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Astroturfing Facebook for Obamacare

September 3, 2009 by B. Daniel Blatt

Earlier today, just before heading out for a hike with my brother and sister-in-law in Boulder, I caught the same Facebook “status” from a number of my left-leaning friends:

No one should die because they cannot afford health care, and no one should go broke because they get sick. If you agree, please post this as your status for the rest of the day.

Wonder who’s been pressing them to do that.

So, I responded to a few, saying something like that’s why the President should drop his big-government approach and pursue free-market alternatives. ย Then, I hacked out a quick “status” post of my own:

B. Daniel Blatt believes it’s time to abandon Obamacare and press for free-market health care reforms like those John Mackey has proposed.

I encourage you all to respond similarly, to let your liberal friends know that we on the right do favor reform, just not the statist solutions proposed by the President.

UPDATE: ย At 7:48 PM mountain time, 18 of my Facebook “friends” posted the “spam” quoted above (or something nearly identical) as their status update.

UP-UPDATE: ย By midnight Mountain Time, even more friends have posted said “spam” while some of my conservative and libertarian friends have added a new “status update”:

No one should sacrifice their liberty and tithe the fruits of their labor to see the government fail at something a private charity would succeed at

Filed Under: New Media, Obama Health Care (ACA / Obamacare)

Comments

  1. North Dallas Thirty says

    September 3, 2009 at 8:11 pm - September 3, 2009

    I’d prefer something along these lines:

    “No one should die because they cannot afford health care, and no one should go broke because they get sick. If you agree, reach into your own pocket and pay the full cost of another person’s health insurance rather than trying to use the law to force other people to contribute.”

  2. V the K says

    September 3, 2009 at 8:18 pm - September 3, 2009

    I saw one of my dippy liberal FB friends had posted the Astroturf, so I cut and pasted NDT’s version.

  3. B. Daniel Blatt says

    September 3, 2009 at 8:21 pm - September 3, 2009

    Guess our readers prefer to be a little more “in your face” than I do. ๐Ÿ™‚

  4. Draybee says

    September 3, 2009 at 8:34 pm - September 3, 2009

    Thank you, thank you, NDT. That’s going up on my facebook page immediately. I may annoy some friends, but what the hell.

  5. Joseph says

    September 3, 2009 at 8:53 pm - September 3, 2009

    A link to this post is going up on my meetup group tomorrow. Thanks for defending liberty.

  6. GayPatriot says

    September 3, 2009 at 9:05 pm - September 3, 2009

    I just updated by Facebook page with Dan’s suggestion. I think I’ll update tomorrow with NDT’s!

  7. V the K says

    September 3, 2009 at 9:41 pm - September 3, 2009

    Two of my FB friends have also pasted NDT’s version as their status. Only one liberal hippy dip is using the Astroturf version.

  8. sierra says

    September 3, 2009 at 9:53 pm - September 3, 2009

    I’m not so practical. When I saw the status line a few times, I posted my own variant: “No one should die because they cannot afford health care. They should die because they eat too much.”

  9. ThatGayConservative says

    September 3, 2009 at 10:03 pm - September 3, 2009

    No one should die because they cannot afford health care, and no one should go broke because they get sick. Let’s kick the government out of health care.

  10. The_Livewire says

    September 3, 2009 at 10:06 pm - September 3, 2009

    I’ve added both.

    Then again, I also replied to one of my friends “No one should not have a roof over their head… When are you buying me a house?”

  11. The_Livewire says

    September 3, 2009 at 10:08 pm - September 3, 2009

    Heading to bed, but I’m hurt that you still haven’t added me as a friend, Dan ๐Ÿ˜›

  12. MFS says

    September 3, 2009 at 10:33 pm - September 3, 2009

    Yes, one friend of almost twenty years posted this as well. When I told him that it would kill my HSA and I could not support it, he assured me that I could always go on the dole.

    Good grief, what pinheads!

    Best wishes,
    -MFS

  13. Draybee says

    September 3, 2009 at 10:40 pm - September 3, 2009

    I like it sierra!

    I’ve posted this on my page, ” No one should die because they were wearing their iPod while walking along the Metrorail tracks. No one should go broke because that damned roulette wheel is cursed or something. If you agree, well that’s just lovely!”

