2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: Hillary Clinton is now campaining against Single Payer health insurance [View all]Rilgin
(787 posts)Other than her word that she is pragmatic or able to get things done, what metric are you using. This is not to say that I think you are wrong on the ACA. The ACA is actually similar to her plan in the 2008 election and is probably the end product for the health care system she desires. Not as a measure to protect gains but as the end result because it is a corporate profit driven system which comports with her default economic positions.
This is not to say that Bernie would give away any marginal gains of the ACA. He voted for it ultimately after improving it with amendments. He would not give it away for a non-system or for anything other than something better. Either of them as president would veto republican efforts to dismantle it and both would be powerless against an override of the veto if republicans gain more seats in congress.
However, this does not address the cognitive dissonance you must feel in comparing clinton votes and acts with her statements over the last 25 years and the non-progressive aspects of her political character.