(D) or (I) Bernie was the MAN on Rachel tonight!

[JoeOtterbein]

My favorite is that he knows we can still have Medicare for all IF we all fight for it.

That is all. Thanks for clicking!

[still_one]

1. How are you going to get Medicare for all when we lost the WH and

both houses of Congress.

[Talk Is Cheap]

3. If nobody talks about it - it will never happen...

[still_one]

5. It has and it is being talked about. Those who felt so inclined to

vote third party though, insured that it will be quite a while before that door opens again.

The only way it will happen now if if the republicans actually wanted to help people, and that isn't in the cards

[FailureToCommunicate]

9. Can't keep blaming Bernie supporters, every last one voted for Hillary in the general

[still_one]

10. excuse me, where did I say anything about Bernie supporters? The ass Jill Stein is

who I am talking about, and those who voted for Stein

[FailureToCommunicate]

12. Since the thread was about Bernie, I read into your comment as

dissing voters that didn't vote for Hillary due to being disgruntled BOBs.

My apologies.

[still_one]

19. i am upset with the green party. It is the loss in the Senate that made this a disaster

As an aside I called my Democratic Senators and representative, encouraging that now would be the time to push for Medicare for all. I even called Ryan's office, left a voice mail, saying if they really wanted to help people they would do Medicare for all.

In California there is a bill going through our state legislature to implement single payer. I would gladly pay higher taxes if necessary for that

[truebluegreen]

20. Were there Green Party candidates

Who lost us the Senate? I wasn't aware of that.

[still_one]

23. Indirectly. Hillary lost Michigan by .3%, Stein received 1.1% of the vote. Similar

results in Wisconsin and the other swing states.

It was that third party influence and undermining of the third party leadership, along with the other election shenanigans, like the FBI interference, that I believe discouraged those third party voters from voting in the down ticket races.

[truebluegreen]

27. So Stein wasn't running for Senator

but she cost us that seat, along with a few other factors.

Are you aware that self-identifying Democrats have dropped from a high of nearly 40% of voters in early 2009, to around 25% now? Republicans don't score any better. Independents meanwhile have climbed as high as 44%.

It's pretty obvious why Rs are unpopular (at least to us); why are we?

[still_one]

34. Yes she did. She undermined the Democratic party, by preaching to her followers that there

was no difference between the two parties. It is similar to what Nader did in 2000, except it was worse this time

As to your point regarding less Democratic voters, there are a lot of factors for that. A big part that is the false equivalency that has been setup by the media for decades.

The fact is 47% didn't bother to vote. That has been pretty consistent through the years. Americans still have got it through their heads that elections have consequences.

Well they most certainly are going to feel the impact of it now

[truebluegreen]

36. keep thinking that.

I'm sure it will help.

[PatrickforO]

25. No doubt. I'd totally pay higher taxes for single payer.

Hell, I pay a GIANT tax right now! It's called 'PREMIUMS' and it costs me over $14,000 per year. AND, I 'enjoy' $30 copay for general treatment, $45 copay for a specialist appointment, even on the phone, and a WONDERFUL, financially crippling copay of $3K for hospitalization per year, per member of my family.

Yep...GREAT coverage.

And you know what? If we had fucking single payer, I wouldn't have to worry about anything. I'd just go, like they do in England, or Canada or Australia, and get treated.

This republican monstrosity does nothing but take. Those assholes don't give a rat's rear end about ANYBODY. The Freedom Caucus is a joke. Their shitty motto ought to be, "Yep, under our policies you're free to DIE if you can't PAY."

Gotta get the profit motive OUT of healthcare, period.

[still_one]

32. People are already paying into Medicare and Social Security through their payroll taxes.

That essentially covers the current recipients. They still have to pay a premium for Medicare Part B, and that premium is determined according to income. There are still expenses not covered by Medicare, and those are covered by a supplemental or advantage plan, plus a drug plan. The drug plans and supplementals are up to the individual if they want the extra coverage.

If we had Medicare for all, as I see it, those who were under 65 would be able to buy into Medicare, and of course pay a premium for that right, but the amount of that extra premium would be offset by a younger, and presumably a healthier demographic. It would definitely be cheaper than buying insurance on the open market because there are more people in that pool.

For those who cannot afford the Medicare premium, they would need to be covered by Medicaid.

I personally believe that it is very doable, but I don't see it happening in this environment. We didn't have the votes in 2008. The blue dogs would not go for a public option or Medicare for all, and we needed every vote, since not one republican voted for it. We had a small window to pass something, or have nothing, and we got the ACA, which even with its deficiencies, is still superior to nothing.

Unfortunately, we are in a bad place where we may go back to where we were before the ACA.

