The Koch Brothers Want To Scare The Obamacare Out Of You
Some people have an unnatural fear of clowns, particularly creepy clowns. Some Republicans feel the same way about Obamacare. A "Creepy Care-nival" held on the National Mall in Washington, DC this week was intended to combine the two and make young people terrified of Obamacare.
The Creepy Care-nival featured knife throwing jugglers, a house call from Dr. Grim Reaper, and a virtual death panel.
The ghoulish displays were created by Generation Opportunity, the Koch brothers affiliated group that also produced the controversial "Creepy Uncle Sam" ads.
Tightrope walkers, acrobats, and clowns mingled with elected officials like Republican Reps. Paul Gosar of Arizona and Louie Gohmert of Texas.
Here's what it looked like:
Close encounters with a congressmanRep. Gosar meets Creepy Uncle SamThis actually happened to @RepGosar during a speech in front of the Capitol last night. It is not photoshopped. pic.twitter.com/OpORgOuaFE
- Chris Moody (@moody) July 24, 2014
Creepy Uncle Sam and @RepGosar share a moment at Generation Opportunity's anti-Obamacare carnival: pic.twitter.com/a7cnuaoK8N - Ben Siegel (@benyc) July 24, 2014
Activities and refreshments had an Obamacare spin, and were "rigged against young people," said Generation Opportunity president Evan Feinberg. The youngish crowd of tourists, Washington types, and curious joggers enjoyed ominous palm readings, an impossible coin toss, and basketball with a ball too big for the hoop.
There were even Obamcare palm readings…Obamacare palm readings pic.twitter.com/xnJyxEIAJM - Ben Siegel (@benyc) July 24, 2014
…and sick teddy bears
This is the prize you win when you play a game at the Creepy Careneval pic.twitter.com/qOtzrhJiUD - BuzzFeed Benny (@bennyjohnson) July 23, 2014
But it wasn't all fun and games
The event's main attraction, a "creepy hospital," took participants through a hospital run by "Dr. Grim Reaper."
A ward in Generation Opportunity's "creepy hospital" pic.twitter.com/npgZyg6XdR
- Ben Siegel (@benyc) July 24, 2014
The tour ended in a room filled with signs listing infamous episodes in American public health history including the forced lobotomization of World War II veterans recently detailed in the Wall Street Journal, and a mass sterilization program whose victims were awarded compensation in 2012. (Generation Opportunity spokesperson Corie Whalen Stephens denied that the exhibit implied a connection between Obamacare and malpractice).
Like Generation Opportunity's campus tailgate tour last fall, the carnival will head across the country. It's expected to stop in states like Colorado and Louisiana, where Democratic senators who voted for Obamacare are up for re-election.