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Pelosi declines to endorse Sen. Bernie Sanders' single-payer healthcare bill

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KSweeley

Member
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is not endorsing an idea that is part of the Democratic Party platform, single-payer healthcare: http://www.latimes.com/politics/was...s-to-endorse-bernie-1505230000-htmlstory.html

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) declined Tuesday to endorse Sen. Bernie Sanders' single-payer healthcare bill, saying her immediate goal is to protect the Affordable Care Act from President Trump's efforts to dismantle it.

Pelosi made it clear that her distance from the bill, which Sanders expects to unveil with top progressives this week, creating something of a litmus test for Democrats, had little to do with its contents. Rather she is working on more incremental gains to preserve and expand coverage for as many Americans as possible, despite Republican opposition to Obamacare, she said.

"Right now, I’m protecting the Affordable Care Act," Pelosi told a small group of reporters at a meeting Tuesday in her Capitol Hill office. "None of these other things, whether it’s Bernie’s [bill], can really prevail unless we have the Affordable Care Act protected."

Pelosi defended her position at a time when some progressives are taking aim at her leadership, noting that she has backed a single-payer system since before she entered Congress.

"I’ve been carrying single-payer signs as party chair of California," she said, referring to her tenure decades ago as state party leader. "I’m a progressive from San Francisco. Proud liberal. I have my own kind of credibility on these subjects."
 
I feel like Democrats like to play a little too safe sometimes. people need to get excited about something revolutionary. Single-payer is one of those things that get liberals out the house.

weed next
 

KSweeley

Member
Isn't Universal Health Care the same as single-payer?: https://www.democrats.org/party-platform#universal-health

Securing Universal Health Care

Democrats believe that health care is a right, not a privilege, and our health care system should put people before profits. Thanks to the hard work of President Obama and Democrats in Congress, we took a critically important step toward the goal of universal health care by passing the Affordable Care Act.
 

DopeyFish

Not bitter, just unsweetened

I assume they want moderate support.

I think the problem is Dems are aligning with a compromise position when the majority of Americans would probably love universal healthcare.

I believe Republican voters are going to start leaning universal in the near future despite their leadership not following suit. Eventually the outrageous costs are going to turn them against the status quo.
 
Seems more about a power struggle between the bernie wing and the Democratic leadership.

Pelosi would rather they come forth with a single payer plan as a strategy. She'd rather march to the beat of the leadership, not Bernie.

I can respect that. Not everyone has to get behind some theoretical bill that won't pass.
 
"Right now, I’m protecting the Affordable Care Act," Pelosi told a small group of reporters at a meeting Tuesday in her Capitol Hill office. "None of these other things, whether it’s Bernie’s [bill], can really prevail unless we have the Affordable Care Act protected."

Guys we can't do both. We can't. Impossible. For reasons. And donor money.
 
I would rather democrats take their side on this rather than evade the question or mince words. So in a way I'm really glad it's out there, so we can really figure where we stand/what we need to do to make it happen.

I will wait until I see the long game, Pelosi been killing it lately with strategy

fair point
 

norm9

Member
Do we know how this will be paid for? I'm all about everyone being covered, but I'd like to see the numbers first.
 
If she endorsed single payer right now, it'd give ammo to Republicans saying the ACA is imploding. Given the circumstances and recent skinny repeal scare, I'd say working on repairing the ACA is the safer bet.
 
I will wait until I see the long game, Pelosi been killing it lately with strategy

The way I see it, single payer isn't going anywhere. She's right in that Bernies bill won't prevail, and for Bernie, it's simply a purity test on his part. Single Payer isn't passing in a republican controlled congress, and just having it as a sort of test for dems only serves to hurt them.

Better to work on it when they control the house.
 

Guess Who

Banned
The way I see it, single payer isn't going anywhere. She's right in that Bernies bill won't prevail, and for Bernie, it's simply a purity test on his part. Single Payer isn't passing in a republican controlled congress, and just having it as a sort of test for dems only serves to hurt them.

Better to work on it when they control the house.

Single-payer didn't pass when we had a Dem-controlled congress because a significant portion of the Democratic Party, including Pelosi, fundamentally do not want single-payer.
 

massoluk

Banned
I'm going with Pelosi not wanting to force Purity Test on the party members.
Defending ACA is a much more concrete issue the party can message themselves out
 
I feel like Democrats like to play a little too safe sometimes. people need to get excited about something revolutionary. Single-payer is one of those things that get liberals out the house.

