Here's the deal...

[McTwisty]

I keep reading tonight that Sanders can’t get anything passed.

This isn’t the Republican Party. This is the Democratic Party where the officials still actually are supposed to answer to the voters, right?

Well the electorate is overwhelmingly behind Sanders’ platform.

The only way he doesn’t get Medicare for all passed is if our party leaders decide to side with big pharma and the insurance lobbies.

If they don’t stand with the people, then they are not really Democrats and we need to replace them.

I also see a lot of how Bernie is too far left. He’s not. The Republicans are just SO FAR right now, Hillary would be considered an extreme left candidate.

We need to shift the “middle” back to the left.

Oh, and hi... this is my first thread.

[Laelth]

1. Welcome to DU.

-Laelth

[applegrove]

2. And welcome to the DU!

[W_HAMILTON]

3. They will answer to the will of the voters...

…which means -- unlike in the Republican Party -- they will not simply bend to the will of the nominee's positions.

You will not see the blind devotion that Republicans now have towards Trump when it comes to Democrats and Sanders. I mean, hell, some moderate Democrats were even running against Obama in the early days of his presidency, and there is zero chance Sanders comes as close to winning the presidency as decisively as Obama did.

[McTwisty]

8. But, and maybe I'm missing something...

But the voters ARE behind Bernies platform. I’ve yet to see a poll that says otherwise.

[W_HAMILTON]

9. You are watching the best polls happen: actual votes being cast.

And Sanders hasn't garnered a majority of the votes in any of them; so, how exactly is it that you are determining that the voters are behind his platform?

[McTwisty]

13. Because when polled about the actual policies

The vast majority of people support his platform.

[dchill]

4. Welcome, Your Threadship! I agree with you.

[mwooldri]

5. Welcome to the "DU Primaries" melting pot.

where people will nit pick and argue over a particular candidates strengths and weaknesses and even get some that will say if XXX candidate wins I'm not supporting them.

America is a "conservative" country - conservative with a small "c". But yeah the Trump Party (formerly known as the Republican Party) has gone on a hard right bent that yep, the Clinton's could be tarred as "far left". Heck even Richard Nixon would be far left, what with him introducing things like the EPA... at least honourable Republicans caught with their hand in the till resign. This replacement Trump Party doesn't give a $#!+ about people, whatever it takes to stay in power.

IMO Bernie is the Anti Trump, but has taken on some Trump like tendencies as of late. Far better than actual Trump of course.

As for any action that any future Democratic President can take when in office... one will find that once the leader of the party has been selected that there will be a lot of falling in line behind the leader and there will be some arm twisting behind the scenes to get said leader to moderate their stance somewhat. We have seen that it is hard to keep the Tangerine Idi Amin in line with traditional Republican thinking, but we have seen the GOP pretty much go lock step with whatever the Marmalade Shartcannon wants. Unlike the Orange Mugabe, Bernard Sanders has been around Washington DC long enough to know how it works, know what can be done and what cannot be done.

[McTwisty]

11. I'm not naive enough to think he'd get everything...

But I don’t see Medicare for All as impossible. Quite frankly, I haven’t been able to afford insurance in 20 years.

Fortunately I’m Native American and they help with certain stuff, but the odds of making it another 20 without needing it are slim to none.

[GreenPartyVoter]

6. Welcome!

[PatSeg]

7. Welcome to DU!

[IrishEyes]

10. Welcome! I like your username.

[McTwisty]

19. Thank you.

Suits me... Both personality and occupation

[brooklynite]

12. You may be aware that there are Republicans in the Senate...

We will NOT have a Senate Majority that can block a filibuster. Doesn't matter how many Democrats support his policy.

[McTwisty]

16. No reason to be sarcastic.

“You may be aware...”

If this election is anything like 2018 we stand an excellent chance of taking the senate back.

There are plenty of republicans up for re-election this time.

[brooklynite]

20. We do NOT stand an excellent chance of taking the Senate back if Sanders is the nominee...

...and that's not sarcasm.

