{"id":23283,"date":"2022-08-17T10:53:22","date_gmt":"2022-08-17T17:53:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=23283"},"modified":"2022-08-17T10:53:24","modified_gmt":"2022-08-17T17:53:24","slug":"dr-oz-derided-over-ad-attacking-fettermans-support-for-free-healthcare","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2022\/08\/17\/dr-oz-derided-over-ad-attacking-fettermans-support-for-free-healthcare\/","title":{"rendered":"Dr. Oz Derided Over Ad Attacking Fetterman&#8217;s Support for &#8216;Free Healthcare&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/banner_image_1x_xl\/public\/2022-08\/dr-oz-fetterman-attack-ad_1.png?h=95ae90f4&amp;itok=4AGBdq1p\" alt=\"An Oz campaign ad attacks Fetterman on healthcare\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><em>A campaign ad from Republican U.S. Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz shows Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez emerging from the skull of John Fetterman holding a &#8220;free healthcare&#8221; sign. (Photo: Dr. Mehmet Oz\/Twitter Screengrab)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>&#8220;What&#8217;s radical,&#8221; responded a top aide to Sen. Bernie Sanders, &#8220;is 338,000 Americans dying during the pandemic because they could not afford for-profit healthcare.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/article_author\/public\/2021-06\/jake-johnson-200x200.jpg?h=55541bb6&amp;itok=dRxLRucM\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/author\/jake-johnson\">JAKE JOHNSON<\/a> August 16, 2022 (CommonDreams.org)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Republican U.S. Senate hopeful<\/strong>&nbsp;and ultra-millionaire Mehmet Oz attempted Monday to cast his Democratic opponent, Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, as &#8220;the most radical candidate in the country&#8221; by citing his support for &#8220;free healthcare,&#8221; a line of attack that was met with widespread derision on social media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dr. Oz, a former television personality who is trailing the key Senate contest by&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.politicspa.com\/poll-fetterman-leads-oz-by-double-digits\/110797\/\">double digits<\/a>, delivered the attack through a crudely animated ad showing Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) emerging from Fetterman&#8217;s skull holding a sign that reads, &#8220;Free healthcare for everyone!&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Socialized medicine?&#8221; the narrator scoffs. &#8220;Where did he get these crazy ideas?&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The ad, which has previously aired&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=UCYciXhwvcg\">on television<\/a>, answers the question with an animation of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who has polled as the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/news\/world\/americas\/us-politics\/bernie-sanders-most-popular-politician-poll-trump-favorability-a7913306.html\">most popular<\/a>&nbsp;politician in the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Watch:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">He\u2019s the most radical candidate in the country. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Z2jr8yowos\">pic.twitter.com\/Z2jr8yowos<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Dr. Mehmet Oz (@DrOz) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DrOz\/status\/1559241511170183169?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 15, 2022<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Honestly had to double check that this wasn&#8217;t a parody account,&#8221; Robert Maguire, research director at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RobertMaguire_\/status\/1559256691425804290\">tweeted<\/a>&nbsp;in response to the clip, which includes a slew of other attacks on Fetterman&#8217;s policy agenda, some of them&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.inquirer.com\/politics\/election\/oz-crime-fetterman-senate-pennsylvania-20220728.html\">highly misleading<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Warren Gunnels, Sanders&#8217; staff director,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/GunnelsWarren\/status\/1559311307798679554\">added<\/a>&nbsp;that &#8220;67% of the American people support providing Medicare to every American, including 69% of independents and 87% of Democrats.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;What&#8217;s radical,&#8221; Gunnels added, &#8220;is 338,000 Americans dying during the pandemic because they could not afford for-profit healthcare.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Gunnels was referencing a peer-reviewed study published in June showing that more than 338,000 U.S. coronavirus deaths could have been prevented if the country had a single-payer healthcare system that guaranteed comprehensive coverage for all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Related Content<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/2022\/06\/14\/medicare-all-could-have-prevented-more-338000-us-covid-deaths-study\"><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/2022\/06\/14\/medicare-all-could-have-prevented-more-338000-us-covid-deaths-study\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/card_tiny_1x\/public\/2021-09\/nurses-protest-3600x2400.jpg?h=ec041e41&amp;itok=XGtbEW-U\" alt=\"nurses-protest-3600x2400\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/2022\/06\/14\/medicare-all-could-have-prevented-more-338000-us-covid-deaths-study\"><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/2022\/06\/14\/medicare-all-could-have-prevented-more-338000-us-covid-deaths-study\">Medicare for All Could Have Prevented More Than 338,000 US Covid Deaths: Study<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/author\/kenny-stancil\">Kenny Stancil<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fetterman has long&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JohnFetterman\/status\/971945610965286913\">expressed support<\/a>&nbsp;for Medicare for All and promised, if needed, to cast the decisive Senate vote in support of single-payer legislation, a position that led for-profit healthcare interests to&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/jacobin.com\/2022\/03\/pa-democratic-senate-primary-fetterman-lamb-pac\">attack him<\/a>&nbsp;during the Democratic primary. On his&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/johnfetterman.com\/issues\/\">campaign website<\/a>, Fetterman states his view that &#8220;healthcare is a fundamental human right\u2014just like housing, food, and education.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Oz, by contrast, has&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/doctoroz.com\/issues\/\">pledged<\/a>&nbsp;to &#8220;expand access to private sector plans expanded by President Trump,&#8221; an apparent reference to the former president&#8217;s&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2019\/10\/03\/trump-medicare-health-care-2020-025564\">executive order<\/a>&nbsp;bolstering privately run Medicare Advantage plans that are notorious for&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/2022\/04\/22\/katie-porter-leads-letter-urging-biden-not-dump-more-money-medicare-advantage\">overcharging<\/a>&nbsp;the government and denying patients&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/2022\/04\/28\/staggering-watchdog-finds-medicare-advantage-plans-deny-necessary-care\">medically necessary care<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Oz has also vowed to take on healthcare industry &#8220;lobbyists and powerful special interests,&#8221; not mentioning that he has&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.huffpost.com\/entry\/dr-oz-senate-big-pharma-money_n_61baad7ae4b0bf37033620d0\">benefited from<\/a>&nbsp;Big Pharma cash.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A campaign ad from Republican U.S. Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz shows Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez emerging from the skull of John Fetterman holding a &#8220;free healthcare&#8221; sign. (Photo: Dr. Mehmet Oz\/Twitter Screengrab) &#8220;What&#8217;s radical,&#8221; responded a top aide to Sen. Bernie Sanders, &#8220;is 338,000 Americans dying during the pandemic because&#8230; <a class=\"continue-reading-link\" href=\"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2022\/08\/17\/dr-oz-derided-over-ad-attacking-fettermans-support-for-free-healthcare\/\"> Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr; <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23283"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23283"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23283\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23284,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23283\/revisions\/23284"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23283"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23283"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23283"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}