To be perfectly clear: JOHN DINGELL...

[sheshe2]

John Dingell had a hand in passing Medicare, Medicaid, and Obamacare — and still strived for more

All told, Dingell played a role in the creation of three major government health care programs: Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act. Taken together, those three programs now cover about 40 percent of the American population.

For the Michigan Congress member, national health insurance was a family matter: Every year, he would reintroduce a bill first proposed by his father during World War Il for a single-payer health care program.

Dingell traced that remarkable history in a string of tweets — his Twitter account was the frequent source of amusement among the Washington press corps — while Republicans debated in 2017 whether to repeal the most recent Democratic health care law.

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

In 1957--and every Congress thereafter--I'd reintroduce my father's bill & work to create a national program to take care of those in need.



It was an accomplishment but was not my end goal. I continued to reintroduce my father's bill every year. As pieces of it slowly became law.

We took another shot in the 90s but again came up short. You know who knew damn well how complicated health care could be?

Over the years we'd create the National Institutes of Health, the Children's Health Insurance Program, & many other efforts to improve care.

...............................

Fact is you don't just talk about something that should be, you work. You work year after year relentlessly submitting bill after bill. You don't cry, rant or rave. You work and submit bills again and again until they pass. The Dingells will go down in the history books, Relentless. They won over the years.

[mcar]

1. The Dingells are true patriots, she

John Dingell carried out what his father began and we all benefit.

[sheshe2]

3. We were graced to have him on our side.

A good solid family. Democrats one and all that have never stopped fighting for all Americans.

[Kid Berwyn]

2. Great Family

Great people.

Thank you for reminding DU, sheshe2!

[iluvtennis]

4. Thanks for the post sheshe2 - I learned something new today. nt

[George II]

5. John Dingell Sr. first introduced what would now be called "Medicare for All" in 1943, and....

....he re-introduced it a number of times until he died in 1955. His son, John Jr., picked up the baton and introduced it during every Congress for the next 55+ years. When he retired in and passed that House seat to his wife, Debbie, in 2015 SHE continued the fight and has introduced it since then.

The Dingell family has pushed "Medicare for All" for 70+ years while others sat in the background and tried to take credit for it.

[sheshe2]

7. Yup yup yup.

They have never stopped.

Today's peeps, don't go on MSNBC and rant with a plan, or a BILL to pass the legislation. They have issues and no plan forward. Putting a bill together and getting support is hard work. Not everyone is up to that.

[catbyte]

6. He and his father did Michigan proud, as John's wife Debbie continues to do.

[sheshe2]

8. You are Michigan?

[catbyte]

10. Yep. Life-long Michigander.

I grew up in Charlevoix, a small town on Lake Michigan about 40 miles south of the Straits of Mackinac, and now live in Lansing.

[George II]

9. +1,000,000

[sheshe2]

11. Notice.

He is the black guy in the background.

[Hekate]

12. I noticed his smile, behind his big mustache, & it warmed my heart like sunshine. What a good man.

[sheshe2]

13. A beautiful man, Hekate.

Warm. Kind. Caring man for ALL AMERICANS.

I am just sorry he was the black man in the background.

I love you

[YouSetTheScene]

14. Correction

Neither Dingell had any African ancestry. The only African American in Congress in September 1935 was Arthur Mitchell of Chicago.

John Dingell, Sr. was Polish. The original family name was Dzieglewicz. John, Jr.'s background was a little more diverse with partial Swiss and Irish ancestry from his mother.

While I can't say anything bad about John, Jr. or Debbie, John Dingell, Sr. wasn't exactly the kindest to Asian Americans in the lead up to Pearl Harbor.

[Elessar Zappa]

16. I still admire him.

As much as I want gun control, to me healthcare is a more pressing issue.

[sheshe2]

18. Other heroes of MFA oppose gun control.

I won't mention their name.