196
submitted 3 months ago by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/politics@lemmy.world

Summary

Progressive lawmakers view the online praise for the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson as a sign of deep public frustration with the U.S. healthcare system.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called it a “wake-up call” highlighting resentment over financial and health precarity, while Sen. Bernie Sanders emphasized that anger reflects the belief that healthcare is a human right.

Though all lawmakers condemned the murder, some progressives argue it underscores systemic issues like claim denials.

Calls for healthcare reform have intensified amid public outrage.

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[-] just_another_person@lemmy.world 95 points 3 months ago

Agree, though we've had so many wake up calls lately...none seem to land.

[-] orclev@lemmy.world 44 points 3 months ago

Yep. I'll care when the politicians actually do something besides make speeches. Not that I'm expecting anything at all from the Democrats, they're too busy trying to decide which Republican policy they want to water down and implement next.

[-] BenLeMan@lemmy.world 22 points 3 months ago

Too many people still chasing the American Dream, scared to death of being woke.

[-] very_well_lost@lemmy.world 25 points 3 months ago

To paraphrase George Carlin: they call it the American Dream because you have to be asleep to believe it.

[-] floofloof@lemmy.ca 5 points 3 months ago

It should be rebranded the American Delusion.

I mean, it’s been referred to as the American Nightmare for some time now.

[-] Alexstarfire@lemmy.world 4 points 3 months ago

They woke up... just to fall asleep again.

[-] Kolanaki@yiffit.net 4 points 3 months ago

Country needs to stop hitting the fuckin' snooze button.

[-] ccunning@lemmy.world 50 points 3 months ago

Progressive lawmakers view the online praise for the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson as a sign of deep public frustration with the U.S. healthcare system.

It’s not just the healthcare system

[-] Yawweee877h444@lemmy.world 22 points 3 months ago

Agreed, and also it's not just "frustration". Their choice of words is a sugar coating.

[-] seaQueue@lemmy.world 27 points 3 months ago
[-] brucethemoose@lemmy.world 9 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

At risk of going off topic, it wouldn’t matter of Bernie or AOC or someone to the left of them had run for every open position.

The Democrat’s problem was campaigning on a high horse like its 1950, instead of seeding propaganda in social media. It’s the delivery, not the message, and they are going to keep losing until we get a “liberal Trump” shameless enough to break that mould.

The wake-up call for me was watching post election interviews of ostensibly educated college students from fairly liberal campuses… and now, there is no govt incentive to reign that in.

[-] NoneOfUrBusiness@fedia.io 8 points 3 months ago

It's both the delivery and the message. Saying it's only the delivery implies anyone was every going to vote for the Democrats' "everything is fine" position when everything is decidedly not fine.

[-] lukes26@lemm.ee 4 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

I actually kinda feel that someone like Bernie may have had enough youth appeal to have a somewhat organic version of that happen. During the 2016 primaries, a decent amount of memes and online talk were spawned by him/his campaign.

Definitely agree that delivery is extremely important though, campaigning on helping workers while appearing elite and out of touch just makes people consider you a liar or to be looking down at people.

[-] Orbituary@lemmy.world 4 points 3 months ago

The Dems would rather lose than concede to Progressive populist ideals.

[-] Tinidril@midwest.social 3 points 3 months ago

What exactly are you basing this on? Harris ran a terrible campaign with the usual Democratic half-measure policy proposals and lost. That should hardly be a surprise. There is no evidence to say that a populist Democrat like Bernie or AOC couldn't win.

What if Harris had made the whole campaign into a referendum on the broken healthcare system? It turns out that that's where the Republican voters she was trying to woo were hiding all along.

[-] Darkly@sh.itjust.works 10 points 3 months ago

Is it though? Cause a lot of progressives vote like they are asleep. (I say this as a progressive mind you...)

[-] Tinidril@midwest.social 10 points 3 months ago

Progressives are the most politically engaged segment in the US, even ahead of evangelicals. Progressives are most likely to vote, to donate, and to volunteer for campaigns. This is true despite the fact that Democrats never give them much to vote for.

[-] Orbituary@lemmy.world 1 points 3 months ago

Do you mean "Progressives" or "progressives." It's like saying "Democrat" or "democratic." There's a stance and then there's boots on the ground, populist minded, human focused ideology.

