President Romney? – A Letter From Michael Moore

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  • Byrnzie
    Byrnzie Posts: 21,037
    Jason P wrote:
    How was he right about health insurance ... I mean healthcare?

    viewtopic.php?f=13&t=103487&hilit=+sicko

    Wendell Potter, former Head of Corporate Communications at CIGNA (which provides health insurance to nearly 70 percent of the Fortune 100 companies) admits that, in fact, "Sicko" "hit the nail on the head" and told the real truth about how much better people in other countries have it when it comes to their health care:

    July 10, 2009

    BILL MOYERS: So what did you think when you saw that film?

    WENDELL POTTER: I thought that he hit the nail on the head with his movie. But the industry, from the moment that the industry learned that Michael Moore was taking on the health care industry, it was really concerned.

    BILL MOYERS: What were they afraid of?

    WENDELL POTTER: They were afraid that people would believe Michael Moore.

    BILL MOYERS: We obtained a copy of the game plan that was adopted by the industry's trade association, AHIP. And it spells out the industry strategies in gold letters. It says, "Highlight horror stories of government-run systems." What was that about?

    WENDELL POTTER: The industry has always tried to make Americans think that government-run systems are the worst thing that could possibly happen to them, that if you even consider that, you're heading down on the slippery slope towards socialism. So they have used scare tactics for years and years and years, to keep that from happening. If there were a broader program like our Medicare program, it could potentially reduce the profits of these big companies. So that is their biggest concern.

    BILL MOYERS: And there was a political strategy. "Position Sicko as a threat to Democrats' larger agenda." What does that mean?

    WENDELL POTTER: That means that part of the effort to discredit this film was to use lobbyists and their own staff to go onto Capitol Hill and say, "Look, you don't want to believe this movie. You don't want to talk about it. You don't want to endorse it. And if you do, we can make things tough for you."

    BILL MOYERS: How?

    WENDELL POTTER: By running ads, commercials in your home district when you're running for reelection, not contributing to your campaigns again, or contributing to your competitor.

    BILL MOYERS: This is fascinating. You know, "Build awareness among centrist Democratic policy organizations--"

    WENDELL POTTER: Right.

    BILL MOYERS: "--including the Democratic Leadership Council."

    WENDELL POTTER: Absolutely.

    BILL MOYERS: Then it says, "Message to Democratic insiders. Embracing Moore is one-way ticket back to minority party status."

    WENDELL POTTER: Yeah.

    BILL MOYERS: Now, that's exactly what they did, didn't they? They--

    WENDELL POTTER: Absolutely.

    BILL MOYERS: --radicalized Moore, so that his message was discredited because the messenger was seen to be radical.

    WENDELL POTTER: Absolutely. In memos that would go back within the industry — he was never, by the way, mentioned by name in any memos, because we didn't want to inadvertently write something that would wind up in his hands. So the memos would usually-- the subject line would be-- the emails would be, "Hollywood." And as we would do the media training, we would always have someone refer to him as Hollywood entertainer or Hollywood moviemaker Michael Moore.

    BILL MOYERS: Why?

    WENDELL POTTER: Well, just to-- Hollywood, I think people think that's entertainment, that's movie-making. That's not real documentary. They don't want you to think that it was a documentary that had some truth. They would want you to see this as just some fantasy that a Hollywood filmmaker had come up with. That's part of the strategy.

    BILL MOYERS: So you would actually hear politicians mouth the talking points that had been circulated by the industry to discredit Michael Moore.

    WENDELL POTTER: Absolutely.

    BILL MOYERS: You'd hear ordinary people talking that. And politicians as well, right?

    WENDELL POTTER: Absolutely.

    BILL MOYERS: So your plan worked.

    WENDELL POTTER: It worked beautifully.

    BILL MOYERS: The film was blunted, right?

    WENDELL POTTER: The film was blunted. It--

    BILL MOYERS: Was it true? Did you think it contained a great truth?

    WENDELL POTTER: Absolutely did.

    BILL MOYERS: What was it?

    WENDELL POTTER: That we shouldn't fear government involvement in our health care system. That there is an appropriate role for government, and it's been proven in the countries that were in that movie.

    You know, we have more people who are uninsured in this country than the entire population of Canada. And that if you include the people who are underinsured, more people than in the United Kingdom. We have huge numbers of people who are also just a lay-off away from joining the ranks of the uninsured, or being purged by their insurance company, and winding up there.