    I think making fun of it is the best response.

  14. Steven E. Kalbach says

    September 3, 2009 at 10:56 pm - September 3, 2009

    How about, “No one should die because a bureaucrat decides they should and no one should go broke because a bureaucrat has drained their bank on behalf of someone else. If you agree, please post this as your status for the rest of the day.โ€ It’s all in fun right?

  15. LCRW says

    September 3, 2009 at 11:03 pm - September 3, 2009

    Are these people really your friends?

  16. Leah says

    September 4, 2009 at 12:59 am - September 4, 2009

    livewire, I’d love to be your friend on FB, I’m simply Leah Kabaker
    I posted something similar, immediately got a response from a lovely liberal. I responded to him civilly, explaining that I am in favor of healthcare reforms, just not government takeover.
    I mentioned tort reform, open markets in buying health insurance.
    Interesting, no response back.

    Another one wondered why I am so angry. To her I responded privately that after being maligned for 8 years I’m done being nice sweet quiet Leah.

  17. ThatGayConservative says

    September 4, 2009 at 1:05 am - September 4, 2009

    Rob Schellinger

  18. ThatGayConservative says

    September 4, 2009 at 4:07 am - September 4, 2009

    I linked to this over at QnArefugees.

  19. thestraightaussie says

    September 4, 2009 at 5:54 am - September 4, 2009

    There is a poll on Facebook which asks are you in favour of govt healthcare. I have been posting there…. The majority is against the Obamacare… but hey I am coming from the perspective of what we have in Australia. Yes, I do know the difference because I remember what was in place before Gough Whitlam forced govt healthcare upon us. Now I get a lot of out of pocket expenses…..

    Anyway the Astroturfers keep turning up to the discussion. They have the same dull boring memes, one after the other. One of their favourites is to mention the fire department, police, army and roads… the morons who post off the meme do not get it… they are talking about different things!!!

    For example, take the fire department and the police department… in your country these are local. The function belongs to local govt. You also have a state level for the police but not sure about the fire department. In any case you cannot have a private police force running around competing with each other to catch criminals. There has to be some kind of cohesion. On top of that firemen and police perform a civic duty, which is why their pay comes out of local and state taxes. Oh yeah, there is the FBI…. they can be a joke at times… get nothing done… and exist for purpose of pursuit across states or at national level….with them around it does get messy.

    Then there is the roads, and again, you have public access roads that have been built and paid by state and local govt, even though some funds might be provided by the federal govt. In Australia we are supposed to be paying a few cents extra to the Federal govt for our petrol which is then supposed to go back into upgrading the roads…. (I wonder if that is really happening)… then there are the roads built by private contractors rather than govt, for which we pay a toll to use those roads…. The govt is the one that actually agrees to the building of the road.

    Well, these dodos argue that these things are “socialized” but the comparison is false.

    There is a difference and that difference is very stark when you understand how it operates in the UK and in Australia, as well as in Canada.

    The NHS in the UK is in a bit of a crisis at the moment. I think that Australia’s system is working out a lot better, but we have more out of pocket expenses.

    Most of the Astroturfers mention the magic 45 million who are “dying” without healthcare but that is just total bull.

    Of those who do not or cannot get insurance there would be a very small number who require some kind of medical attention. These are people not eligible for medicare or medicaid. The remainder believe that they do not need insurance…..

  20. Julie Kelleher says

    September 4, 2009 at 9:09 am - September 4, 2009

    When friends post political crap like that, I simply put them in “ignore.” Most of my Facebook friends are on “ignore.”

  21. GayPatriot says

    September 4, 2009 at 9:34 am - September 4, 2009

    I just updated my status today with NDT’s suggestion. ๐Ÿ™‚

  22. Ashpenaz says

    September 4, 2009 at 9:48 am - September 4, 2009

    I think that if you combine Mackey’s ideas with a senior’s bill of rights (which prevents health care from being rationed according to age) and protections for the unborn, you’ve got good health care reform.

  23. The Livewire says

    September 4, 2009 at 11:46 am - September 4, 2009

    Whoo hoo! I’ve new friends!

