BERNIE SANDERS TO SPONSOR SINGLE-PAYER HEALTHCARE BILL

[bekkilyn]

138. We have a big mindset problem

It seems like many people think that if we can't have something RIGHT NOW, then it's not worth even attempting to do. It seems worse on the Dem side. For example, Republicans knew that they were never going to actually repeal ObamaCare when Obama was in office, but it didn't stop them from trying over 60 times. They persisted and what it accomplished was keeping "repeal ObamaCare a good thing" in the minds of their voters, particularly their low-information voters who had no idea what ObamaCare was or that it was the same as the ACA. They just knew that repealing was something they wanted and wanted as soon as possible and that Obama and Democrats and liberals were standing in the way of them getting this great and wonderful repeal!

So while we might not be able to get Medicare for all/single-payer RIGHT NOW, we're getting the idea into the minds of voters, and the more repetition, the more talk, the more submitting legislation we persist in doing, the more people are going to learn about it and WANT it.

Then when the right president and the right congress are in place, everyone wants it and the majority of the footwork and planning is already done.

But if go with the usual conservative, timid behavior and throw up our hands shouting, "Impossible! The time isn't right!" then when the right president and right congress are in place, they are still talking impossibilities because no one has been talking about it and we end up compromising 50 feet behind the starting line and end up with another conservative, right wing plan that Republicans would have done anyway had they been in power instead of Democrats.

That's why people criticize Dems about having no vision. We utterly refuse as a party to think BIG and BOLD, and that's what's desperately needed.