intensive, long-term, side-effect-laden, mega-dose of antibiotics.
And who would be the biggest supporter of your and your patient’s right to pursue a worth-testing-but-found-wanting treatment? Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan.
There is no doubt that tick-borne illnesses in Northern Virginia are a serious public-health issue, but the Romney mailing, and its promises of "improved synergy," appears to be more political than medical. As Helmuth added, the direct mail seems to suggest, "Forget the science, just channel your legitimate fear of a dangerous disease and your misguided fear of the medical establishment into a vote for us."
Helping drive the conspiracy theory is Michael Farris, a highly influential religious right activist and home-schooling advocate based in Virginia. Farris has no medical background, but he met privately with Romney in September to talk, among other things, "about Lyme disease."
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Tick-tock Mitty your tyme is running out you better apply some improved synergy to your self. Tyme and ticks wait for no man!!!
JEEZUS!!!
"Just go to the emergency room!"
(Thank you WiIIard & Pauly for this brilliant health care plan)
What a farce/tick/dick/
Romney will not stoop to anything to get a vote. I think it funny when he darkened his face when he spoke in front of the Latinos trying to look more like them in skin color. Does he believe the Latinos are so ignorant as not to see that he is a phony Latino. Next he will be putting the war paint on and dressing up in Native Indian garb because I think that is one race he still has yet to appeal to. Even the Native Americans will be to smart to figure out not to vote for Romney. Romney better watch out they may get their tomahawks out and start an uprising against the Romney Ryan Republicans. Maybe they can irradicate and scalp those worthless Teaanderthals while they are on the warpath.
Your comments about Native People, complete with stereotypes, is racist and more in line with the conservatives you apparently dislike. Your comment that "Even the Native Americans will be smart to figure out ..." certainly implies you think they aren't too bright.
There MUST be books in the works for release after November 6th about this being the worst run Presidential campaign in modern history. It's as if Mitt and Ann Romney are living in some alternate universe where they have no idea how they are being perceived by average voters. They just keep smiling, lying and thinking they are winning. Scary stuff.
It is unimaginable the arrogance of the GOP pushing someone like him on the American people, did they really think we would fall for it?
This little Lyme disease was brought to you by their effort to maintain healthcare for only the wealthy.
Its not just Romney who is stooping to extraordinary lows, its the entire GOP.
There's an article in Think Progress about this.
http://thinkprogress.org/health/2012/09/29/930901/mitt-romneys-lyme-disease-mailers-dangerous/
Some people are terrified of lyme disease, quacks have setup a cottage industry preying on them. Read the posts after the article for an eye opening experience.

You haven't done your research.
Don't disparage the people fighting for their lives because of Lyme disease. You simply don't know what you are talking about.
Try the documentary Under Our Skin.
Read from the ILADS site (these are doctors and scientists).
Realize there is a reason Columbia University opened a branch specifically for Lyme disease.
I challenge you to study and keep quiet until you really know what you're talking about.
In other words, they're just trying to appeal to their (BAT-@!$%# CRAZY!!!!) base.
Most of the people suffering from Lyme disease (including myself) will never vote for Mitt Romney, but I do take offense at being called names from a dejected "progressive" over something he/she knows nothing about.
SSDD from the Republicans: Prey on people's fears, whatever they may be.
If you don't fear the Republicans, you're not paying attention. ;-)
If Northern Virginia has ticks, it's because the state stopped mowing the grass in the medians. Looks like little patches of farmland in the middle of the road. When is hay baling season?
If it's code, somebody forgot to give me the secret decoder!
If these guys weren't still within the MOE of winning the election, this would be quite funny. As it stands, not so much . . . MOE: Margin Of Error
How is this affecting mitts mental health ,that his wife Ann was worried about two days ago ,if shes worried about it after 50 years knowing romney ,I am really worried ,How about YOU
In Europe we often have outbreaks of 'Foot and Mouth Disease' which effects livestock. I see that in the US you suffer a similar outbreak every 4 years 'Foot IN Mouth Disease' but it only seems to effect Republicans ?
