The latest Rock the Vote video – as intended – has sparked heated debate and some welcomed engagement. But some of the comments posted on our blog and other sites seem to miss the point. Perhaps a little context would help… the video is satire!
It is meant to be a humorous way to cut through the noise at the end of the long slog on health care. It was, after all, written and produced by the talented team at Funny or Die. That should tell you something. It was meant to be a parody of the system, provocative, and, well, funny.
The barrage of health care ads on TV and radio and constant news coverage for nearly a year have created a bit of fatigue around an issue that is actually at the point where real participation from constituents matters. The issue of health care is one of the top issues for our members and for young people nationally. The issue is being decided right now, and whether you like the bill or not, it won’t get any better if we are sitting on the sidelines.
So, to spark conversation and get more young people to pay attention and speak out, we asked our friends at Funny or Die to make a video. They have a way of reaching those who are more likely to be surfing the web to find the latest humorous skits by SNL writers than to be tracking the health care debate on our website or CSPAN.com. We wanted to reach people . . . and have them reach right back. And, what can we say, “sex sells” – or in this case “no sex.”
The video updates the old “call your Congressman” adage in a funny, provocative, and attention-grabbing way. The video, which seems to have done its job of getting attention, then acts as a bridge to the sections of our website where you can get serious information on what is at stake, what is in the current bills, how the process works, and how to take real action.
We don’t want anyone to get “f**ked” by health care reform, so we have encouraged people to get educated and make their voice heard . . . any way they can. We want a health care plan that benefits young Americans by expanding coverage, eliminating discrimination for pre-existing conditions, and providing coverage that is affordable. That won’t happen unless young people are active and voicing their concerns, interests and needs to their members of Congress.
And if you don’t agree with the video’s suggestion of “holding out” for health care, well, lucky for you…it is the season of giving.
So, let the debate rage on, but lets also discuss how to improve the bill, what we want with health care reform, and how we are going to make our elected officials listen to us. We wish nothing more than to have young Americans pay attention to the critical decisions being made right now. And we wish you – all of you – a happy holiday.
In that spirit, I will end this post with another video for you:
Tags: funny or die, happy holidays, health care
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Mary Bio: @Rockthevote Email the author at: blog(at)rockthevote.com |
Just from reading these comments, I again have faith in the youth of America. Amen, it is time for us to wake up! I can’t thank the Obama administration enough for reminding us to appreciate what so many of us have taken advantage of until it was on the verge of being taken away: our freedom. And thank you to those news organizations that ACTUALLY educate us on both sides of the story! (*cough* FOX NEWS *cough*) Oh, but wait…they’re not a “news” organization, right Obama + administration? They’re not a “news” organization because they’re not just telling us what you want us to hear to further your agenda. And by the way, I am just really curious, what is your motivation for this agenda? It can’t be the American people because you clearly aren’t listening to us- Oh, and don’t think you are just here to save us from our own stupidity (as if you know what’s best for us). haha. Here’s some news for you: We’re not stupid, and we know when to read between the lines. This is America, and WE WILL FIGHT for our freedom! Perhaps if you cared about our history you might understand that.
It’s interesting to see people my age get so engaged in the political process. One thing confuses me, though: assuming what we are looking for here is genuine reform, and not the Republican or Democratic parties’ agendas, why has one side of the debate been totally omitted? Where is the side of significant free market reforms? In other words, the debate has been presented in the form of a dichotomy: either the status quo, in which HMOs (aka a private version of what many fear in the government) run your care, or “reform,” in which the government makes those decisions. What about each of us making our own decisions? What about having insurance *only* for catastrophic care (this is what insurance is for, after all; why should insurance pay for a physical? after all, a physical isn’t a “risk,” you know it is going to happen- save for it!) If the majority of people had to pay for care out of pocket, the price would plummet, and responsibility would be incentivized.
Of course, it still leaves the question of what to do with the uninsured. Many more people would likely be able to afford care with the lowered prices of a truly free, national market, but some would surely still be unable. And in those cases, we can debate the role of the government subsidizing primary care and perhaps giving major medical insurance vouchers to the poor. But why must government control it? We know that in every other market, government control results in disaster. We would hate it if the cellphone market, or the MP3 player market, were controlled by the government- there would be shortages, less innovation, tons of political favors- things you’d expect to read about in the history books. Perhaps in healthcare, too, we should keep central planning in the history books. At least entertain the idea. Reform is necessary, but not just any reform.
