Obama Health Bill Rally—Austin
On Saturday, July 25, about 475 people, mostly white and over 50-years-old, rallied at the AFL-CIO auditorium in downtown Austin, to support the public option in Obama’s health plan, now being debated in Congress. Speakers included Austin Mayor, Lee Leffingwell and US Representative Lloyd Doggett.
The auditorium was so jammed that the overflow crowd spilled out into the hallway and the parking lot. Several people at the rally held signs supporting health care changes. Across the street about 250 protesters, again mostly white and over 50, held signs, claiming that President Obama, is a socialist, Marxist, etc,and that they didn’t want socialized medicine. One of the groups protesting the public option at the rally was, Americans For Prosperity, (AFP). AFP also has advocated pro-tobacco industry positions against cigarette taxes and bans to end smoking indoors.(The last I heard, smoking is considered very unhealthy.)
Is history repeating itself? In 1994, the Philip Morris company lobbied heavily against Clinton’s health care plan.
The following are some photos I took at the rally--The first two are people holding signs of support for the rally. The last two are photos of conversations between individuals supporting the rally and those opposed to it.
I followed an older woman with a cane across the street. She offered bottled water to this woman in orange, holding a sign against the public option. She asked her why she was protesting against the health care changes. The woman in orange said that she didn’t want socialized medicine. When the older woman said that Medicare was basically socialized medicine, the woman in orange, said that there was too much fraud in Medicare. She didn’t think that it should be expanded. However there is also fraud in the private health insurance industry.
Another conversation about health care coverage occurred between this woman in red and a woman in a wheelchair. I overheard the woman in the wheelchair ask, “Do you think the health insurance companies should get all the money?”
According to a Bill Moyer's interview with Wendell Potter, a former health insurance executive, the health insurance companies are putting profits ahead of those they insure or don’t insure.
The auditorium was so jammed that the overflow crowd spilled out into the hallway and the parking lot. Several people at the rally held signs supporting health care changes. Across the street about 250 protesters, again mostly white and over 50, held signs, claiming that President Obama, is a socialist, Marxist, etc,and that they didn’t want socialized medicine. One of the groups protesting the public option at the rally was, Americans For Prosperity, (AFP). AFP also has advocated pro-tobacco industry positions against cigarette taxes and bans to end smoking indoors.(The last I heard, smoking is considered very unhealthy.)
Is history repeating itself? In 1994, the Philip Morris company lobbied heavily against Clinton’s health care plan.
The following are some photos I took at the rally--The first two are people holding signs of support for the rally. The last two are photos of conversations between individuals supporting the rally and those opposed to it.
I followed an older woman with a cane across the street. She offered bottled water to this woman in orange, holding a sign against the public option. She asked her why she was protesting against the health care changes. The woman in orange said that she didn’t want socialized medicine. When the older woman said that Medicare was basically socialized medicine, the woman in orange, said that there was too much fraud in Medicare. She didn’t think that it should be expanded. However there is also fraud in the private health insurance industry.
Another conversation about health care coverage occurred between this woman in red and a woman in a wheelchair. I overheard the woman in the wheelchair ask, “Do you think the health insurance companies should get all the money?”
According to a Bill Moyer's interview with Wendell Potter, a former health insurance executive, the health insurance companies are putting profits ahead of those they insure or don’t insure.
posted by lmk at
7/27/2009 01:15:00 PM
3 Comments:
The massive misinformation on this subject is mind boggling! Opponents are dragging in snippets of the legislation, and purposely misinforming the public, with particular emphasis on the vulnerable, the elderly and the poor.
Thank you for your comment, Karen. I think the health insurance industry is behind the disinformation and is backing groups against the public option.
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