Inside Bernie Sanderss campaign to save Obamacare

[Hassin Bin Sober]

Inside Bernie Sanders’s campaign to save Obamacare

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/8/7/16069112/bernie-sanders-obamacare-trumpcare

On three separate occasions this July, staffers for Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) began preparing for the rollout of his new single-payer health care bill.

But every time they started to do so, Senate Republicans would improbably revive their push to repeal Obamacare — and Sanders’s team would postpone the launch of their “Medicare-for-all” campaign, according to aides to the Vermont senator.

“Bernie has repeated to us over and over and over again, ‘Our top priority is doing everything in our power to make sure 20 million people don’t lose their health care,’” said Ari Rabin-Havt, a senior adviser to Sanders.

This was something of a relief to some Democrats. Just last year, the party warily eyed Sanders as a potential liability as much as a potential ally. After all, he has repeatedly insisted that Obamacare was, at best, a way station on the road to single-payer.

[lapucelle]

1. Democrat John Conyers introduced his Medicare for All

bill back in January. It has 116 Democratic co-sponsors.

https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/676

http://www.medicareforall.org/pages/HR676_and_S915

[Hassin Bin Sober]

2. Great!! Thanks for the reminder for those who don't know . But this thread is about saving the ACA.

In fact, the article mentions putting the Single Payer push aside while fighting and rallying for Obamacare.

I suppose you didn't read the article.

Here, let me hep ya:

“Bernie has repeated to us over and over and over again, ‘Our top priority is doing everything in our power to make sure 20 million people don’t lose their health care,’” said Ari Rabin-Havt, a senior adviser to Sanders.

But at least during the Obamacare repeal fight in Congress, Sanders was a team player. He brought crowds to dozens of rallies with Senate Democrats who had once opposed him. He shut a Republican attempt to expose Democrats’ divisions, despite the interest of some of his team. And, perhaps most importantly, he marshaled his resources and newfound star power in defense of Democrats’ top priority: showing what it might look like for his movement to be incorporated into the party apparatus, rather than having it try to knock down its gates.

[lapucelle]

15. Indeed...

"But at least during the Obamacare repeal fight in Congress, Sanders was a team player."

at least
1. not less than; at the minimum.

2.if nothing else (used to add a positive comment about a generally negative situation).

[R B Garr]

4. Thanks for the reminder about Conyers bill. The Democrats were also all behind the ACA

and Obama. Great links. CNN has had their show, The Nineties" on with great vintage footage of the Clintons fighting for healthcare for all over two decades ago.

[Trial_By_Fire]

6. Conyers is in the House, Sanders is in the Senate in case you were not aware of that.

Similar bills are often submitted in both houses.

[lapucelle]

10. Well bless your heart.

Of course I'm aware of which chamber the members are in, but thank you for 'splaining that to me. Where would we be without people like you!

In addition to Conyers's HR 676, Democrat Jim McDermott has also introduced Medicare for All legislation multiple times since 1993 (HR 1200). While Rep. Sanders was not an original co-sponsor, he did sign on in 1994 and as a senator introduced a companion bill. (Hence the reference to S 915 in the the medicareforall.org comparison chart.)

There were also reports in March that Sanders would shortly release a Medicare for All bill in conjunction with Rep. Peter Welch, but those efforts have yet to materialize. Alternet, on the other hand, reported last March that the promised bill would mirror earlier legislation.

According to Truthdig, a digital campaign was launched in late July, and Common Dreams is reporting today that as "Money Pours In for Sanders's New Medicare for All Digital Campaign", the hope is that the bill will finally be released on Wednesday, August 9.

Sanders, who has made multiple announcements about the upcoming announcement, has stated that he will release the actual text of the actual bill very, very, very soon. Whether it is companion legislation to HR 676, a re-vamped version of S 915, or new legislation will be revealed very shortly.

Confusion caused by the multiple announcements concerning the upcoming announcement is expected to abate once a final announcement is released.

http://www.medicareforall.org/pages/HR676_and_S915

http://thehill.com/people/peter-welch

http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/5-things-you-need-know-about-bernie-sanders-new-medicare-all-bill

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/08/02/money-pours-sanderss-new-medicare-all-digital-campaign

[theaocp]

14. Goodness gracious, golly-gee-willikers, can we please

get rid of the "Bless your heart" horseshit and just tell people to fuck off?

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Bless%20your%20heart

Thanks for your consideration!

[lapucelle]

16. What's the Urban Dictionary?

[theaocp]

17. No! You say (on an internet discussion board)

what I tell you to say! Now, go bless your heart.

[lapucelle]

18. Never surprising

when expressions of entitlement are confined to anonymous situations.

[theaocp]

19. And there's the rub

If we're anonymous, just say what we have to say and stop hiding it.

[lapucelle]

20. I said what I want to say and what I have to say,

but thanks for your interest.

[theaocp]

21. Hey, no worries.

Feel free and cuss other people out. It's fairly therapeutic. Keep working at it.

[geek tragedy]

3. Sanders did the exact opposite of what a lot of his skeptics feared he would do.

He was a complete team player, and deserves much praise for how he handled himself in helping save the ACA.

[lapucelle]

12. Schumer and Pelosi did a masterful job of leading

their caucuses. No wonder Republicans try to demonize them!

[Hassin Bin Sober]

22. How hard was it to wrangle their caucus in to not voting to repeal The ACA?

[lapucelle]

23. I'm sure it wasn't at all complicated.

https://www.google.com/search?q=trump+who+knew+it+would+be+so+hard&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

[ismnotwasm]

5. Interesting

“Our job today is to defend the Affordable Care Act,” Sanders said at several of his rallies this year. "Our job tomorrow is to create a Medicare-for-all single-payer system.”

[Trial_By_Fire]

7. Sounds like a great plan...!

[lapucelle]

11. I've heard that plan before.

I just can't remember where or from whom.

[ms liberty]

8. So that's where Are Rabin-Havt went - cool!

He u see to have the morning show on Sirius/XM's morning show on the Progress channel, or whatever it's called. I like him a lot.

[AllyCat]

9. It IS a way station. We need better!

[BigmanPigman]

13. Senator Stabenow introduced Medicare At 55 in the Senate on Aug.3rd.

That would be great too!