Byron York takes up the story of President Obama’s deep desire to subvert Thanksgiving on behalf of Obamacare:
On Wednesday afternoon, just hours before Thanksgiving, President Obama’s Twitter account — which has more than 40 million followers — sent out this message: “Make sure everyone who sits down with you for #Thanksgivukkah dinner is covered.” (“Thanksgivukkah” refers to this year’s rare overlap of Thanksgiving and Hanukkah.)
The president’s tweet linked to a photo of a young man sitting at a table with a turkey and a menorah. The accompanying text: “Celebrating Thanksgiving. Lighting the Hanukkah candles. Talking about health insurance. Gotta love dinners like these.”
And that’s not all. Byron adds:
The administration knows many people will be unfamiliar with the etiquette of discussing national health care at Thanksgiving. So Organizing for Action, the president’s political committee, has created a strategy sheet and suggested talking points.
“Take advantage of downtime after meals or between holiday activities to start your talk,” OFA advises. It’s especially important, the tip sheet says, to use special circumstances that might arise during a family celebration to press the case for health care. For example, one OFA tweet showed pictures of a young man wielding a big knife to carve a turkey. That was followed by a picture of the man with a bandage on his hand. “Food-related injuries happen a lot this time of year,” the message said. “It’s a good time to talk about getting coverage.”
After taking care of a food-related injury, OFA recommends, it’s time for the sales pitch. “Offer to walk them through it: ‘Would you like to take some time with me to sign up right now?'”
“Start by asking, ‘Have you thought about signing up for health insurance on the new marketplace?'” OFA suggests. Then, after going through the steps involved, a more direct question: “‘When do you plan on signing up?'” Knowing that this might not be what many Americans — giving thanks, eating turkey, and watching football — want to do on Thanksgiving, OFA advises its health care advocates to “be persistent, but keep it positive.”
Byron thoughtfully compares and contrasts the mindset that would harbor these thoughts with what he found on display during a recent visit to the Stasi headquarters in Berlin, now (let us give thanks) turned into a museum. He refrains from passing judgment on what Obama and his acolytes are up to, but it is so telling. I don’t think one can be harsh enough about what it says.
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