The Sanders 'Litmus Test'

Left Demands ‘Actual Government Takeover Of Health Care’

Bernie Sanders introduces
single-payer bill

SEN. JOHN BARRASSO (R-WY): “As ObamaCare continues to collapse, options for quality, affordable health care move further out of reach for many Americans. This week, Senator Bernie Sanders, D-Vt., and other Senate Democrats plan to offer their solution: a complete Washington takeover of America’s health care system. A majority of Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives have signed on as co-sponsors of their own ‘single-payer’ legislation. This idea is good for whipping up the far-left base – and bad for everyone else. It will deliver worse care, inevitably leading to rationing. It also will be outrageously expensive for everyone.” (Sen. Barrasso, Op-Ed, “Single-Payer Health Care -- A Bad Idea Democrats Love,” Fox News, 9/12/2017)

“House and Senate Democrats have wondered for months whether Bernie Sanders’ supporters might choose to focus their energy on launching primary challenges to party moderates in 2018. They’re about to get an answer. Sanders has decided the moment is right to launch his proposal for the single-payer health insurance system that helped form the backbone of his presidential message. And Democrats who don’t get behind it could find themselves on the wrong side of the most energetic wing of the party…” (“Sanders 'Litmus Test' Alarms Democrats,” Politico, 8/7/2017)

• “Sen. Bernie Sanders rode his impassioned liberal army of supporters through a tumultuous 2016, fighting to snatch the Democratic presidential nomination from Hillary Clinton. Now he's disrupting the party anew, forcing Democrats to take sides over his plan to provide government-financed health care for all.” (“Bernie Sanders' Health Care Plan Puts Democrats On The Spot,” AP, 9/12/2017)

‘Price Tag Would Be Astonishing,’ ‘Upending The Insurance Arrangements Of The 156 Million Americans Who Get Their Coverage From Work’
“[T]he government’s price tag would be astonishing. When Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) proposed a ‘Medicare for all’ health plan in his presidential campaign, the nonpartisan Urban Institute figured that it would raise government spending by $32 trillion over 10 years, requiring a tax increase so huge that even the democratic socialist Mr. Sanders did not propose anything close to it.” (Editorial, “Single-Payer Health Care Would Have An Astonishingly High Price Tag,” The Washington Post, 6/18/2017)

“Nearly any single-payer plan would require substantial disruptions in the current health care system, upending the insurance arrangements of the 156 million Americans who get their coverage from work, changing the way doctors, hospitals and drug companies are paid, and shifting more health care spending onto the government ledger.” (“How Single-Payer Health Care Could Trip Up Democrats,” The New York Times, 9/11/2017)

SANDERS ACOLYTES: ‘It's A Litmus Test’ For The Democratic Party

‘We’re Not Going To Accept No More Hemming And Hawing. No More Game Playing. Make Your Stand,’ ‘Single-Payer Health Care System That Guarantees Abortion … Everywhere’
“…Sanders and his allies view the issue as a defining moment for Democratic lawmakers.” (“Sanders 'Litmus Test' Alarms Democrats,” Politico, 8/7/2017)

• “…Jeremy Gong, tagged it to abortion rights, saying, ‘This is an economic issue in addition to an issue of gender. We need to create a universal, single-payer health care system that guarantees abortion access to all women, everywhere, with no questions asked.’” (“Why The Left Is Betting On Single-Payer As Their Litmus Test,” CNN Politics, 8/9/2017)

“Nearly two-thirds of liberal Democrats (64%) now support a single-payer health insurance system...” (Pew Research Center, 6/23/2017)

“…Democrats and activist leaders seeking political redemption have embraced an unlikely-seeming cause: an actual government takeover of health care.” (“The Single-Payer Party? Democrats Shift Left On Health Care,” The New York Times, 6/3/2017)

• “‘Our view is that within the Democratic Party, this is fast-emerging as a litmus test,’ said Ben Tulchin, the pollster for Sanders’ White House run.” (“Sanders 'Litmus Test' Alarms Democrats,” Politico, 8/7/2017)
  
