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Gregg Smith ran the above ad over at Electric City Weblog, credulous as ever and thinking it to contain useful information. It’s propaganda. By propaganda, I mean … propaganda, defined as
… the expression of opinions or actions carried out deliberately by individuals or groups with a view to influencing the opinions or actions of other individuals or groups for predetermined ends and through psychological manipulations.
“Psychological manipulation” is key here. The ad is designed to scare senior citizens.There is no hard factual basis to any of the statements in the ad other than citation of other right wing sources, like Heritage and Wall Street Journal.
There is an oblique reference at the opening that we have fifty million uninsured. Incredibly, the ad sets up the uninsured as the enemy of senior citizens!
Here are the buzzwords the ad uses to achieve its goal: hurt seniors … end Medicare as we know it … ration … limit lifesaving medications … long delays … cancer …, and of course, the usual boogeyman, long waits … Canada and England.
This, unfortunately, is just the beginning. There will not be an honest word spoken for a month now, one lie heaped atop another. I despise that about our country – lies, liars, and media that allows itself to be used for lying by liars.
The ad features an embedded ad (which rotates with others) urging people to apply for health care insurance in Montana. It’s a cherry-picking operation. They entice people to apply for health insurance and then turn away everyone but those who they think might be profitable. The rest … they dump on MCHA, which is too expensive for most of them anyway.
“The League of American Voters” does not offer its list of contributors – it is not a 501c(3) – it welcomes corporate contributions,and is likely a front for the health insurance industry. It does not publish a phone number or email address. Getting information on who they are and who backs them will take a long time, and will not emerge until this propaganda campaign is over.
It’s disgraceful. It’s shameful, deliberately trying to scare seniors and pitting them against the uninsured. These are not honorable people we are dealing with – they are insurance salesmen. They have no bottom except their own bottom line.
Piece of Mindful 