UNIVERSAL SINGLE PAYER!!!!

[gopiscrap]

Obamacare (ACA) is a good start, but we must continue to agitate for a Single Payer system.

[dchill]

1. Why didn't I think of that!

[yallerdawg]

31. Hell, yeah!

We got the Freedom Caucus ready to flip!

[still_one]

2. Ok, then lets start by winning back the house

[Doreen]

3. Yes, we must.

[uponit7771]

4. +1, especially in the places were there are only a single career !!!

[NurseJackie]

5. Okay! Good! Where do we start? What's the plan?

[gopiscrap]

6. town halls to explain the broad concept

and to build a groundswell of support

[Poiuyt]

9. Exactly - My guess is that most people don't know how many

hundreds of billions of dollars a single payer system would save the U.S. economy

[NurseJackie]

10. Okay, town halls... and then what? C'mon! C'mon! What's next? Make it happen!!

[gopiscrap]

11. then get trump impeached or resign and vote out the repukes in Congress

[rgbecker]

7. Provide a public option for all exchanges, nationwide.

It will be chosen, eventually by most, and Bingo, we have the single payer, public, universal healthcare coverage we should have had for the last 70 years.

[NurseJackie]

8. Sounds good. Why haven't we done that? What's the freakin' hold up??!!

[annabanana]

13. believe me.. we tried.

ConsevaDems and Joe Lieberman torpedoed the public option during the fight for the ACA. (Actual Single Payer was traded away before the discussions even started.)

[NurseJackie]

16. ConservaDem?

[annabanana]

19. very conservative Democrats like Bill Nelson (Fla)

The "Blue Dog Coalition"

[NurseJackie]

23. Ahhh. I see. I get your anger. But, in some areas that's what it takes to win.

We should be happy that some conservative areas of the country are open to electing a Democrat at all. A Ted Kennedy type certainly wouldn't win in Bill Nelson's district. I wouldn't be in such a big rush to throw them under the bus or heap so much contempt and blame at their feet. Better to have them in our corner (allowing us to get closer to, or get a majority) than to shove-in a "pure" and "Our Revolution Approved" Democrat that will lose the seat to a Republican.

If we can keep growing our party and making it stronger... and if we can heal the internal divisions, then maybe it can happen.

[annabanana]

34. I get annoyed at how they tend to torpedo

the best progressive initiatives.

[NurseJackie]

36. An actual Republican would be even worse. It's an imperfect world...

... and it's a mistake for outspoken "critics" to continually blame Democrats, or to suggest that they're asleep-at-the-wheel, or "feeble" or "bankrupt" or "corrupt". Strengthening our party is important for future success.

I'm optimistic that we're on our way.

[irisblue]

20. blue dog democrats, most often voted with the Reps.

[NCTraveler]

27. Which Democrat has voted more often with Reps?

Your wording implies you think some vote a majority of the time with them. I'm not aware of that.

[irisblue]

37. Zack Space Ohio 18, almost local to me. I remember him.

I can't c&p well w/ this bootleg internet connection. Blue Dog Collation article on wiki is interesting. Space got voted out in 2010 by a Rep Bob Gibbs. Currently there are 18members in the 115th Congress.

[NCTraveler]

41. You haven't listed one current member...

Voting more often with republicans. There might be some out there but I haven't heard of them. Shit, Crist will even vote with us most of the time.

[Warren DeMontague]

22. Thats a good question.

We were supposed to have a "robust public option" as part of the original package. I know President Obama wanted it.

I wonder where it went.

[NurseJackie]

24. They should have just snapped their fingers and made it happen!

[Warren DeMontague]

26. You can remember that period of time, yes?

You seem to be a medical professional, unless you just play one on tv, yes?

We were repeatedly told that a robust public option was an integral part of the ACA. Sort of like you order an airplane you expect it to come with landing gear.

So at some point, someone took the landing gear, so to speak, off the airplane.

Any idea who that might have been?

[NurseJackie]

32. Oh, please... tell us, Warren! The suspense is killing me!

[Warren DeMontague]

33. I'm asking you--- after all, you've got the hat.

but it does seem to me, logically, that identifying the process via which that particular piece was removed from the original legislation, might be an excellent step in ascertaining how to pass it in the future.

Don't you agree?

[NurseJackie]

39. "Got-the-hat", huh? I've never heard that expression before. WTF does that even mean?

C'mon, Warren! Quit playing around, quit talking in riddles, quit being evasive and just answer the question I asked four or five posts up-thread.

"What's the freakin' hold up?" Do you know? Do you have anything to contribute?

[Warren DeMontague]

44. "Hat". As in, a covering one wears on one's head.

[NurseJackie]

45. Oh brother!

[Warren DeMontague]

46. Hey- I'm deferring to your expertise on the subject of health care.

Surely you are plugged into the topic enough to know what happened between Barack Obama's advocacy of the robust public option, and the final version of the ACA, right?

[Adrahil]

12. Yup. Provide a public option, but do not mandate it.

If it is superior, it will naturally dominate.

[annabanana]

14. low overhead, i.e.:

No need to advertise, no big CEO salaries and bonuses necessary..

[Adrahil]

17. Then it should do great....

provided the services provided are good and acceptance by providers is wide.

[annabanana]

18. Oh it most certainly would. It would HAVE to cover those basic services that the RePugs

sold away in their bill to try and get the "Freedom Caucus" on board.

[Kimchijeon]

15. That's what I say, fight like mad for single payer

that's what we must have. No bullshit, no excuses.

[irisblue]

21. hell to the yes!

[colsohlibgal]

25. Maybe Some Day

If Dems somehow soon get control of Congress and the White House we will see if it happens, no excuses then.

[beam me up scottie]

28. We can do both: fight to save the ACA and fight for single payer universal health care.

Now is not the time to give up, it's important to keep reminding Americans that health care should be a basic human right in this country.

[gopiscrap]

29. Exactly

[roamer65]

30. Dems should introduce ACA II. Universal Medicare for all.

Have it ready for 2018 campaign.

[ginnyinWI]

35. Yes, and make the oligarchs pay for it! n/t

[JoeOtterbein]

38. Yep! It is a sure winner politically because it would save lives AND money!

[PoliticAverse]

40. I seem to recall a Democrat last year said that would "never, ever, come to pass". n/t

[askyagerz]

42. Michael Moore was just talking about blue states stepping up

And showing the rest of the country it can work

[Nevermypresident]

43. I'm all in for Single Payer. But our adversaries are more than just Republicans...

Powerful, powerful lobbies - AMA, Insurance companies, Hospitals, Pharma, Rehab facilities, Labs, Skilled Nursing facilities, etc. etc. etc. The amount of $ they alone contribute to political campaigns is staggering.

That being said, now is the time to organize, research, develop a comprehensive, single payer system. We need power points, talking points, TV and print ads, etc. We need a vocal majority of Americans to understand the plan and then begin to beat the drum as soon as possible. In the meantime, we need to start now, by organizing possibly thru our local resistance chapters as well as calling and/or texting all Democrats, rethugs,etc.

Remember, trump, ryan, rethugs, Price and the HHS will do all they can to sabotage ACA now.

[shenmue]

47. Yes