CNN: Single Payer "has virtually no chance of passage in a Republican-controlled Senate"

[Pugster]

The biggest challenge faced by the single Payer health system is this :

Sanders has said he plans to introduce the bill later this month. The legislation, however, has virtually no chance of passage in a Republican-controlled Senate

http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/08/politics/elizabeth-warren-medicare-for-all/index.html

We should keep trying though, until we control 60 Senate seats, provided that all Democratic senators are on board.

[OnDoutside]

1. Obviously the "Virtually" is unnecessary in that headline.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

2. Awareness and education is key right now.

Although it has little or no chance now, we all need to keep this issue in the spotlight as much as possible. At this time, I believe a very small percentage of the public understand single payer.

If the general public becomes well informed on the advantages of single payer and on why it's opposed by the insurance industry, it should eventually win.

[Lostnote]

4. BTW... Go Cats!... I left my heart in Lexington.... Lol

[KY_EnviroGuy]

11. Thanks!

Yep, I have a son and son-in-law that both are ultimate Cats fans and a wife and neighbors that are die-hard Cards fans.

I'm just a dumb 'ole boring engineer that does not care much for sports. The red vs blue gets old sometimes, but gives me plenty of ideas for birthday and Christmas gifts, LOL.

Left mine in Lex. one time, too, but that was a very long time ago. We used to go there to a fire school for volunteer firefighters every year. What a blast!

[Lostnote]

5. Are you familiar with Maxey Flats site?

[KY_EnviroGuy]

9. No, but I am now, LOL. Thanks!

The "enviro" in my moniker relates primarily to industrial air pollution control.

That's a very interesting story (I just read the Wiki on it) and just like many other sites in KY (coal mines, Ft. Knox, power plants, etc.), we'll be paying for them for centuries! I don't trust KY or the EPA (now!) to properly monitor and/or remediate that site.

Many extremely nasty and dangerous hazardous sites in the US are kept carefully hidden and behind secure fences. Unfortunately, fences do not stop the flow of water run-off, leaching into water tables, and wind-blown hazardous particulates.

[Lostnote]

12. Your point about informing people is what prompted my reply...

Maxey Flats was defunded for many, many years... I finally asked the morning talk radio host(wkyt)Kruser if he was even aware of Maxey Flats....of course he wasn't... 4-5 weeks later UK announced a grant to begin monitoring the 2cd costliest EPA superfund site again....The point to all of this is as you say informing people to the extreme willful ignorance being imposed upon us for reasons of ill intent...utilizing the public airwaves on the local level is a very powerful tool.... Best wishes Enviro

[KY_EnviroGuy]

15. What you've said is a good reminder...

for us all to watch our complacency. I see there's still around a dozen active Superfund sites in KY. I hope the folks in Paducah are keeping an eye on the diffusion plant.

Since this thread is about health care, it may be that America's complacency or "extreme willful ignorance" about the cost of care has resulted in the most expensive long-term scam on any human population, ever! I think many people know but feel completely powerless.

Congrats on planting that seed at Maxey!

[mdbl]

13. I agree with this strategy right now since the repugs have nothing

something is better than nothing and the Democrats are the only people with something.

[Lostnote]

3. Include the word "Defense".... Worked for Ike when the GOP

first refused the Interstate Highway Act... Voila, altered their perception of the common good...

[BigmanPigman]

6. Who are GOP senators that could be swayed?

[Lostnote]

7. I cannot identify a Senator however,

... I agree with/Ky-enviro guy awareness is the key... Baucus is a monumental shift in the mindset of the pressure our ruling class is feeling.... Turtle head himself would change if 80% of Kentucky citizens met him at his front door....

[karynnj]

31. I wonder if the Baucus shift is as big as you suggest

In 2009, Baucus chaired the Finance committee, which along with the HELP committee chaired by Kennedy and then Harkin, we're charged with getting a bill that could pass the Senate with 60 votes.

The initial effort was to work hard to get something that could get some Republican votes. This made sense as we had less than 60 senators until Franken was seated and Specter changed parties. Not to mention some like Snowe and Hatch had been sponsors of previous bills. As we know, the Republican made this a litmus test and not a single Republican Senator voted for it.

We had a 4 month window when we had 60 Senators. The bill created could not lose even one. One objection that could not be changed would kill the bill. Yet, with 60 Senators this was a chance of a life time to pass health insurance.

