It seems like establishment Democrats
have finally realized what has been obvious to progressives and
leftists for quite awhile now, Medicare for All is a winning
platform. During the the recent midterm election an unprecedented
number of Democrats, from centrists to far left candidates, ran on
Medicare for All, single-payer, universal healthcare or at the very
least the expansion of Medicare. This is notable since just as
recently as the last presidential electoral cycle of 2016, the
Democratic party's presidential nominee Hillary Clinton said that
single-payer will “never,
ever” happen.
Medicare for All was electoral
success for Democrats
However, due to Bernie Sanders's
unwavering progressive platform during the 2016 Democratic
presidential primary election, the idea and possibility of some type
of universal healthcare system, such as Medicare for All has
permanently entered the American political zeitgeist. It is clear
that many Democratic candidates in the 2018 midterms also recognized
that Medicare for All can be their ticket to electoral success. Some
of these candidates have now been elected as congressional
representatives. For instance, Mike
Levin campaigned on Medicare for All in California's 49th
congressional district which helped him capture a long-held
Republican seat previously occupied by Darrell Issa. Alexandria
Ocasio-Cortez ran an unapologetic democratic socialist campaign
in New York's 14th congressional district with Medicare
for All as an integral part of her platform.
Hold them accountable
Now that the
midterm elections are over, it is up to voters to hold these newly
elected representatives to their promises during the campaign trail.
Representative Keith Ellison is currently sponsoring a Medicare for
All bill in the House which already has 123
co-sponsors. Constituents of the newly elected congressional
representatives who had previously campaigned on Medicare for All
must continue to be proactive in pressuring these incoming
congressional representatives to sign on as co-sponsors of this
important legislation.
There will be
elements of capital and industry, such as the health insurance
industry, which will lobby these incoming representatives to convince
them to abandon their promises to support some type of universal
healthcare system. Therefore, it is imperative that activists begin
contacting these incoming representatives, even before they have been
sworn in, to let them know that the American public will not forget
their campaign promises. We the people expect these promises to be
kept.