I believe Romney's concerns about Lyme disease are due to the fact that he has it. He's disoriented (thinks he's in the Caymans with his money), displays mental lapses about ordinary things (Russia is our number one enemy), refuses to give us the details about his plan for economic recovery (there is math involved) and contradicts himself even within the same sentence. Like every other CEO I've ever known, he's not living in the real world and probably doesn't know what a mosquito is.
I am sick to death of these ignorant comments. On Progressive leaning blogs no less. :(
I am a mom of 2 kids with Lyme/Bartonella/Babesia and Ehrlichia. My husband is *permanently* disabled (try fighting SSDI for that) from Late Stage Lyme/Bartonella/Mycoplasma/chronic pneumonia.
I myself have Lyme/Bartonella/Fibromyalgia, and re-activated Mono. And guess what? We all have the blood work to prove it, even though the CDC might not recognize it.
I have fought drs, medical insurance, SSD, schools, DYFS! DO you really think that I would be going broke, fighting this crap for attention? Or because I believe in quackery??
I have seen more cruel posts in the past several days on Lyme-- and unless you have had it, you do not have *any* idea of how awful and debilitating it is-- do NOT call it quackery or a conspiracy.
I am not voting for anyone based on a worthless promise like this, because the Lyme fight has been going on for years. But to insult people who are suffering from Lyme and co-infections... well that makes you no better then them.
Agree! If they only knew...
With you faerywings and Debbie Thompson.
They haven't a clue, but being "progressive" doesn't stop them from talking about people and things they don't understand.
You'd expect a decent progressive to go do a little research.
I don't get it. I'm sensitive to talk about depression. I've been on citalopran for I think a couple of months and it has started to make me depressed instead or more light hearted. I've just quit it. It was a very scary thing.
So, I don't like talk about depression but I don't know much about tick and lyme disease and I have heard that antibiotics are getting more and more abused and therefore weakened. My take on the mailer was that it was against Romney-Ryan.
Am I misunderstanding something?
Not to be confused with slime disease,spread by the GOP tick
I checked out the CDC data. Turns out that nationally, Lyme disease has fallen in incidence in the last few years, from about 30,000 in 2008 and 2009 to about 25,000 in 2010 and 2011. But that's based on science, and who believes in THAT anymore.
You believe the CDC is based on science? Better check again.
Here's a letter I sent to them:
Your site states that B. burgdorferi and T. pallidum are not closely related.
I've found many studies that claim otherwise:
http://www.recovery.gov/Transparency/RecipientReportedData/pages/RecipientProjectSummary508.aspx?AwardIdSur=117172 - states "Neurosyphillis is also re-emerging around the world. T. pallidum is closely related to Borrelia burgdorferi, which causes Lyme disease.".
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC97324/ states:
"orthology coefficient (OC).....the core functional classes, namely, DNA replication and translation, had OCs of 0.94 and 0.98, respectively, which is indicative of largely vertical inheritance.".
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&cad=rja&ved=0CEAQFjAD&url=http%3A%2F%2Farchive.gersteinlab.org%2Fpapers%2Fe-print%2Fspirochete-jmmb%2Ftext.pdf&ei=vXFyUJyNHOffyQG9h4CYAw&usg=AFQjCNFg88sckfei-gMnbLzkIJsAPNefMw&sig2=SsY1QQQrM2vokppRTcNsbA
"In B. burgdorferi and T. pallidum we identified 123 and
126 folds, respectively. The two organisms share more than
a hundred of their folds, 106 altogether.".
I found several other sites showing the same scientific data.
In a situation where correct information is so important, why is this information not being shared or at least shown as being possibly true?
