UPDATED - Schumer: Democrats were 'namby-pamby'

[DonViejo]

Last edited Sun Jul 23, 2017, 12:30 PM - Edit history (1)

Source: Politico


By KEVIN ROBILLARD 07/23/2017 11:22 AM EDT

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Sunday promised a bolder economic message for the Democratic Party, including the potential for single-payer health care.

"We were too cautious, we were too namby-pamby," Schumer said on ABC's "This Week." "This is sharp, bold and will appeal to both the old Obama coalition, let's say the young lady who's just getting out of college, and the Democratic voters who deserted us for Trump, the blue-collar worker. Economics is our strength, and we are going to get at it."

The New York senator said the new Democratic agenda, set to be unveiled on Monday, would include proposals to "just go after these drug companies when they raise prices so egregiously and people can't afford these drugs" and a plan to "change the way companies can merge," mentioning the cable, airline and gas industries.

"How the heck did we let Exxon and Mobil merge?" he said. "And that was Democrats."

Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2017/07/23/schumer-democrats-namby-pamby-240857

---

UPDATE

SUNDAY, JUL 23, 2017 11:49 AM EDT

Chuck Schumer says single-payer health care is “on the table” for Democrats

The Senate Minority Leader said the Democrats have been "too namby-pamby" in the past

CHARLIE MAY

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer D-N.Y., talked about the new economic agenda for the Democratic Party moving forward and said that a single-payer health care system is an option that’s on the table.

-snip-

Regarding health care Schumer said that the Republican health bill in the Senate is “very unlikely to pass, because it’s rotten to the core.”

“People are not for reducing taxes on rich people or getting rid of Medicaid, which is a very, very middle class, now, thing, as well as for poor people,” he said. Schumer said he hopes that the Republicans will work with the Democrats and slammed the secretive nature in which only a few Senate Republicans designed the health bill that has yet to receive enough support from within the party.

Schumer said the Democrats will also look at “broader things” and that “single payer is one of them.”

“Many things are on the table. Medicare for people above 55 is on the table. A buy-in to Medicare is on the table. A buy-in to Medicaid is on the table. However health care will not be addressed in the economic agenda that will be rolled out on Monday. But according to the Senate Minority Leader, the party will continue to put forth substantive agendas that reach out voters.

“Week after week, month after month, we’re going to roll out specific pieces here, that are quite different than the Democratic Party you heard in the past. We were too cautious. We were too namby-pamby,” Schumer said.

more
http://www.salon.com/2017/07/23/chuck-schumer-says-single-payer-health-care-is-on-the-table-for-democrats/

[Roy Rolling]

1. Optics

Democrats need to demonstrate strength in their public persona. Don't concede the attribute of strength to a 71-year old sedentary apartment-dweller who professes to avoid exercise because he says it saps his life energy.

[BigmanPigman]

2. Sounds good to me Chuck, go strong with it!

[jalan48]

3. So why are Democrats so namby-pamby? What are we afraid of?

[Plucketeer]

6. What are we afraid of???

Pissing off our coffer contributors - the ones that matter.

[jalan48]

9. Bingo! The real identity politics.

[Kathy M]

39. Yup..............

[Gore1FL]

58. We've been cowering in the corner since 1988 (arguably 1984) afraid of ourselves.

We've allowed the GOP to equate patriotism with flag waving, strength with military worship, and government programs as money pits.
The elected Democratic response was "don't hurt me."
We've watched them turn the poor into objects of scorn rather than people needing compassion.
The elected Democratic response was "don't hurt me."
We've watched as they've redistributed the wealth of a nation to the very richest, all-the-while demanding that it was the only path to jobs (that never came).
The elected Democratic response was "don't hurt me."
We've watched as they gutted infrastructure and education.
The elected Democratic response was "don't hurt me."

The list goes on, but the response is always the same: "don't hurt me," "don't hurt me," "don't hurt me."

[tblue37]

81. At the very least we should be able to recapture the flag. How can the party that sells us out to

Russia claim to be more patriotic?

[msongs]

4. glad to hear he will capture the agenda and call for medicare for all....ummm nt

[Roy Rolling]

5. Another example

Trump boasts he doesn't use a computer, or something to that effect. That's weak. Not that he *doesn't* use a computer (because, ostensibly, he is too important and busy to learn) , but he *can't* use a computer because he is too weak-minded. Or, too lazy to learn a skill at 71-years old, computer skills a 7-year old in 2017 has already mastered.

[bettyellen]

19. He doesn't want a paper trail. He wasn't kidding about couriers.

[hedda_foil]

24. I'm a year older than he is. A serious computer user since 1983 years when he was 38.

My first computer was a Kaypro II, with plain vanilla DOS, two 5-3/4" floppy disk drives.. it preceded IBM and MS Dos

[sfwriter]

45. CP/M - An oldie but goody!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CP/M

I had one. in many ways, it was more productive. For one thing, there was no DU or Facebook on there to distract!

[Kathy M]

40. or does npt want use email / computer .... can you blame a person for not in this day

and age ? After the last couple of years I have changed the way I use email ............. no more personal stuff

[bucolic_frolic]

7. We're afraid of offending someone because

as soon as we propose something or a candidate, right wing hate media
goes on a tirade, and we're afraid of that. We field moderate candidates
with weaker positions as a result. We do not attack because we are
denounced as harsh if we do. We have yielded control. We must grab
control. A party on the upswing demonstrates resolve, creates political
energy, and is on the rampage. We must go berserker!

