'Groundbreaking': Democratic Co-Sponsors Rush Aboard Bernie's Medicare for All Train

[Donkees]

September 12, 2017




Excerpt:

A quarter of Democratic Caucus members in the U.S. Senate have now signed on as co-sponsors of Sen. Bernie Sanders' (I-Vt.) Medicare for All bill, which he plans to introduce Wednesday, signaling a shift among party lawmakers, who may be swayed by recent polling that has indicated a majority of Americans and more than two-thirds of Democrats favor a single-payer national healthcare system.

As of this writing on Tuesday afternoon, the 12 co-sponsors are:

Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.)
Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.)
Cory Booker (D-N.J.)
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.)
Kamala Harris (D-Calif.)
Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii)
Ed Markey (D-Mass.)
Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.)
Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii)
Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.)
Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.)
Tom Udall (D-N.M.)

As senators lined up to pledge their support on Monday and Tuesday, it became clear that since Sanders made single payer central to his 2016 presidential campaign, the political needle has indeed shifted.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/09/12/groundbreaking-democratic-co-sponsors-rush-aboard-bernies-medicare-all-train

[Not Ruth]

1. It's happening

[SusanaMontana41]

2. Strike while the iron's hot, Baby! nt

[Luciferous]

3. Awesome- go Bernie!!!

[George II]

9. If you're referring to the Harvard-Harris poll, only "most popular politician" among these....

Bernie Sanders
Mike Pence
Hillary Clinton
Donald Trump
Elizabeth Warren
Paul Ryan 758
Nancy Pelosi
Rex Tillerson
Jeff Sessions
Chuck Schumer
Mitch McConnell
Stephen Bannon

[liberalnarb]

28. Actually there was more to the study than that:

http://harvardharrispoll.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Harvard-CAPS-Harris-Poll-April-Wave-Topline-Favorability-04.18.2017.pdf

The idea that Sen Sanders is the most popular politician did not spring from one study, his approval rating is 75 percent and many previous studies with wider ranges of options have come to the same conclusion.

[George II]

29. In what poll is his approval rating 75%? By the way, this is from page 1 of the poll you linked:

"Results were weighted for age within gender, region, race/ethnicity, marital status, household size, income, employment, and education"

[liberalnarb]

31. ...

http://www.salon.com/2017/07/12/bernie-sanders-holds-highest-approval-rating-at-home-mitch-mcconnell-is-dead-last/

I don't understand your hatred for him. But I don't really care.

[George II]

33. On what do you base you assessment of my "hatred" toward Senator Sanders?

The poll you cite here only asks respondents in each particular state to rate THEIR senators, not all Senators ("approval rating AT HOME&quot . Notice that the top five happen to be from states among those with the lowest population - Vermont (49th), Hawaii (40th), Hawaii (40th), South Dakota (47th), Vermont (49th).

So let's take another look at that poll (which has been done countless times since various iterations of it has been posted)

Sanders is "popular" with 75% of his constituency, 75% of 624,000 = 468,000

On the other hand, you have Ron Wyden of Oregon, who is only "popular" with 61% of his constituency, but that calculates to be 61% of 4,100,000 - which is 2,500,000.

One would logically conclude that Ron Wyden, who is "popular" with five times the number of people than Sanders, is more popular.

Now, if that poll had allowed respondents from every state to rate each of the 100 senators, I'm sure the results would be completely different. Wouldn't you agree?

[stevenleser]

37. And :crickets: nt

[R B Garr]

39. We should add the names of Democrats who co-sponsored

John Conyers single payer bills over the years. Lots of great Democrats.

[George II]

43. One at a time?

[NurseJackie]

62. ROFL!!

[George II]

68. According to his website, more than 50 DEMOCRATS in the House have co-sponsored his last bill....

Last edited Wed Sep 13, 2017, 03:48 PM - Edit history (1)

Also, John Dingell introduced a similar bill every year he was in Congress, carrying on a "tradition" started by his father going way back to 1943 (!!), and most likely carried on by his daughter who replaced him.

That's SEVENTY FOUR straight years of the bill being introduced by the Dingell family. What a great legacy.

Edit: corrected the spelling of the name "Dingell" since it was so distressful to some.

[R B Garr]

88. Nice background and facts on how much Democrats have done over years/decades

for single payer. We should start threads for each and every one of them! That is indeed a great legacy.