[McTwisty]

22. "You may be aware..."

Again, no reason to be sarcastic.

[Claritie Pixie]

14. Good stuff there in your first post! Welcome!

[Renew Deal]

15. Sanders has 44% of the Democrats that showed up in NV

That hardly means that "the electorate is overwhelmingly behind Sanders’ platform."

[McTwisty]

17. 70% want Medicare for all.

[Renew Deal]

21. Link?

[McTwisty]

24. It's called google.

And quite frankly, posting a link to something THAT easy to find isn’t going to matter to you, so if you are really interested, take the 30 seconds to find it yourself. I know what I read.

[Renew Deal]

27. You made something up and can't back it up.

You would be able to back up your number, if it was real.

[McTwisty]

28. Almost got me to post the link for you.

Then as I was hitting copy I said no, if you’re going call me a liar you can google it your damn self. 70% support Medicare. It’s not that hard. You can even copy and paste it.

[Renew Deal]

29. I'm not going to prove you right or wrong

It’s an unattributed claim. It’s either “borrowed” or made up.

[ehrnst]

31. Not going to fall for the "prove a negative" fallacy, eh?

Good for you.

See also: Not defending straw men other people set up and attack.

[ehrnst]

30. I'd like to see that link. Because I have this one:

See, when you don't post your source, it's not really clear if you understood what it actually said.

Here is some clarification on the conditions of public support for M4A:

As Medicare-for-all becomes a staple in national conversations around health care and people become aware of the details of any plan or hear arguments on either side, it is unclear how attitudes towards such a proposal may shift. KFF polling finds public support for Medicare-for-all shifts significantly when people hear arguments about potential tax increases or delays in medical tests and treatment (Figure 9). KFF polling found that when such a plan is described in terms of the trade-offs (higher taxes but lower out-of-pocket costs), the public is almost equally split in their support (Figure 10). KFF polling also shows many people falsely assume they would be able to keep their current health insurance under a single-payer plan, suggesting another potential area for decreased support especially since most supporters (67 percent) of such a proposal think they would be able to keep their current health insurance coverage (Figure 11).

KFF polling finds more Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents would prefer voting for a candidate who wants to build on the ACA in order to expand coverage and reduce costs rather than replace the ACA with a national Medicare-for-all plan (Figure 12). Additionally, KFF polling has found broader public support for more incremental changes to expand the public health insurance program in this country including proposals that expand the role of public programs like Medicare and Medicaid (Figure 13). And while partisans are divided on a Medicare-for-all national health plan, there is robust support among Democrats, and even support among four in ten Republicans, for a government-run health plan, sometimes called a public option (Figure 14). Notably, the public does not perceive major differences in how a public option or a Medicare-for-all plan would impact taxes and personal health care costs. However, there are some differences in perceptions of how the proposals would impact those with private health insurance coverage (Figure 15). KFF polling in February 2020 finds about four in ten Americans support both a Medicare-for-all plan and a public option (Figure 16). So while the general idea of a national health plan (whether accomplished through an expansion of Medicare or some other way) may enjoy fairly broad support in the abstract, it remains unclear how this issue will play out in the 2020 election and beyond.

https://www.kff.org/slideshow/public-opinion-on-single-payer-national-health-plans-and-expanding-access-to-medicare-coverage/


You're welcome.

[George II]

32. That's simply not true. 70% want some form of universal healthcare coverage. Inasmuch as....

....there are six or seven plans proposed, that could mean that each has the support of 10%.

I know Sanders likes to use that 70% number to say they want HIS plan, but that's far from the truth.

[McTwisty]

18. 81% of democrats support a $15 minimum wage

[uponit7771]

23. Sanders has no historical swing state appeal outside of MOE, Biden has the most

[McTwisty]

25. It's 2020...

And apparently polls don’t matter any longer. However that could just apply to Bernie.

[CentralMass]

26. Nice first thread. Thank you and welcome..