Until people believe that healthcare is a right, I don't see how it will happen

[melman]

26. Don't apologize

You read it right.

[Cha]

39. Yes, stillone was definitely talking about stein voters and I thank

you for your "apology" to him, FailureToCommunicate

[JoeOtterbein]

15. By standing up for what we believe in. Like Single Payer.

[mwooldri]

22. Simple. get both Houses of Congress and the WH back.

With a Medicare-for-All friendly admin and Congress.

[Talk Is Cheap]

2. Sanders the statesman...

Always fighting for the total and correct solutions...

[furtheradu]

4. KICK!

No cable, but thanks for this!

[Donkees]

6. Here: Bernie interview starts at 2:24mark

[furtheradu]

7. Thank YOU!

[JudyM]

11. He is inspirational. "This is a pivotal moment in American history. Either these guys get away with

what they're doing, and decimate our people, or else we stand up, fight back and transform the American society.

For those who don't have time to watch the clip, he implied that the Dems are going to go out to the red states in an attempt to educate folks about what's actually at stake here. He believes that if people rise up in opposition we can not only defeat the GOP bill, we can have single payer.

Thanks for posting this, Donkees!

[JoeOtterbein]

13. Thanks for posting this Donkees!

[LiberalFighter]

8. He was criticizing the Democratic Party.

Last edited Fri Mar 24, 2017, 08:58 AM - Edit history (1)

Corrected. Late and dealing with a high fever.

[murielm99]

14. Democratic Party. n/t

[JoeOtterbein]

16. I welcome criticizing if it wins us single payer

Even if Obama (or Hillary & Bill) could not do it, does not mean WE cannot do Medicare for All.

[truebluegreen]

21. The Democrat (sic) Party is perfect?

What are the odds?

[The Wielding Truth]

28. The "Democrat" Party does not exist.

If Bernie said that then I am disappointed in him.

[alarimer]

42. It needs criticizing.

Because it just isn't good enough. Nobody complained when they were rightly criticized for not standing up to Bush, back in the day, because they were completely spineless in the run-up to the Iraq war.

They do seem to have found a spine lately, at least most have. But they also have to push for policies that help everyone, that are not corporate giveaways. If they had pushed for a public option, we would be in a much different position now.

We could have used less welfare "reform" or drug wars (brought to us at least partially by Democrats).

So the right thing is to argue for universal health care (NOT universal insurance), even if we are many decades away from achieving it. Ultimately it is inevitable, because insurance will continued to be more and expensive until no one can afford it, but in the meantime people will still die and go broke, even with the ACA.

[H2O Man]

17. Recommended.

I have great respect for Bernie.

[JoeOtterbein]

18. Thanks Man!

[NRaleighLiberal]

24. Fight is the key word. Always love Bernie's ideas and principles.

[JoeOtterbein]

30. Yep! Fight because flight is not an option!

[Doitnow]

29. I keep thinking----if only

[Maru Kitteh]

31. If only what?

[pnwmom]

33. Me, too. If only he'd conceded in early May, when the numbers made a win impossible,

and didn't let his young supporters spend two more months thinking he could overturn the results of the primary.

And if only he'd campaigned for Hillary before the two events in September, instead of working on that book.

He could have been so effective.

Oh well. If only.

[joshcryer]

37. Yep.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1251&pid=2681335

He was surrounded by sycophants and leeches who wanted to continue the revolution though he'd lost.

[pnwmom]

38. That was a good post. Thanks, joshcryer. We need to remember this in 2020.

Whoever is the nominee, it is vital that we all come together ASAP to support him or her.

[jalan48]

35. Bernie is an inspiration. We're lucky we have him in these difficult times.

[democrank]

40. I'm grateful Bernie is still out there talking with voters about Medicare for all.

That's far better than sitting in Washington telling voters it just can't possibly happen. Bernie consistently draws a sizable crowd, no matter where he goes in the country. I believe that many who come to listen to him are (or could be) open to the idea of Medicare for all.

To my way of thinking, raising the issue of Medicare for all is what's important, not what initial the advocate of that policy has after his/her name.

[Cane4Dems]

41. big deal

he hasn't done much publicly to go against trump administration

[beam me up scottie]

43. Those of us who follow Bernie know he hasn't stopped criticizing Twitler and his agenda.

Town halls, rallies, editorials, interviews, marching, his constant presence on social media - he's like the Energizer Bunny - he never stops.

He was as focused and passionate as ever on Rachel, I love watching angry Bernie take the piss out of Republicans.

More Americans are coming around on universal single payer health care, now is not the time to give up, we can fight to save the ACA and still remind people that health care should be a basic human right.