Health reformers targeting ‘enemies’

The plan for a series of grass-roots demonstrations Tuesday to promote President Obama’s health care agenda calls for tightly scripted events and an “escalation” of efforts against “enemies” of reform.

Organizers insist there is no comparison to rowdy summer town hall meetings and recent “tea party” protests that have challenged White House policies.

But Health Care for America Now (HCAN), which is backed by a coalition of labor unions and liberal groups including ACORN and MoveOn.org, organized the protests to target insurance companies and drafted the plan, which describes the demonstrations as part of its “insurance enemies project.”

The document, a copy of which was obtained by The Washington Times, details specific talking points, tactics, props and strategies to stage the protests. It lists goals that include action that “mobilizes our base by animating existing anger about private insurers.”

The HCAN field plan dictates that each protest will include a minimum of 30 participants, target only health care insurers CIGNA, WellPoint and United Health Care and showcase what it calls “victims,” or people who have either lost insurance, can’t afford it or were denied coverage because of pre-existing medical conditions.

“We built a campaign to win health care reform and that is exactly what we are working on,” said HCAN national spokeswoman Jacki Schechner, who authenticated the documents. But she asserted: “There is nothing top-down about this.”

The field plan says the protests should attract media coverage that “creates villains or enemies that serve as a contrast with our side; validates the need for affordability and the public health insurance option; [and] forces the other side to respond.”

David Palombi, senior vice president of corporate communications for WellPoint, said the “enemies project” is counterproductive to the debate and will do nothing to expand access, reduce costs or improve the quality of health care in the United States.

“It is extraordinarily disappointing that it comes at a time when [House Speaker Nancy Pelosi] and others are calling for a civil discussion.”

Mrs. Pelosi, California Democrat, became emotional at a news conference Thursday when she expressed fear that the harsh rhetoric of the debate would lead to violence.

The White House and congressional Democrats charged that the fierce protest against the health care plan this summer at town hall meetings and widespread “tea party” protests were “Astroturf,” or fake grass-roots uprisings manufactured by conservatives to undermine the reform effort.

Still, the anger expressed at the town hall gatherings were credited with turning some lawmakers against the health care plan and raising doubts about the bill passing this year.

Conservative activists defended the outpouring of opposition to the Democrats’ agenda as genuine.

“The politicians in Washington who think this movement is Astroturf had better think again,” said Dennis E. Whitfield, executive vice president of the American Conservative Union. “This is the grass roots coming alive. … This is for real.”

HCAN designed the demonstrations set for Tuesday to “help shape new national narrative around the national health care debate” by vilifying insurance companies, according to the field plan.

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