So, yeah, as we all know by now, Bernie has been the subject of distorted and untrue claims by Hillary (and Chelsea) about his plans for single payer health care. I won’t bother with the sordid details, you can read it here if you need: www.bloomberg.com/… The long and the short of it is these attacks are dishonest smears; even David Axelrod can see it. The notion that Sanders would allow Republican governors the option of refusing universal health care to their state constituents is not only duplicitous, it’s downright insulting. And it gets to the heart of why these two candidates are fundamentally different.
This desperate ploy is the act of someone who does not prioritize integrity or fair play. If Hillary has a genuine criticism of a policy that Bernie has put forward, then great, let’s debate it. But this isn’t that. This is a scare tactic. This is Hillary trying to frighten voters into thinking Bernie wants to take away their health care. This is a claim that is absurd on the face of it (and is one reason why Bernie’s campaign raised over $1.4 million the day after the smear).
And you can bet that if Bernie wins Iowa and/or NH, these kinds of dishonest attacks will only intensify. Make no mistake, Hillary isn’t interested in an honest debate about the merits of their policy proposals or political philosophies. She was happy to play nice when everyone in the Beltway thought Bernie was a liberal Ron Paul. But now they know he’s a genuine threat.
The irony is that this is only likely to hurt Hillary. It confirms what a majority of Americans feel about her: she’s not trustworthy. She’s done an amazing job so far of avoiding blatant dishonesty, but as things heat up, it’s going to get harder for her to resist. We saw it in 2008 and we’re seeing it again in 2016.
It’s time for a change. It’s time for Bernie Sanders.