Using Kids As Props In SCHIP Debate? You Betcha

By Martin Kady II

(The Politico)  Democrats are getting a good ride this week out of President Bush's looming veto of the children's health insurance bill, and they're not afraid to tug at the heart strings a bit to play out this issue.

Earlier in the week, House Democrats brought children to a press conference on the State Children's Health Insurance Program. Senate Democrats upped the pressure on Wednesday when they brought a priest, a nun and a rabbi as part of a "people of faith" press conference pressuring Bush to sign the $35 billion expansion of the SCHIP program.

And tomorrow, a 12-year-old boy who receives SCHIP benefits will read the weekly Democratic radio address. The boy, Graeme Frost of Baltimore, who suffered severe brain injuries in a car accident a few years ago, says he may not have survived his injuries and the follow up therapy if he hadn't been receiving the federal health benefits.

Republicans have moaned that Democrats have used children as props during this debate, but a spokesman for Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) was unapologetic.

"What exactly is the problem with having a young person who knows first hand the importance of chip deliver the radio address?" spokesman Jim Manley said.

Check out the Graeme's full radio address after the jump.