Rep. Mark Kirk wants you to believe he is making a serious push to reform the nation's health care system. At an April 25 town hall meeting in Palatine he told constituents he has devoted "every available waking minute that I have" to the development of his own health care legislation. We obtained the audio, which is clipped below:

Internal mp3

Kirk went on to say at the event that he has "now lived and breathed with this [issue] for six months."  But a review of the Medical Rights Act he introduced on Wednesday suggests Kirk has spent more time reading conservative pollster Frank Luntz than developing real solutions. Earlier this month, Luntz released a memo titled “The Language of Health Care 2009" in which he provides a framework for "stopping the Washington takeover” of the health care system. The Wonk Room's Igor Volsky summarizes:

Buried amongst the usual rhetoric about government-run health care is Luntz’s predictable contradiction: he instructs Republicans to “be vocally and passionately on the side of REFORM” but then urges GOP lawmakers to misrepresent and obstruct any real chance of passing comprehensive legislation.

Kirk's takes this advice and runs with it. Yesterday, the Media Matters for America Action Network published a line-by-line comparison of the Luntz memo (PDF) and the May 20 press release from Kirk and Rep. Charlie Dent (R-PA) outlining their bill.  MMFA found that the GOP congressmen had "clearly structured their outline around the Luntz memo -- and, just like the other Luntz parrots, have not actually articulated any real solutions." (Others cleary cribbing from the memo include House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH), and Reps. John Shadegg (R-AZ) and Mike Pence (R-IN).)

Here's just one example, in which the Kirk/Dent release emphasizes the importance of the Doctor-Patient relationship:

"'As Congress begins to discuss how best to address America's health care challenges, we must protect the sacrosanct relationship between a patient and a doctor,' Congressman Dent said. 'We should look for common ground in reforms that make health care more accessible and affordable, while improving quality and promoting personalized care. One of the greatest strengths of our health care system is that Americans can rely on getting the care that they need when they need it. This legislation will assure Americans that their health care decisions will continue to be made between themselves and their physician.'" 

And here's "Rule 7" from the Luntz memo:

"'One-size-does-NOT-fit-all.' ...Call for the 'protection of the personalized doctor-patient relationship.'"  

Read the whole list here.