Democrats should have a plan if ACA is repealed.

[kentuck]

In my opinion, they should prepare the Party for the 2020 election.

They should advise the voters that they will have to fix the mess the Republicans have passed. They cannot permit the Republicans to throw so many Americans off healthcare coverage. They cannot permit such recklessness by the Republican Party. It will have to be fixed. The election of 2020 will be about fixing the mess that Republicans made of our healthcare system. It is a battle-cry for all Americans to get involved and to throw the rascals out.

It will be the issue of 2020.

[Not Ruth]

1. I think that single payer will be the issue of 2020

All the likely candidates have come out for it publically. I do not see them shifting at this point.

[kentuck]

2. They should present "single payer" as the fix to the Republican mess.

But it is in the framing. They should not call it "single payer". They should call it "Medicare for All" or something that is inclusive. They should continuously point out the mess that the Republicans made. They don't need to make it a debate about "socialism".

[Not Ruth]

3. I agree, it makes sense not to frame it as socialism

[global1]

9. We Need To Stop Referring To This As 'Single Payer'.....

The Repugs want to frame it as 'single payer' and 'government controlled' and 'socialism'. We need to call it after the very successful "Medicare" program and say that it is a "Medicare For All" system. Americans can relate to that.

We should stop all talk here using the term 'single payer'. From now on we need to just call it "Medicare For All".

I'm not ready to throw in the towel, however, because i really don't think this latest attempt by the Repugs will pass. I think they will embarrass themselves again. If by chance it does pass - they really will have sealed their fate for 2018 and 2020. We need to run on that in 2018. Our campaign must be against the Repugs and not against everything Trump. Trump is not up for office in 2018 but the whole Repug House is running. We need to concentrate first on taking back the House and Senate. Doing this will muzzle Trump for the rest of his term and then in 2020 we can take back the WH as well.

[kentuck]

10. You make an important point, imo....

We need to run against the Republicans. Everybody already knows that Trump is a jerk. They don't need to be reminded. But they do need to be reminded that it is the Republicans that have screwed things up.

[global1]

11. Bingo!!!!!.....nt

[Eliot Rosewater]

26. We should NEVER stop telling people Trump and team committed conspiracy against

this country in league with our enemy.

NEVER

We can do all that other stuff too, but never stop talking about that.

[tokalion]

4. Single payer followed by healthcare guarantee

Yes... push for single payer... then push for a constitutional amendment guaranteeing healthcare for all to prevent any future right wing nimble nuts from destroying things...

[kentuck]

5. The threat of "socialism" still works with the American people.

Unfortunately.

[DK504]

6. One plan of attack, no Blue Dog "democrats" being main

consideration for 2020 elections. Real democrats or progressives please.

[kentuck]

7. I would recommend....

...that we find a place under the tent for anyone that calls themselves a "Democrat". We need all the help we can get.

[comradebillyboy]

8. Who gets to decide who is a real Democrat?

[MichMary]

12. Well--

the elections in 2010 and 2014 were about fixing the mess that Democrats passed. Didn't work out too well for our side then, and we can hope the same thing happens to the other side in 2018 and 2020.

This thing is going to go back and forth, back and forth for decades.

[kentuck]

13. The proof is in the pudding...

Do people have healthcare coverage or not? Under Republicans, they most likely will not be covered.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

14. You think people will eventually figure out who is going to help them get covered?

Some people literally believe that they are "suffering" because of ACA

[kentuck]

15. As the old saying goes...

You don't miss your water until the well runs dry. We can be fairly certain that healthcare will not improve under Trumpcare.

[MichMary]

18. The Medicaid expansion helped

a lot of people. There were people who were hurt by the ACA: People whose premiums were affordable because of the subsidy, but whose deductibles made the coverage unusable; people who received no subsidy and paid through the nose for coverage (and still had to deal with astronomical deductibles,) people who had to change docs; people who lost their insurance because it wasn't ACA-compliant.

I've mentioned my own issue previously. My dh wants to retire at the end of this year. We were quoted $1700/month with a $9000 deductible. (No subsidy, BTW.) As far as "choice," only one of the two plans available in our area were accepted by the specialists I see. We are waiting to see what the premium increase will be, and if it will mean retirement is a no-go.

My son had a very affordable BCBS plan geared entirely to young, healthy adults. The premium was $100/month. It didn't cover a lot, but would have kept him out of bankruptcy if his appendix burst, or something. The deductible didn't matter because he never had to use it. That policy wasn't ACA-compliant. It was replaced by a policy with a $300/month premium, which he also never used. He certainly didn't benefit from the ACA, but in his case, the insurance company sure did.

There HAS to be a better solution.

[kentuck]

19. Yes. Those in the middle and upper middle class paid much higher premiums.

For example, someone that was making about 75K per year was paying about $700 and saw their premiums go up to $1700, in some cases. They had much better coverage but they did not want to pay those higher premiums.

