My Democratic litmus test

[DemocratSinceBirth]

If a candidate


-pledges to increase the minimum wage
-pledges to ensure equal pay for equal work
-pledges to expand opportunities for the working class
-pledges to require companies to offer paid leave
-pledges to protect and expand the Affordable Care Act until everyone is insured
-pledges to protect the rights of the lbtgq community
-pledges to protect the safety net
-pledges to oppose the privatization of Social Security
-pledges to ensure new trade deals are worker friendly
-pledge to keep abortion legal
-pledges to use military force as a last resort
-pledges to promote a sane and humane immigration policy
-pledges to keep the environment safe and clean


he or she has my support.

I will be thinking of others... Sure i missed a few...

[Dont call me Shirley]

1. Pledges to upgrade and maintain infrastructure.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

2. Yes...

I am a huge sport fans and am constantly making all time great lists and inevitably forget somebody.

[Scuba]

3. I'd add "and historical words and actions reflect these values."

[Maedhros]

7. I would have added "and follows through."

Those that talk a good game, then fail to live up to their promises, get the boot next time.

[kath]

13. Yeah, really - "fool me once..."

[Maedhros]

14. "Give us subpoena power!" on the campaign trail

becomes "Impeachment is off the table!" immediately after.

[Doctor_J]

19. "I will insist in a public option". "comfortable shoes". "Renegotiate NAFTA".

"We can't drill our way out". "I will close Guantanamo".

These pledges in the OP are dumb

[Donald Ian Rankin]

4. What fraction of those do you demand?

If it's 100%, that's an insane litmus test. If it's some fraction, that's perfectly sane, but arguably not a litmus test.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

5. I would like to believe they reflect main stream Democratic values./NT

[Donald Ian Rankin]

8. Individually, sure.

But there will be relatively few Democrats who don't deviate from the mainstream Democratic position on at least some issues.

[Android3.14]

6. Pledges to instigate and support an Apollo-style program to get us off the crack cocaine of oil

Really.

[MannyGoldstein]

9. What about pledging to not cut Social Security?

Or pledging to keep lobbyists out of government?

Are those requirements, too?

[Jim Lane]

10. You need to be more stringent about trade deals.

It's not enough to demand "ensure new trade deals are worker friendly." Trade deals have the potential for many disastrous consequences in addition to their impact on jobs and working conditions. For example, a trade deal that allows foreign corporations to attack environmental regulations, and be paid huge sums if the trade bureaucrats agree that the regulation has hurt the corporation's profits, is totally unacceptable.

[Doctor_J]

11. I would hope that some dems don't want to force every American into for profit insurance

Otoh I appreciate your personal honesty in admitting that you prefer mandatory insurance to actual health care. Many still put forth the lie that single payer is the end goal of heritage care.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

16. "Black cat or white cat matters not as long as it can catch mice."

"Black or white cat matters not as long as it can catch mice."


-Deng XiaoPing

I favor single payer but as long as there isn't a filibuster proof majority in favor of it it is my raison d'etre to ensure that everybody has health insurance.

[Doctor_J]

17. Worst analogy of the millenium so far

If the white cat costs billions more, and makes you beg and plead for days before it catches the mice, and then leaves lots of mice running around anyway, I'll take the black cat please.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

18. There weren't sixty votes for a public option, much less single payer for everybody...

Millions of previously uninsured adults who fall below the poverty line, including myself, are eligible for Medicaid as a result of the Affordable Care Act. These folks and myself had no insurance...They now have insurance...This is not debatable.

Over ten million previously uninsured Americans are now receiving subsidies and are consequently insured because of the Affordable Care Act. This is not debateable.

I fell and suffered a fracture of the proximal radius...Because of Barack Obama's and the Democratic party's hard work and the fact that the state of California opted into the system I was able to go to the emergency room, have my fractured elbow diagnosed and set, received follow up appointments with an orthopedist, and several physical therapy sessions which included ultra sound, electrical stimulation, and exercise ... I also got free transportation to all my orthopedic appointments and physical therapy sessions. Mt elbow is now good as new.


My old man died of a massive heart attack at the ripe old age of fifty eight ... He hadn't had a true check up in twenty years...Thanks to the Affordable Care Act I get regular check ups and medicine for my hypertension so I will hopefully avoid his fate.

Affordable Care Act, single payer does not matter as long as folks aren't dying of preventable diseases.

[Doctor_J]

20. So you honestly don't care that the insurance companies are taking our money, lots of it, and

providing nothing

Affordable Care Act, single payer does not matter

Holy crap. Our death spiral becomes crystal clear.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

21. I said three times I prefer single payer

But in the interim anything we can do to prevent folks from dropping dead at fifty eight years old from controllable chronic diseases and ensuring poor folks get medical care is a step in the right direction.

And your suggestion that insurance companies provide nothing can be belied by a simple visit to any hospital or physician's office. These people aren't likely paying out of their own pocket, ergo:

When Cathy McMorris-Rodgers posted a call on Facebook for ACA horror stories, I'm sure she expected to see people rise up, shaking their fists over tax snafus and other imagined problems.

What she received was something else entirely. There are many replies, with most telling her to quit attacking it and get about the job of making it better.

Like, for example, this one from a self-described die-hard conservative:

I work for cancer care northwest. We actually have more patients with insurance and fewer having to choose treatment over bankruptcy. Cathy, I'm a die hard conservative and I'm asking you to stop just slamming Obamacare. Fix it, change it or come up with a better idea! Thanks

Or this one:

My story is that I once knew 7 people who couldn't get health insurance. Now they all have it, thanks to the ACA and President Obama, and their plans are as good as the one my employer provides--and they pay less for them. Now, that's not the kind of story you want to hear. You want to hear made-up horror stories. I don't know anyone with one of those stories.

And this small business owner:

I and my husband now have really truly affordable insurance. In the past 20 years, as small business owners, whatever any insurance company offered us as 'affordable' was not affordable in the least, and had pretty high deductibles. I have had nothing but praise for what we have now, and I am sure it could be made a little better with some tweaking, but compared to where we were without---there is no comparison.

I left my own comment, too.

Without Obamacare we would have no health insurance at all. Rates were too high in 2013 for us to continue the policy we had. Our 25-year old son now has full coverage for serious health conditions that he wouldn't have been able to get otherwise because of the old pre-existing conditions exclusions. Last summer, that coverage saved him from bankruptcy and ruin when his conditions flared. As for tax time, it turns out not to be such a nightmare after all. In our case, we actually overpaid by just a bit for our insurance, and in our son's, he chose to pay full price and reconcile it at the end of the year, which increased his tax refund. We are incredibly grateful for the access we have and the peace of mind we now get from knowing we won't lose our home.

[hifiguy]

12. I'd add

"refrains from embracing and praising known war criminals."

See: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10026117398

[anotojefiremnesuka]

15. My Test - Does the Democrat in question put their money where their mouth is

Many talk the talk few walk the walk

Everyone is for something until it costs them money.

My test is not limited to elected officials either, it applies to anyone who calls themselves a democrat.

[Xyzse]

22. It would be nice to have all that.

Barring that, I just check who would do less damage between the candidates.
That is where I tend to gravitate.