[Alice11111]

30. We will be eviscerated no matter what, so go for it all.

The RW is set to pounce and Fox will go into overdrive no matter what the Dems do...even Merritt Garland, who they approved prior to Obamas nomination.

So, quit the, we can't set off the Republucan machine. They will set off anyway. Let them rage, until they become background noise...while we putter along, building coalitions, and getting things done.

[Kathy M]

60. Agree .... and in the mean time who knows what may pass before next election ......

[Alice11111]

86. Yes...amazing how once we ignore the venom & get to work, we make our own luck, &good things happen

[LiberalLovinLug]

89. +1000

This is what I never understood about Obama. He could haver pushed back harder at the beginning. He had the mandate for change. Start with single payer and negotiate a public option. Just as an example. Go on the offensive first

for a change

The GOP and FOX News will just invent a fake scandal anyways. Why not at least maker them earn it

[Alice11111]

98. M8ght as well give them something real to carry on about...

Fight back hard. Go for the real thing, then, compromise if necessary.

[Squinch]

93. That's part of it, but Democrats are also our own worst enemies. The moment a Democrat comes

out with a strong statement of position, a thousand other Democrats come out of the woodwork to slam her or him.

The first thing we need to do to stop watering down our message is stop shooting ourselves in the foot and get some party discipline.

[thesquanderer]

8. Sounds like they're kind of adopting the Sanders platform. (n/t)

[MineralMan]

10. Or the Clinton platform.

It's the Democratic Party platform. Have you read it? Here:

http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/papers_pdf/117717.pdf

[thesquanderer]

14. If it's the existing platform/agenda, why is he announcing a new one?

I also don't remember single payer being on the table (for example), nor is it mentioned in that pdf.

[CBHagman]

21. I know. Most people don't know what the Democrats have been proposing for years.

Hillary Clinton, the House Democrats, and various others have for years provided policy proposals addressing specific issues, such as broadband access, infrastructure, manufacturing, and opioid abuse treatment, but you'd never know it from the narrative we get from the media, which invariably involves keywords such as disarray, struggling, etc. When you get right down to it, the media sold Trump as the best pal American workers ever had and Hillary as the enemy of "normal Americans," to resurrect Newt Gingrich's odious turn of phrase.

[Omaha Steve]

33. Hillary Clinton: Single-payer health care will "never, ever" happen January 29, 2016

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/hillary-clinton-single-payer-health-care-will-never-ever-happen/

Just a few days before the Iowa caucuses, Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton stressed to voters in Des Moines just how unfeasible she considers her opponent Bernie Sanders' plan to pursue a single-payer health care system.

"I want you to understand why I am fighting so hard for the Affordable Care Act," she said at Grand View University after hearing from a woman who spoke about her daughter receiving cancer treatment thanks to the health care law. "I don't want it repealed, I don't want us to be thrown back into a terrible, terrible national debate. I don't want us to end up in gridlock. People can't wait!"

She added, "People who have health emergencies can't wait for us to have a theoretical debate about some better idea that will never, ever come to pass."

Derry O'Connor of Des Moines told CBS News that he plans to caucus for Clinton in part because of her stance on health care. He echoed Clinton's sentiments that a single-payer system is out of reach.

FILM at 11...

[MineralMan]

35. The platform of the Democratic Party, as of 2016, calls for

"universal healthcare." The method by which it will be delivered remains to be specified.

[Omaha Steve]

37. Pointing out who was FOR universal health care and when after your platform comment

[Kathy M]

41. .

[lapucelle]

62. Univeral healthcare was a cornerstone of 1993 Hillarycare.

She has been fighting for universal coverage since 1993.

[Kathy M]

84. You can also go back to Truman who wanted Unerversal healthcare

probably even sooner ..........

[lapucelle]

91. Universal coverage as a principal and an achievable policy goal has a long history

in the Democratic party. It's disingenuous or ill-informed for anyone to claim otherwise.

[NYC Liberal]

54. Hillary Clinton supports universal health care and nothing in that article or video

contradicts that.

She’s right: a single-payer system (which is only one way to provide universal health care) is not going to happen any time soon. That’s just reality.

Not a single Republican will vote for it, so it’s DOA as long as they control Congress. Trump opposes it, so it’s DOA even if Democrats take control of both Houses next year, unless they win supermajorities, which isn’t happening. And even then, there are conservative Democrats who won’t vote for it.

Single payer is not going to happen any time soon. Hillary is absolutely correct to say that we need to focus on protecting the gains we’ve already made.

[riversedge]

77. WELL SAID.

[WoonTars]

102. She is also a private citizen so it really doesn't matter, does it?

We need to move forward and start getting ready for next year and 2020.

[lapucelle]

56. Hillary's fight for universal coverage as a Democratic Party Core Principal began in 1993

1993

In the Capitol, under the gaze of statues of figures from America's past, Mr. Clinton declared that the United States was "choking on a health care system that is not working." He and his wife, Hillary, summoned Congress to join them in a historic mission to guarantee comprehensive health insurance coverage for all Americans.

