Category Archives: Medicare For All

The paradigm shift we need for single-payer

The Progressive Wing Posted on by

In 1962, Thomas Kuhn published The Structure of Scientific Revolution a book that changed the way we think about scientific progress. Kuhn posits that scientific progress is punctuated progress where major advances are made by what he called “paradigm shifts”. These paradigm shifts open unexpected areas of enquiry, and allow scientists to accumulate knowledge in more gradual steps. These revolutions were often initiated by unknown scientists presenting radical ideas outside the mainstream. This powerful idea of “paradigm shifts” has since entered the general lexicon, but its implications are not always fully appreciated. Though Kuhn applied his conception of revolutionary change … Continue reading →

11/30 The Gathering Weekend; CNN Contributor Fired Over Defense of Palestine and More

The Progressive Wing Posted on by

The Sanders Institute’s “The Gathering” is underway. Jimmy and Roslyn Carter sent their best wishes to the group. Sister Turner is up on deck first.

How We Win Medicare For All

LIVE at the Sanders Institute Gathering! How We Win Medicare For All: This panel frames our moral, political, and legislative struggle for Medicare for All in the United States as part of a broader international fight to realize health care as a universal human right. We will hear directly from caregivers on the frontlines about healthcare crisis created by the U.S. for-profit healthcare industry and by the trend toward privatization and corporatization of Britain’s National Health Service. The panel will also discuss the enormous potential of collective international struggle and the distributed model of organizing as paths to achieving Medicare for All.featuring Diane Archer, President, Just Care USA; Jo Beardsmore, Senior Advisor, Social Practice; Kelly Coogan-Gehr, Assistant Director of Public & Community Advocacy, National Nurses United (NNU); Libby Devlin, Southern Director, NNOC/NNU; Dr. Hosnieh Djafari-Marbini, Anesthesiologist & Labour City Councillor, Oxford, England; President Jean Ross RN, NNU; Former OH State Senator Nina Turner, President, Our Revolution

Posted by Sanders Institute on Friday, November 30, 2018

More news, tweets, and videos below in the comments section. TGIF.

Update: The FB link was for the first panel. Here’s a link to the Second Panel discussion.

Capitalism + Socialism = Democratic Socialism

The Progressive Wing Posted on by

I’m going to try and make this somewhat succinct so it can be shared as a primer if needed since the establishment is trying to confuse everyone by forcing a binary view between Capitalism and Socialism. In reality they are the two sides of the same spectrum and except in the extreme cases are always blended to some degree, so by trying to pick one or the other, the Overton Window is being pushed to the two endpoints and ignoring the entire spectrum between. The reason this is being done is because we aren’t choosing between the two end points, … Continue reading →

4/13 News Roundup – Sanders To Progressives: “Ignore Consultants, Follow Your Gut’; Single Payer Continues To Surge & More

The Progressive Wing Posted on by

Bernie Sanders urges liberal candidates to ignore consultants, follow their guts

Speaking to a room packed with progressives running for state and local office, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., advised the first-time candidates to ignore the political establishment and trust their guts.

Crediting the movement catalyzed by his 2016 Democratic presidential campaign, Sanders said the policies of Medicare for all, free college tuition, a $15 dollar minimum wage, criminal justice reform, and legalizing marijuana are now “mainstream” among Democrats.

“What was once considered radical is now mainstream,” Sanders said Thursday to cheers at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington.

Sanders bashed the political establishment and the press repeatedly throughout his speech. The media, Sanders said, plays a “destructive” game by telling the “American people that politics is too complicated, you can’t get involved, you don’t know how to run for office.”

..

The former presidential contender encouraged the candidates, who are in Washington for four days of training, to embrace a progressive agenda even if they’re running in red or purple states.

“Let me give you a warning here: Watch out for consultants,” he said to laughs. “Often their advice is conservative and wrong. Trust your own guts, trust your own instincts.”

The training, put on by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee and Sanders’ Our Revolution, includes four days of helping candidates craft their public persona, how to pitch reporters, building field operations, do-it-yourself opposition research, and budgeting.

More news/video/tweets/etc. in the comments.

3/28 News Roundup – Pipeline Protestors ‘Not Guilty’ After Claiming ‘Legal Necessity”; Support For Medicare-For-All Surges & More

The Progressive Wing Posted on by

Anti-pipeline campaigners found not guilty by judge because ‘protest against climate change crisis’ was legal ‘necessity’

More than a dozen protesters who clambered into holes dug for a high pressure gas pipeline said they had been found not responsible by a judge after hearing them argue their actions to try and stop climate change were a legal “necessity”.