When any movement's name is coopted by its uppercase, it's effectively diminished.

[-] ramsorge@discuss.online 4 points 3 months ago

Lies. This is just “give them news to calm them down” keep deposing!

[-] brucethemoose@lemmy.world 3 points 3 months ago

Of course they are. They have been! And then they go out and vote someone in who’s going to enrich these healthcare executives and shareholders like never before.

The line between voter sentiment and candidates/policy is completely busted, twisted by bubbles and feeds, and it’s going to get exponentially worse now. So I hate to sound cynical, but I don’t see what good this sentiment does unless these candidates get in the dirt and play the propaganda game.

[-] DannyMac@lemm.ee 3 points 3 months ago

We need to stop the needless CEO killings by switching to universal healthcare! Think of all the CEO lives we could save by doing this!

[-] N0body@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 3 months ago

I’ve lost all faith in the media and even stories like this. It feels like controlled opposition.

Lee Harvey Oswald didn’t kill Kennedy, and the new patsy didn’t kill the asshole CEO who murdered grandmas and grandpas and made people’s lives a living hell by denying claims with AI.

They’ll release a mountain of evidence against him and find every way to discredit this “suspect” in public opinion. They’ll silence him and discredit him with their bully pulpit. That’s what they do. Meanwhile, the available evidence suggests strongly that he didn’t do it. Wrong guy.

[-] Tinidril@midwest.social 2 points 3 months ago

If they were just trying to pin it on someone, I doubt they would pick a child of the autocracy tech-bro. It would be some poor city kid who could only afford a public defender.

[-] TrickDacy@lemmy.world 1 points 3 months ago
[-] RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world 1 points 3 months ago

It’s nothing unless it happens directly to them, meaning the CEOs/wealthy. One death is a one-off. They’ll review or “enhance” their corporate security procedures which will consist of: telling already abused and overworked front line workers to watch some corporate security video and who to report suspicious people to. Tell middle managers to keep an eye on employees for suspicious behavior. Upper management will create the plan and worry unnecessarily it might be them targeted because they’re this close to actually being important. And the C-suite might actually get an occasional bodyguard, guard at home, or block access to the c-suite unless approved by said guard. Maybe. Most of them won’t GAF except a minor twinge of worry washed away by their next $75 glass of fine wine at a Michelin starred restaurant.

[-] Red_October@lemmy.world 1 points 3 months ago

Unless lawmakers get their heads out of their asses and do something useful, the only change that will come from this "wake-up call" is that companies will try to obfuscate their executive roster and those executives will travel with a security detail paid for by denying more insurance claims.

[-] Allonzee@lemmy.world 2 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

denying more insurance claims

You say that like that wasn't their top priority the day before the shooting.

I don't mean to antagonize, but I dislike even passive implications that they've shown us any quarter or will stop being nice now.

They were always for maximum murder for maximum profit. At no point does anyone in charge go "well if they've paid their premiums for decades and never used their plan at all, let them have the surgery" if they have any technicality to prevent it.

No amount of Good boy/girl reverence towards them has or will result in anything positive for their customers/marks.

That's bad for business. They never used kid gloves, so they have nothing to take off. There was 0 good faith being exercised between private health insurers and their customers on December 3rd.

If anything, what happened helped a few BlueCross patients not be billed tens of thousands for anasthesia for their approved surgeries after the fact, at least for a few months until they institute it anyway if this moment passes without becoming a movement. Unlike goodwill, they do seem to respond to fear.

[-] ikidd@lemmy.world 1 points 3 months ago

If only a bunch of people hadn't stayed home a month ago.

[-] McNasty@sh.itjust.works 1 points 3 months ago

That's what happens when you're presented with a candidate who is "not as bad as the other side's pick."

Democrats keep fucking themselves.

[-] GiddyGap@lemm.ee 1 points 3 months ago

Unfortunately, nothing will ever happen. Especially since Republicans have no interest in universal healthcare and hold every position of power now. It's all about money.

[-] felixthecat@fedia.io -2 points 3 months ago

Wake up, grab your brush and put a little makeup

this post was submitted on 12 Dec 2024
196 points (98.5% liked)

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