I once worked for a doctor who specialized in treating Lyme disease here in PA. He had me removed the packaging on antibiotic samples received from drug companies to make room for more which he stored in his basement. Thousands of samples. They were devoted Republicans The outer office was covered with photographs of the George Bush and other republican officials. I wonder if there is a connection? lol
Wow, that's really messed up. This is Michelle Bachmann type crazy. Looks
like the Romney campaign is getting desperate now.
I'm an epidemiologist and my first reaction to this was "huh"? After further investigation I still can't find a reason to vote Republican. If we were afraid of every possible germ out there we could never leave the house. Now if Romney plans to do something like increase the CDC budget, That I can get behind.
Treating a disease that testing says doesn't exist,,
like voter ID will cure voter fraud?
first, you all are mixing apples and oranges. politics and medical science. Romney is IMO a moron who indeed was pandering to ill folks. Not necessarily "conspiracy nuts" but to those like many in my family who have suffered with illness, refused proper treatment and been told its all in their heads.yes there are nuts among the Lyme community--marketeers, etc. but far many others are simply very ill folks wanting to be well.
I am a scientist and I can assure you that Lyme disease ( actually Tick Borne Infections because ticks carry many nasty germs at once, Lyme alone is rare) IS real. for some lucky enough to have caught it early and who also have immune systems that can handle it, they do indeed get past it to cure or remissions. BUT for too many others, they end up disabled, crippled even and suffer a horrible life until either the diseases take them or they take their own lives. Marriages are ruined; children cant finish education,jobs are lost.
yes we need research into who will be the less than easily cured; what treatments are best and for how long. yes we need healthcare coverages that doesnt bar pre existing conditions. yes we need more information,
fwiw CDC and NIH arent showing the entire truth. Infectious Dis Society (IDSA) isnt either. too much political and financial at stake. The Lyme folks arent being truthful either IMO. Too many scamming Drs and even patients are preying on sick folks and each other. no accountability left on either side and yet many are ill, for life, and many are dying!! But we cant discount it due to the bad eggs
cases of Lyme and other tick illnesses are RISING not falling. notice all the new TV ads re Babesia , a malaria like illness?? thats tick borne folks..piggy backs with LYME. if tick illness were dropping why then all the TV ads???
LYME can be fatal, or at the least permanently disabling. Its fairly easy to get, hard to diagnose and even harder to treat. for some its chronic. there are SCIENTIFIC data and studies to back this up,.try lymeneteurope.org and study the huge science section.
so lets not allow the presidential campaign muddle this with their nitwit behavior. Not everyone who has Lyme believes in conspiracies or a war of them vs us. I dont. Not everyone in Lyme is looking to cash in. I know Im not. and I have tick illnesses and permanent damages for almost 25 yrs. as does my son who contracted it during my pregnancy with him. I just want the treatment and research that will give my bedbound young adult son his life back, and give me a few healthier years too.
Romney's solution to the Lyme disease problem is tort reform to protect the PHYSICIANS. Quoting from the flyer, "Encourage increased options for the treatment of Lyme Disease and PROVIDE LOCAL PHYSICIANS WITH PROTECTION FROM LAWSUITS to ensure they can treat the disease with the aggressive antibiotics that are required."
You hear that, you Lyme disease victims with your pesky lawsuits because you've been misdiagnosed for years and years for your chronic pain? Stop suing!!!!
The Lyme treating physicians are NOT being sued by their patients, they are being sued by medical boards because they treat outside the strict guidelines of the IDSA. Typically the boards have been notified by insurance companies who don't want to pay claims.
Lyme disease is complex and people, left wing and right wing are suffering because of politics.
I've said this many times, but Romney will say ANYTHING to get a vote. Now he's yet again trying to appeal to the hunters because he hunted 1 or 2 times in his life and now says he hunted "most" of his life. What a $hit.
Dragging one’s wife’s illness from one end of the internet to the other, using it for political gain while playing the sympathy card is below Republicans even. Here you have a woman and 7 of her children who purportedly have Lyme Disease Syndrome who in addition to their suffering have been made into political strawmen to promote Michael Farris and Mitt Romney. That poor woman.