Michael Moore's Health Care Threat

(Thumbnail image from breitbart.com)

“To the Democrats in Congress who don’t quite get it, I want to offer a personal pledge. I, and a lot of other people, have every intention of removing you from Congress in the next election if you stand in the way of health care legislation that the people want. That is not a hollow or idle threat. We will come to your districts and we will work against you.”  (Daily Beast)

Michael Moore was speaking to consumer watchdog group Public Citizen Tuesday during a promotional tour for his new film "Capitalism: A Love Story." His warning to Congressional Democrats came hours before the Senate Finance committee rejected two amendments to add government-run insurance to the Baucus Bill.

We’re looking at perspectives from Politico, The Huffington Post, CNN and The Washington Post

First let’s go to The Washington Post where a columnist reminds readers Sen. Baucus already denied Sen. Rockefeller’s loud requests for a public option, so roaring from a beefy filmmaker won’t do a thing.

“The panel held a vote: Baucus, 15; Moore, 8. Later, another vote on another version of a public option was held: Baucus, 13; Moore, 10. Sorry, Michael, but Baucus won't be up for reelection until 2014.”

Politico shifts the spotlight to Public Citizen and similar liberal organizations who have targeted conservative Democrats in the past.

“The group will call for a single-payer, government-run health care system — something that isn’t even on the table in the current health care debate.”

CNN’s Anderson Cooper asks Michael Moore, where are the people demanding the public option?

“I mean, if so many people in your belief, support the public option, why haven’t those people been more vocal, more visible? The debate has largely been dominated by tea party protests and outrage at town hall meetings.”  
“I understand why they maybe haven’t because they thought by voting for Barack Obama and a 60 seat Democratic Senate that things were going to be ok.”

The Huffington Post opened its pages to Moore, who co-authored an article with a member of the National Nurses Organizing Committee.  The article details the health care bill in its current form and claims it does not solve the system’s problems.

“No controls on drug prices. The White House deal with Big Pharma, which won bipartisan approval in the Senate Finance Committee, opposes the use of government leverage to negotiate real cost controls on inflated drug prices.”

So Moore has thrown down the gauntlet, but we want to hear what you think.