Let’s say our nominee ends up being, Warren.
In that case,
I want Warren to get:
one billion$ from Soros,
one billion$ from Buffet,
one billion$ from Gates,
and one billion$ from Walmart.
Then, I want the Warren campaign,
to saturate all radio stations,
all TV stations,
all websites of any kind,
YouTube ads inserted into all the most popular videos,
and lots of ads at Walmart.com,
Amazon,
Target,
etc.
I want billboards all over America,
so that anyone driving on any roads,
will see the face of our candidate,
and some kind of catch phrase,
and the name of the campaign website.
I am writing all this, clearly, to argue hard against all those who feel that accepting large sums from wealthy donors, makes our candidate look bad, and, might make our candidate actually corrupt, afraid to offend her donors.
But I firmly believe, that none of those donors, would do anything at all, to fight Warren, as she pushes ahead on progressive policy ideas.
What policy ideas do I want the Warren campaign to support?
These:
1. America needs to steadily improve:
a. The Affordable Care Act
b. The Americans with Disabilities Act
I am not any kind of expert on these matters,
but my first wife, Pam, was born totally disabled, from congenital muscular dystrophy.
She was on Medicaid.
Medicaid paid for a great deal of medical care for Pam,
but the ongoing expense, the very large expense,
that was covered week after week,
even when Pam had no actual medical needs, was:
Day to day care in our home.
Folks with severe mobility impairments need around the clock care,
especially for urinating and defecating,
as well as help getting into and out of a vehicle,
to go out for a drive,
or to McDonald’s,
or to routine doctor appointments,
which tend to be important, and frequent,
for folks with disabilities.
Pam died in 2008, and then, after 3 years as a single man,
I married one of Pam’s personal care workers,
Tonia.
Tonia is a large, black American woman,
and her size, and her family genetics,
has her struggling with diabetes,
and pain in her legs,
so nearly constant of a set of pains,
that Tonia is now severely disabled,
with a very severe mobility impairment.
Starting about a year ago,
she gets a Social Security disability check,
and, we discovered, that puts her on Medicare.
But for her cancer surgery, in 2014,
and her heart attack, in 2015,
she was on my Walmart workers’ insurance,
since I was working at Walmart, at that time.
I want the Warren campaign, to support Walmart,
since Walmart has treated me right,
for 12 years,
and had me on an affordable Walmart medical plan,
that covered my wife, Tonia, and I, at an affordable cost.
95% of Americans shop at Walmart,
so support for Walmart will show voters that Warren lives in the real America,
understands the real America.
Also, she should go to McDonald’s, and get votes, since 75% of Americans eat McDonald’s food.
In 2017, I turned 62, so, I started collecting my SS check,
and I went from full time to part time at Walmart,
which meant I no longer could be covered by Walmart medical,
so I switched to Affordable Care Act insurance.
The name of my company, is, Medica.
My dental and vision is under a company called, Starmount.
For a little while, Tonia and I were covered by those, private, plans.
In less than a year, since I turn 65 next summer,
we will both be on Medicare.
However, assuming Medicare does not have dental and vision coverage,
we will keep the Starmount dental and vision plan.
$70 a month covers both Tonia and I.
I want the Warren campaign, to support private health insurance,
since I know from experience it is reasonable and affordable.
I want the Warren campaign to hire Charles Gabba,
and to listen to him, and others, about steps America might make,
to, eventually, move to single payer, Medicare for all, in the foreseeable future.
But those should be presented as steps America might make.
Might.
Now, the reason healthcare is connected to folks with disabilities,
is because, not only do those with disabilities need, usually, a lot more doctor visits and hospital care,
but the biggest single benefit that America needs to make sure to provide,
for the mobility impaired,
is home care funding.
Home care funding.
Pam’s home care was paid for by Medicaid.
Tonia’s home care is provided by me, her husband,
and I don’t need a paycheck to do it,
because Tonia and I get our checks from the Social Security Administration.
And we are living with Tonia’s brother and his family,
so they give us a good deal on our rent and utilities expense.
But for millions of Americans who are working long hours,
and have a family member at home who needs care,
we need to make certain that all forms of health care include home care worker wages.
We need to make sure that Affordable Care Act plans include that,
and that Medicare includes that (I have not yet checked to see if it does).
We need to update, if necessary, the Americans with Disabilities Act,
and the Affordable Care Act,
to make sure it is so.
I think the average voter,
has had similar experiences to mine.
I think the average voter knows:
1. Walmart is not evil.
2. Private health insurance is not evil.
3. Medicaid and Medicare and Social Security are not evil.
So, if the Warren campaign assures the voters that Democrats will embrace,
all of the above,
that should help us win.
Next policy topic:
2. LGBTQ folks are the victims, 99% of the time, when there is a conflict, between those folks, and the bigots who do not like those folks. Since they are nearly always the victims, not the attackers, then we must make it clear, the Warren campaign must make it clear, that we, the Democrats, are on the side of the LGBTQ community, in nearly every situation, nearly every policy idea that affects them.
3. Same with black Americans, including, the desire for financial reparations, which Sanders, for one, has bluntly refused to consider. Sanders has no desire, to help black Americans, by writing them a check. Many white American families, got a leg up, from ancestors who stole labor from slaves, or, at least, by finding good jobs more easily, getting promoted more easily, etc. I have two black brothers-in-law, who failed to get great promotions, just because the boss could not imagine paying a black man $30 per hour, even though he demonstrated, that he was worth it. So, tax everyone else a little, and write those checks to all the black American families.
4. Women.
Women are not a minority, but up to 90% of them are held down and raped, some time in their lives. You say, no, it cannot be 90% ? Most rapes are not reported. All three of my sisters were raped. Other women I know of were raped.So, it might be, 90%. And, my wife can tell you, since she is fat, black, and female, she has had, in nearly every classroom at school, and nearly every work place, she has had white bigots treat her like dirt, even, in one case, trying to take over her position in a manufacturing plant, since it gave her higher pay, but the fat, white, bigot, was not able to do the job, he did not have the skill. My wife tells me these stories, over and over, about how she has been treated like dirt, all her life. I know, fat shaming is bad; I was just pointing out that my wife’s fat gives bigots another reason to look down on her, but, often, the bigot is also fat.
The topic of abortion should not be discussed separately, in my opinion, but folded in, with respect for women.
Respect for women.
If we spend the money on crafting our message, and presenting it well, we can give it a feel that most voters will vote for. Seems to me.
5. Green New Deal.
I feel that we should emphasize some of the nuts and bolts of a Green New Deal, such as, wind and solar infrastructure, in other words, lets go nuts, building wind turbines and solar panels, and installing them all over the USA, just all over. If we emphasize that kind of works progress administration kind of work projects, as in, great jobs for skilled Americans, and pretty good jobs for trainees, apprentices, then we may get more support than saying, “We’re all gonna die from climate change!” We need a message that most voters can feel good about.
6. Gun safety.
I feel we should simply push, as hard as we can, for better gun safety in our country. America is the land of guns, no other country comes even close. We have nearly one gun for every American, in this country. So, we need the best gun safety laws, and the best enforcement of those laws, since we have the most guns per capita, by far. I think most voters can understand the common sense behind this principle, if we spend those billions, and figure out a way to say it, that most voters can agree with, and vote for the Democrat, Warren, and Democrats for their Senators, as well.
There may be other policy ideas, I know there are other policy ideas, that our campaign can talk about. But these are simply what came to mind, from other Daily Kos diaries.
I truly do not expect a great deal of agreement, with all of this diary.
I do expect some agreement, from at least a few of you, for at least a few points in this diary.
Tell me, which ideas do you like most?