Date Night with Connecticut's Legislature

by: Joe Dinkin

Wed Jul 25, 2007 at 23:24:54 PM EDT

But we invited all 187 of them out to the movies last Friday night. The reason? Well, we think there's a lot left to be done on healthcare that the legislature just didn't accomplish this year. We need comprehensive reforms of our healthcare system, not just short term band aids.

And no one conveys that urgency like Michael Moore in his new film Sicko.

So we invited our legislators out on a date, as part of the haveyouseensicko.org campaign to get all of CT's legislators to see the movie Sicko before the start of the next session. We're not asking for anything big. Not a promise or a vote, just to keep an open mind, and come see a movie.

And on Friday, 6 legislators (and 50 movies viewers to keep them company) took us up on our offer at the Bowtie Cinema in Hartford. (And tremendous thanks to the movie theater's staff for being so accommodating).

Keep reading for lots of photos and a wrap up of what happened and who came.

After the movie, all six legislators got up in front of the theater to give their thoughts and impressions (no prepared speeches, just off-the-cuff) on the movie. Here they are beginning to speak over the end of the credits of Sicko:

It's a little tough to get a good picture inside a dark theater, but left to right are Senator Prague (Columbia), Representative Fontana (North Haven), Rep. Peter Tercyak (New Britain), Rep. Diana Urban (Stonington), Senator Gary LeBeau (East Hartford), and Rep. Chris Perone (Norwalk), who drove up all the way from, uh, Norwalk.

If your legislator rejected our date, and hasn't seen the movie yet, why not? Ask them at www.haveyouseensicko.org

After the movie there was spirited debate about Universal Healthcare:

There was also more intimate discussion of the issues:

Oh, and did I mention that there was a lot of press there too? Here's Senator Edith Prague under the heavy-duty camera lights of Channels 3 and Channel 30 at once:

We TiVOed one channel's news coverage and I'll post it as soon as I can get it uploaded to youtube.

All in all a very successful event. (And thanks to Cari Carter from C-E-O for taking these pictures!) And now we're up to 17 legislators who've seen Sicko, by last count. And 170 who haven't. If yours are on the 'haven't' list, ask them to.

And lastly, I want to give credit where credit is due to Adam Bulger, of the Hartford Advocate, who did a write up of the event, and came up with a pretty clever pun:

"You hear a lot about lobbies in politics. Usually, they refer to people with access to politicians. For a glorious moment in Hartford on Friday July 20th, the operative lobby in Hartford was at a movie theater. The Working Families Party organized a movie outing for legislators. The WFP and legislators opted to see Sicko."