2007

In Sep. 2007 came the unveiling of her signature domestic issue, health care. Back in December, she told an adviser, "If I can't do universal coverage, what's the point of running?" That was far from a casual remark. Her failure to enact universal health care during [in 1993] had helped Republicans seize control of Congress, a devastating defeat for the Democrats and personally a bitter one for her. Now she made it known that if elected she intended to push aggressively for universal coverage.

If you don’t start out trying to get universal health care, we know--and our members of Congress know--you’ll never get there. If a Democrat doesn’t stand for universal health care that includes every single American, you can see the consequences of what that will mean. It is imperative that we have plans, as both John and I do, that from the very beginning say, “You know what? Everybody has got to be covered.” There’s only three ways of doing it. You can have a single-payer system, you can require employers, or you can have individual responsibility. My plan combines employers and individual responsibility, while maintaining Medicare and Medicaid. The whole idea of universal health care is such a core Democratic principle that I am willing to go to the mat for it. I’ve been there before. I will be there again. I am not giving in; I am not giving up; and I’m not going to start out leaving 15 million Americans out of health care.

2015 Hillary for America policy brief:

Hillary Clinton’s Commitment: Universal, Quality, Affordable Health Care for Everyone in America

April 2016 Democratic primary debates:

The diagnosis that we've got to do much more to finish the work of getting universal health care coverage, something that I've worked on for 25 years...

http://www.nytimes.com/1993/10/28/us/clinton-s-health-plan-overview-congress-given-clinton-proposal-for-health-care.html?pagewanted=all
http://www.ontheissues.org/2016/Hillary_Clinton_Health_Care.htm
https://www.hillaryclinton.com/issues/health-care/
https://www.hillaryclinton.com/briefing/factsheets/2016/07/09/hillary-clintons-commitment-universal-quality-affordable-health-care-for-everyone-in-america/

[emulatorloo]

63. Single-payer is not the only iteration of Universal Healthcare. see Germany and France

Mixed systems.

Delete your post.

[JHan]

103. Yep...++++++++

[Squinch]

94. Crafty edit!

[NanceGreggs]

55. So funny!!!

This video is invariably posted by those who insist that HRC is against single payer/universal healthcare.

What she said was that Bernie's version would never pass.

Look at the chyron at the bottom of the screen - it spells it out for you:

"Clinton: Sanders' health plan will 'never, ever come to pass'."

This bullshit does well on sites like JPR - where actual facts don't matter. Besides, the fine folks at JPR insisted all last summer that Hillary was dying of several fatal diseases, so her actual position on anything was a moot point, given she'd be dead before she could take office anyway.

Looks like she made a miraculous recovery - funny there are no posts on JPR explaining how she suddenly overcame her innumerable maladies the minute she lost the election.

[emulatorloo]

57. Thanks, Nance. You nailed the willful misinterpretation going on.

[NanceGreggs]

72. There was a group of people here ...

... last year who insisted that HRC had declared that single-payer would "never, ever happen". When I asked for links to her saying that, this same clip was the ONLY one anyone could come up with.

You'd think the bottom-screen chyron would have made it abundantly clear that she was talking about Bernie's "plan" - not single-payer itself.

I guess some people can't read.

Fortunately, most of those people left here to go to JPR, where "facts" are irrelevant, and reading comprehension is seen as being elitist.

[Omaha Steve]

65. US News Clinton's Health Care Attack Makes No Sense

The Clinton camp is lambasting Bernie Sanders' health care plan, but its critique is blatantly dishonest.

By Pat Garofalo, Assistant Managing Editor for Opinion | Jan. 13, 2016, at 12:40 p.m.

With the polls tightening in Iowa and voting both there and in New Hampshire just a few weeks away, the Kumbaya feeling in the Democratic primary is gone. In particular, the Hillary Clinton camp has evidently decided it's time to go on offense against independent Sen. Bernie Sanders, lest 2016 start feeling like 2008 all over again.

Predictably, one line of attack is on Sanders' record on gun control, which certainly has its blemishes. Another, though, makes far less sense, particularly in a Democratic primary: Clinton is lambasting Sanders' proposal for a universal, single-payer health care system. And she's doing it in a pretty dishonest way.

"His plan would take Medicare and Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program and the Affordable Care Act health care insurance and private employer health insurance and he would take that all together and send health insurance to the states, turning over your and my health insurance to governors," Clinton said. "We had enough of a fight to get to the Affordable Care Act. So I don’t want to rip it up and start over."

Clinton's daughter Chelsea got in on the act, too, in an even worse manner, claiming that Sanders wants to "dismantle Obamacare." She said: "I worry if we give Republicans Democratic permission to do that, we'll go back to an era, before we had the Affordable Care Act, that would strip millions and millions and millions of people off their health insurance."

FULL story: https://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/pat-garofalo/articles/2016-01-13/hillary-clintons-bizarre-attack-on-bernie-sanders-health-care-plan

[Doc Coco]

66. Mr. Steve, I hear crickets chirping...

[Omaha Steve]

68. Listening to Abbey Road again?

[Doc Coco]

69. Speak of the devil!

[Omaha Steve]

71. Paul is in concert tonight in Omaha

[NanceGreggs]

67. In other words ...

... you can't find a single link to HRC saying that single-payer "will never, ever happen".

