If you were already annoyed when LeBron colluded with other superstars in the NBA to form a championship caliber team, the latest news coming out of the NBA will drive you batty. According to Politico, the White House is actively looking to secure a partnership with the NBA in order to promote… Obamacare.
“If you needed a reason to dislike LeBron James, here's reason number 4,612 to not like LeBron James, and this one is way beyond LeBron James,” Glenn joked on radio this morning.
The Obama administration has reached out to the NBA about a potential marketing partnership to promote the health law, POLITICO has learned.
The news, revealed recently by Massachusetts officials who have been in contact with the administration, offers a glimpse at how President Barack Obama’s team plans to push the new coverage options to a public that largely has been clueless about the new health insurance options.
The NBA declined to comment. A spokesman said, “We have nothing to announce at this time.”
“I say they have to decline. You have to decline,” Pat said. “You can't alienate more than half your fan base.”
Glenn, however, wasn’t quite so sure.
“Okay. We have the word ‘clueless’ in that story, and we also have the word ‘healthcare’, keyword, ’law’,” Glenn said. “Here's what's going to happen. They're going to make the case: Look, it is the law. It's the law. It's the law of the land. The debate is over. It's already the law of the land, and… it doesn't matter if you're for or against it. We're educating. We're educating people on how to access it because they need to have the information because it's the law.”
Although people may disagree with Obamacare as a law, at the end of the day, it is the law of the land. This allows the NBA to look at the partnership as a public awareness campaign, instead of something political.
“This isn't debating about whether we should start it or anything else,” Glenn continued. “We're saying the law has changed and you don't know how to access healthcare. And you're helping people. I mean, the NBA, we care so deeply about people, we have to help people all the time and so we have to help people. And there are a lot of people who don't even have healthcare now, and others who can no longer afford their healthcare… Here's the thing: We're helping people.”
“I mean, that's how they will justify it in their minds,” Pat agreed. But “you're going to piss off a lot of people.”