Karenna Gore, the daughter of former Vice President Al Gore, was among more than 198 people who were arrested because of their 2015 actions protesting the pipeline in West Roxbury, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston. Thirteen people were to go on trial this week, though prosecutors downgraded their original criminal charges to one of civil infraction.

On Tuesday, Judge Mary Ann Driscoll of West Roxbury District Court, found all 13 defendants not responsible, the equivalent of not guilty in a criminal case. She did so after each of the defendants addressed the judge and explained why they were driven to try and halt the pipeline’s construction.

Speaking outside the court afterwards, Ms Gore, 44, Director of the Centre for Earth Ethics at Union Theological Seminary in New York, said the court’s decision was historic. “What happened today was really important,” she said.

“The people….were found not responsible by reason of necessity. The irony is that we are making ourselves responsible. We’re part of the the movement that is standing up and saying we won’t let this go by on our watch. We won’t act like nothing’s wrong.”

..

The environmentalist and academic Bill McKibben, who was to appear as a defence witness for the defendants, said on Twitter: “Good golly! A few minutes ago a Boston judge acquitted 13 pipeline protesters on the grounds that the climate crisis made it necessary for them to commit civil disobedience. This may be a first in America.”

More news/video/tweets/etc. in the comments.

3/16 Ants Marching

The Progressive Wing Posted on by

Recently, there have been several strikes by our public school educators, most notably in West Virginia. It even grabbed the attention of a neoliberal publication such as The Atlantic, which more or less said the WV teacher strike was a shot across the bow. Last week, Alia Wong wrote: Even though the West Virginia walkout is over, however, observers suspect that it has jump-started a national movement that could have lasting implications for the country’s schools. Evidence that the success of West Virginia’s roughly 20,000 K-12 classroom teachers is intensifying educator unrest nationally can already by seen. In Oklahoma, where … Continue reading →

New Jersey church provides sanctuary from ICE for recent winner of 2018 MLK Award & Phil Murphy mobilizes

The Progressive Wing Posted on by

You may recall that I was * cough * less-than-enthusiastic about Phil Murphy winning the recent gubernatorial primary in New Jersey. I was, and still remain, skeptical about an ex-Goldman Sachs man who bought the loyalty of local Democrats with large donations and poured $16 million of his own dollars into the primary race. But, since winning the office last November, and replacing Chris Christie, Murphy has made some welcomed moves such as supporting a $15 minimum wage, the legalization of marijuana for recreational use, more funding for public schools, and help for those facing eviction or foreclosure, to name … Continue reading →

12/15 News Roundup – Sanders: Process for Tax Reform Bill ‘Just a Disaster’, The Campaign For Congress to Overrule FCC Vote & More

The Progressive Wing Posted on by

Bernie Sanders: Process for Tax Reform Bill ‘Just a Disaster’

The process to pass landmark tax reform legislation “has been just a disaster,” as the American public does not understand what all it involves, Sen. Bernie Sanders complained Thursday.

“Are you suggesting that a bill that impacts the entire economy, virtually every American, should be read before people vote upon it?” the Vermont independent and former presidential candidate told MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell.

The bill was discussed and determined “around back doors,” Sanders continued. “Some 5,000 lobbyists have participated in it, but the American public does not know what’s in it. Bottom line, and I think some of the Republicans have been honest enough about acknowledging this, this is a gift for Republican wealthy campaign contributors.”

“At the end of 10 years, 83 million middle class families will be paying more in taxes,” said Sanders. “This means 32 million people will lose their health insurance. Premiums will go up by 10 percent with people in the individual market. This is going to exacerbate incoming wealth at a time when we have to protect the middle class and working families.”

..

Sanders also sounded off against the FCC’s vote to end net neutrality provisions, saying it’s “almost unspeakable” to speak about what a disaster the ruling will create.

“The internet has been a real effort to enhance democracy and level the playing field in this country,” he said. “It means that if you are a small business person right now, you were a start-up company, you can use the internet to get the word out about why people should come to your business. You can have the same opportunities on the internet as Walmart does, or as a large corporation … they’re going to do away with that and it’s going to be much more expensive for the little guy to play and compete against the big corporations.”

More news/video/tweets/etc. in the comments.