    And another thing is that the advocates of reform or the opponents of reform are those who are saying that we need to be careful about what we do here, because we don't want the government to take away your choice of a health plan. It's more likely that your employer and your insurer is going to switch you from a plan that you're in now to one that you don't want. You might be in the plan you like now.

    But chances are, pretty soon, you're going to be enrolled in one of these high deductible plans in which you're going to find that much more of the cost is being shifted to you than you ever imagined.
  • Johnny Abruzzo
    Johnny Abruzzo Philly Posts: 12,441
    I like most of what Moore has to say, especially the health care message.

    But, yeah, his race baiting is tiresome.

    As for "race voting", for instance, in 1987 the city of Philadelphia reelected a black mayor who had an absolutely disastrous first term, the highlight being the bombing of a house which ignited a massive fire that destroyed the entire block of houses.
    Spectrum 10/27/09; New Orleans JazzFest 5/1/10; Made in America 9/2/12; Phila, PA 10/21/13; Phila,  PA 10/22/13; Baltimore Arena 10/27/13; Phila, PA 4/28/16; Phila, PA 4/29/16; Fenway Park 8/7/16; Fenway Park 9/2/18; Asbury Park 9/18/21; Camden 9/14/22; Las Vegas 5/16/24; Las Vegas 5/18/24; Phila, PA 9/7/24; Phila, PA 9/9/24; Baltimore Arena 9/12/24; Pittsburgh 5/16/25; Pittsburgh 5/18/25

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  • polaris_x
    polaris_x Posts: 13,559
    i think the overriding issue here is ... whether it's moore or o'reilly or whoever - sensationalism sells in america ... reasonable, level-headed objective opinions are discounted ... blow-hards get all the air time ... look to your fellow citizens for why things are the way they are ...
  • Hugh Freaking Dillon
    Hugh Freaking Dillon Posts: 14,010
    Byrnzie wrote:
    know1 wrote:
    Michael Moore is simply an EXTREMELY close-minded individual.


    Yet he has a very strange habit of being right. I mean, he was right about guns, and he was also right about health care, to name just two examples.

    people really think that socialized healthcare is the be all and end all. but it's not. My mother in law had bladder reconstruction surgery last week, was told she'd be going home the very next day, AND that they'd be sending her home WITH A CATHETER. She has very shaky hands from other meds she takes, and the nurse says "I'm sure your husband can help you". That should NOT be the responsibility of the patient's family or the patient themselves.

    There was also a very well documented case in my city of a man who died waiting in the waitint room for 36 hours to be helped. He was ignored. Fell through the cracks. Why? Because Canada's healthcare system is basically bankrupt and understaffed. Critically.

    As much as I appreciate having socialized healthcare, I think it's important for people to understand what a massive undertaking it is for any government to run, and the potential failures of such a system. People wait months or even years for surgery if it's not life threatening. That's a REAL problem. And we don't even have a massive military expenditure. I can't imagine if we did.
    Gimli 1993
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  • Hugh Freaking Dillon
    Hugh Freaking Dillon Posts: 14,010
    polaris_x wrote:
    i think the overriding issue here is ... whether it's moore or o'reilly or whoever - sensationalism sells in america ... reasonable, level-headed objective opinions are discounted ... blow-hards get all the air time ... look to your fellow citizens for why things are the way they are ...

    correct.
    Gimli 1993
    Fargo 2003
    Winnipeg 2005
    Winnipeg 2011
    St. Paul 2014
  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,676
    Good read. Thanks! Sorry, Moore haters.
    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

  • cincybearcat
    cincybearcat Posts: 16,892
    brianlux wrote:
    Sorry, Moore haters.

    Why?

    And, I don;t know him personally, but I do dislike his methods.
    hippiemom = goodness
  • moretonbayfig
    moretonbayfig Australia Posts: 805
    polaris_x wrote:
    i think the overriding issue here is ... whether it's moore or o'reilly or whoever - sensationalism sells in america ... reasonable, level-headed objective opinions are discounted ... blow-hards get all the air time ... look to your fellow citizens for why things are the way they are ...

    + 1
    Sometimes it is difficult to take your own pulse with so many 'blow-hards' jumping into the fray... it's the same in any country. But this Australian program is my weekly 'fix' of US politics with balanced reporting and analysis:
    http://www.abc.net.au/news/programs/planet-america/

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