Many Senators were open that they agreed single payer was better including not just Sanders, but some who were very influential on those committees, including Harkin, Kennedy, Kerry and I think Jay Rockefeller. Sanders himself said the reason that single payer was not pushed was that only 10 Senators or so supported it. It might have been the number was higher, but many were unwilling to say so about something that at that time could not pass.

Why would I say could not without qualifying it by "I think". We know Democrats including Nelson (ne), Lincoln, Lieberman and others who openly opposed even a public option. It is entirely possible that Baucus was even then open to single payer, but knew he could not even get it out of the Finance committee. Given his role, he had the responsibility to get what was obtainable.

What is different now is we do not have the Senate, House, or Presidency. This is though a good time to show that our caucus is more willing to stand behind single payer. Yesterday in Burlington at his birthday party boat cruise with consituents, Sanders said we will be surprised how many Co sponsors he will have. ( Super fun event on Lake Champlain and affordable at $35 for a great dinner.)

[Lostnote]

34. Thank you for the historical reflection...

Ok, I'm depressed again... J/K... I do miss Tom Harkin and "The Lion"... At the time of HELP our country was still reeling from the littany of happenstance that brought 9/11 to our doorstep... NIST report was finally released about the same time as HELP was convening... The Patriot Act was full steam ahead... We were overdosing on fear and distrust... In short, Single Payer was not receiving the much needed attention that it deserves... That has changed "yugely".... I do feel that now is the time to apply continued pressure wrt national single Payer Healthcare.... Possibly the Baucus conversion is not the tectonic shift that I pray for however having been followed up by the Democrat Senators announcement, something large is in the making.... Best Wishes and "keep hope alive"...

[JI7]

10. none, that's why we need to win more seats

[Dustlawyer]

16. McCain?

[karynnj]

35. McCain is ideologically pretty conservative

The hurdle for him, even if he got to the point where he accepted a government responsibility for healthcare for all, not just elderly and vets, is to accept an idea very contrary to conservative believes. That the government could do this more efficiently itself than competitive private industry is contrary to their assumptions, even though world data shows this is true.

[clu]

8. lets bend over for the midterms

edit - thanks cnn *ahem* russion hackers

[Takket]

14. Duh, CNN

[Trust Buster]

17. Most Democratic Senators would side with insurance lobbyists on this one. No chance.

[clu]

18. is that an indictment against democratic senators

or the congress they run in?

edit fucked my postcount clickbait fakenews

[Trust Buster]

19. The Senators. During the ACA negotiations, Obama wanted to change the senior prescription drug

Program to allow the government to use the large number of subsidized seniors to negotiate drug prices down. The pharmaceutical lobby went to work on Democratic senators and it was those senators that told Obama that his planned change was a deal breaker with regards to their votes. Republicans weren't voting for the ACA either way. Democrats killed the reform. Single Payer would not even receive half of Democrat Senator's votes imo.

[MrsCoffee]

20. Democratic Senators, not Democrat Senators.

[Trust Buster]

21. Whatever.

[MrsCoffee]

22. No, not really whatever.

[Trust Buster]

23. You are trolling me from thread to thread. Please stop.

[MrsCoffee]

24. What?

I'm reading threads at the top of a forum.

We aren't the Democrat Party.

[Trust Buster]

25. Stalking is very childish. Please move on.

[MrsCoffee]

26. Funny I've never seen anyone who pointed out that distinction here accused of stalking before.

[karynnj]

36. Remember we could not lose even one Senator

There are several drug makers in states like NJ. Just like Biden was bad on the bankruptcy bills because Delaware was the base for many credit cards, these Senators were vulnerable on drug issues.

[Maven]

28. It's interesting that you go directly to attacking "Democrat Senators"

And say nothing about Republican senators. Almost like you're giving the latter a pass.

[Trust Buster]

29. Actually, if you had read my post, you would have noticed that I said Republicans were not voting

For the ACA regardless of the issue of Senior Prescription Drug Program alteration that President Obama requested. It was the Democrats that told the president "no" on behalf of the pharmaceutical lobby.

[Freddie]

30. Let them go on record as voting no

Campaign ads in the making.

[SharonClark]

32. Agree.

[Voltaire2]

33. You have to build support for it.

It isn't going to happen, obviously, with this congress, but you have to get it "on the table". You have to make people take a position for or against it. You have to get the discussion and the momentum going. Sanders and Conyers have been plugging away at this for more than a decade, and now they are starting to get support across the party.