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update on anti-health care reform activities, w/refs
Part of the group's anti-government healthcare campaign is television ads that feature "horror stories" of Canadian and British residents who "allegedly suffered long waits for surgeries, couldn't get the drugs they needed, or had to come to the United States for treatment." <ref name="CRCWaPo"/> After the release of the 2007 [[Michael Moore]] movie "[[Sicko]]," industry groups including [[Health Care America]] and [[America's Health Insurance Plans]] responded with similar scare tactics. <ref>Video news release, "[http://prnewswire.com/broadcast/28830/press.html What Michael Moore Left Out of His Movie: Canadian Patients and Health Care Experts Tell Other Side of Story]," Health Care America via MultiVu, June 29, 2007.</ref> <ref>Elizabeth Solomont, "[http://www.nysun.com/new-york/big-pharma-readies-effort-to-counter-moores-sicko/56901/ Big Pharma Readies Effort To Counter Moore's 'Sicko']," ''New York Sun'', June 20, 2007.</ref>
==Creating the appearance of public momentum against health care reform==
WhoRunsGov.com, a blog publication of the ''Washington Post'' company, reported that Conservatives for Patients Rights (CPR) admits that it has undertaken a concerted effort to get people to turn out to town hall meetings nationally to protest health care reform. A spokesperson for the group, [[Brian Burgess]], confirmed that CPR has been emailing out [http://www.cprights.org/pdf/Town_Hall_Alert.pdf "town hall alert" flyers], and schedules of town hall meetings, to its mailing list. The flier calls the Public Option (a proposal for a government-sponsored, non-profit health insurance plan) "Patient Enemy #1."<ref>Rick Scott, Conservatives for Patients Rights [http://www.cprights.org/pdf/Town_Hall_Alert.pdf Town Hall Alert] Flyer. 1 page. Undated. Accessed August 14, 2009</ref>
These efforts — combined with CPR’s efforts to enlist [[Tax Day Tea Party]] participants,<ref>Biran Beutler, TPMMuckraker [http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/08/inside-the-tea-partiers-anti-health-care-organizing-campaign.php Inside The Tea Partiers Anti-Health Care Organizing Campaign] Blog/article. August 3, 2009, accessed August 14, 2009</ref> as reported by Talking Points Memo, offer a glimpse into how anti-reform groups are trying to create a sense of public momentum in their favor.<ref>Greg Sargent, the Plum Line [http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/health-care/anti-reform-group-takes-credit-for-helping-gin-up-town-hall-rallies/ Anti-Reform Group Takes Credit For Helping Gin Up Town Hall Rallies] Blog/article. August 4, 2009. Accessed August 14, 2009</ref>
==Background==