    The Livewire
    (Still a guy, wife didn’t get those in the Divorce)

  24. HCN says

    September 4, 2009 at 1:26 pm - September 4, 2009

    I am going to on a daily basis keep changing my status with a lot of the suggested comments. We need to remember what kind of society we want, one that is dependent or self-sufficient. I think it was at this site where I saw this and then printed it up – “Promoting self-sufficiency is about removing abstacles to it and removing incentives not to pursue it. … we will have more independent, productive citizens when we have policies in place that encourage them. …”

  25. HCN says

    September 4, 2009 at 1:30 pm - September 4, 2009

    If the above quote was from this site, does anyone remember who put it here?

  26. North Dallas Thirty says

    September 4, 2009 at 2:16 pm - September 4, 2009

    You flatter me, all. ๐Ÿ™‚ Of course, the irony is that I’m one of the last few holdouts who is not on Facebook.

  27. Steven E. Kalbach says

    September 4, 2009 at 3:19 pm - September 4, 2009

    NDT, I don’t use facebook…don’t know why, been doing computer work for over 20 years. Guess, that is why.

  28. JP says

    September 4, 2009 at 8:18 pm - September 4, 2009

    Great idea. Today, I opted for “No one should be dependent on government programs, and no one should go broke funding a statist utopian fantasy.”

  29. thestraightaussie says

    September 4, 2009 at 8:35 pm - September 4, 2009

    Does anyone here play Mafia wars? If so we should become friends on Facebook ๐Ÿ™‚

  30. ThatGayConservative says

    September 5, 2009 at 5:31 am - September 5, 2009

    I didn’t use FB for the longest time. Then I discovered that I could find old friends and HS buddies. It’s far better than the insipid Myspace.

    Does anyone here play Mafia wars?

    I watched a co-worker play that for an hour once. Didn’t look like the kind of game I’d be interested in. A friend is trying to get me to play some gay looking farm game.

  31. V the K says

    September 5, 2009 at 9:48 am - September 5, 2009

    FB has some utility as a means of communication. My sons and I can give each other updates during the day when we’re apart. Last night, my sister and I chatted and began coordinating to buy our mother a new car, which she badly needs.

    (See, this is how society is supposed to work; families taking care of each other. Not calling up the welfare office and demanding that some bureaucrat give my mother a car.)

  32. Sean A says

    September 5, 2009 at 10:44 am - September 5, 2009

    #31: Of course that is how it is supposed to work, V the K. But to Leftists, generosity is not measured by one’s willingness to take care of their own family members. They measure generosity by one’s willingness to support and campaign for government to take money away from others by force so that it can be used for “the greater good.” Anything less than enthusiastic participation in their sick and twisted version of philanthropy means you are categorically greedy, selfish, and heartless.

    Your comment reminds me of a statement that Sarah Jessica Parker made several years ago that I will NEVER forget because it’s a perfect illustration of the Left’s mentality when it comes to generosity:

    “I’m very, very concerned about the Bush presidency. I’m worried about the kinds of cuts in domestic programs that mean something to a lot of people, including members of my family, who depend on certain things from the government.”

    Keep in mind, she said this the same year that her annual income was estimated to be $35 million. So, when the white trash fringe elements of SJP’s extended family can’t make ends meet, she expects US to pick up the slack, and she sees nothing wrong with taking that position. It not only didn’t occur to her that she was saying something incredibly tacky, she clearly thought she was doing something that she and her liberal friends considered heroic–taking on that evil, George W. Bush. Unbelievable. She got a little flack for it from the right-wing blogs and on talk radio, but not nearly enough.

  33. bfwebster says

    September 5, 2009 at 11:01 am - September 5, 2009

    Yeah, I saw this making the rounds on my FB circles. My response was to post:

    Bruce F Webster is wondering: what _are_ the acceptable reasons for (a) dying and (b) going broke? Shouldn’t we somehow prevent all of them? Can we? And what are the implications for both society and the economy if we try?

    This seemed to go over the head of most of my FB friends. However, my friend Alan Scrivener went one better and posted:

    No one should die and no one should go broke.

  34. sierra says

    September 5, 2009 at 6:11 pm - September 5, 2009

    Mike Sierra believes that no one should die because they cannot afford health care, and no one should go broke because they get sick. Mike also believes the only reason such moral declarations are now floating around is because the CBO made short work of the whole “fiscal discipline” argument months ago.

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