[Heddi]

90. Who's John Dingel?

Do you mean John Dingell?

I find it so disrespectful when someone can't even be bothered to correctly spell an elected official's name correctly, especially when they're trying to invoke their name for some grand purpose

[George II]

91. Unbelievable, don't discuss the substance of the post, just a typo....

....(which I'm sure you'll find elsewhere and dwell on, too)

So, what do you think of what I said about John DingelL?

[beam me up scottie]

98. Right?

And what does Rep John Dingell have to do with this thread about Bernie's groundbreaking Senate health care bill?

17 senators have cosponsored the bill, why try to distract attention from their efforts?

[LiberalLovinLug]

78. Every OP with a positive story about Sanders you have to tromp through with your muddy boots

And find some post, any post, that you can take issue with to dampen the mood. The primaries will never end it seems.

Who cares if Sanders is #1 or not? Can you just admit he is very popular, one of the most popular?

Here's another study since you seem so obsessed with this:

http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/329404-poll-bernie-sanders-countrys-most-popular-active-politician

Poll: Bernie Sanders country’s most popular active politician

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders (I) is the country’s most popular active politician, underscoring his importance to the Democratic Party as it seeks to rebuild in the wake of a disastrous 2016 election cycle.

Sanders is viewed favorably by 57 percent of registered voters, according to data from a Harvard-Harris survey provided exclusively to The Hill. Sanders is the only person in a field of 16 Trump administration officials or congressional leaders included in the survey who is viewed favorably by a majority of those polled.

............

Did you read the part about "underscoring his importance to the Democratic Party as it seeks to rebuild.."? So for the sake of the party going forward, you may just want to curb your disdain and realize that he is a great asset right now, and as the old saying goes, "if you can't say anything nice...maybe just avoid the thread"

[zentrum]

82. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

We're trying to get single payer to happen, and it will save thousands of lives. Bernie and these other Democrats are moving forward.

Bernie is a great asset and it seems often terribly resented.

[beam me up scottie]

95. Bravo, well said! THANK YOU FOR THAT!

[QC]

97. Thank you. n/t

[Autumn]

106. I wish we could rec individual posts.

[George II]

113. Every?

[LiberalLovinLug]

119. You are so funny

Maybe its just me but you know what that ROTFL smiley reminds me of in DU more times than naught?

Republican guests on, say, CNN that get cornered and have no real response. And so all you see is them laughing hysterically over top of the Democratic speaking guest, trying desperately to project how ludicrous it all is.

But you should be intelligent enough to deduce, by "every" I meant it as a figure of speech to mean generally, ie.. a hell of a lot. But fine I'll amend it. EVERY pro-Bernie OP that happens to pop up while you are perusing DU at the time.

[Warren DeMontague]

125. Yep. I've always thought that kind of behavior- like from the GOP guests- is shorthand for

"lights on, nobody home"

[George II]

116. ...

[Curmudgeoness]

122. You are so right.

It seems that the primary will never be over with some people. And here, I thought that we weren't supposed to keep refighting the primary. I was so naïve.

[mentalslavery]

115. whatever dude...people love bernie cuz hes like your grandpa....

deal with it...he is extremely likeable.....

[Autumn]

123. I know, it irritates me that Bernie is so damn likable.

[QC]

131. HE'S A MEANIE!!!

[KPN]

57. Perfectly stated my mind. Thank you.

[QC]

35. FAKE NEWS!!!!!11 FAKE NEWS!!!!11!

[leftstreet]

5. DURec - I think you need to add Franken

[jalan48]

6. Thanks Bernie and the co-sponsors for moving us forward.

[mountain grammy]

7. I'll be calling senator Bennet 's office.

[George II]

8. "Groundbreaking"?

[leftstreet]

11. It's a quoted phrase from the article

Link to tweet

That a momentous group of US Senators is coming together to stand for #MedicareForAll is HUGE news. It's a groundbreaking development.

[Expecting Rain]

12. What's 17 tries between friends?

[Dustlawyer]

17. Persistence!

[SusanaMontana41]

19. Groundbreaking is the exact word whether it's in a quote or not.

It's a beginning. And it's gaining steam.

