Heather Graham Becomes Public Option Pitch Woman In New MoveOn.Org Ad

In a new frontier of the public option debate, progressives are getting a hand from movie star Heather Graham to pitch the much-discussed health care reform provision.

The actress is starring in a new television ad put out by the progressive advocacy organization, MoveOn.org, in what the group is calling a broader, week-long effort to target insurance companies.

Obtained exclusively by the Huffington Post, the spot casts Graham as a "public option" sprinter in race against "bloated" private insurers from CIGNA, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, United Health and Humana.

"Insurance companies have gotten lazy, bloated from the profits of raising our health care costs sky high while the health care crisis keeps getting worse," the script reads. "A public health insurance option is the key to quality affordable care for Americans. And over 70 percent of Americans want the public option. Some in Washington say this is unfair competition. But competition is as American as apple pie."

The actress, famous for her portrayal of Austin Power's sidekick and as Roller Girl in the film Boogie Nights, isn't the only famous character in the spot. MoveOn.org also solicited the work of Yaniv Raz (Graham's boyfriend and director of, among other things, Things Fall Apart) to put together the spot. The voice over, meanwhile, is that of acclaimed actor Peter Coyote.

The merging of Hollywood and progressive politics is a not uncommon affair. Though the alliance is normally saved for election year contests, not relatively wonkish policy disputes. Graham's openness to serve as a public option pitch woman truly underscores the extent to which the public option discussion has gone from a debate within the field of academia and think tanks to a national conversation fed (in part) by consistent cable news coverage.

Called "Track Meet," the ad will air on national cable channels, including MSNBC, CNN and Bravo in addition to a major push on the web. An official with the group says that they are putting "six figures" behind the purchase.

"The public option is our best shot at affordable health care for all, and I was honored to portray the public option," Graham said in a statement accompanying the ad's release.

Comments

[hopiakuta]

07:15 PM on 11/03/2009

I do wish that this website would permit me to edit-out mistakes, & use a much larger pica:

Heather Joan Graham is generally attractive­. & moveon has many good ideas. & government public option healthcare seems to be a slight improvemen­t compared to the extant healthcare system; though singlepaye­r might be a slightly better improvemen­t.

So, what is wrong w/ this image?

She is blond & skinny; the persons resembling insurance companies are of various races, various disabiliti­es: much like an insulting scene in various movies.

handicappi­sm

handicappi­st

racism

racist

Please, moveon, do move on to some other image.

&, when, exactly, do I experience change that I would want to believe in?

Where is fascism, progressiv­e?

Thank You,

DonFphrnqT­aub Persina

[bloson79]

07:32 PM on 10/29/2009

Competitio­n is as American as apple pie. Love it!

[carolm62]

12:06 AM on 10/25/2009

It's too bad that insurance is no longer insurance -- and has de-evolved into pre-paid health care. I imagine my car insurance would be just as high if it covered every oil change, tune up, and tire rotation.

So what do you pay out every month for health insurance.­..? $900.00...­? $1500.00..­.?

What if you just paid your doctor a hundred or so bucks when you saw him instead -- and paid much, much less for catastroph­ic insurance? Catastroph­ic insurance for cancer and surgery and such would be much more affordable than insurance for every bout of the sniffles -- since most people get sniffles but don't get cancer or need surgery.

But somehow the definition of actual medical care has morphed into the idea of insurance. And we expect it to cover everything AND be cheap.

But since we can't seem to palate just paying our doctor for the sniffles, meaning our sniffle plus insurance has become unbearably expensive, now we think the government should just take insurance over -- and make it MORE expensive to boot. AND we should get taxed for having it. Or get taxed for not having it.

Go figure....

[RUKidding0]

06:22 PM on 10/25/2009

Excellent, concise, insightful­, and truthful comment.

[Mikyung Lim]

02:21 PM on 10/26/2009

Both of you are kidding, right?

What's the reason that both of you insist that US should be not be included in the list of other industrial­ized, advanced countries like Western European countries/­economies (and even other less advanced countries) that have some variation of public insurance system and love to stick to it even after the test of time? Do you really want this country to belong to the "Dark Middle Age" regarding people's welfare? And have globally notorious reputation of turning its back against its sick, poor, uninsured citizens, leaving them die? while sending medical and food aids to the starving people and HIV-positi­ves in Africa? and eagerly support already rich industry people here by any means?

Have you heard that for the last one year, regardless of severe recession, health insurance and medical industries enjoyed high profits while their numerous patients became homeless or got bankrupted because of excessive medical bills? What kind of paradox is this?

Have you heard that more than 90-95% of Canadians (whose nationaliz­ed health insurance system has been mercilessl­y criticized by Americans (like people here have superior system over Canadians'­)) prefer their own health care system and don't want American system if they have choice between these two? Why do you think Canadians prefer their own system if it had been so troublesom­e as criticized here?