• “‘It's a litmus test,’ said RoseAnn DeMoro, the executive director of the Sanders-aligned National Nurses United union.”
  (“Government-Run Health Care: Democrats’ New Litmus Test,” NBC News, 7/30/2017)
• “‘Any Democrat worth their salt that doesn’t unequivocally say Medicare-for-all is the way to go? To me, there’s something wrong with them,’ said former Ohio state Sen. Nina Turner, president of Our Revolution. ‘We’re not going to accept no more hemming and hawing. No more game playing. Make your stand.’” (“Sanders 'Litmus Test' Alarms Democrats,” Politico, 8/7/2017)

‘Distrust Between Sanders Forces And The Establishment Is Increasing’
“The distrust between Sanders forces and the establishment is increasing…” (“Sanders 'Litmus Test' Alarms Democrats,” Politico, 8/7/2017)

• “Demands for ideological purity are stoking divisions heading into the 2018 midterms and 2020 presidential election.” (“Bernie Backers' Attacks On Democrats Infuriate The Party,” Politico, 9/8/2017)
• “…many party officials to worry about the prospect of his involvement in primaries that could upend the Democratic establishment’s plans to win crucial House, Senate and gubernatorial seats. The fears are acute…” (“Sanders 'Litmus Test' Alarms Democrats,” Politico, 8/7/2017)

‘Bernie Backers’ Attacks On Democrats Infuriate The Party’
“Prominent Democrats are increasingly riled by attacks from Bernie Sanders' supporters...” (“Bernie Backers' Attacks On Democrats Infuriate The Party,” Politico, 9/8/2017) “At a briefing with reporters [in May], the House minority leader, Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, replied with a flat ‘no’ when asked if Democrats should make single-payer a central theme in 2018.” (“The Single-Payer Party? Democrats Shift Left On Health Care,” The New York Times, 6/3/2017) “Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), facing consternation from liberals in her home state — where an effort to enact single-payer statewide ran aground this year — said that she would want to see the price tag before taking a position on Sanders' bill. ‘My understanding is, the cost of single-payer is enormous,’ Feinstein said…” (“Sanders' Single-Payer Push Splits Democrats,” Politico Pro, 9/13/2017)

FLASHBACK: ‘A Single-Payer Health Care System May Be The Holy Grail For Many Progressives’ But ‘It Couldn’t Get Support Even From Bernie Sanders’ Earlier This Year
SEN. MITCH McCONNELL (R-KY): “One idea … from many other Democrats, is to quadruple down on Obamacare with a government-run ‘single payer’ system. It’s called ‘single payer’ because there is one payer, or insurer, the government. Nearly every health-care decision could be decided by a federal bureaucrat. Taxes could go up astronomically. The total cost could add up to $32 trillion, according to an estimate of a leading proposal.” (Sen. McConnell, Press Release, 7/27/2017)

“A single-payer health care system may be the holy grail for many progressives, but a Republican plan to put Senate Democrats on the record voting for it couldn’t get support even from Bernie Sanders.” (“Republicans Try To Bait Democrats On Single-Payer Vote,” Politico, 7/27/2017)

“The Senate voted down a single-payer health care amendment introduced by Republican Senator Steve Daines on Thursday, in a political gambit aimed at putting Senate Democrats on the record on a divisive issue. The amendment failed to pass after no lawmakers from either party voted for it. Fifty-seven Senators voted against the amendment, while 43 voted simply ‘present.’ Four Democrats voted against the amendment: Senators Joe Donnelly of Indiana, Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, and Jon Tester of Montana.” (“Why A Republican Senator Wanted A Vote On Single-Payer Health Care,” The Atlantic, 7/27/2017)

• S.Amdt 340: “To provide for comprehensive health insurance coverage for all United States residents, improved health care delivery, and for other purposes.” (S.Amdt.340, Roll Call Vote #173, Amendment Rejected 0-57, 7/27/2017)

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