12/7 News Roundup – Bernie Sanders & Elizabeth Warren On Fighting ‘Morally Bankrupt’ Republicans & More

The Progressive Wing Posted on by

Tax Scam Not Passed Yet, But GOP Already Salivating to Destroy Anti-Poverty Programs

While tax experts continue to exclaim with horror as they sift through the “legislative monstrosity” Republicans rammed through the Senate last week, Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Wednesday hosted a Facebook live event aimed at detailing the next steps in the fight against both the GOP’s tax plan and the party’s broader economic agenda.

One of the most significant battles ahead, Sanders and Warren note, will be over Republican efforts to pivot from “tax reform” to the pursuit of devastating cuts to safety net programs that low-income and middle class families rely upon to put food on the table and afford life-saving medical care.

“Literally minutes after they passed this disastrous [tax] bill in the Senate, the discussion escalates. Of course they’re going to cut Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid,” Sanders said. “And you know why? This is shocking: the deficit is too big.”

“That’s right,” Warren added, calling the Republican tax plan a “pay off” to right-wing billionaire donors. “They want to run up the deficit and then say a high debt is the reason they’ve gotta cut all the things for working people.”

https://youtu.be/8JhCO4uNpxM

More news/videos/tweets/etc. in the comments, including:

*Bernie & Ben Rally In Baltimore
*Hundreds Arrested in Peaceful Protest as Thousands March Demanding ‘Clean’ Dream Act
*Opposite of Peace as Trump Accused of ‘Kicking Hornet’s Nest’ in Middle East
*Two Months After Nation’s Deadliest Mass Shooting, GOP House Passes ‘Dangerous’ Bill to Undermine Local Gun Control Laws
*‘We’re fighting for our way of life’: Republican tax bill presents grave threat to Alaska’s tribal groups
*Pipeline updates, Water Protector news & More

Bernie to visit University of Toronto on Oct. 29 – tickets sell out in the blink of an eye!

The Progressive Wing Posted on by

In support of Bernie, who takes regular beatings from so-called liberal Democrats, but keeps right at it, and to cheer myself up a bit, I’m posting a little story today about a visit he has planned to head up north. US Senator and 2016 presidential candidate Bernie Sanders will speak about health care on October 29 at Convocation Hall in an event titled “What the U.S. Can Learn From Canadian Health Care.” Tickets for the event became available at 10am this morning and ‘sold out’ (they were free) in seconds. The comments under one story about the event were almost entirely … Continue reading →

10/9 Open Thread – Indigenous Peoples Day, Sanders To Hold A ‘College For All’ Rally & More

The Progressive Wing Posted on by

Happy Indigenous Peoples Day friends. I’m fairly exhausted from my weekend so I admit to sleeping in and not doing as much news rounding up as I might normally have taken part in.

Given the nature of the ‘holiday’ Starting of with Red Eagle’s ‘Song of Surivival’ and then I’ll put the news in the comment threads.

If you’d like to join in the conversation, or already are a member and are having issues… send a message to the tpwhelpdesk@gmail.com

Also in this post:

*How Does Dental Care Fit Into the Healthcare Debate?
*Nina Turner’s gripping speech at Our Revolution Texas Gulf Coast
*Trump Proposal on Dreamers Nothing But ‘Red Meat for Xenophobic Extremists’
*Puerto Rico Faces a Medicaid Crisis
*Water Protector news, Pipeline Updates & More.

Would Medicare For All cause millions of people to lose their jobs?

The Progressive Wing Posted on by

And would those lost jobs disproportionately affect women? Even worse, low-income women? From Bernie’s Sept. 13, 2017, editorial in the New York Times titled, ‘Why We Need Medicare For All’: The reason that our health care system is so outrageously expensive is that it is not designed to provide quality care to all in a cost-effective way, but to provide huge profits to the medical-industrial complex. Layers of bureaucracy associated with the administration of hundreds of individual and complicated insurance plans is stunningly wasteful, costing us hundreds of billions of dollars a year. As the only major country not to … Continue reading →

9/27 News Roundup – Why Bernie’s CNN Debate Was A Good Idea, Maria As Trump’s Katrina & More

The Progressive Wing Posted on by

Happy Wednesday all!

Starting off with the Bernie being right and the establishment being wrong (as usual), and then will put everything else in the comments.

