The August recess is upon us, and Congresspeople will be having town hall meetings to sound out their constituents' feelings on healthcare reform. Of course, the insurance industry will be astroturfing these meetings with people scared of..... well, they're not really sure what they're scared of, but they know it's scary and from the government.
It seems that many of the people dead-set against big scary new government initiatives like a 'public option' and 'single payer' are perfectly okay with Medicare, sometimes even rabidly protective of it. Therefore, replacing terms like 'single payer' and 'public option' with 'Medicare extension' or 'Medicare for [working] Families' will be effective at meetings with Congresspeople and conservatives. After all, what's more American than apple pie, working families, Social Security, and Medicare?
I think it is best not to even talk about healthcare reform. Talk about Medicare, and letting families and hard-working Americans buy into it. I feel like a broken record on this, but it seems like repetition is the only way to create the Medicare=government healthcare association in the public mindset.
Oh yeah, "Medicare for Families" fits great on placards, if you are into that kind of thing.