Thanks to whomever took the time to read this, and happy holidays.
WTF? Rock the Vote is really just a propaganda machine.
Here’s something to repeat over and over …2+2=5 … 2+2=5 …. 2+2=5.
Rock the Vote is for people too stupid to think for themselves. Sex sells, so use it to brainwash the MTV-watching empty heads into buying the Obama agenda.
Fuck you candy ass fucking liberal assholes!
What hypocrisy! You commission a video that uses the word “fuck”, pay to produce it, put it on your website, and then you ** out the word so that you won’t offend anyone. It’s like everything else on this website…… disingenuous.
Go ahead, mortgage my kid’s future to provide programs we need but cannot afford. Irresponsible spending and borrowing by Americans sgot us into this mess, and now the Congress is going to finish the job by doing exactly the same thing. The youth of this country will be paying for all the pork and stimulus checks for the next fifty years.
Enjoy the ride because, one way on another, it isn’t going to last that long….
Yes, I enjoy a good parody, but the joke is on all the “young people” who this is obviously aimed at: You don’t need comprehensive health care. This health care reform presented to you is paid for by your good health! Don’t be stupid — there is no value in it for young, healthy people.
I guess I just don’t understand some of the comments on this post – how do you explain this: http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-na-health-insurance23-2009dec23,0,94368,full.story – a young guy who got sick and dropped from the insurance companies, his parents in debt to cover his care.
I don’t think the Senate bill is very good, but for gods sake we have to do something. It’s our moral imperative to help our fellow man. I would rather collectively live in a society where we look out for one another than what some of my fellow posters think should happen – let people die in the streets.
I just love the way you exploit women to sell your movement. Telling young people that the only thing women are good for is sex is so awesome.
This video must have been written by a man.
Is this what we’ve come to? Well, at least these leftist, brain-dead obama-bot tramps finally have found a reason to stop spreading their stinky skank-holes around town. Maybe, in an ironic twist, health care costs will go down as the venereal disease rate plummets. And young men will learn a valuable lesson. No woman who uses her nasty snatch as a weapon is worth your time or effort.
Besides, these skanks are kidding themselves, anyway. If they assign a value to their snatch in this manner, they are, at the very core, nothing but whores. And, being typical liberal idiots, they have the attention span of a chihuahua. They’ll be boffing everyone in sight by homecoming, so don’t worry about it, guys.
Nothing as noble as taking another man’s hard-earned money to assuage your liberal guilt, is there, skanky?
Maybe the uninsured as well as the poor should just die and decrease the surplus population. All the right-wing, capitalistic, rush fans are tired of paying their way. not only should the burdens pass on but, I think all republicans should stop paying their taxes. taxes are socialistic in nature. their federal tax dollars should not fund anything except defense. taxation is not what the founding fathers intended. also, stop paying your car insurance why should the good drivers have to pay for others’ mistakes? how about deregulating everything across-the-board to see how this “free-market” thing would really play out. abolish minimum wage the government has no right to determine what wages the market will bear. pass more laws making it harder to organize and bargain collectively with employers. what a joke. you right wingers are just as misled as any lefty. even more so if you work for a living and support the right.
Rock the vote should rename itself “Mock the Vote” after this lame, insulting “parody” video. “Parody” in this case is only a euphamism for for ‘plausible deniability’. Non partisan? How could you be more biased in pushing your agenda supporting this corporate welfare bill?
And as for it being “Satire”, Limbaugh played the “satire” card after “Barack the Magic N*gro”. Great plausible deniability! Learning from Limbaugh? Ends justify the means?
You people make me sick.
You know, I’m 24 and about as blue as they come, voted for Kerry and President Obama, Sen. Webb and Sen. Warner, Tim Kaine for governor and Al Weed and then Rep. Tom Perrillo for Congress. I am your base and you’ve lost me! I didn’t leave the Democratic party, the Democratic party left me. Rock the Vote proved with this video it is no more than the youth propaganda arm of the most liberal wing of the Democratic party.
Sex lobbyists to “shut down cougars”, “unbuttoning” for obama care? Just the mental and actual imagery here has to come from a seriously messed up mind. But heck, these are the people who brought us sex, drugs, booze and vomit, more commonly known as “californication”. A show about loser and boozer Hank Moody and his stupid, moronic waste of a life. There is someone we should all emulate… NOT!