Bernie Sanders’ Health Care Debate Was a Good Idea for a Very Simple Reason

When CNN announced last week that it would hold a debate on health care between Republican Sens. Bill Cassidy and Lindsey Graham and progressive Sens. Bernie Sanders and Amy Klobuchar, the reaction in some Democratic circles was anxiety. “I’m not sure single payer vs Graham-Cassidy is the debate we want right now,” mused former Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor. With the Affordable Care Act once more on the ropes, the argument seemed to go, Sanders was choosing to advance his personal politics ahead of the priorities of the moment.

Those fears were unfounded. A Monday night cable news special was never going to be the make-or-break moment for health care reform, but more importantly, Sanders’ skeptics, and his Republican debating opponents, misunderstood his entire approach to health care reform—no one in the Senate has as much riding on Obamacare’s survival as he does.

Both Cassidy and Graham, who learned shortly before the broadcast that they were at least one vote shy of passage, hoped to frame the conversation as a choice between their bill and the Medicare-for-all proposal Sanders unveiled last week. For the Republicans, it was a contrast of the free-market vs. crippling Canadian bureaucracy. If America only knew Bernie Sanders is a socialist.

But Sanders needed all of 10 seconds to make clear that his purpose at the debate was different. “These gentlemen have on five occasions tried to repeal the Affordable Care Act, throw tens and tens of millions of Americans off of the health insurance they currently have, and make it impossible or very difficult for people with pre-existing conditions to get the health care that they can afford,” he said.

..

Sanders, of course, was happy to defend the principle of a single-payer system, but he never let that get in the way of the task on hand, nor did he reject the incrementalism the Senate sometimes lives and breathes by. Of course Medicare-for-all won’t be passing anytime soon, he said. But in the meantime, there were bipartisan fixes to made to Obamacare, and opportunity to act on prescription drug prices—an area of agreement, Sanders noted, between he and President Trump.

David Doel of ‘The Rational National’ has more to say on the subject:

Also in this post:

*Meet Bernie Sanders’s new namesake: A spider from Cuba
*Bernie Sanders Leans Into Planned Parenthood at the CNN Health Care Debate
*Trump Tax “Hoax” Would Blow $5 Trillion Hole In Budget Over Next Decade: Analysis
*Fenceline Communities on Gulf Coast Face Mass Displacement & Toxic Pollution One Month After Harvey
*Water Protector/Pipeline updates
*Democratic Candidate for Governor Says He’d Shut Down Enbridge Line 5
& Much more

Will Monday’s Healthcare Debate Help ACA? Will it help kill Medicare For All?

The Progressive Wing Posted on by

This morning I awoke to the news that Bernie Sanders and Amy Klobuchar are going to debate Lindsey Graham and Bill Cassidy about healthcare on CNN this Monday evening. My first reaction was along the lines of Sheri’s: Can't wait to watch!🐦 #MedicareForAll https://t.co/M9rhYHv0eb — Sheri (@Sher_Bear64) September 22, 2017 Yay, I thought to myself. Let’s get it all in the open. Fight it out for all to see. Well, it would seem that wasn’t everyone’s reaction: Ex-Obama spokesman: Sanders debate with GOP on health care not a good idea Former President Obama’s National Security Council spokesman said Thursday a … Continue reading →

9/19 News Roundup – Randall Woodfin’s 99 Neighborhood Strategy, Sanders & Warren As Leaders Of Dems & More

The Progressive Wing Posted on by

Good morning friends! Off to a very late start so I’m going to throw up an open thread with the days news in the comments, then a couple stand alone posts on candidates.

Starting off with Our Revolution endorsed Randall Woodfin’s 99 Neighborhood strategy to become mayor of Birmingham. Election day is October 3rd so theres still some time… but not much. If you know anyone in the Birmingham area… pass on Woodfin’s info. Or if you’re bored sometime this evening, click the ‘volunteer’ link below and do some phone banking.

Woodfin For Mayor
Volunteer
Contribute

More news/video/etc In the comments, including:

*Kirsten Gillibrand Cites Bernie Sanders & Elizabeth Warren as Leaders of the Democratic Party” on YouTube
*Al Gore Warned Us About Stronger Hurricanes YEARS AGO”
*VINCENT FORT ANGERED DEMOCRATIC ELITES WHEN HE ENDORSED BERNIE SANDERS. CAN HE BE ATLANTA’S NEXT MAYOR?
*”No Is Not Enough: Naomi Klein on Bernie’s Medicare-for-All Bill & Future of Democratic Party
*Obamacare Repeal Zombie Rises AGAIN
*A conversation with Bernie Sanders about ‘Medicare for all’
& plenty more.