Nov 21, Seattle: NW Medical Pros To Join Nationwide March to Oppose Healthcare Legislation
During the Democrat’s summertime reenactment of the ill-fated World War I Allied landing at Gallipolli -- the nationwide attempt to stage love-ins for healthcare at hundreds of town halls -- one of the more curious anomalies in an already circuslike atmosphere was the conspicuous appearance of men and women who were ostensibly members of the medical profession. After a series of disparaging comments by President Obama -- who spent the early months of his push for an American system of socialized medicine tarring doctors and surgeons as opportunistic unscrupulous operators who, like an unethical auto mechanic, might actually break you just to bill you for the cure -- it was curious to see the public display of support from healthcare practitioners who often stood in doorways, dressed in surgical scrubs, with arms folded across their burly chests.
It was at
one healthcare town hall, organized by Rep. Jay Inslee (D-WA) on the last Sunday in August, that I stood against the back wall – a traditional media spot – and stood a few feet away from one of these forgiving healthcare workers. He walked into the school gymnasium with the subtle poise and grace of a Teamster, positioning his larger-than-average frame imposingly near the main exit from the high school gymnasium. His bedside manner came out when the crowd began to react loudly and negatively to Inslee’s assertion that the legislation being proposed (no formal bill had been drafted for public review at that time) would not force anyone into government-backed insurance, whether by design or by unintended consequence. “Quiet, you sons-a-bitches!” he bellowed, giving a nearby elderly woman a shock that nearly knocked her off her feet.
(For the record, the gentleman’s scrubs still had foldmarks as if they had just been purchased. Giving him the benefit of the doubt perhaps he just doesn’t like doing laundry.)
The power of medical professionals in shaping public opinion on the question of healthcare reform is not to be discounted. The results of
a Gallup poll released in June of this year indicated that 73 percent of respondents expressed confidence in doctors to make recommendations about proposals for reform or overhauling the system. That high number even then towered above President Obama (58%) and Democrats in Congress (42%). Digging deeper into what doctors and healthcare workers have to say about the system Congress is able to throw to the wolves is therefore crucial, and it’s important for the public to see all voices from within the medical establishment, not just those emerging from the leadership of the American Medical Association, increasingly a group that pursues political goals ahead of finding ways to provide better medical care to Americans.
The
Million Med March to take place on Wednesday November 21 will be the first real mass statement by doctors, nurses, and other individuals who have devoted themselves to caring for the health of others, in opposition to the healthcare package that has been passed by the US House and which Senate Majority Leader, House Speaker, and the President all promise final passage by Christmas.
The march will take place in cities across the United States, with the local group embarking at noon from
Seattle’s Occidental Park (in the Pioneer Square neighborhood). Everyone is invited to join, regardless of profession, and more information can be obtained by contacting Vann Schaffner at
Vann_Schaffner@yahoo.com. Registration can be done through the national web site (
www.millionmedmarch.com) in order to give organizers advance warning of the crowds that will be gathering. Healthcare professionals attending the march are asked to wear scrubs or lab coats to send a clear message to the media and onlookers that support in the medical community for nationalized healthcare is not unanimous.
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Nov 21, Seattle: NW Medical Pros To Join Nationwide March to Oppose Healthcare Legislation
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