Face it, OS - you walked yourself right into this one.

BTW, any word yet on how HRC was miraculously cured of all the medical conditions your fellow posters on JPR insisted she was dying of?

Just wonderin' ...

[Omaha Steve]

70. HUH???

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/hillary-clinton-single-payer-health-care-will-never-ever-happen/

"People who have health emergencies can't wait for us to have a theoretical debate about some better idea that will never, ever come to pass."

[NanceGreggs]

73. Okey-dokey, Steve.

Just keep ignoring the FACT that she was talking about Bernie's plan and NOT the idea of single-payer itself.

Some people are really good at ignoring FACTS in order to promote their fact-free agenda.

But I needn't have pointed that out to someone who posts at JPR, do I? I'm just amazed that HRC appears to be in perfect health, after all of those "factual posts" about her imminent demise.

When you find yourself digging a hole, you might consider putting down the shovel.

[Omaha Steve]

74. Politifact: Trump says Clinton "wants to go to a single-payer plan" for health care

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/oct/09/donald-trump/donald-trump-wrongly-says-hillary-clinton-wants-go/

She has consistently said she would fight efforts to repeal Obamacare and would try to improve it. She said she wants a public option to be "possible" but she has not called for moving to a system of only single payer.

Clinton has not called for a single-payer plan. At times, she has praised the health care systems of other countries that have a single-payer plan, but she has not advocated that plan for the United States. We rate Trump’s claim False.

[NanceGreggs]

75. But I thought she said ...

... single-payer would "never, ever happen".

Got a link for that - besides the one you already posted where she explicitly says that it's Bernie's plan that would never pass?

Sorry, Steve. If you're gonna keep digging, you're gonna need a bigger shovel.

[Omaha Steve]

78. That the best you & friends can do against Politifact?

And good night...

[NanceGreggs]

80. No, I'm actually still waiting ...

... for the links to where HRC said single-payer would "never, ever happen".

Apparently there are no such links - because she "never, ever" said any such thing.

Maybe you can explain how she would have said that, were it not for all the medications she's on to combat the dozen or so diseases she was suffering from less than a year ago - according to JPR.

They must have been miracle drugs, given how quickly she sprang back from certain death. I would think that when discussing healthcare issues, the folks at JPR would be demanding to know why these miracle drugs are not available to everyone.

Why aren't they?

Curious how JPR adherents always run away from discussions when asked for facts to back-up their assertions. Seems to be a pattern.

[Omaha Steve]

97. I don't see where she says single payer will happen anywhere

Her quote that it that will never, ever come to pass didn't say Bernie's (better idea) only version.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/hillary-clinton-single-payer-health-care-will-never-ever-happen/

Just a few days before the Iowa caucuses, Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton stressed to voters in Des Moines just how unfeasible she considers her opponent Bernie Sanders' plan to pursue a single-payer health care system.

"I want you to understand why I am fighting so hard for the Affordable Care Act," she said at Grand View University after hearing from a woman who spoke about her daughter receiving cancer treatment thanks to the health care law. "I don't want it repealed, I don't want us to be thrown back into a terrible, terrible national debate. I don't want us to end up in gridlock. People can't wait!"

She added, "People who have health emergencies can't wait for us to have a theoretical debate about some better idea that will never, ever come to pass."


Where does she ever say she has her own version of single payer, even during the general campaign? Politifact says she didn't: http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/oct/09/donald-trump/donald-trump-wrongly-says-hillary-clinton-wants-go/

She only talks about improving Obamacare in careful terms. Even after Trump spoke of her being for single payer, she never said "YES I AM"!

Since you know so much about JPR, you must be reading there. Why not ask directly and cut out the middleman?

OS

[NanceGreggs]

99. So, let me follow your logic

… such as it is.

First it was that Hillary said single-payer would “never, ever happen” – despite the fact that she was talking specifically about Bernie’s plan.

Yes, she defended Obamacare – while Bernie wanted to go back to square one and promote his own healthcare plan, which “never, ever” would have passed. And yes, she was concerned about those who would have medical emergencies while Bernie was busy trying to pass his totally unfeasible plan.

Unable to come up with any quotes from HRC where she said a single-payer system would never pass, you’re now claiming that because she didn’t say she was for it on the campaign trail, that serves as some kind of proof that she’s against it. (BTW, she didn’t say anything about animal abuse during the campaign either – I suppose that means she hates puppies and kittens.)

”She only talks about improving Obamacare in careful terms. Even after Trump spoke of her being for single payer, she never said "YES I AM"! Did she correct him? Did she say, “NO, I’M NOT!”?

So you’ve gone from “HRC said single-payer will never, ever happen” to “well, she didn’t come out and say she was for it”. Hmmmm …

”Since you know so much about JPR, you must be reading there. Why not ask directly and cut out the middleman?”

I rarely read there now – but did last year, because the entertainment value was through the roof. “Never, ever” before have that many dumbasses gathered on one site!

Ask them directly? LOL!!! Yeah, I’m really interested in having an “intelligent discussion” with people were stupid enough to fall for every ludicrous conspiracy theory (most of which were Russian-generated bullshit).

Maybe Hillary didn’t talk about single-payer because she was busy adjusting the screws on her full-body metal brace, after suffering yet another seizure while plotting the murder of hundreds of her political opponents.

