Democratic Presidential Contenders and SiCKO: Media Stirs the Pot

by Julia Rosen [courtesy of Working Californians blogs]

The LA Times works hard at creating a story around the Democratic presidential contenders not endorsing the message of SiCKO and the potential of that to upset liberal activists. The problem is that it is not happening. It is a manufactured story. One only needs to trundle over to recommended list on Daily Kos, which is as good as any temperature reading of the activist base of the Democratic party as anywhere. On it is a piece titled "LA Times Hit Piece on SiCKO and American People". The reaction to the article was not to go off on the candidates, but the paper itself for fanning the flames of a non-story.

Here is what the LAT said:

Rejecting Moore's prescription on healthcare could alienate liberal activists, who will play a big role in choosing the party's next standard-bearer. However, his proposal — wiping out private health insurance and replacing it with a massive federal program — could be political poison with the larger electorate.

It is a legitimate question to ask, but some digging, or heck even getting the authors to talk to their colleagues in Sacramento would have gotten them an answer. The Democratic base already supports single payer health care, however, the majority recognizes that it is not currently a viable option on the national scale. Indeed that is the purpose of SiCKO, to spread the message to the greater electorate. Michael Moore understands that dynamic, which is why he appeared with Fabian Nunez, despite the obvious disconnect between his message and the current path of the legislature.

The LAT goes way overboard with this:

If Moore's fire-breathing proposal catches on among party activists, who tend to be suspicious of the private sector and supportive of direct government action, the candidates' pragmatic, consensus-seeking ideas could look like weak-kneed temporizing — much the way their rejection of an immediate pullout from Iraq has drawn heated criticism from antiwar activists.

Their bias is clear in labeling SiCKO as a "fire-breathing proposal". They are framing single payer health care as something that is supported by the dirty f#**# hippies that want an immediate pullout from Iraq. They see no nuance.

Now, don't get me wrong. There will be a certain percentage of the activist left who does attack the presidential candidates on this. Just as there are those here in California attacking Democrats over their health care legislation. However, the overwhelming response has been supportive of both pushing the American public on single payer and the contenders health care plans that move us in that direction. They are not mutually exclusive.

The two are not an easy match, but the media is the one pressing the candidates on the issue, trying to stir up trouble where little exists. They will continue to press the candidates at their press conferences, because it makes a nice little story for them.