...an end zone dance from Michael Moore
Thursday, June 28th, 2012
Dear Friends,
Even though it's been a few hours now, I'm guessing you're still
pinching yourself to make sure you're not dreaming. But yes, it
happened. At 10:07 this morning, the conservative Chief Justice of the
U.S. Supreme Court, John Roberts, not only joined with the liberal
justices to completely uphold almost every single part of the Obama
health care law, he wrote the majority opinion himself! In fact, he
went even further. When he realized that the government had poorly made
its constitutional case to the court, he went searching for a clause in
their argument and the constitution that would give him the
justification he needed to back the administration and to insure that
his decision would hold up legally. In other words, even though he is
on the opposite side of the political fence, he wrote the Dems' paper
for them. Stunning.
The other four justices? They didn't just vote to overturn the
individual mandate part of the law, they all voted to kill the entire
Act.
The media is already spending much time talking about the mandate being
the "centerpiece of the law," but the real news is that if you ever
have a pre-existing condition, you cannot now be denied insurance. If
you are a young adult without health insurance, you can now stay on
your parents' plan until age 26. The insurance company can no longer
say there is a lifetime cap to your coverage. The insurance companies
are now required to spend 85 cents out of every dollar they take in on
actual reimbursement for your health care – not on profit or
"administrative costs" (some companies have been taking over a 30% cut;
Medicare's total percentage of their budget for administrative costs:
2%).
I know that our side is not used to victories and so we're not quite
sure how to respond when we get one out of the blue. For some of us,
the first inclination is to point out just how weak the Obama law
actually is, that it doesn't provide true universal health care (26
million will STILL be uninsured), and that it leaves control of the
system in the hands of the vultures, otherwise known as the health
insurance companies. The individual mandate was a huge gift to the
private insurance companies, guaranteeing them billions more from
millions of new customers. And many of the key provisions of this law
don't even take effect until 2014 – and if the Republicans win in
November, you can kiss all of that goodbye.
So, yes, the bill is highly flawed and somewhat wrong-headed – but what
it IS is a huge step in the right direction. And today's court decision
cements that. The right wing knows this and they are probably
unraveling in some not-so-pretty ways right now. And that's why today
is a great day. The Right has been smacked down by one of their own!
They know what we all know — that the path of history has been, and
will continue to move toward the basic human right that all people are
entitled to see a doctor and NOT have to worry about losing their home
because they can't afford to pay the medical bills. Those days are
over, or will be soon, and that is where civilization is headed. It's
not headed back to the days of Oliver Twist. Today's victory is
momentum, it's forward motion, and we WILL have true universal health
care in this country in the not too distant future.
So take some time tonight to celebrate; this is a victory for the
people. Actually, more than a victory, it is a mandate that all of us
must now make sure that a second-term Obama continues to move the ball
down the field, toward a system like they have in every other First
World country on the planet. He simply has to improve Medicare and then
expand it to every citizen in the country. The countries that do this,
their people live an average of two to four years longer than we do. Is
there a reason anyone doesn't want an extra four years of their lives?
Or that our babies would have a better chance of surviving their first
year like they do in the 48 countries that have a better infant
mortality rate than we do? Exactly who is opposed to this? You'd have
to be a bit…crazy.
And that, I've come to believe, is the true divide in this country.
It's not blue state vs red state, liberal vs conservative, Democrat vs
Republican. The split we have in America can be boiled down in its
simplest form to this: On one side are the people who believe Adam and
Eve rode on dinosaurs 6,000 years ago – and then there's everyone else.
On that first side are the people who've been fed a diet of fear and
lies and hate. And who is feeding them? The 1%. The richest people in
the country, the ones who aren't done with us yet because they still
don't have enough wealth, have done their best to dumb down the
population through destroying our educational system and using media to
provide them with a vastly distorted sense of reality. The rich's only
obstacle is that they only hold 1% of the votes in the country. So they
have to try to get a slim majority of Americans to vote their way. And
fear, plus keeping them stupid, usually works.
So that's the battle ahead of us: Organizing and mobilizing the
majority of Americans to push for true universal health care, Medicare
for All. At one time, back in Illinois, that was the position held by
Barack Obama. He will not make this happen on his own. He will only be
able to do it when the mass of American people rise up and demand it.
Demand it. Why not start tonight?
Five years ago this week, my health care documentary, Sicko, opened in
theaters across the country. I have spent the better part of the decade
on this issue, and for me, personally, fully aware of the current law's
limitations, I am very happy with today's news – not because of its
specifics or nuances, but because it is a road sign, and that sign
points in the correct, humane and sane direction. THAT makes this a
great day.
Yours,
Michael Moore
MMFlint@MichaelMoore.com
@MMFlint
MichaelMoore.com
P.S. I will appear on Lawrence O'Donnell's show tonight to discuss this
issue – 10:00 pm ET/7:00 PT (replay 1:00 AM ET/10:00 PM PT) on MSNBC.
P.P.S. To learn more and get involved in the campaign for real
universal health care – to complete the job that's been started – get
in touch with National Nurses United and Physicians for a National
Health Program.
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