Progressives: “Universal Healthcare!” Corporatists: “They want the ACA out!”
Seems like corporate Democrats just haven’t had enough time to falsely smear progressives, have they?
When I found out that this was an actual smear going around corporatist circles, at first I was shocked. How could they go to this level of insanity, this level of shamelessness, and more importantly, this level of assumption that people are stupid enough to believe such a smear? It’s almost as if they were trying to insult the intelligence of the American people by bringing such an accusation forward.
But then, I wasn’t shocked, after remembering every single other baseless, false smear that they propelled towards progressives.
From claiming that the Sanders committed bank fraud, to calling Bernie Sanders and his supporters racists and sexists, corporatists have not hesitated from saying anything they possibly can to smear progressives. To me, it’s a sign of desperation, the fact that they just can not come up with a good way to criticize progressives, and instead resort to hastily brewed smears.
And that desperation continues, as these corporatists try to stop the momentum and smear progressives once again, this time directed at Medicare-for-all and its proponents.
I’ve written before about how Medicare-for-all has become a litmus test for Democrats, how Rep. Ruben Kihuen (D. NV) and Rep. Denny Heck (D. WA) have both received primary challengers specifically because of their ambiguity and inaction on Medicare-for-all, and how Bernie Sanders was able to convince many corporate Democrats such as Cory Booker, Al Franken, Kirsten Gilibrand, Kamala Harris, and Elizabeth Warren to sign on to his recent Medicare-for-all bill. It’s important to note that these Democrats are mostly potential 2020 candidates, and that they understand that if they’re going to have any chance in the election and primary, they need to be for Medicare-for-all on the record, since the vast majority of the American people, 60% to be exact, are for expanding Medicare to every man, woman, and child in the United States.
Even these high profile corporatists understand that Medicare-for-all is inevitable, and is in fact a litmus test. But still, some corporatists are still trying to keep their grasp on the world where a right-wing healthcare plan — previously pushed by the Heritage Foundation and previously used by Mitt Romney when he was Governor of Massachusetts — was praised by many on the left (The Affordable Care Act).
There is obviously no doubt that the ACA was a step forward from the world without the ACA. There is also no doubt that it is preferable to stay where we are at right now than to repeal and replace the ACA with TrumpCare.
But there is also no doubt that the much better, much less right-wing, much more used, and much more successful solution is a Medicare-for-all healthcare system.
Yet somehow, some are equating the push for Medicare-for-all with repealing the ACA in the fashion that Republicans are trying to right now. First, let’s take a look at the tweet that caused this “controversy”:
Oh wow, someone claimed that the ACA was only a small step forward and that the reason why a lot of Democrats don’t support Medicare-for-all is because of their campaign donations from insurance companies. We’ve got a real radical here.
This was someone’s lengthy response to Konst’s call for Medicare-for-all:
Pause. Nomiki was not advocating for people not to save the ACA, that’s just a false statement. In fact, here’s a tweet Konst retweeted that does advocate for people to save the ACA:
But, that did not stop “Lynn V.” from continuing on their smear train:
My response to the second half of “Lynn V.’s” statements can’t meet the brilliancy of another twitter user’s response:
The response from “Lynn V.” is extremely comedic:
However, we wouldn’t be talking about whoever “Lynn V.” is and what idiotic things he has to say if it weren’t for one of the people at the top of the corporatist hierarchy, Joy Ann Reid.
As a host of MSNBC, she has pursued the “Bernie Bro” myth, called pressure for Medicare-for-all “purity tests”, and is a frequent twitter user who often reflects these sentiments on the site.
She decided to retweet, and agree with what “Lynn V.” had to say:
And that is why we have to sit here and go through some random twitter user’s false claims about Nomiki Konst, and about Medicare-for-all as a whole.
The fact that this smear exists and is being endorsed by high level corporatists should not, I repeat, should not influence the recognition of the amount of progress Medicare-for-all, Bernie Sanders, and progressives are making across the country. As I mentioned before, Democratic Representatives and Senators are being forced to either comply with a Medicare-for-all system, or comply with losing their job and being replaced. This is happening because, again, the vast majority of the American people think that Medicare-for-all is the solution (because it very clearly is), and also agree with the vast majority of progressive positions and leaders:
America is extraordinarily progressive, regardless of what falsities pundits might tell you, and we’re seeing the political revolution come to life. More and more constituents are attending town halls and calling their congresspeople, and more and more citizens are actually running for office. And most of those actions are based in getting one aspect or another of the progressive agenda implemented.
Even though we see the Joy Reid’s and “Lynn V.’s” of the world trying to stop it, never forget that — as of now — the progressive movement is growing in size, momentum, and strength, especially in regards to Medicare-for-all.
We have to keep fighting.
Call your representatives and ask them to support Medicare-for-all:
