How to plug RP when people discuss "Sicko"?

[giskard]

Ideas?

[nunaem]

He's a doctor for one.

[belian78]

this is something i find hard to do as well. alot of people i talk to have just seen the movie, and in IL it's more Dem leaning anyway. So with everyone identifying Obama with universal healthcare, and then just seeing the movie, it's a hard obstacle to overcome. I try to break it down simply. you know, a raise in taxes to cover people that will not help themselves... the free market would enable smaller employers to find affordable packages.. etc.. but any really hard facts that i could rely on would help a great deal.

[Lesgov]

Bone up on the Constitution, most people still go along with it. It's a good place to start.

[kalami]

Tell them universal health care is going to be expensive and that since our government is controlled by special interests, health care isn't being taken out of the hands of corporations.

[cjhowe]

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=744_1183338000

Also, depending on who you're talking with...personal responsibility,better consumerism, etc.

[angrydragon]

http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?t=5909 Anti-Sicko

health care discussions, Ron Paul articles and interviews.

http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?t=5985

http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?t=6414

[DavyDuke17]

Tell them that we just simply can't afford it and increasing entitlements will ensure the financial ruin of this country. We are $9 trillion dollars in debt and its going to be real bad when the baby boomer generation ages and eats up a ton of health care costs. Current US Comptroller General David Walker says that if we do not do something now that by 2040 the federal government will use almost all of its income to pay the interest on our debt because we will have to borrow so much in order to fulfill our current promises. Here is a link of Walker on 60 minutes: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7461407498377956300&q=david+walker&total=741&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=1

If we chose to go with universal health care it would only make things worse. Obama and Edwards say they will fund there plans by rolling back the Bush tax cuts for people that make more than 200k, does anyone seriously believe that is possible and that we will simultaneously be able to make changes to reduce the looming financial crises Walker talks about? Tell them Obama and Edwards are just playing the old game, because they are either going to have to back off there promises once they get elected or that they will knowingly ensure a financial disaster for our children in the future.

Plus, point out that Obama and Edwards plans are still not being endorsed by Moore, because they are still for-profit care with the money going to big insurance companies. Only this time instead of peoples money going to big corporations it will be peoples taxes going to the big HMOs via the government. The only difference will be is that there is less incentives to keep costs down.

[Duckman]

As far as I am aware, there was no health care crisis in this country 30 years ago. We didn't have socialized medicine then and I don't think people were complaining.

I haven't heard anyone point out the problem that government run health care creates shortages, leading to long waiting periods to get care. As a result, many people from countries who have such systems go to freer countries in order to get faster attention. Also, when they tried this sort of thing in Oregon, they created a list of medical procedures that would be covered and those that would not, and that list was very controversial.

Not having health care sucks, but nobody is "entitled" to free health care any more than they are entitled to a free house, food, or plasma screen television. If you believe in the free market, then you have to believe the free market can deliver the best health care to the most people.

What we need in the US is for the runaway cost of health care to be examined. Personally I think the free market is broken when it comes to health care, there is bloat and inefficiency in the health care industry, possibly the result of entrenchment in government regulations.

[RonPaulCult]

While the movie tries to show socialist systems as the best in the world it never really comes out and says that is the solution.

If you are talking to a typical Michael Moore fan about the movie and want to promote Ron Paul to him or her I wouldn't mention how against universal health care Ron Paul is. Us Michael Moore types have a hard time hearing that.

What you can say that will appeal to us is that Ron Paul strongly dislikes HMOs and the drug companies. He doesn't want to allow them to run things anymore and most candidates running today do.

Also it is good to mention that he is a doctor because that puts him in a great position to understand our health care system.

I'd even mention that he believes in the idea of alternative medicine. We liberals are into that stuff.

[UCFGavin]

the easiest way is to compare other government ran programs to show how they cannot compete (USPS, education, etc). make sure they know it will be more in taxes, and ran poorly just like everything else the federal government controls.

make sure to mention he isn't against everyone having healthcare, he wants to make it affordable without government intervention.

[giskard]

Ron Paul sponsored the Health Freedom Act - the right to buy sell and use health supplements, away from the money grubbing paws of big pharma and the FDA.

[Kaleb]

I always ask them if they really trust the next president like George Bush to make - or appoint someone to make - their health care choices for them. They get defensive, so probably not the best tactic, but they can't say yes.

[ScotTX]

You could always mention the free government health care provided to our military veterans by the Veteran's Administration. This is what a socialized heath care program would look like. It is a disgrace to the brave men and women who have sacrificaed so much. You can really see how much George Bush supports the troops at Walter Reed medical center in Washington DC or at any VA clinic across the country. It's awful. It will overtax the middle class and bring down the quality of health care in this country.

[duffster]

make sure they know it will be more in taxes, and ran poorly just like everything else the federal government controls.

And make sure they know it will be very expensive and risk adding on to our $60 trillion dollars of financial obligations. The Democrats keep talking about how they would repeal Bush's tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans and use that money for Universal Healthcare. (I saw pretty much all of the front runners say that, exactly.) We all know it will cost much, much more than that, though. You've got to make it clear that either they or their children will be the ones to pay for it in the long run.

[Gee]

First, ask them if they'd trust the federal government cooking them dinner every night. If not, then why the hell would they trust the federal government with their health care?

Then maybe point out that federal socialized health care is blatantly illegal, and ask them if they like their "leaders" to actually obey the law. And of course remind them that legally, each state could come up with its own solution.

[Gee]

First, ask them if they'd trust the federal government cooking them dinner every night. Then ask them what the last thing was they think the federal government actually did well. While they are pondering this, ask them why the hell they would trust the federal government with their health care?

Then maybe point out that federal socialized health care is blatantly illegal, and ask them if they like their "leaders" to actually obey the law. And of course remind them that legally, each state could come up with its own solution.

Another good point might be to bring up those easy Walmart-ish walk-in clinics that people are starting to use and like. Under a socialized system those would probably be gone, and replaced by long waiting lines.

[Spirit of '76]

I use a medical analogy:

In the old days, when someone got sick, the doctors would "bleed" him. They would cut open a vein in the hope that the sickness would just bleed out. It didn't make any sense, and it usually just made things worse.

So-called Universal Health Care is a lot like that. Our sickness now is that not everyone can afford good health care. The government's solution is to bleed us through taxes to pay for the healthcare we can't afford. It doesn't make any sense, and it'll probably just make things worse.