After the alleged murderer of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was caught on Tuesday, MSNBC’s Joy Reid was extra Joy Reid-y on The ReidOut. She gleefully noted that people on the internet are not angry at the murder, and when she welcomed progressive author and radio host Thom Hartmann, wondered how such reactions could be made in the same country that just elected Donald Trump. For his part, Hartmann declared that the reason why America does not have a socialist healthcare system is because of racism.
Reid began by pretending to be shocked that liberal Twitter sleuths are not eager to find lefty assassins, “Something a bit unexpected has happened following the murder... I don't want to call it glee but, say, not unhappiness. Especially online, where the internet sleuths who often dedicate themselves to tracking down people accused of racist behavior in public places, criminals including January 6th fugitives, and more have actively been refusing to help.”
She then hyped how “Donald Trump Jr., son of our incoming ruler, went on his X/Twitter page and did the patented ‘internet, do your thing,’ post. And the reaction was mostly, ‘yeah, no.’”
Likewise, she gloated that “Other popular conservatives like Ben Shapiro and anti-woman zealot Matt Walsh saw their mention go up in flames when they tried to attack quote/unquote “evil liberals” for celebrating the murder of a CEO, with some of their supporters replying that they had gotten it wrong.”
Before introducing Hartmann, Reid added, “United has gobbled up dozens of insurance companies over the decades to become not only the larger insurer in the U.S. but, by profits, the largest in the world, and they exist in an industry that is all about consolidation and profit where basically four to five companies control everything and care little about healthcare consumers in the minds of many Americans.”
Reid would eventually ask Hartmann, “It is so ironic to me that people, left and right, are mad at UnitedHealthcare but voted to make America run by UnitedHealthcare, your thoughts?”
Hartmann agreed, “It is totally nuts, Joy, you are absolutely right. Corporations are—if corporations actually were people, they would be psychopaths, you know, they have no conscience, they have no consideration for other people's feelings, in fact, they don't have the ability to feel other people's feelings, and that is how they’re designed.”
While corporations are psychotic, Hartmann viewed government as nothing but flowers, rainbows, and happy faces, “Businesses are run for profit; government is run for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It’s run for the benefit of people. Generally, that’s intangible, it’s really difficult to measure those things, many of those things. I mean, you know, so the FBI stopped eight terrorist attacks; well, how do you measure that people don't know it happened?
Hartmann further lamented, “We are the only country in the developed world that does not recognize healthcare as a right, as a human right, and doesn’t cover every single person in the country. 25 million people in America have no insurance whatsoever, and many of us are radically underinsured, and that just is something no other country would tolerate.”
Diving into a history lesson, Hartmann continued:
It goes back to a fellow named Frederick Hoffman in the 1890s. It is an amazing story, I don't know if you want to get into it, but it basically starts with the story of this guy coming over from Germany… and got a gig as vice president of the Prudential Insurance Company, and in 1896 he published a book called Race, Traits and Tendencies of the American Negro, and his argument was that black people were genetically inferior. Therefore, if we simply denied them healthcare, eventually, within a few generations, all black people would die out and solve the race problem in America.
He then blamed Hoffman for thwarting Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman’s plans to install a single-payer healthcare system, “I mean, that’s how we got a privatized healthcare system rather than essentially a socialized health system like everybody else has where the government makes sure everybody is covered.”
Meanwhile, in socialized healthcare paradises like Canada, the system merely encourages you to euthanize yourself, while in Britain, waiting times continue to break records. Perhaps that is not what Jefferson meant by “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
Here is a transcript for the December 9 show:
MSNBC The ReidOut
12/9/2024
7:28 PM ET
JOY REID: Because something a bit unexpected has happened following the murder. A reaction not of universal horror. That a 50-year-old father of two and husband was shot dead in public but rather of, and I don't want to call it glee but say not unhappiness. Especially online where the internet sleuths who often dedicate themselves to tracking down people accused of racist behavior in public places, criminals including January 6th fugitives, and more have actively been refusing to help.
Donald Trump Jr., son of our incoming ruler went on his X/Twitter page and did the patented “internet, do your thing,” post. And the reaction was mostly, “yeah, no.”
Other popular conservatives like Ben Shapiro and anti-woman zealot Matt Walsh saw their mention go up in flames when they tried to attack quote/unquote “evil liberals” for celebrating the murder of a CEO. With some of their supporters replying that they had gotten it wrong.
Indeed, instead of universal condemnation what we have seen and many of us have heard both on and off line has been a barrage of stories of Americans awful experiences with insurance companies, stories of claims denied. People who have gotten sicker and died because insurance companies like United refuse to pay claims.
Let's just be clear, there’s a real hatred for these companies that is on social media right now and also in real life, too. At the time he was killed, the victim, Brian Thompson was CEO of the largest private insurer in the U.S.
As CEO he was embroiled with a lawsuit of consolidation, United has gobbled up dozens of insurance companies over the decades to become not only the larger insurer in the U.S., but by profits the largest in the world and they exist in an industry that is all about consolidation and profit where basically four to five companies control everything and care little about health care consumers in the minds of many Americans.
…
REID: It is so ironic to me that people, left and right, are mad at UnitedHealthcare but voted to make America run by UnitedHealthcare, your thoughts?
THOM HARTMANN: Yeah, it is totally nuts, Joy, you are absolutely right. Corporations are-- if corporations actually were people they would be psychopaths, you know, they have no conscience, they have no consideration for other people's feelings, in fact, they don't have the ability to feel other people's feelings and that is how they’re designed.
America has a very strange relationship, the whole politics of this going back to Reagan, “Oh yes, we need to run government like a business and be more efficient” and all this. I mean, efficiency’s a fine thing, but running government like business. Businesses are run for profit, government is run for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It’s run for the benefit of people. Generally, that’s intangible, it’s really difficult to measure those things, many of those things. I mean, you know, so the FBI stopped eight terrorist attacks, well how do you measure that people don't know it happened? So, it is just, it just makes no sense and in particular with healthcare, the history of the American healthcare system it is absolutely shocking.
We are the only country in the developed world that does not recognize health care as a right, human right and doesn’t cover every single person in the country. 25 million people in America have no insurance whatsoever and many of us are radically underinsured and that just is something no other country would tolerate.
And it goes back to a fellow named Frederick Hoffman in the 1890s. It is an amazing story, I don't know if you want to get into it, but it basically starts with the story of this guy coming over from Germany -- if I could just run into it a little bit.
REID: Very quickly, yeah, go for it, go for it.
HARTMANN: Yeah, sure. In 1887, Germany got the world's first single payer health care system. Hoffman came over to the United States and got a gig as vice president of the Prudential Insurance Company and in 1896 he published a book called Race, Traits and Tendencies of the American Negro and his argument was that black people were genetically inferior, therefore if we simply denied them health care, eventually, within a few generations, all black people would die out and solve the race problem in America.
His book was one of bestselling books in America from 1896 to around 1930. He testified before Congress dozens of times, he testified before all kinds of states, Prudential put him on nationwide tour. He was the reason why Harry Truman’s effort at single payer healthcare was shot down.
He was the reason why FDR’s effort at single payer healthcare was shot down and he was long dead in 1965 when Medicare came along, but his teachings were actually cited as one of the reason there’s a 20 percent hole in Medicare so that poor people, read that in the south as poor black people--
REID: Yeah.
HARTMANN: --wouldn’t show up to the hospital and wouldn’t thus integrate the doctor's office. I mean, that’s how we got a privatized health care system rather than essentially a socialized health system like everybody else has where the government makes sure everybody is covered.