[Volaris]

20. Yep. And even if it fails, it's feeling more and more

Like at the very least, we'll get that Public OPTION Medicare buy-in as an Amendment to the ACA, as a way to just shut us all up if it's decided this isn't gonna happen. If there enough pressure, the Public Option will be the Safety Valve

[SusanaMontana41]

34. Absolutely. It's in the conversation.

And props to President Obama, whose ACA helped get us here.

[beam me up scottie]

10. Awesome! Add Al Franken to the list.

Franken backs Sanders' 'Medicare for All' bill

Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) said Tuesday he would support Sen. Bernie Sanders's (I-Vt.) "Medicare for All" bill, the latest Democrat to throw their support behind the proposal.

"Like Paul Wellstone I've always believe that health care is a right for all Americans - not a privilege - and that every person in our country deserves access to the care they need," Franken said in a statement posted on Facebook.

While Franken called the bill an "important marker," he hedged his hopes for the measure passing, calling it "aspirational" and saying he was "hopeful that it can serve as a starting point for where we need to go as a country."

http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/350363-franken-backs-sanders-medicare-for-all-bill

+

[Donkees]

13. He had a thread of his own :)

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10029586956

[beam me up scottie]

16. Awesome x 2!

[Autumn]

14. That's an all star list.

[SusanaMontana41]

18. Yes, it is! The Democratic Party of FDR just roared. eom

[disillusioned73]

49. Yes it did, & I love it!!

[Cracklin Charlie]

59. Props to congressional democrats!

I see people working hard, for the people.

I think I like it!

[TexasBushwhacker]

15. I'll be curious to see if it differs significantly from Conyers' bill n/t

[Auggie]

21. No Feinstein?

[Mr.Bill]

65. I'm from California

and if I said what I think of her I would get banned from this forum.

[Auggie]

71. So am I ...

I'm disappointed to see her name missing.

[PatsFan87]

22. Great list so far!

I'll be calling my senator Angus King tomorrow.

[SleeplessinSoCal]

23. There is no plan to pay for it.

Bernie's Big Healthcare Solution Has a Major Flaw...and It's an Open Invitation for Critics to Sabotage the Movement
An admirable policy effort needs some shoring up on how to pay for the legislation.

http://www.alternet.org/economy/sanders-legislation-nationwide-healthcare-wont-include-how-fund-it

Why has the method to pay for it been left out year after year?

[SusanaMontana41]

36. The U.S. never has problems funding its priorities.

The money isn't the problem. Congress will find the money. The problem is not enough people have had the intestinal fortitude to see it through.

Sanders never has waivered, and now a lot of lawmakers who probably didn't think it were possible are seeing possibilities.

That's a win for all of us.

[disillusioned73]

50. I think I know where we can get some of it..

[Still In Wisconsin]

24. Cue the anti-Bernie chorus in 3...2...1...

Good for these folks though. We have to try.

[SleeplessinSoCal]

26. "There is no try." We have to succeed.

May the Force be with us.

[Still In Wisconsin]

27. Actually, you're right. Thank you for channeling Master Yoda.

Another good quote for this issue "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take"- Wayne Gretzky

[SleeplessinSoCal]

30. But with big legislation we get about one shot per generation.

That's why Pelosi is right to shore up the ACA. Then we need to take the three branches again.

[SusanaMontana41]

41. Once upon a time, we were told national health insurance would never happen. Then we got the ACA.

And now the ACA is the minumum we'll accept. We will not go backward.

But let's keep moving forward. Single payer has momentum now. Let's see where this goes.

[SleeplessinSoCal]

58. the tax increase pricetag will be the tricky part.

Does Sanders have that covered? If not it will be voted down. The ravages of climate change will cause increases we didn't bank on.

[Still In Wisconsin]

63. It will be voted down anyway.

As you said, we need to take all three branches.

But let's start choppin'

[SusanaMontana41]

134. That doesn't change my point. When it becomes a priority, Congress will find the funding somewhere.

Of course it will be voted down by this Congress.

Of course global warming is an existential threat. That hasn't stopped Canada and the UK (and some others) from covering their citizens with free health care.

[SleeplessinSoCal]

135. Somehow the Republicans have used Bernie's bill to sabotage Medicare for All and the ACA.

We know the Republicans don't represent people. They represent big money. And all of Congress spends entirely too much time asking for money. Their own bed that they made and lay in has to be uncomfortable for those with a working conscience.

