More Than 700 Democratic Delegates Vow To Reject Platform If It Doesn't Include Medicare For All [View all]
(Forbes) With the Democratic National Convention approaching in August, a growing number of Democratic delegates, led by Senator Bernie Sanders’ Nevada delegation, are joining a pledge to reject the Democratic platform if it doesn’t include Medicare for All, representing the Democratic Party’s latest struggle to unite its progressive and moderate wings and bring Sanders voters into the fold ahead of the November election.
KEY FACTS
More than 700 delegates—mostly representing Sanders, though some back presumptive nominee Joe Biden—have signed on to the pledge, which calls on delegates “to vote against any platform that does not include a plank supporting universal, single-payer Medicare for All.”
The organizers cite the current pandemic as making the need for single-payer healthcare even more urgent, writing in their petition that the widespread job losses resulting from the pandemic “has highlighted the need to separate healthcare from employment.”
Major progressive groups have backed the pledge, including RootsAction.org and the Progressive Democrats of America.
The current draft of the Democratic platform acknowledges but does not outright support Medicare for All, writing that the party “welcomes advocates who want to build on and strengthen the Affordable Care Act and those who support a Medicare for All approach; all are critical to ensuring that health care is a human right.”
Activists supporting the pledge say that the pledge is distinct from their support of Biden’s candidacy, with RootsAction.org co-founder Jeff Cohen telling Forbes that “defeating Trump in November is our number one priority.”
The Sanders and Biden campaigns have not yet responded to a request for comment on the pledge.
CRUCIAL QUOTE
“We believe it’s divisive for party leaders to block a position that is overwhelmingly supported by Democrats, including many Biden primary voters—and the broad U.S. public,” Cohen said in a statement to Forbes. “It’s divisive to foist a minority position on the party that may appeal to a few corporate donors, but offends the party’s activist base that is needed for victory in November.”
(Read More) https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2020/07/27/hundreds-of-democratic-delegates-vow-to-reject-platform-if-it-doesnt-include-medicare-for-all/#5411d01b1bda
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