[Street] "Promoting" Mitt Romney: a big problem!
James Recht
occupy at jimrecht.com
Mon Jan 2 10:09:15 EST 2012
Hi Katie and All:
Thanks so much for this feedback. I think it's a good idea to focus on Romney (though I would def support others who want to bird-dog the whole bad bunch). But I'd argue that to be really effective in nailing Romney, the message needs to be as simple and direct as possible. For example:
"RomneyCare: great for profits, bad for health."
"RomneyCare: Massachusetts' gift to the insurance industry."
"RomneyCare: money-grubbing insurance companies WIN, families & children LOSE."
Regarding tonight's Street meeting: I will be running a little late but will try to be there by 5:30 PM! Quick question: will this meeting end by 6 (so that people can attend the 6 PM Community meeting)?
Yours,
Jim Recht
On Jan 1, 2012, at 22:53, Katie Gradowski <katie at occupyboston.org> wrote:
> Hey Jim,
>
> I proposed this, as a joke action. Endorsing Romney in any capacity will hardly help his campaign -- that's part of the point.
>
> That said, these are facts that I certainly wasn't familiar with, and are certainly worth pursuing. We don't have to do this action, of course (implicitly tying it to Obamacare is also highly problematic), but I'd be interested to get your take on whether there's a good and thoughtful way to do this, or whether we should just scrap it. There is, as yet, no action planned -- it was an idea that I threw out, as a way to get the creative juices going -- so I wouldn't worry about this being too far along.
>
> Would you be interested in coming to the Street meeting tomorrow to share your thoughts? It would be great to have your input!
>
>
> Best,
>
> Katie
>
>
> On Sun, Jan 1, 2012 at 10:02 PM, James Recht <occupy at jimrecht.com> wrote:
> Hi All:
>
> I'm writing in response to proposals that OB lead a pro-Romney action at the NH primary. My understanding is that this would emphasize ex-governor's leadership in passing the MA Healthcare Reform of 2006 (aka "RomneyCare").
>
> I want to urge my sisters and brothers here to stop for a moment and reconsider! The prospect of Occupiers voicing support for RomneyCare is, to put it mildly, highly problematic. There are a number of reasons this is so, including the following:
>
> 1) RomneyCare is not "universal healthcare" -- not by the wildest longshot. Yes, the law reduced the percentage of people in MA who have no health insurance at all (from 12% to about 6%) but there are still TENS OF THOUSANDS of us who have no health insurance here in Massachusetts -- including lots of children and many, many immigrants (both documented and otherwise).
>
> 2) RomneyCare effectively forces every single state resident to purchase a health insurance "product" (aka a health insurance policy) from one of 5 private insurance companies. The result has been an unprecedented financial windfall for these corporations. United Healthcare, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Celticare, etc. We are talking about some of the worst corporate hoodlums here!
>
> 3) The percentage of MA residents who have truly awful health insurance coverage (for example: deductibles of more than $1000 a year, no dental coverage, no maternity coverage, little or no prescription coverage, pitifully limited or non-existent mental health coverage) has more than doubled since the Romney law went into effect 5 years ago.
>
> 4) RomneyCare resulted in the near-collapse of the statewide healthcare safety net. Community providers like Boston Medical Center and Cambridge Hospital as well as the biggest providers of care to the undeserved in Western MA, have all struggled just to keep their doors open during the past 5 years. Substance abuse treatment has become difficult or impossible to obtain for most people. Primary care shortages continue to worsen. And just ask any public sector nurse what he thinks of Romney's "achievement!"
>
> 5) The cost of this massive growth of a private health insurance market in our state has exceeded even the most dire "worst-case" predictions, and it is largely responsible for the horrible economic situation the state is now in.
>
> And the list (of ways in which we residents of Massachusetts have truly gotten sold out in this regard) goes on. Please note that none of the above is controversial -- none of it is simply a matter of opinion. For more background on these issues, check out www.masscare.org (follow the link to their 2011 report).
>
> I appreciate that some people who didn't have health insurance before 2006, have been lucky enough to get a reasonably good policy since then. But this belies the bigger truth, which is that this law is basically a mechanism for transferring $$$ from the 99% to the health insurance industry. It's a testament to the power and skill of the conservative propaganda machine (aided by the Boston Globe, the "liberal" WBUR and others) that most individuals aren't familiar with these facts.
>
> (Why am I familiar with them? I'm a community-trained physician, and I have been fighting for true universal health care since the 1990's. For the past 5 years I have been working with an organization named *Physicians for a National Health Plan* (check us out at PNHP.org) advocating for laws that would put an end to the private health insurance industry and replace it with a socialized national insurance system. And I can tell you that when Ted Kennedy threw his support behind RomneyCare 6 years ago, it was a terrible betrayal. It was a huge setback for the progressive medical community -- one that we are still reeling from. But that's another story!)
>
> Yours,
> Jim Recht
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> --
> Due to the present financial situation, the light at the end of the tunnel will be switched off to save on electrical costs until further notice.
>
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