The Big Roadblock For Bernie Sanders' Agenda

[George II]

Moderates shouldn’t be too scared of a Sanders presidency when all Republicans and most Democrats in Congress publicly oppose “Medicare for All.”

WASHINGTON ― It’s no exaggeration to say the biggest flashpoint in the Democratic presidential race thus far has been health care ― namely, whether the United States should adopt “Medicare for All” ― but there’s a reality that hardly anyone is talking about: Congress.

While differences between candidates could manifest themselves in plenty of ways in office, any Democratic president would have an extremely tough time actually enacting systemic changes like Medicare for All. Lost in all of these health care debates between presidential contenders is that the resulting health care policies would probably all look very similar, regardless of which person wins.

Every Republican and most Democrats in Congress publicly oppose Medicare for All. And while those numbers have certainly been shifting, there is almost certainly a critical mass of Democrats who would join Republicans to block a single-payer health care system in the House ― let alone the Senate, where Republicans are likely to retain the majority, or at least be a vote or two away from it.

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“A president can’t wave a magic wand and pass any legislation they want,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) told HuffPost this week.

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“The worst-case scenario? We compromise deeply and we end up getting a public option. Is that a nightmare? I don’t think so,” she said.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/roadblock-bernie-sanders-congress-medicare-for-all_n_5e45ac30c5b6e095c6bcceb0?6yc

[Voltaire2]

1. at least Sanders and Warren actually have an agenda.

[Cha]

2. KR