Bernie Sanders and AOC Should Apologize to Progressives
AOC’s recent capitulation on Bernie’s red line was very fascinating to watch in real-time, but buried almost as fast as it was birthed, you’d all be forgiven for not noticing. And while I’m adverse to rehash the continuing toxicity by the very ardent corner of Sanders’ supporters, AOC is essentially endorsing Elizabeth Warren’s nuanced and pragmatic Medicare for All plan, a plan that was so lambasted just a few short months ago that Warren began to nosedive in the polls. Bludgeoned by the left for “caving” on M4A, bludgeoned on the right for having the audacity to actually answer the criticism of “how are you going to pay for this dur?”.
Not even two weeks ago could Bernie answer this…
O’DONNELL: You don’t know how much your plan costs?
SANDERS: You don’t know. Nobody knows. This is impossible to predict.
Combined with sexist and elitist attacks flung from the left and right after Warren was forced to confirm that Saint Bernard didn’t think a woman could win the 2020 election against Predator-in-Chief Agolf Twitler, it’s plain to see how this collapse was perpetrated. And it all started when Sanders and his nimble navigators saw that Warren would not implement M4A until her third year. (For what it’s worth, Bernie wouldn’t even have a full M4A in place until his fourth year, just another reason how this candidate is the substandard choice of progressives.)
“A president can’t wave a magic wand and pass any legislation they want… The worst-case scenario? We compromise deeply and we end up getting a public option. Is that a nightmare? I don’t think so.” -Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.)
Are you fucking serious? One of the main reasons Bernie Sanders holds most of the progressive block hostage is promising M4A on day one. (Even though that’s realistically never going to happen.)
At least Sanders’ campaign is finally revealing what nearly all of us already knew about M4A. And that’s why Warren’s plan is so much better: actual strategy is involved with the political calendar. Fix what is broke right now, adapt and equip the ACA for the transition, and then in three years, when the Senate has a chance to be the bluest in decades, bring M4A home. This shows pragmatism. This shows a grasp of how to create policy AND implement it. (Bernie has always had a ways to go in this regard, but it’s somewhat forgivable since he’s never had to pass anything of consequence in the senate.)
Regardless, this walk-back has ultimately damaged the progressive movement, not just with healthcare, but in all facets. In just this short cycle, Sanders’ campaign and supporters have constantly suppressed or bullied other voices, championed “my way or the highway immediately or bust” with his policies, and then, when he gets a small taste of frontrunner status, he immediately folds and now champions a M4A strategy that is weaker than Warren’s. Laughable if it wasn’t so sad.
Warren did all the work. Took all the heat. And now, when the “Revolution” has seen their leader push aside another leading progressive voice and one of his own primary surrogates shoot their “classic negotiating strategy” punchline out of the water, their “purity-driven” litmus test has all but disappeared like a fart in the wind, only for them to bend over and scream “BuT sHe sAid wOrSt cAsE ScNARio!”
Bless you, the worst case scenario is actually: NOTHING PASSES. Funny how they are so nimble nowadays, right?
Shame on Bernie. Shame on AOC. Shame on his supporters who don’t see this for what it is. I’d probably hashtag snake all of them, but as time has shown, Warren’s segment of voters have more class. And apparently we now have the best path to M4A in the field, bar none.
This type of behavior and “politics as usual” is something we’re all accustomed to, especially when you feel it through the lens of a woman seeking high public office. But after having to suffer through this cycle thus far, one thing has become eminently clear, with AOC’s surrender on the issue now complete (and her resounding silence as another woman is relentlessly attacked); Bernie Sanders has not helped the progressive movement this cycle, in fact, his campaign has actively damaged it, and he should address that in a meaningful way. Calling on his supporters to be less frothy is a start.
But baby steps aren’t nearly enough. And they shouldn’t be for any true progressive.
If Bernie and his supporters want to start supporting a stronger M4A option now that his campaign has eviscerated its own selling point, I would advise everyone to read Warren’s plan.
Desultory Thoughts of a Longfellow 