Congressional Dems & Huff Post Collapse After GOP Introduces Medicare-For-All

They think they’re playing three dimensional chess, when they’re just playing checkers — and losing.
What’s confusing about this in the first place is their vagueness and ambiguity regarding Medicare-For-All. It should be an easy decision; however, it’s not for people that are bribed and paid off by the pharmaceutical industry and the health insurance industry. While Chuck Schumer says Medicare-For-All is “on the table”, Al Franken straight up refused to even answer a question on Medicare-For-All:
As soon as the word “reporter” is said, he immediately retracts all respect and decency, and refuses to say anything. If he was for it, and he really needed to get where he was going to go, he could say something along the lines of: “yeah, for it, but can’t talk right now”. Eight words. Couldn’t even muster eight words.

That decision is very likely going to backfire, since the vast majority of the American people are completely for a Medicare-For-All healthcare system, as easily visible with the poll done by Pew Research Center shown to the left. Get ready to be primaried, Al Franken, and every other Democrat that opposes a Medicare-For-All system because their donors won’t let them be for it.
But, as usual, our congresspeople are completely disconnected from reality, and the American people and their voices. They don’t see these polls. The idea that the majority of the American people are for a Medicare-For-All healthcare system does not register in their minds (this goes for Democrats and Republicans). Both party leaders also believe in the false blue-state/red-state dichotomy, and the idea that Democrats have to move further to the right in red states to get elected, when that is just not true. In town hall after town hall in deep Trump country, Bernie Sanders got Trump supporters to cheer for Medicare-For-All and Free-Tuition-College, among many other progressive positions.
So while the reality of being for Medicare-For-All actually being an advantage in red states, congressional leaders in both parties still believe that being for Medicare-For-All is a disadvantage in red states. And Republicans and Democrats still seem to think this when you look at their “strategic” moves recently involving an occurrence that probably will never happen again: a Republican proposing a Medicare-For-All amendment.
But why, you ask, would a Republican put forward a Medicare-For-All amendment? Well, in their twisted minds, being for it is a bad thing for Democrats in red states. In their minds, if they can pressure those red state Democrats to vote for the amendment, then Republicans could use that to beat those Democrats in their next elections.
If the Democrats were smart, they would have voted for the amendment immediately, since — as mentioned before — in reality, it would be an advantage in red states (and presumably in most other states as well). However, the Democrats couldn’t take the confusion, their brains collapsed, and none of them voted for it, thinking it would harm their chances in the election. And the Huffington Post went along with the stupidity bandwagon.
They report:
The Senate on Thursday rejected a Republican amendment that would have implemented a government-run single-payer health care system. The amendment, proposed by Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.), would have expanded Medicare to the entire U.S. population ― a policy idea that progressives increasingly view as a key litmus test at the ballot box.
Daines did not actually support his amendment. Rather, he offered it on the floor in a clever attempt to force vulnerable Democrats from red states who are up for re-election in 2018 to cast tough votes. While most progressives believe the nation should have a single-payer health care system, polling shows such an idea is viewed less favorably by the country as a whole.
Pause #1. It’s not just progressives that view Medicare-For-All favorably, it’s the whole country. You have just reported a false statement. In fact, in your own poll you linked (the Pew Research poll shown at the beginning), it states that 60% of the American people think it’s the government’s responsibility to provide health insurance to everyone. Fix your article.
They continue:
Nearly every Democrat from a red state joined Republicans in voting against the amendment, including Sens. Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Jon Tester of Montana and Joe Donnelly of Indiana. Sen. Claire McCaskill, a vulnerable Democrat from Missouri who is also up for re-election next year, joined 43 of her Democratic colleagues in simply voting “present.”
Pause #2. That means NO Democrat voted for the amendment. Not a single one. Not even one. None. Zero. Even Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, did not vote for the amendment.
Before I continue, I want to be clear that Bernie Sanders is one of the only principled congresspeople alive today, but even with this in mind, I do not hesitate to criticize him when the time is right. This is one of those times.
Huff Post continues:
Daines’ attempt to divide Democrats was undercut on Wednesday after Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), a key advocate of single-payer, announced he would oppose the amendment. Sanders popularized “Medicare-For-All” among progressives during his presidential campaign last year, and is expected to introduce legislation later this summer that would implement a single-payer system.
Speaking from the Senate floor before the vote, Sanders gamely congratulated Daines and his GOP colleagues for finally coming around to the idea of single-payer. He then offered Daines a deal: Sanders said he would vote in favor of the amendment if a handful of Republicans did too. “All we need is five votes, guys!” Sanders shouted as he strode through a group of smiling Republicans who clearly had no intention of taking him up on the offer.
Pause #3. Bernie, what are you doing? You are going along with a strategy that implies that red state Democrats would be hurt if they supported Medicare-For-All, when you know that’s not true since you experienced evidence yourself that it’s not true. What the heck? Why are you doing this? This is — yet again — another strategic blunder by Bernie Sanders.
They continue:
At one point during the vote, McCaskill, along with Sens. Kristen Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), surrounded Daines on the floor and chastised him for his wily attempt to push through a single-payer program. “This is what’s called a trick!” McCaskill could be heard saying. She offered to vote for the amendment if Daines did as well.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) jokingly entertained the idea of voting for the amendment. “I’ve gotta think about this!” she yelled, moments before voting against it.
Really? Are you serious? This actually happened? This is the kind of mahogany that goes on in our government? Keep in mind that in a democracy, at least 60% of senators would vote for the amendment. But of course, that’s not the case. Instead, they’re joking around about how they’re bought off by corporate America to not be for Medicare-For-All.
And then you have our grossly incompetent corporate media that goes along with DC party lines. Take a look at the headline The Huffington Post went with to report on this story:

Again, these statements are based off of nothing but DC wisdom. The “vulnerable” Democrats wouldn’t be so vulnerable if they were for policies their constituents were for, like a Medicare-For-All healthcare system. And the “trick” the Republicans were pulling wasn’t much of a trick at all, since voting for the amendment would actually increase your chances of winning your elections. The Republicans were too stupid to realize that their trick was more like a gift, and the Democrats were too stupid to gracefully receive the gift they had been given. What if Democrats proposed an amendment cutting corporations’ taxes, or cutting environmental protections; what would the Republicans do? Exactly, they would vote for it instantly. However, when the Democrats are given exactly what they (supposedly) want, they resort to a “strategy” that has no bearing in real life. What?

This is a perfect example of how both party leaders have no competence, no intelligence, and no connectedness to reality, and how the corporate media goes right along with them and their “strategies”. We have to:
A: Replace every single corporate politician in DC and elsewhere.
And B: Stop going to the corporate media for news and information, and instead go to independent progressive news outlets for the real story.
Enough of this garbage.
