New York Times article on “Sicko”
Michael Moore’s new movie “Sicko” opens nationally next Friday. I don’t have any showtimes yet, but I’ll put them up as soon as I do. I’ll admit that I was not much of a Michael Moore fan before “Fahrenheit 9/11″, but that movie probably influenced my political thinking more than any other I have ever seen. Yes, Michael Moore is more P.T. Barnum than Edward Murrow, but I think his blend of entertainment, fact, and provocation has become increasingly effective. The New York Times has an article about how the movie will likely impact people’s views on our disastrously poor health care system and how right-wing and corporate interests are already trying to fight the movie’s message:
Though speaking against the film carries the risk of generating more buzz for it, the opposition is also campaigning hard. Representatives of insurance and pharmaceutical trade groups are countering Mr. Moore’s praise for socialized health systems in Canada, Cuba, France and Britain. And as details have seeped out from screenings, they have started disputing some of Mr. Moore’s anecdotes about rejected insurance claims and unnecessary deaths.
Staff members of America’s Health Insurance Plans, the industry’s leading trade group, handed out news releases at Mr. Moore’s events this week emphasizing the need for “a uniquely American solution†and raising the specter of “long waits for rationed care.â€
Free-market policy groups like the Cato Institute have held briefings to rebut Mr. Moore, showing short films that find fault with the Canadian system.
I think this is very good news: one thing I’ve learned over the past few years is that you only know you’re making progress when the the wingnuts and corporatists start to scream.
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I cring every time I see anyone refer to single -payer or universal health care, such as exists in Canada, as socialized care. Socialized health care is something altogether different. Using that term turns a lot of people away from UHC who might otherwise support it. Progressives need to be aggressive in stopping this misuse of labels before we find ourselves fighting another “death tax.”