[LiberalLovinLug]

25. And with each Dem that signs on

We get one less of these in here

And the rest of the "magic pony" posts

[R B Garr]

38. We're making a list, checking it twice.

Gonna find out who's naughty or nice.

There were lots of co-sponsors on John Conyers bills, too, for well over a decade.

[ornotna]

32. It's a Love Train

If you want what's best for all Americans this is an easy train to hop on.

[stevenleser]

40. Medicare for all is not the way to do single payer. For one thing, it's not a single payer

experience for most people who have it. You have to layer private insurance on top of it to make it decent. http://www.kff.org/medicare/issue-brief/medigap-enrollment-among-new-medicare-beneficiaries/

There are too many holes in Medicare and if you fill those holes it is going to become much more expensive.

If you don't fill those holes, it's going to be a worse experience than status quo for the 60-70% of the population who currently have good health insurance through their employers and there will be a popular outcry to dump it lead by the GOP who successfully demonized Obamacare whern there was very little to complain about.

[berni_mccoy]

45. Please stop.

[stevenleser]

47. I will never stop talking about facts and the truth. Don't even try to make me. nt

[berni_mccoy]

48. If you were talking facts, I would not object

But that is not what you are doing.

[stevenleser]

61. This just shows you dont know what you are talking about. Read greatauntoftriplets post below

Anyone who actually knows Medicare would know that you are wrong here.

[berni_mccoy]

72. I think you should follow your own advice here

Anyone who actually knows Bernie's plan knows that his plan has improvements to Medicare. It's not Medicare AS IS For All.

"THE PLAN
BETTER COVERAGE
Bernie’s plan would create a federally administered single-payer health care program. Universal single-payer health care means comprehensive coverage for all Americans. Bernie’s plan will cover the entire continuum of health care, from inpatient to outpatient care; preventive to emergency care; primary care to specialty care, including long-term and palliative care; vision, hearing and oral health care; mental health and substance abuse services; as well as prescription medications, medical equipment, supplies, diagnostics and treatments. Patients will be able to choose a health care provider without worrying about whether that provider is in-network and will be able to get the care they need without having to read any fine print or trying to figure out how they can afford the out-of-pocket costs."

[stevenleser]

83. That means nothing. Where are the details on how this would happen? Who would pay for it.

What you have posted is completely worthless.

[berni_mccoy]

85. they are only worthless to someone who doesn't give a shit.

[stevenleser]

87. Nope, the opposite. They are only worth something to someone who doesnt give a shit

about how something would actually work and is willing to put the health of millions at risk due to their ignorance.

[berni_mccoy]

92. You can keep trying, but your opinion is in opposition to 1/3rd of the Senate

and over half the Democrats there. But I'm sure you'll be on Fox News soon touting how bad this is.

[stevenleser]

96. Then by all means, post the details. You won't because you can't. This is legislative vaporware. nt

[Voltaire2]

100. and bring on the goal post shift.

As soon as your first argument was demolished, without hesitation you dismissed it, and moved on to the next talking point.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

105. It's amazing to me people can't comprehend Medicare can be strengthened

... by bringing in young healthy premium payers. Take away the 30% overhead, profit and unbelievable inefficiencies of hundreds of companies chasing the same customers. It's a giant clusterfuck.

As it stands, private insurance sucks the life and premiums out of healthy payers until they get to the point of actually needing care. Then they get pawned of on the government.

My friend's parents were over from England. You should have seen the look on his mom's face when I explained elderly people have to buy additional coverage.

[beam me up scottie]

109. Are pundits unable to understand how that works or is it intentional?

[stevenleser]

108. Nope, no argument was demolished, no goal posts were shifted. Not even a good try. nt

[Voltaire2]

111. Ok Steve. Whatever you say.

TP1. medicare doesn't cover everything has copays blah blah blah

But this changes all of that.

TP2. we need the details. How is it paid for? NOT GOOD ENOUGH! blah blah blah.

Just read the bill. The current one should be available real soon. The prior one is 172 pages of detail It's comprehensive. No copays except for prescriptions, and that is limited to 250.00. No out of pockets. No deductibles. No bullshit.

But you know all of this. You have your position and you are just repeating the talking points. If there weren't like 30 other identical posts right now it might not be so obvious.

But it is.

