Received this e-mail today from Middletown Mayor Dan Drew’s (D. CT) gubernatorial campaign:
Friends --
Millions of Americans are breathing a sigh of relief today, now that the Trumpcare bill is dead in the Senate. I want to congratulate everyone who defended our health against this assault by corporate interests. We showed that the Resistance is more than just a catchphrase -- it's a movement that's fighting every day for working families and the middle class.
Now we need to shift our focus off of playing defense, and start looking towards the future of health care. And that future is clear: Single-Payer. Let's not get lost in the watered-down positions of the corporate wing of American politics. Let's start the next phase of this fight by aiming for a progressive victory on one of the biggest issues in the nation. Let's guarantee health care as a right to every American, and make sure that everyone has access to affordable, quality care.
The most efficient, effective way to ensure universal healthcare is by creating a single-payer system, and if Congress isn’t willing to do it in Washington, then we should do it at the state level. That’s why I’m running for Governor.
Join me in our fight for single-payer healthcare.
Even with national Democratic leaders like Elizabeth Warren and Richard Blumenthal embracing the call for single-payer, none of the other potential Democratic candidates for Governor has embraced it. We can't afford to be weak on critical issues. We need bold, progressive solutions for Connecticut. We need bold policies that change lives.
Single-payer healthcare will enable existing small businesses to expand, encourage entrepreneurs to start their own companies, and relieve large corporations of the burden of for-profit health plans that increase in cost by double digits each year, and which pay largely for lobbying and executive compensation.
A single-payer system makes the cost of delivering healthcare less expensive, and it relieves providers of spending half their time fighting with insurance companies to get treatments approved. And for working families, it's less expensive than the exorbitant premiums we pay now.
Most of all, single-payer healthcare ensures that every resident, every worker, every family will have the guarantee of quality, affordable care when they need it.
Ten-and-a-half months ago, I donated a kidney to a brave Middletown woman named Olivia. I would make that same decision a thousand times over, but now I live as one of over a hundred million Americans with a preexisting condition that could disqualify me from coverage under some of the proposals coming out of Washington.
Our lives are not a commodity, and our health should not be a profit center. Health care is, and must be, a right for every citizen.
That is why I am asking you to join our campaign. Together, we can stand up for guaranteed universal healthcare for every Connecticut resident.
No matter what Republican money-grab the Senate comes up with next, I will be here with you -- fighting against their agenda and stopping the special interests in their tracks.
Let’s fight for single payer healthcare today - please join our team!
Sincerely,
Dan Drew