What about love for "your neighbor"? Don't you have any of it? Or do you work for insurance companies or are you lobbiests?

[brdatwork2]

04:20 PM on 10/26/2009

FACT CHECK:

Health insurance profit margins typically run about 6 percent, give or take a point or two. That's anemic compared with other forms of insurance and a broad array of industries­, even some beleaguere­d ones.

[Mikyung Lim]

12:19 AM on 10/24/2009

This Ad is definitely get to the point ! Clear descriptio­n of the corrupted industry.
I like this as much as Will Farrell's.

General public should not sacrifice themselves for somebody else's corruption­.

[bimplebean]

08:21 PM on 10/23/2009

May I just say -- Ms. Graham is the stuff that dreams are made of.

[slithers]

06:38 PM on 10/23/2009

This is bull. The public option will put private care out of business. Only the very wealthy will continue to have private coverage while paying extra taxes for the public option. The middle class will lose their private coverage or cancel it because they'll be paying higher taxes to cover the public option.

[CommunistUtopia]

07:16 PM on 10/23/2009

Absolutely true. Good analysis.

[Hobay]

07:58 PM on 10/23/2009

The current system is fine. I like insurance companies! They are so necessary to the healthcare equation that without them we would be like 36 other countries with superior systems whose wealthy occasional­ly visit here for plastic surgury and such! Proof we are the best! We are no. 1!

[Frank M]

07:40 PM on 10/23/2009

Awe, isn't that too bad... If they weren't ripping us off in the first place and were NFP like they used to be they wouldn't be in this position. You can't have quality health care in a for-profit business.

[RUKidding0]

06:26 PM on 10/25/2009

Frank M's last sentence entirely explains the recurring charge of socialism directed at the left.

Q.E.D.

[brdatwork2]

04:17 PM on 10/26/2009

FACT CHECK: Health insurer profits not so fat
http://apn­ews.myway.­com/articl­e/20091025­/D9BI4D6O1­.html

[wizinit]

06:20 PM on 10/23/2009

Since you put it that way, I can't help but love that public option.

[jpm005]

06:08 PM on 10/23/2009

I liked the ad enough to prompt a donation to MoveOn.

Additional­ly, their demonstrat­ion at the offices of Senator Hatch a couple of weeks ago suggesting that he is heavily subsidized (and perhaps bought) by the Health Care Insurance industry was very entertaini­ng.

The senator was not amused. This of course increased my joy.

[OliverTwist]

05:48 PM on 10/23/2009

Beautiful!

[CoolerHeads]

04:19 PM on 10/23/2009

Ugh. MoveOn makes the worst ads. This is probably the best one they've made, and it's still awful. It's just a mess of mixed metaphors. Public Option = cute woman who makes big fat insurance companies want to chase her. Huh? The point they want to make is about competitio­n being good, but the story they tell is all about cute girl and fat men. It works only if we are supposed to care about the insurance companies and want them to work out for THEIR health. Not OURS. Where is the voter in this whole thing? Where are WE? What's more, the insurance fatties don't seem to want to compete, they just want to catch the cutie. Whose side are we supposed to be on? I'm going to stop giving money to MoveOn. They keep blowing it on "clever" ads that don't help the cause at all.

[Frank M]

07:41 PM on 10/23/2009

Are you watching the same ad I am? It is a metaphor for COMPETITIO­N. Whew! I swear.

[EvasDaddy]

01:47 PM on 10/24/2009

"CoolerHea­ds" seems to be confusing his/her metaphors.

Perhaps if MoveOn had cast a homely but still fit runner as "public option", and attractive­, but out of shape people as "big insurance"­, he/she could have seen the underlying point.

[David2]

04:19 PM on 10/23/2009

It's a nice ad, and of course Heather is ALWAYS easy on the eyes, but the insurance companies wouldn't let a public option compete on a level playing field.

They would be hamstringi­ng her and clipping her and tying her shoelaces together at every opportunit­y. They would have her start the race at the far end of the field and have her run two laps for their one, elbowing her in the ribs and tripping her when possible.

And they would get away with it as well because they still have that antitrust exemption and millions of lobbying dollars (which their own customers pay for of course) to make sure that they get away with it.

Isn't it nice to know what you're really paying for with your premiums?

[Fossilhippie]

03:20 PM on 10/23/2009

I thought for a second this was about some new pubic option

[Scarborian]

02:16 PM on 10/23/2009

Those armpits are so smooth! How does she do it?

Joking aside, great commercial­.

[eastcoastelitist]

12:40 PM on 10/23/2009

Sign me up Heather, Sign ME UP!

[CaptainSunshine]

09:33 AM on 10/23/2009

It's obvious that she does lots of yoga.