Yep:
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) says Democrats should campaign on a single-payer health care plan in 2018 and 2020.
She said former President Barack Obama tried to use a more conservative model when writing the Affordable Care Act, but she told The Wall Street Journal Tuesday that Democrats should push for a health care plan similar to Canada and the United Kingdom.
“Now it’s time for the next step. And the next step is single payer,” she said, adding that the key to Democratic wins is adopting a more “progressive” approach.
Here’s more from Warren:
Blocking the GOP rollback of provisions in the Affordable Care Act, Ms. Warren said, is not enough. She said Democrats on the ballot in the next two federal elections should back a national single-payer health-care plan.
“President Obama tried to move us forward with health-care coverage by using a conservative model that came from one of the conservative think tanks that had been advanced by a Republican governor in Massachusetts,” she said during an interview in her Senate office last week. “Now it’s time for the next step. And the next step is single payer.”
In Lowell, Ms. Warren said there is broad support for raising the minimum wage, expanding Social Security, forgiving student loan debt and installing tougher federal regulations on the financial services industry.
Democrats, she said, would do better if they campaigned on that progressive platform rather than blurring the lines between themselves and Republicans.
“The progressive agenda is America’s agenda,” she said. “It’s not like we’re trying to sell stuff that people don’t want…It’s not that at all. It’s that we haven’t gotten up there and been as clear about our values as we should be, or as clear and concrete about how we’re going to get there.”
Well said. One way to make this happen is to keep mounting pressure on Senate Democrats on this issue which is what the Progressive Change Campaign Committee is doing:
It’s time to act. Republicans just released a draft of their bill to repeal Obamacare and it’s as much of a disaster as we feared. We need all hands on deck. As former Obama speechwriter Jon Favreau said recently on Pod Save America:
"If you're part of the resistance, if you don't like Donald Trump, if you've made phone calls or marched or gone to the Women's March, if you've gone to the Science March, if you've talked about Russia, if you've done any of those things, do this. Get involved in the healthcare fight, because this, more than anything else that we've seen so far, is going to affect people and possibly cost people their lives"
He’s right. This is the fight we need to fight right now - and both parties need pressure. Favreau also makes that case:
"If you live in a swing state with a Republican who may vote against this bill, you should call them every single day. And if you live in a state with Democratic representatives you should let them know that they should do everything possible to gum up the works and prevent this from getting through. Get caught trying."
Sign the petition to Democratic Senators urging them to use every tool at their disposal to stop this disastrous repeal plan -- and show voters a positive vision like a Medicare for All public option. (After you sign, you'll get the phone number for your senator -- Republican or Democrat. Please call them!)
Republicans need to be held accountable for their support of legislation that will kick millions off their health insurance to fund a huge tax cut for the rich, eviscerate Medicaid coverage for poor and disabled Americans, and strip funding away from Planned Parenthood.
Mitch McConnell wants to bring this to a vote early next week -- after practically no public debate -- so now is the time to act if we’re going to stop the vote and kill this horrible bill.
Sign the petition to Senators urging them to use every tool at their disposal to stop this disastrous repeal plan -- and show voters a positive vision like a public option.
Thanks for being a bold progressive.
-- Keith Rouda, PCCC organizer
Click here to add your name.
And click here to donate and get involved with Warren’s re-election bid.