[greatauntoftriplets]

52. I'm on Medicare and had nearly $5,000 of out-of-pocket expenses last year.

And am headed in the same direction this year. Yes, this is directly related to a persistent medical condition, but that's life. For just one particularly expensive medication, my copay is $193. I shudder to think of what it'll be when I'm in the donut hole.

While I'd love for single payer or Medicare for All to be a reality, I know it's no panacea.

[stevenleser]

64. Sorry to hear that. I am trying to tell people to try to really understand what they are proposing

People think "Oh, when we get Medicare for all life will be all champagne and roses as far as healthcare is concerned because it's that beautiful single payer thing and single payer must be good and perfect"

60-70% of Americans have healthcare via their employer that is better than Medicare is/would be. Assuming Medicare for all is passed. What is going to happen when all those people get worse healthcare coverage than they are used to getting?

I'll tell you what would happen. The GOP would lead a campaign saying "See, Socialist Healthcare is bad and we need to go back to private payer once and for all" and it would happen. Quickly.

Could it be fixed? Well, to close the gaps in coverage you are experiencing plus all the other gaps would cost a lot of money. It remains a big question mark whether Medicare can be fixed in such a way where it is cost effective, particularly without layering private supplemental coverage on top of it. But that is not single payer anymore at that point.

[greatauntoftriplets]

79. Thanks.

I forgot to mention above the joy of having a prescription or treatment order denied by Medicare because you have a disease that no one has ever heard of and so is not on the approved list? I'm in that situation right now.

[berni_mccoy]

73. Bernie's plan has improvements to Medicare that would reduce, if not remove these out-of-pockets.

[greatauntoftriplets]

81. And how would that work?

Has he tried to legislate those improvements into Medicare as it exists now?

[stevenleser]

84. Exactly. nt

[berni_mccoy]

86. That's what he's doing today.

[stevenleser]

89. Ultimately, you won't get the answers you really want because they don't exist.

The details of how this would work simply don't exist.

[stevenleser]

94. And of course, the ad-hominem last resort of someone who has lost an argument. nt

[Voltaire2]

101. The only thing left in are prescription copays capped at 250/yr.

Which is one hell of a lot better than medicare today and far better than just about everyone's private insurance plan.

[progressoid]

76. Many people have high out of pocket for insurance that they pay too much for.

One would hope that if they buy into Medicare, at least their premiums would actually go to health care costs and not into the pockets of insurance companies. Plus with a larger pool of people paying into the system, it could ease the financial strain is under currently.

[greatauntoftriplets]

80. But will they cover expensive treatments for rare diseases?

That's the situation that I am in right now, as are many other Medicare recipients.

[Voltaire2]

102. yes.

[Warren DeMontague]

42. Kick and Rec for DOING THE RIGHT THING! Like SENATOR SANDERS!

[Donkees]

44. Twitter Video: I'm very proud to be introducing the Medicare for All Act today ...

Link to tweet

[berni_mccoy]

46. K&R!

[alarimer]

51. Health care is a RIGHT.

I really appreciate that they are trying to change the framing.

Health care is a RIGHT, like education is a right. Countries with universal health care have healthier populations and health care takes a smaller portion of the GDP.

[DeeDeeNY]

60. Yes. Not a pony or a unicorn.

Core Democratic values.

[delisen]

53. Why ignore Conyers single payer House Bill

https://conyers.house.gov/issues/health-care.

Apparently his bill in addition to having massive Democratic support also has some Republican support.

[UCmeNdc]

54. Bernie's Plan is more comprehensive and more progressive.

[delisen]

74. I don't think it helps build the Democratic Party to not

acknowledge the work being done by Democrats in the House on this issue.

Surely building the Democratic Party is an ongoing objective for Sanders, is it not?

[Voltaire2]

103. Not being ignored. House and Senate bills are separate.

They have a lot in common. The Sanders bill is typically far more detailed than the Conyers bill (last version was over 170 pages.) If and when we have control of both houses the bills will get converged.

[delisen]

120. Why are you only writing about the Senate bill?

[Voltaire2]

121. because it was introduced today.

[delisen]

124. Tunnel vision?

[Bradical79]

127. Do you have a thread on the House bill to look at?

[UCmeNdc]

56. K&R

[SleeplessinSoCal]

66. Ongoing discussion of how we pay

http://www.scpr.org/programs/airtalk/

http://www.scpr.org/listen_live/

AirTalk in L. A. On KPCC.

