the art of the backdown

nevada gop senate hopeful sue lowden on health care reform:

i think that bartering is really good. those doctors who you pay cash, you can barter, and that would get prices down in a hurry. and i would say go out, go ahead out and pay cash for whatever your medical needs are, and go ahead and barter with your doctor. (apr 6)

i'm telling you that this works. you know, before we all started having health care, in the olden days, our grandparents, they would bring a chicken to the doctor. they would say i'll paint your house. ... i'm not backing down from that system. (apr 19)

i, i, i'm not sure, uh, what to say, as far if it's been dragged out of proportion. ... (apr 28)

the comment i made about bartering was not, and was never intended to be, a policy proposal. (apr 30)

iowa gop house hopeful pat bertroche on immigration reform:

i think we should catch 'em, we should document 'em, make sure we know where they are and where they are going. ... i actually support microchipping them. i can microchip my dog so i can find it. why can't i microchip an illegal? (apr 26)

this idea isn't any more politically dumb than any other one. ... i was trying to call attention to how radical the conversation has become. (apr 29)

i don't support microchipping people, but if it's going to become part of the debate — which was not my intent — then microchipping people is not one of those things that is going to cause long-term cancer problems. (apr 29)