This video is offensive, you say “funny” and “satire” I call it “sleazy” and “demeaning”. I’m no bible thumper, heck I’m not even religious, but I’m disgusted by the message of this “parody”. Just as I was not fond of the New Yorker publishing a cover with Barack and Michelle Obama as militant radicals. Or the “paraody” known as “Barack the Magic N*gro”. Sometimes what you people consider to be “humor” crosses the line.
Telling young women to “unbutton” for Obama care is just sick, it isn’t funny, it isn’t satire, it isn’t artistic, it is sick. The video continues the stereotype that women can only get what they want by using their bodies, not their brains. Also the “Columbian Chicks” bit is pretty lame too, young foreign women are just sex objects for the rich gringo now? You call that equality and respect? It is also insulting to men, for implying that a tactic like no sex would work, that we are so superfical and so tied to our primal urges that we would trade in our values for sexual favors. You insult our intelligence.
To top it off is the “we will never ever **** you” bit. So sex is now a political bargaining chip to manipulate one’s partner into doing what you want them to? Even in a satirical sense that isn’t funny. Sex is supposed to be about love, bonding, intimacy and making your partner happy and vice versa. It isn’t supposed to be a selfish act, and it most certainly isn’t supposed to be about manipulation and politics.
If a woman doesn’t want to date me or sleep with me because of my political views, that is of course her perogative. But to use it as a tool of manipulation is just sick and cheapens the whole concept. That anyone would think people would find that funny is an inditment on our superficial, over-sexualized society, led of course by actors and actresses who have loose moral codes of conduct and focused mainly on enriching themselves.
Also, given the overt sexual behavior and innuendo in this ad, you just forefeited any right to complain about the Palin wink or her clothing choices.
You claim to care about young people? Well how about doing something that takes real courage? Like exposing the fact that Obama broke his word on mandate fines! The position on fines were a big point of contention between Hillary and Obama in the primaries. Obama back then said it was wrong, and now he has betrayed young voters by doing a bait and switch. Promising us one thing while running for office, and doing another thing when in office.
But of course that would interfer with the Obama merchandise now wouldn’t it? Who knows how much Rock the Vote has made off of Obama… Tees, Mugs and sweaters. More than a pretty penny I’m sure, out of which these clowns wages are paid, it is no wonder Rock the Vote has never been openly and directly critical of Obama. Even though he is as bad as Bush, and is just a left wing version of Bush.
In fact Rock the Vote hasn’t really taken much of a stand on anything. It elects liberal politicians, and then defers to them on the issues. Rock the Vote never publically states a position on say, the ethics of using corn ethanol as a means to reduce green house gases. Or the ethics of bribing Senator Nelson to vote yes an the health care bill, with a promise to use OUR tax dollars to pay 100% of his state’s medicaid expansion costs, FOREVER!
No, Rock the Vote doesn’t care about issues, it doesn’t go into detail about anything, and outsources almost all of the heavy lifting on research to outside websites.
“We wanted to reach people . . . and have them reach right back.”
Oh yeah, we are “reaching right back” alright, but not in the way you wanted. Your video is rated very poor on youtube and the comments are overwhelmingly negative. Maybe because we don’t want uncle sam reaching into our pockets and forcing us to buy health insurance that we don’t need, or fining us when most of us can buy our own coverage if we stopped buying designer clothes, ipods and starbucks lattes.
Epic fail rock the vote. 2010 will be your Waterloo. The time for mocking the vote will soon be at an end.
@scrooge
You know minimum wage decreases employment, right? Take a basic economics course.
Also, I’m not sure why paying for my neighbor’s healthcare is my duty…
Your comment about insurers making obscene profits is completely out of line. I won’t deny that insurers do things that they shouldn’t do, but from what I’ve researched, their profits are not any more astronomical than other industries. In fact, they’re often lower. (see http://apnews.myway.com/article/20091025/D9BI4D6O1.html, which is an AP release.)
Additionally, I do work in health insurance with a church-based organization. At one point, we insured everyone, no questions asked. Guess what? It almost put us out of business.
Now we’re trying it again with pastors. It has nearly doubled everyone’s premium. So twice, we’ve seen the same results.
By the way, I don’t care if this is a parody or not. Parodies can be funny, but there’s always a line. In a society plagued by unwanted pregnancies, abortion, sexually transmitted diseases, and infidelity (any sports figures come to mind?), since when is it funny to joke about these things? And did you notice that 3 of the 4 items in that list have an impact on health care costs?
