So, I've been inspired to write my first diary entry because of this whole "Clinton says Obama is lying about not taking money from big oil" dustup. (see link.) So, Obama says he doesn't take oil company money, and Hillary says, yes he does, because he takes money from people who work for oil companies. So here's the thing. I work for a major health insurance company, and I donate to Obama. Does that mean he takes money from "big insurance?"
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...
Yes, I am conflicted about working for a company that, since I am an advocate of single payer universal health care, I believe shouldn't exist. But I started out working for a smaller company that the big company took over, and we are cool people who spend our days trying to get better care for people on Medicaid, especially the seriously mentally ill, and go relatively unnoticed by the Big Corporate Giants who write our paychecks. So, that's how I sleep at night. But the point is this: if I wanted to promote my company's interests, I would give to Clinton, since her universal mandate plan is an absolute gift to the insurance companies. (Forcing everyone in the country to pay a premium to a private company - is there any historical precedent for this? Car insurance, I suppose, but one can choose not to drive.) By giving to Obama, I am actively promoting the exact opposite of my company's best interests. But now the question is, am I actually giving Clinton ammunition every time I type in the name of my employer?
So this diary has five points, I think:
- to say, out loud: I am a health insurance company employee who donates to Obama, as an individual. My bosses would not approve. I hope, hope, hope that by donating to/voting for Obama, I am setting this country on a path that will eventually put me out of a job.
- to point out the astonishing, mind-boggling (though somehow not surprising) intellectual laziness of this attack.
- to point out the astonishing, mind-boggling (and somewhat more surprising) intellectual laziness of the HuffPost article about this controversy. Now, I love me some HuffPost - but seriously, just publishing Clinton talking points with no analysis (making the very clear distinction between corporations and individuals, for example) is irresponsible and lazy.
- to ask the crowd whether there is a historical precedent for a president forcing Americans to pay into an industry - especially one that has given her campaign tons-o-money. And I'm not talking about taxes or sales tax or anything like that. I mean forcing the individual to become a consumer of a private company's services. Thoughts?
- to take a moment, just a moment, to reflect on how sad this race makes me. It didn't have to be like this. Sigh.