Look, people are free to defend their political beliefs and express their opinions. But there’s no defence for the kind of abject stupidity posted at JPR, and the constant regurgitation of conspiracy theories that literally defy logic and common sense. That’s NOT political belief or opinion; it is merely a group of truly idiotic posters who are mindless enough to believe literally anything.

Given that you’re a regular poster at JPR, surely you have an explanation as to why Hillary was dying of at least a dozen fatal diseases last year, and why her miraculous recovery from all of them has never been commented upon by the same people who spewed that bullshit for months.

Stupid is as stupid posts – and JPR proves the point.

[Omaha Steve]

100. I said she didn't limit her comment to just Bernie's plan

You show the quote that said she did limit it to Bernie. Your turn.

Did she say, “NO, I’M NOT!”?

Again she was not in favor of single payer. Never once said she was. I repeat Politifact is on my side on this. Keep ignoring the facts!

I've seen lots stupidity in Bill's play room too. Plenty of old links to it on the DU. JPR was started long after the crap there became public.

[NanceGreggs]

104. Put down the shovel, Steve ...

... you're just digging yourself into a deeper hole.

"She never said she was in favor of single-payer" is right up there with "she never said puppy mills should be shut-down" - so she's obviously FOR puppy-mills.

What does "Bill's playroom" have to do with the fact that JPR posters are dumb-asses who swallow every Russian-bot's spew about HRC dying of fatal diseases she apparently never had?

JPR is a site devoted to ridiculous conspiracy theories, and posters ever anxious to regurgitate those CTs because they are too mindless to question the blatantly ludicrous and actually think for themselves.

So I'll ask again: When did the Mensa think-tank at JPR acknowledge that their hundreds of posts about HRC's many fatal diseases were complete bullshit? Or were they too busy glomming onto the next shiny object that was dangled in front of them?

And I'll say it again: Stupid IS as stupid POSTS - And JPR is a classic example of the incredibly stupid posting absolute nonsense - and when caught doing so, have NO explanation for why they were so easily manipulated into believing the unbelievable.

JPR - a.k.a the website where know-nothing, easily-led, malleable idiots go to die of embarrassment when their conspiracy theories are proven to be nothing more than Russian propaganda they were more than happy to swallow whole.

[Omaha Steve]

105. Still deflecting I see

Digging what? This is the Democratic Underground, not the Hillary Underground. That is over in the playground.

I dug my grave with your friends for supporting Edwards, then Obama. Eight years later it was two other US Senators (Warren first then Bernie) before voting for Hillary last November. Raised over $100,000 for Bernie. Most of it from the DUers. My image flashing live on CNN as a Nebraska caucus captain working the crowd sealed the deal.

I don't care what your friends think or say about me. You can't erase I'm a longtime solid D that didn't make Hillary my first pick like 13,206,428 others, over 40% of the D vote.

O'Malley DUers (and what is left of the Bernie DUers) have no problem with me. I raised $ for O'Malley too BTW. Offered to help raise $ for Hillary and through no fault of mine it went nowhere. Can't blame me!

Look in a mirror for who is digging.

Try providing a link like you demanded of me.

You can't erase "It will never ever pass"

She had years to prepare her message. Still not a single link from you on pro-single payer. I'm shocked!

Bill's playroom where DUers go and act just like cavers. The playroom was open and insulting DUers long before JPR existed.

I've grown tired of your demands and comments while you and your friends can't defend your point Hillary was pro-single payer with even a single credible link. See you next time our paths cross. I'm done with this one.

OS

[NanceGreggs]

107. The only one "deflecting" here is you.

YOU made the assertion that HRC is against single-payer, not me. Therefore it is up to YOU to provide the evidence that supports YOUR assertion - and obviously, you can't.

I am not about to waste my time trying to prove a negative, especially to someone who posts regularly on a site full of outlandish conspiracy theories posted by dumbass idiots.

You're "tired of my demands"? YOU are the one demanding that I prove YOUR point for you - because YOU can't.

Of course you're "done with this" - you were "done" the minute you made a claim about HRC that you knew you couldn't back up with facts.

[lapucelle]

92. You're citing an opinion piece from a news magazine as if that opinion is news.

Not everyone agrees with Pat Garafolo's opinion, Paul Krugman and Ezra Klein among them.

https://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/01/19/weakened-at-bernies/

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/18/opinion/health-reform-realities.html

https://www.vox.com/2016/1/17/10784528/bernie-sanders-single-payer-health-care

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2016/jan/13/how-much-would-bernie-sanders-health-care-plan-cos/

As for the viewpoint of the assistant managing editor for opinion at a news magazine, here's a opinion piece on the same topic from the same news publication. One of the differences is that one opinion writer resorts to personal invective like "bizarre", "rank nonsense", "willful misunderstanding", "scaremongering", and "dishonest", while the other argues the issue on its merits.

https://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/opinion-blog/articles/2016-02-12/hillary-clinton-gets-it-on-health-care-bernie-sanders-doesnt

One of Mr. Garrafolo's recent pieces borders on apologia in its claim that unity is overrated. No it isn't, Pat. It was the key to the White House in 2016 and gave one side the Supreme Court for at least a generation. No amount of spin will undo those realities.

https://www.usnews.com/opinion/thomas-jefferson-street/articles/2017-04-21/its-ok-for-the-bernie-sanders-democratic-unity-tour-to-go-badly

[JHan]

101. Thanks to you and Nance Greggs ... for defending a Democrat on a Democratic board

I don't have the patience to deal with sophistry and you both have been remarkably patient.

