On Thursday, the New York Times published an article on the health care debates occurring in congressional races around the country.  At one point, they noted the controversy surrounding comments made by 11th District Republican congressional candidate Marty Ozinga on a cable access show in mid-July:

When provided openings, other Democrats have attacked what they see as a Republican soft spot. In the open race in Illinois’s 11th District, for instance, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has distributed two mailings calling attention to the claim by the Republican candidate, Marty Ozinga, that health care is available to all Americans. “I don’t care who you are, if you’re sick or you get hurt, you go to the hospital and you get taken care of,” Mr. Ozinga was quoted as saying on a local cable television program.

Representative Chris Van Hollen, the Maryland Democrat who heads the campaign committee, said Mr. Ozinga’s opponent, State Senator Debbie Halvorson, “is going to zero in on this like a laser beam.”

Progress Illinois first drew attention to Ozinga's comments in a July 14 blog post, noting that they echoed a similar statement by President Bush a year earlier.  Both the DCCC and Halvorson quickly condemned Ozinga's remarks and Southtown Star columnist Kristen McQueary excorciated him in a July 24 piece.