The “RTV” movement is nothing short of a shameless propoganda whore. The only good thing about your sex-denial scheme is the inevitable decline in STD infections that will result when the skanks you featured in the video close their legs for once.
Your campaign continues to be a disgrace – a sad reminder of the amoral mindset of generation Y.
Your efforts are pointless and will bear little fruit – the vast majority of this country is STILL conservative and will ultimately win the day. I am one of millions who find you to be little more than a well-dressed (well funded) pile of human extrement.
Merry Christmas – you obviously need one.
Mark
Nothing but a bunch of youngsters in ‘rock the vote’ who really mean nothing to most true Americans. Imagine these kids running the country. Most of them think MTV is reality. Just ignore these punks.
@#13. patty, why would unemployment go up if minimum wages are increased? usually when production costs go up the price goes up.
and about paying your neighbors health care. The doctors and hospitals already treat people pro-bono in life threatening cases, which cause prices to rise. you think the industry eats those costs? no they are passed on to you. Folks who pay into health insurance plans and don’t ever use them are paying for their co-workers care. how is that “fair?” Is paying your neighbors kids’ education your duty? Is paying cops’ salaries your duty? how about your neighbor’s grandparent’s health care….oh yeah you already pay for that. And their SOCIAL security.
Video does make one very good point – health care reform does affect young Americans tremendously. Judging by how the government has run, oh, pretty much any other program, health care will likely bring on huge costs, higher taxes, and higher mandatory spending.
I really wonder just how much money will be left when I am 50 years (currently 21). The national debt is skyrocketing, and the deficit as a % of GDP is on par with levels from WWII. That’s f*cking absurb (yeah!!! just rocked the english language! /sarcasm) This country really needs to get out of this mentality that we are entitled to every possible benefit on Earth, suck it up and realize that we cannot sustainably live at our current levels. We’ll go bankrupt. But that’s not something any politician, or liberal, or populist, or some “conservatives” want to hear.
“Populism (n.) – Ockham’s Razor for the masses, dulled to something approaching a sledgehammer. Swung drunk, blindfolded.”
-Phila lawyer
@#13. patricia, How would higher minimum wage cause an increase in unemployment? Usually when production costs go up the price goes up.
as to the paying your neighbor’s health care, you already do if they are 65 or older and on medicare. is it your duty to pay for your neighbor’s kids education? you do. how about social security? you pay that? are you a socialist? seems you are. but the public heatlh care reform is the one that’s unacceptable. all of a sudden the government is over the line.
The democrat/socialist healthcare doesn’taddress real reform. let me give you all this fact.
Lawyers make more money every year suing Doctors, than Microsoft makes yearly off of an ACTUAL product!
Doctors have to pay over $100,000 a year for liability insurance that they have to pass on to even make a living!
Capping the limit for monetary awards to let’s say $5 million instead of outrageous amounts like the $50 million Presidential candidate John Edwards got for suing Dr.s saying that natural childbirth was causing Cerebral Palsy (which 2 years later was scientifically proven to be totally untrue). Lawyers like John Edwards are total scumbags and not only didn’t give the money back they made off of a phony claim, they also caused the industry to urge more C-Sections which have increased the death rates of Mom’s!
Now, when the Republican’s asked the Democrat’s to include Tort Reform (a cap on how many millions someone who like John Edwards can rip off from the insurance industry) they wouldn’t even think about including it even though their own people like Dr. Howard Dean agreed it needs to be reformed.
Do you know why? BECAUSE LAWYER’S WHO SUE DOCTORS ARE IN THE TOP 1% OF DONORS TO THE DEMOCRAT PARTY!!!!!!
Democrats are a f*cking bunch of scam artist LIARS!!!!
Anyone who doesn’t vote these f*cking as*hole Democrats out in 2010 has to HATE this country and need brain surgery. Too bad there won’t be any good Doctors anymore to perform the brain surgery, since this Healthcare bill will drive them all out of business!!!
I would like to point out that RTV is deleting posts that are factualy against their point of view.
Cowards.
Well from what I can see in these posts, an overwhelming majority of people are against Healthcare Reform. The last I had heard, politicians worked for the public and are supposed to do as we wish not on there own accord. If an Obvious Left Wing group like RTV is recieving post like the ones here, then the reform must be stopped. Just because we have lost tons of our freedoms already, does not mean we must lose them all. One thing I do agree with is we must rock the vote just not in favor of the propaganda machine.
I feel so bad for those kids in this add. This is what happens when we fail to raise our children. Their parents should be ashamed…