[Omaha Steve]

106. PPPSSSTTT

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/oct/09/donald-trump/donald-trump-wrongly-says-hillary-clinton-wants-go/

She has consistently said she would fight efforts to repeal Obamacare and would try to improve it. She said she wants a public option to be "possible" but she has not called for moving to a system of only single payer.

Clinton has not called for a single-payer plan. At times, she has praised the health care systems of other countries that have a single-payer plan, but she has not advocated that plan for the United States. We rate Trump’s claim False.

[lapucelle]

108. It's hard to follow reasoning that mistakenly conflates key terms.

"Pointing out who was FOR universal health care and when after your platform comment."

Your claim was about universal health care Universal coverage and single payer are not the same thing. Stalwart champions of one thing are generally careful not to confuse and conflate it with something different.

Politicians who were in Congress in 2009 talking the talk should have walked the walk, winter recess be damned. Those who found it easier to go along to get along should have fought harder. They chose not to.

Vermont's attempt in 2014-2015 demonstrated the the problems with the implementation of single payer.

"Vermont under Shumlin became the most visible trailblazer. Until Wednesday, when the governor admitted what critics had said all along: He couldn’t pay for it."

snip---------------------------

“It is not the right time for Vermont” to pass a single-payer system, Shumlin acknowledged in a public statement ending his signature initiative.

http://www.politico.com/story/2014/12/single-payer-vermont-11371

[lunasun]

79. Have you read it? I have had to ask that question a lot lately . Too many have no clue

If they promote each section one a week maybe some will absorb it better

[Squinch]

95. This is a great idea. It would put us in the news weekly re great policies we actually have rather

than on the policies Republicans (and some DU posters who seem to be in strange agreement with Republicans) tell people they have.

Nice.

I wish Chuck read DU!

[deancr]

11. Bullseye!

I used to represent workers, mostly rural and conservative by 30 plus years of programming, as a union steward for a federal union. They were starving for honest representation. There were birthers, vets, farm boys, and just plan working folks. To cede the Dems heritage to a faux populist like rump was a tragic mistake.

That most American phrase, "money talks, bullshit walks" is what applies. It will be a decades work to "flush the rush" but offer them dignity and a clear hope for the American Dream, we can't lose.

[not fooled]

13. Yep

as long as the rhetoric is backed up with results.

This has always been a winning recipe for Democrats. For a variety of reasons, the party I believe lost its way to a degree but can and should return to what works.

[people]

12. Democrats were 'namby-pamby'???

Although Shumer is correct that they were namby-pamby he still sounds namby-pamby. For example, the excerpt from Politico says Shumer said the Democrats would "include proposals to "just go after these drug companies when they raise prices so egregiously and people can't afford these drugs." What???? Other countries negotiate and regulate drug prices - all prescription drug prices. Going after the few drug price increases that somehow reach the news media is not anywhere near what we need. The price of insulin, for example, has tripled in the last several years without any change in its formulation, but that never reached the news media - and obviously the same is true for a ton of other medications. Shumer is apparently still too dependent on drug company financing to EVEN PROPOSE regulating drug prices.

If Shumer remarked that the bolder economic message would "include the potential for single-payer health care," what does that even mean? Single-payer healthcare was being pushed by Sanders and others when Obamacare was being formulated. So, does Shumer mean that it would be OK if some Democrats again argue for single payer, but that the Democrats would ultimately not go there for fear of insurance companies? I'm glad he realizes the economic message was too namby-pamby but it doesn't sound like he's even willing to state drug prices should be regulated! Sorry Shumer, saying the Democrats will be bold but not committing even to regulating drug prices is nakedly PATHETIC!

[delisen]

28. Shumer is protecting his base: the Pharmaceutical Industry

His whole statement is bs.

[Alice11111]

31. Let us buy from Canada!!

[Kathy M]

42. +1

[ZX86]

50. Sounds like they're doubling their efforts on incrementalism.

We need to be attacking core problems. Not tangential symptoms.

[zentrum]

82. Agree. nt

[karynnj]

15. This may simply reflect the difference of being in power and being out of power in both Houses and

the Presidency.

In 2009, we had a briefer than we expected window where we could legislate health care and everything else. We needed to get all 60 Senators on bowrd to CREATE something (not the 50 the Republicans need to eliminate it). We were limited by all far we could push the right most Democrats.

Consider that it was Joe Lieberman who ruled out opening up Medicare so those between 55 and 65 could buy into it. We COULD have forced that and other issues, single payer etc, to a vote but if we know who was publicly against it, certainly Reid, Baucus and Kennedy did as well. We could have wasted the small window losing on much better plans than one we were able to pass.

Now, out of power everywhere, we can advocate for things that we now certainly do not have the votes for. Look at how inept the Republicans look failing to get 50 votes for anything. When we were in power, Reid and Baucus had to thread the needle to get a bill that passed with every Democratic vote.