[floWteiuQ]

67. These are the real...

Giants of the Senate!

[DeminPennswoods]

69. If we understand the historical background of

the healthcare system we have today, single payer could be an easy sell.

I admit to learning this only recently, but the origins of our employer-based health insurance are rooted in the wage and price controls of WWII. Since employers weren't able to offer their employees higher wages, they substituted better benefits. That lead to health insurance premiums being legally pre-tax (no federal income tax) income.

While this is still true today, the business model of more and better benefits is disappearing. Not only are companies offering fewer benefits, but ones they do offer like health insurance have fewer choices and/or more requirements such as mandatory participation in wellness programs and/or higher premiums.

The old manufacturing industries like steel, coal mining, etc., are always trying (and succeeding) in getting out of providing promised benefits like lifetime health insurance and pension payments to retirees.

All this leaves a large population of covered, but vulnerable, Americans. If you framed the question of single payer as "would you like to have higher wages and contribute to a health care system where every American gets health care for a minimum cost or keep what you have and risk losing it/having benefits reduced or lost?" How do you think most Americans would answer?

[Arazi]

70. 16 Senators now. Jeanne Shaheen just signed on

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/bernie-sanders-single-payer-bill-major-support-senate_us_59b87dc1e4b02da0e13d465f

[Donkees]

77. 17 add Leahy

[LakeArenal]

75. Medicare is expensive...

For people on fixed income it means a very substantial part of our budget..

I know many people struggling to pay it, drug plan, supplement plans.. Losing dental insurance or adding one more medical bill into the budget..

I don't see where Medicare for all will solve anything.

[HarmonyRockets]

99. In Bernie's bill

there is no out-of-pocket spending. So no charge for doctor visits, no copayments, etc. A lot of things are covered too like medical devices, lab services, maternity care, prescription drugs, vision and dental benefits, etc.

[still_one]

104. Ironically because some self-identified progressives refused to vote for the Democratic nominee, I

think the "groundbreaking" adjective is not going to go very far in this environment.

[mvd]

107. Big K&R

It's about time the profit motive and out of pocket spending and insufficient coverage were taken out of health care. Would like leadership to lead more on this. Pretty soon the momentum will be too hard to ignore.

[DeminPennswoods]

110. Do not underestimate the general disgust with our healthcare system...

It crosses party ID, age, gender, ethnicity, income bracket and whatever other classification one cares to cite.

Anyone who has ever crossed paths with doctors, nurses, hospitals, rehab centers, nursing homes and on and on, hates the system, knows it's broken and wants to see it changed.

[Blue_Tires]

112. The cynic in me wonders if certain people were pushing this so hard

because they know the GOP will kill it in 30 seconds so there's no real pressure, effort or political capital to spend in struggling to get it passed...


But seriously -- A shame Bernie didn't take the lead back in 2010 when it had a snowball's chance of becoming a reality...

[BainsBane]

114. The fact that every thread we see is about Bernie rather than the issue

prompts me to wonder what the real priority is.

[riderinthestorm]

117. This is outstanding!! Big K&R! nt

[bucolic_frolic]

118. Their timing on this is impeccable

Now that the GOP has FAILED! SAD! on repealing Obamacare, single payer is showcased to American voters as the solution.

Throttle up!

[Warren DeMontague]

126. I forgot to rec this thread, and it deserves it!

[bettyellen]

128. Do the American people realize this is a symbolic gesture?

I hope so, it's great to start the conversation- maybe more people will understand why it won't happen with a GOP controlled congress. Instead of blaming Obama or other Dems, as they have been.

[Trumpocalypse]

129. When you see a post like this

with a huge picture of Sanders; you have to realize this is all about promoting Bernie and nothing more.

[bettyellen]

130. That maybe the intent- but I do like the idea of it coming out as an issue now-

But I don't think it serves voters well if they're naive about it. Which was a problem last year. But maybe following what happens in congress with this issue will cause a lot of focus on the midterms? I'm not slamming people who didn't sign on, And am pissed off people are now lying and saying it's because they took hospital money. That's really only a few senators, so the smears are totally wrong.

[Trumpocalypse]

132. If it brings it up as an issue in the midterms

that is great. But let's be realistic, it has no chance of passing in the current congress.

[bettyellen]

133. Oh I know- and if it wises up the electorate maybe that's good.