[Hortensis]

16. What a novel idea? Of course they're attempting to plan for all contingencies.

That's what they do, you know. Like war, full time work, very fluid and situational, timing critical, always changing. And like military strategists, they know a great deal about warfare and they absolutely don't tell everybody everything they're doing.

As for this event, I doubt that they were even the slightest bit surprised when big funders like the Kochs turned the screws on the Republicans and demanded they pass this "Repeal and Go Fuck Yourself" plan. Their plan included operating quietly as possible while letting the Republicans self-immolate in front of the nation.

But then they would have been trying to anticipate Sanders' actions also so probably aren't surprised that he would choose this time to push what much of the right wing considers a "commie," "one-world-order," "socialist" healthcare proposal in front of cameras that had been focused on the Republicans' Fuck-Yourself revelation. And for sure they're not surprised by the relieved delight of Republican strategists.

[kentuck]

17. They have not proved capable of planning for all contingencies in the past?

Why should we think they are prepared now??

[Hortensis]

23. I'm afraid you're mistaking democracy at work, including massive voter incompetence,

for party incompetence. Political parties never just ran America, and the communications revolution means political power has been becoming more and more diffused among many players for decades. Our parties have less power these days than they ever did before, and that's a one-way dynamic. Like gravity, it's not going to reverse.

You really should know that.

Yes, the dreadful mistake everyone but good Democratic voters made in helping elect Rump and fill his cabinet with agents of ultraconservative billionaires has severe consequences. Let's hope that some of those who refused to vote for the Democratic candidate this time will know better in 2018 and 2020, recognizing of course that learning by mistakes is just not possible for some.

The rest don't deserve to have our tough, experienced strategists working to save them from themselves, but our party is hard at work on it anyway, using every scrap of power our electorate left them with to defeat Repeal and Go Fuck Yourself. They of course are also planning for what to do if they succeed and what to do if they do not. Here's a little bit of information they've chosen to let out for if they win, which they probably will.

NYTimes:

But if the bill can be stopped, the Democratic leaders have already begun nudging the president toward another about-face: setting aside the mantra of “repeal and replace” and adopting modest measures to make his predecessor’s signature domestic achievement work better.

[Expecting Rain]

20. "Framing" isn't the problem.

Democrats need to get behind a solution that works.

One that brings the maximum benefits, one that rationalizes costs, one that has transition plans, and one that has well-vetted hard numbers.

If single payer or Medicare for All plans have the cost savings through eliminating insurance company over-head (part of which is jobs, and will involve job loss) then proponents should welcome rigorous economic modeling.

I think many Americans in their hearts would love to see medical care extended to all Americans. The job now is to appeal to people's brains. Many are uncertain if Medicare for Elders is sustainable.

So if Democrats run on MFA we better have sound economic models to present to a largely skeptical (but at the same time increasingly receptive) public that reason is on the side of this option.

What will NOT work is sloganeering, saying "other countries do it," or running on plans that only symbolic in nature and ones that ignore costs and the difficulties of transitions. This won't be a winning ticket on ideology alone.

And against MFA we should compare the ACA with a public option to see which makes more sense.

[kentuck]

21. I disagree.

"Framing" is a big part of the problem.

[Expecting Rain]

25. Thinking this is all about propaganda and spin makes an assumption that people are really stupid.

When in fact, people get really serious minded when their healthcare is at stake.

It is relatively easy to sell those with marginal plans and options (or none at all) on single payer. But for those with semi-secure employer-provided plans, it will take more than Madison Avenue or good bumper stickers.

Any plan moving forward will require an honest analysis of the costs and transition plans for a sector that represents a quarter of the economy.

Spin alone will not sell this.

[kentuck]

31. Many millions voted for Trump.

Need we say more?

[Weekend Warrior]

22. I believe the general populace is sick of hearing about it....

Last edited Fri Sep 22, 2017, 01:10 PM - Edit history (1)

and the longer this bs goes on the more they will feel the government is the problem. Reality dictates that is true and untrue at the same time. True because the federal government is and has been generating instability. Something few like. Untrue because government is the only answer.

Perception is reality and the countries perception isn't created by the words on DU.

[maxsolomon]

29. Bingo

the party will avoid healthcare except as a platform plank. and it will be a smart move.

the subject will be Trump's incompetence.

[LexVegas]

24. Medicare for all is going to pass, so no worries. nt

[Johnny2X2X]

27. Protect voting rights!

The scariest part of all of this is that the GOP is gleefully voting for a law with 24% approval. They know they won't face consequences for any of their votes anymore. They control the vote counts and they control who gets to vote.

[Beaverhausen]

28. Patty Murray and Lamar Alexander are working on a bi-partisan bill

http://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/sens-murray-and-alexander-fight-the-good-fight-for-health-care/

this is what we need

[guillaumeb]

30. "Medicare for All" is the ideal plan.

A familiar subject, a limited and legislatively restricted US version of single payer that could easily be expanded and fixed.