If you listen to the mainstream media or establishment political folks you’d get the impression that the American public absolutely hates the idea of policies like Medicare for All, and a candidate like Bernie Sanders is digging his own grave by pushing it so hard. He may ride it to a nomination, the thinking goes, but those independent voters will be turned off by such radical ideas.
Except no.
Almost nine in ten (87%) Democrats favor a generic “Medicare for All” proposal, with just under half (48%) strongly favoring it. The partisan gap on this issue is wide, with 63% of independents favoring this policy, compared to only about one in three (31%) Republicans.
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Large majorities of Democrats and independents favor making public college tuition free (84% and 69%) and legalizing recreational marijuana (79% and 71%). By contrast, less than half of Republicans support either the legalization of marijuana (46%) or making public college tuition free (42%).
Independents, who tend to support Republicans (Romney won them by a 50-45 margin in 2012) don’t just support Medicare for All, they support it overwhelmingly. It’s only Republicans that really hate it, and even then a surprisingly large number support it. If you’re in a room with 10 Republicans, 3 will support it.
Think about that for a second. 3 in 10 Republicans support Medicare for All!
But notice that second paragraph? Other “socialist” ideas like free college also have huge support among the actual real people who live in the country (as opposed to those who live in the imaginations of the TV pundits). If you found a random Independent voter on the street chances are that their political beliefs are right in line with Bernie’s. Even at the Republican National Convention you wouldn’t have to search far to find a Bernie-in-hiding.
So let’s all take a deep breathe. Maybe, just maybe, Bernie actually speaks to the middle of the country, and he’ll do fine against Trump in November.