The war against Medicare dated back to the 1940's, when Harry S. Truman attempted to to create a national health insurance system. (Yes, this debate's been going on intermittently for more than half a century.) He encountered a well-organized and financed opposition that included insurers, large corporations, the American Medical Association ... and the usual conservative interests of the time.
In the Red-baiting language of the day, the PR experts of the day introduced the phrase "socialized medicine" into the public lexicon. (Then, as now, conservatives and their consultants seemed to have a gift for phrasemaking.)...
Truman was forced to retreat in the face of a successful anti-"socialist" campaign. Yet the health problems of the elderly remained especially pressing. Of 12 million seniors in the 1950 census, two-thirds had income of less than $1,000. By the early 60's the number of seniors had jumped to 17.5 million, and hospital costs were escalating at a rate several times greater than the cost-of-living index.
A series of incremental reforms were passed in 1960 creating the "Old Age Assistance" and "Medical Assistance for the Aged" programs, but these extended only limited coverage. When John F. Kennedy became President in January 1961, he began to work for comprehensive health coverage for both elderly and low-income Americans.
Enter the AMA. As Skidmore and Larry de Witt recount, Ronald Reagan was hired as part of a covert campaign to undermine support for Medicare and Medicaid. "Operation Coffeecup" was born.
Reagan recorded an LP (or "long playing" record), "Ronald Reagan Speaks Out Against Socialized Medicine." The AMA sent it to the "ladies' auxiliary" of the Medical Association in each county (unthinkable as it is now, medicine was so male and gender roles so different that each county had a "ladies' auxiliary" for doctors' wives.)
The "ladies" were instructed to "put on the coffeepot," play the record for their friends and fellow physicians' wives, and then get out the stationery (scented, no doubt) so that each of them could write personalized letters to their Senators and Congressmen. (Yes, they were called "Congressmen" then, even if there had already been some heroic women among them.)
There was no public announcement of the recording, or of "Operation Coffeecup." The idea was to make it seem as if the letters were spontaneously written by distressed citizens. Portions of the recording were also reportedly broadcast as radio commentary.
Max Skidmore writes:
(Reagan) no doubt terrified many of his listeners with his conclusion, telling them that if they did not prevent the passage of Medicare, "one of these days you and I are going to spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it once was like in America when men were free."
This was a very imaginative tactic for the time. "Coffeecup" meets today's criteria for a "viral" marketing campaign: It was designed to appear spontaneous rather than organized and well-funded. It used word-of-mouth communication backed by prepackaged content. And that content that used some of the finest media technology then available - full sterephonic sound reproduction!
The "Socialized Medicine" record was Ronald Reagan's first venture into political speech. It didn't just represent smart, well-funded political strategy. It also launched a career that in turn brought about the conservative revolution. Reagan's efforts in "Operation Coffeecup" were so well-received that he was invited to give a speech for Barry Goldwater at the 1964 GOP Convention.
The rest, as they say, is history.
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