The Democrats need the approval of their corporate overlords from the donor class before they are allowed to support anything.
 
If she endorsed single payer right now, it'd give ammo to Republicans saying the ACA is imploding. Given the circumstances and recent skinny repeal scare, I'd say working on repairing the ACA is the safer bet.

I agree with this.

It'd be different if Dems had the presidency and/or Congress, but alas...
 
Interesting, I wonder what her strategy is.

I mean lets be honest the bill's not going to pass so the only reason she would decline is if she thought it looked better for her to.

Isn't Universal Health Care the same as single-payer?: https://www.democrats.org/party-platform#universal-health

Single-Payer is an implementation of ensuring universality, but isn't the only implementation. I'm assuming it's become popular because it is Canada's implementation.
 
I will wait until I see the long game, Pelosi been killing it lately with strategy

I think the Trump meeting had more to do with Donald Trump than either Chuck Schumer or Nancy Pelosi, TBH. They deserve some credit, but "killing it" isn't exactly accurate. Especially because of the state of the party.
 

Slayven

Member
I think the Trump meeting had more to do with Donald Trump than either Chuck Schumer or Nancy Pelosi, TBH. They deserve some credit, but "killing it" isn't exactly accurate. Especially because of the state of the party.

"Killing it" all things considered, with their level of power the GOP don't even have to let them in the room half the time. But thank god for the freedom caucus
 

legacyzero

Banned
Stephen Jaffe (her Primary challenger, and Justice Democrat) is rubbing his hands together right now.

MASTER LEGISLATOR

Single Payer Healthcare is not part of the Democratic Party platform.
Not yet, it's not. That litmus test is coming, like it or not.
I will wait until I see the long game, Pelosi been killing it lately with strategy
What strategy could she possibly have when the party is slowly moving I this direction? Just because she caught a small win with Trump doesn't mean she's suddenly the hero we need
When will democrats learn: we don't want fucking incremental change!
Exactly. P Lois and other corporate dems need to get in board, or not piss and moan when they get Primaried
 

Laekon

Member
Do we know how this will be paid for? I'm all about everyone being covered, but I'd like to see the numbers first.

The real issue is how to reign in health care cost. Without cost controls being a part of the solution there is no reason to go forward. Allowing everyone to be covered by a system that can't negotiate drug prices will just bankrupt the system.
 

Schattenjäger

Gabriel Knight
In a perfect world, we could cut our insanely wasteful military spending to actually spend dollars on citizens but oh well!
Throwing money at the problem won't solve the problem .. that was one of the ACA's shortcomings .. it didn't actually cut costs

Systematic reform is needed from the inside out
 

Cartman86

Banned
It's fucked if we can't stop the Russians from manipulating voter rolls again.

Assuming i'm not missing a joke I would say we should be more worried about current and ongoing voter disenfranchisement and suppression perpetrated by American citizens before that.

Anyways this is a left versus liberal argument in the making. The faster people realize that in these threads the better. Sometimes they read like four different types of conversations with people speaking passed each other. The most bizarre being liberals who are seemingly unaware of the very real policy differences and grievances between "liberals" and lefties (socialists etc.).
 

Burt

Member
It's probably better for her to steer clear of a bill no one expects to go anywhere when signing on would just provide more ammo for "SCHEMING NANCY WANTS TO FORCE YOU TO USE COMMUNIST DOCTORS THAT GIVE YOUR KIDS COMMUNITIS" attack ads.

Attacking Pelosi has been super effective for the right.
 
Honestly....its good ssomeone is coming iu5 against it instead of every single person not challenging it at all. There are large questions still looking
 
I will wait until I see the long game, Pelosi been killing it lately with strategy

Pretty sure it's "Don't give the republicans even a single reason to try to kill the ACA"

They don't want republicans saying "We will consider single payer, if you kill the aca first"

Lots of things could go very wrong and give the republicans the advantage in the political narrative. Liberals can't afford to lose it in the time of trump.
 

Plinko

Wildcard berths that can't beat teams without a winning record should have homefield advantage
Good for her. Don't underestimate her--she's brilliant.

Single-payer is a huge payroll tax increase that looks awful to most citizens. Start small: fix the ACA, bring in public option, then years down the road move to single-payer.

Jumping instantly to single-payer is a horrible idea and I'm not surprised Bernie is doing it. It could potentially destroy any positive movement in this area.
 
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