Group says big insurance bought Hatch's vote

The liberal group MoveOn.org staged a rally Wednesday outside the Salt Lake office of Sen. Orrin Hatch saying the insurance industry bought his vote against Democratic health-care reform by giving him nearly $1 million since he took office.

"Sen. Hatch took $913,000 — nearly $1 million — from health insurance companies basically to purchase his vote against a health-care plan that would support everybody," said Lydia Olchoff, one of the organizers of the event.

About three dozen protesters from MoveOn.org stood along State Street in downtown Salt Lake City holding signs at the rally with slogans such as "Whose side are you on?" "Don't side with big insurance," and "We need a public option." They held a replica check of the amount Hatch has taken from insurance companies.

They handed out press releases saying a search of Federal Election Commission records shows he took $913,614 in his career from health insurance companies, ranking 12th among all senators for that.

"We're here to ask Sen. Hatch whose side he is on in the health-care debate: the insurance industry's or his constituents'?" said Richard Lafon, another of the event's organizers.

He added, "We can't risk this opportunity to solve our nation's health-care crisis because the insurance industry wants to protect their profits," Lafon said.

Hatch voted against a Democratic health-care reform bill in the Senate Finance Committee this week, saying it would sicken the economy with "more spending, more government and more taxes."

The rally against Hatch was one of 100 in 43 states that MoveOn.org staged as part of a national day of action.

MoveOn.org is a liberal group that has raised money for Democratic candidates and sometimes produced controversial videos and ads such as one that questioned whether the top U.S. general in Iraq, David Petraeus, should be called Gen. Betray Us.

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