Schumer, who was NEVER the most progressive Senator, is completely right to realize that Democrats are at a point where they need to redefine themselves. Ironically, everything listed are things that many of the Democratic leaders always said they favored, but were unreachable. The situation we are in means that there is greater risk now to NOT arguing our values.

[chowder66]

16. "...with public polling showing that most people don't know what Democrats stand for ...

beyond opposition to the unpopular president.

This sentence from the article truly amazes me. And makes me wonder if people have given up trying to think at all.

If the Republicans are against it, the Democrats are most likely for it. It isn't the other way around.

It seems to me that Democrats need to start spelling out, under a banner of simple principle(s), what we stand for by way of teaching the public what each issue is about and what it means to support them.

For example...something like this;

Democrats in short are for the pursuit of Quality of Life, Liberty and Happiness for Americans. We stand for the rights of all people to access the best that America has to offer whether you are rich, poor or somewhere in between.

Democrats are pro-women, pro-choice. Pro-choice means that we support the rights of women to choose to carry a child to term or if they feel a need to have safe access for an abortion, based on their life circumstances and the health risk of mother and/or child.
It's a woman's choice; not ours, not the governments or the states choice. We support clinics that provide safe access to abortion and who also provide a number of other services which abortion is only a small fraction of.
These clinics services reduce the amount of abortions even further by providing birth control services and save lives by performing general exams which can detect greater concerns to be addressed by a physician. These clinics have proven to save lives by detecting early signs of breast and cervical cancers among other life threatening issues.

Maybe provide a link to studies and further explanation. And address each major issue Climate Change, Gun Control, LGBT rights, Civil Rights, Economic Equality, Higher Wages, Unions, etc. Maybe they need to tweet these out daily and talk about at least a few each time they get on camera. Run spots periodically on tv to remind people.

It seems it must be driven into the minds of those that don't seek out the information.

[kcdoug1]

52. Yep

the VAST majority of people don't give a rat's ass about a "platform" RESULTS are the only thing that matters! and That is where our party has major issues. Mr. Shummer is right.

[yardwork]

17. Good. All progressives need to unite behind Democratic leadership

We MUST take back the House in 2018. I feel it is our last chance to save the country.

[Alice11111]

32. & keep up the resistance, stalling, whatever it takes to

Delay as much as possible until then.
Plus, we need some good candidates.
I would assume the DNC is working on that, but from what I have actually seen, they dont come in until someone is likely to win and Rachael Maddow has called them out a few times.
Thanks, Rachael
State, local, and especially the people seem to be the backbone of the party. I worked in 5 closedly contested senate races...we got 2! What if we had not? ACA gone.
We kept yhe money we raised for the state race, so the DNC wouldn't sit on it. We needed it asap. It made all of the difference

[xxqqqzme]

18. Whatever the 'plan' is

they should be sharing it with Democratic governors, state legislatures, state parties and progressive grassroots. That way everyone is on the same page, everyone is an echo of the message. It gets repeated nationally, in the individual states and locally at meetings. Why do Democrats continually ignore the power of the coordinated message?

[Alice11111]

34. The ignore comes from the top...TG the people, states,

Local aren't waiting and moving forward.

[flibbitygiblets]

20. Not "were". "Are" Namby-Pamby.

Sorry, but the most corrupt and treasonous fuckery is happening right now, and so far what I remember most is Schumer writing a sort-of-strongly-worded insult in public protest.

R's would already have their messaging decided and disseminated, not bothering to get into minutia with anyone who dared question their moral authority.

Namby-Pamby, yes that sounds bout right. I guess awareness is the first step?

[Quixote1818]

22. Fuck yes! More of this! nt

[broadcaster90210]

23. It's their defining characteristic.

nt

[Hulk]

25. So....WHERE IS THE DEMOCRATIC HEALTH PLAN PROPOSAL???

Maybe I'm missing something here, but where are the Democrats as the repuKKKes insult, torch and slap together feces and schemes to disembowel the ACA and hand off obscene tax breaks to the greediest of soul-less wealthy in this country???

I don't get it. Why aren't we putting out a plan, or numerous plans to fix what is wrong with the ACA and get the last 40,000,000 citizens covered?? Why aren't we offering single payer as an option and move in to the Twenty-first Century and catch up to ALL of the other nations that actually care for their people??

I get that the repuKKKes didn't want the Democrats to be part of this feeble health care slaughter. I get that we wanted to demonstrate to those idiots and the moron American public that this is a lot bigger than "allowing you to buy across state lines" lunacy. But that time is over..weeks ago.

Get off your lame asses and put something forward so the country can see what a rational plan might look like; one that actually cares for it's citizens.

The time for simply exposing these evil bastards for the greedy, heartless, deceiving servants of the corporations and wealthy is OVER!

Get to work!! Bernie Sanders making appearances once a month on the View is weak bull shit!

[Kathy M]

59. Bernie has been makeing a lot of stops around country ... I think he ws in florida couple days back

and few other states having rally

[Hulk]

88. You are correct.

I know, you are correct. Bless his heart. The message he spreads out needs to be echoed bt 250 other congressmen and a major topic on the network tables.

These repubs are aggressive as hell with fear and misinformation. We need to double that effort and pound our drums TWICE AS LOUD.

It's so much about simply messaging, and the red state is way ahead at that game right now, and has been for the past nearly 30 years.

It can be done.

