Democrats must decide between a revolutionary and a pragmatist

[Beacool]

By Doyle McManus
January 20, 2016

As their party's caucuses and primaries get underway, Democrats face as stark a choice as any in modern times. They must decide between a revolutionary and an incrementalist: Bernie Sanders, a democratic socialist who wants to transform the political system, and Hillary Clinton, a more cautious, conventional — you might even say Clintonian — liberal.

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Abstractly, that's an easy choice for most liberals and progressives (not to mention socialists): Most of them prefer single payer. A well-designed government-run system works better and far more cheaply than our crazy patchwork of public and private plans, as Sweden and other countries with single-payer systems have shown.

But as Clinton reminded voters during the Democratic debate on Sunday, President Obama's not-very-revolutionary healthcare law barely squeaked through to passage in 2010.

“There was an opportunity to vote for what was called the public option,” she noted — a government-run plan that wasn't even as ambitious as single payer. “And even when the Democrats were in charge of the Congress, we couldn't get the votes for that.”

In other words: You can't get there from here.

Clinton is probably right. A Kaiser Family Foundation poll last year found that only 26% of Americans want to expand Obamacare — mostly Democrats. A far larger number, 42%, want to scale the plan back or scrap it entirely. (Most of those are non-Democrats, but once the question is before Congress, their preference matters too.)

http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-0120-mcmanus-sanders-clinton-revolution-20160120-column.html

My favorite line:

"For progressives, Sanders is the political equivalent of a Powerball ticket: The payoff is huge, but there's only a small chance of winning. (For Sanders, remember, the revolution requires not only the presidency, but Congress too.) Clinton is more like a money market fund: not very inspiring, but you're less likely to lose the grocery money."

[99th_Monkey]

1. The OP conveniently & glaringly leaves out the FACT that nearly 80% of Dems WANT single-payer

The single-payer option – also known as Medicare for all – would create a new, government-run insurance program to replace private coverage. The system, once backed by President Obama, became one of the biggest casualties of the divisive healthcare debates of 2009.

The idea remains extremely popular among Democrats, with nearly 80 percent in support, according to the poll, which was shared first with The Hill by the Progressive Change Institute.
http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/229959-majority-still-support-single-payer-option-poll-finds

[BillZBubb]

2. No, Democrats must decide between a "New Deal" Democrat and a DLC Democrat.

Do we fight tooth and nail for what we believe in, even though the chance of getting there is slim? Or do we modify our positions so as not to alienate business and money interests in order to get table scraps?

[hobbit709]

3. +1000

We should be thankful for what we got and not demand anything better because that might cost her $pon$or$ some of the money.

[Skwmom]

4. They must decide on a guy who will work for the people or the woman who will work for her big money

sponsors.

I'll take the guy. I want our children to have a better future.

[TheBlackAdder]

5. Ugh, I clicked on the off chance there would be an equally-weighted discussion, not more propaganda.

.


I was fooled again.

Hope springs eternal. One day, critical analysis and objectivity will reappear.


.

[Beacool]

6. Propaganda is what Sanders is offering.

No reality based policies.

[baldguy]

7. For Bernie's Revolution to happen, it requires revolutionaries.

And that doesn't mean people waking up in the fall and thinking their one vote one year later for one guy will change things. It means working year after year, decade after decade. It means getting like-minded people elected to office. It means mayors, it means city councilmen, it means county & state legislators, it means governors, House members and Senators.

These are the kind of people Bernie has repeatedly refused to help. And he's conning his supporters into believing that the "revolution" will be accomplished with a one-man band. The one man being Bernie.

The crashing disappointment they'll feel when they realized they've been mercilessly scammed will harm the progressive cause for decades to come.

Which is exactly what the GOP is hoping for.

OTOH, the much-maligned "establishment Democrats" have been there for decades, working to create the very revolution Berniestas seem to have just discovered.