The Democrats Tried Nationalizing Health Care 68 Years Ago
"The Doctor", AMA, Harry Truman, Luke Fildes
Sir Samuel Luke Fildes KCVO RA, The Doctor, 1891, Tate Gallery.
In 1949, Fildes’ painting “The Doctor” (1891) was used by the American Medical Association in a campaign against a proposal for nationalized medical care put forth by President Harry S. Truman. The image was used in posters and brochures along with the slogan, “Keep Politics Out of this Picture.” 65,000 posters of The Doctor were distributed, which helped to raise public skepticism of the nationalized health care campaign
A black & white repoduction of this moving painting, I remember very well, hung proudly in the waiting room of Dr. Mary Romeika’s office on South Jardin Street in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania back in the 1950s and 1960s.
You can tell how much the country and our national culture has gone to hell in a handbasket by the fact that, in 2008, the AMA was no longer defending the sanctity of the doctor-patient relationship and the independence of the Medical Profession, but was instead supporting Obamacare and the nationalization of health care.