[lapucelle]

96. Why not begin here?

Earlier this week, the Democratic Party adopted its 2016 Platform, which includes a number of policy positions related to health care. The document states that it supports a public option in the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and those over 55 should be able to opt in to Medicare. The platform also supports empowering states to use innovation waivers under the ACA to develop local approaches to health coverage, which would include removing barriers for states that wish to experiment with plans to provide health care to every person in their state.

The document also calls for ending surprise billing and other practices that lead to out-of-control medical debt. The platform also addresses health care costs by supporting the repeal of the excise tax on high-cost health insurance, making premiums more affordable and reducing out-of-pocket expenses. The platform also calls for various other health care reforms.

Regarding prescription drugs, the platform states that it will crack down on price gouging and cap out-of-pocket costs. In addition, it states that it will prohibit anti-competitive “pay for delay” deals that keep generic drugs off the market, and will allow individuals, pharmacists, and wholesalers to import prescription drugs from licensed pharmacies in Canada and other countries with appropriate safety precautions.

http://www.aasmnet.org/articles.aspx?id=6411
https://www.google.com/search?q=democratic+platform+2016+healthcare&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8
http://www.capg.org/modules/showdocument.aspx?documentid=3035

The Democratic Party Platform was clear in its position that the ACA needs refinement, improvement, and movement toward a better system. It articulates many clear and achievable goals. However, due to the outcome in November, at this point job one is making sure that the ACA is kept in place in spite of a Republican president and congress.

Voters of all stripes were reminded early and often about exactly what was at stake in the 2016 election. Elections have consequences. We are all living with them now.

[yurbud]

26. then they have fight for those things day after day, month after month, year after year...

instead of making a token effort and then going back to doing Wall Street's business.

[progressoid]

27. Ha ha ha! We would see steam coming out of DUers ears if Bernie had said this.

But Kudos to Chuck for stating the obvious.

[Omaha Steve]

29. THIS!!!

[progressoid]

85. Hey Steve.

How are things across the river?

[Sunlei]

38. Bernie did say that last week on his PBS interview :P

That man works long days & Sundays for us.

[Kathy M]

44. +1

[Kathy M]

43. Bernie said he was going to introduce a bill ... wonder what that day will be like

[Sunlei]

47. mainly on PBS he said the USA must bring down the cost of medicine. Corps rip off people & the Gov.

He said Americans and our governments-- medicare/Medicaid pay the highest medicine prices in the world. The rip-off price gouging has to stop.

This will save multi-billions for private citizens and our Federal & State Governments social health care benefits.

[Kathy M]

61. Thanks ... yes the price gouging has to stop........

I take very old medications , have been around forever ( dilantin , phenobarb) the increases monthly have been outrageous . Phenobarb only comes in generic form 76 dollars this past month . I really do not want to get out my old files to know what I used to pay since there isnt a choice to take or not .

[Arazi]

48. Yup eom

[QC]

76. Why is Schumer BASHING!!!!!!!! and ATTACKING!!!!!!! the party?????

[Sunlei]

36. all right! lets get started!

[zentrum]

46. If Du-ers

...talked the way Schumer is talking about Democrats, we'd be alerted on.

This is also the kind of thing we said during the election and we were told we were not being realistic, or practical.
People who called for single payer were scolded as being too pie in the sky.

Now that the party's Leader is saying it at last----I guess it's all okay to say what the more progressive members have been begging for. FDR rises.

[LiberalLovinLug]

90. So true

[NCDem777]

49. IMHO, the Dems

spent way too much time trying to appease centrists and trying to win over GOPers by acting like more polite GOPers. Meanwhile, trying to win over the GOP by acting like a not racist version of the GOP hasn't won over any Republicans and has alienated Democrats who want Democratic leaders to act like Democrats. Independents don't vote for people who push a polite version of more of the same. They vote for people who are bold and have a vision no matter how fucking stupid it is.

A Dem who wants unrestricted free trade with nations with low to no standards is a Republican.
A Dem who wants to lower our standards to compete with said nations is a Republican
A Dem who wants to get us involved in needless nation building wars is a Republican
A Dem who agrees with privatization of everything is a Republican
A Dem who wants to slash the social safety net is a Republican

[BeyondGeography]

51. Does Schumer get a hide?

[RealityChik]

83. Hey, CONGRESS! Talk is cheap...

Sounds like another idle threat to me. I can assure you, the Republicans are not afraid! You are the Minority party. You have no power. You've been namby-pamby for the better part of the last decade, even when you had the majority in both houses.

As long as the criminal thugs that run the Republican machine know you'll all keep wimping out every time they rig an election like you did last November and again in recent special elections, especially GA, by not demanding vote audits or using the courts to hold them accountable, they have little to fear from the party of Namby-Pamby.

I'm sorry, I'll believe it when I see it. Except for a handful of heroes among you, unless all the rest of you jellyfish grow a spine and stand up to the criminal Republican leadership, you will continue to be held responsible for ceding the rightful power of the American people to the scandalous political thugs who deserve it the least.

So, stop talking about it, put your big boy pants on and get out there and do your job for a change. And if you're too tired and need to retire, we don't blame you. Thank you for your service. Now, step aside and let the next generation of Americans fight the good fight for us all.

[YOHABLO]

87. Impeachment is on the table !