The man who honeymooned in the USSR and was fond of Daniel Ortega is back with another crazy idea.
Senator Sanders is now driving the Democrats further left with his latest idea:
Their embrace of a single-payer position comes even as Clinton continues to tar the plan as unrealistic. But if that remains the majority position among Democrats, liberal activists don’t think it will be for long.
“If you look at the list who are co-sponsoring this and those who are rumored to be interested in [the presidency], you see some alignment. I don’t think that’s a coincidence,” says Kenneth Zinn, the political director of National Nurses United, a staunch supporter of the Sanders legislation.
“This is how change happens. Grassroots action, bottom-up pressure. I think anyone who wants to be considered a progressive has to sign on to this bill. This is indeed becoming a litmus test for the movement.”
Senator Sanders’ idea is not working in Cuba and will fall apart here for two reasons:
First, it is economically unsustainable, as the very lefty Democrats in California just learned. You know that an idea is in trouble when even California’s legislature can’t find the dollars to pay for it: A new study by the California State Senate shows that single payer health care would cost more than the entire current state budget.
Secondly, making health care a right will require a constitutional amendment, unless Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy on a legacy trip decides to add this one to abortion and same-sex marriage.
Let Senator Sanders make the 2018 and 2020 elections a referendum on Medicare for All.
Let Senator Sanders explain that he will pay for it by taxing the rich. Let’s see how many of those red state Democrats want to join Bernie’s new socialist band.
Let it rip, Bernie. We can’t wait to start the debate!
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