The Affordable Health Care Act is gearing up for it’s October 1st rollout, and while many states are ramping up their ad campaigns to get people covered, several anti-Obamacare groups are working overtime to discourage Americans from taking advantage of low-cost healthcare.
Recently, political action group Generation Opportunity (funded by the Koch brothers), rolled out a creepy new ad campaign to discourage young men and women from enrolling in Obamacare, despite the fact that it would make things like birth control and family planning standard in all health plans.
Generation Opportunity’s first ad titled, “The Exam: Creepy Uncle Sam” (yup, that’s their title) shows a woman in an OB/GYN office getting ready for a pelvic exam. As she lays back on the exam table, the doctor exits the room and a gigantic man in an Uncle Sam costume pops up between her legs. The clip ends with the tagline, “Don’t let the government play doctor. Opt out of Obamacare.”
Another ad shows a young man in an exam room with his doctor. After noticing the man has “Obamacare,” the doctor tells him to take his pants off, lay down, and “bring your knees to your chest.” The doctor then leaves the room, and creepy Uncle Sam emerges behind the man. You can guess what happens next.
While GenOpp claims their ads are only meant to inform young adults they can opt out of Obamacare and only risk a small fine, the ads seem to send a pretty clear and troubling message to me: If you sign up for the Affordable Health Care Act you’ll get screwed.
And it’s kind of gross.
If GenOpp wants to make an economic argument for opting out of Obamacare, fine, do it. But there is no reason to use imagery that insinuates that signing up for health care is akin to assault by the government. Particularly, since that couldn’t be further from the truth.
While Republicans rally against the President’s health care law by clinging to the line that the government will be making decisions for Americans, they continue to support legislation that forces women to have invasive and unnecessary procedures if they want to terminate a pregnancy (uh, vaginal ultrasounds anyone?), or limit access to certain kinds of care all together.
While Right Wingers continue to freak out about Obamacare, stooping to dishonest and downright creepy tactics to scare others from getting vital health care speaks volumes about their side of the debate.
