Sanders courts GOP voters with 'Medicare for All' plan

[Uncle Joe]

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is trying to use “Medicare for All” to win over white working-class voters, many of whom supported President Trump in 2016.

The 2020 candidate went on Fox News, Trump’s turf, on Monday night for a town hall, where audience members cheered when asked if they would support Medicare for All. Sanders shared the clip on social media several times the following day.

“I understand why some had concerns about @BernieSanders going on Fox,” Sanders’s campaign manager Faiz Shakir tweeted after the event. “But if you watched that home run performance for the last hour, you also realized this is the ticket to beating Trump.”

Sanders last week visited battleground states Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin that were key to Trump’s 2016 victory. The Fox News town hall was held in Bethlehem, Pa., a city famous for its working-class roots in the steel industry.

(snip)

https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/439221-sanders-courts-gop-voters-with-medicare-for-all-plan

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

1. I watched that "home run performance"... Bernie knocked it out of the park alright!!

It was more like a "grand slam"... good for Bernie!!


Bernie & Elizabeth 2020!!!
Welcome to the revolution!!!

[Uncle Joe]

2. Yes he did!

[Hoyt]

3. Been for MediCAID for all since early 1980, but I think we'd be throwing 2020 to trump if

we run on Medicare-for-All. I don't think a Public Option has the same baggage and seems the quickest way to Medicare-for-All and 2020.

As your link also states:

"Polling indicates the battle could come down to how the issue is framed. A majority of voters favored a Medicare for All plan when asked about the concept: A Kaiser Family Foundation poll in January found that 56 percent of adults surveyed supported having a single government-run health plan for all.

But that number drops significantly when respondents are asked about tax increases or other downsides to the plan.

Just 37 percent of respondents said they supported Medicare for All when informed that the proposal would require most Americans to pay more in taxes. Likewise, only 37 percent backed the plan when told it would eliminate private insurance.


Let's at least be honest about this issue. Granted, maybe Sanders can change the polls in the next year. Maybe he leads us down a rat hole on this one too.

Another poll from same organization above: https://thehill.com/hilltv/what-americas-thinking/428958-poll-voters-want-the-government-to-provide-healthcare-for

[BlueFlorida]

5. Some people just don't get it

They don't remember 2010 when Democrats lost Massachusetts and NJ in addition to the rest of the country over ACA.

MfA will make us lose all 50 states

[Uncle Joe]

6. My link ends like this

But Sanders backers are sensing momentum from his performance Monday on Fox News, which was viewed by more than 2.55 million people, making it the most-watched town hall of the campaign cycle, according to Nielsen Media Research.

“Medicare for All is a universal issue that appeals to voters of all types,” said Charles Chamberlain, chairman of the progressive group Democracy for America. “I’m not terribly surprised that it got the kind of response that it did in the town hall, although it kind of seemed like it surprised the Fox News hosts.”

https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/439221-sanders-courts-gop-voters-with-medicare-for-all-plan

One other point %37% was before Bernie's town hall and that was a quick 20 point increase from the poll on your link dated Feb 1-2 of this year, I believe we have of plenty of time.

[Hoyt]

7. I have no doubt "Sanders backers" are sensing momentum. His backers, like most candidates', always

feel their candidate is gaining momentum, even after the electorate votes no.

[Uncle Joe]

8. As the first debate hasn't happened much less the electorate voting, only time will tell,

but there is no doubt of momentum.

[BlueFlorida]

4. And converts no one

except the studio audience already packed with Sanders supporters who would agree to anything Bernie offers.

[Skya Rhen]

9. An attendee, Mr. Nassar, said he and 70% of audience were Bernie supporters

Nassar, who was born and raised in the Lehigh Valley, said afterward he didn’t think America should intervene in foreign affairs unless it directly effects our national security.

“I do believe he is America first,” Nassar said of Sanders.

Nassar said he voted for Sanders in the 2016 primary, and was open-minded coming into Monday night’s event. He estimated about 70 percent of the audience was supportive of Sanders.

A crowd of Donald Trump supporters gathered April 15, 2019, outside SteelStacks in Bethlehem, ahead of the Sen. Bernie Sanders town hall. (Sarah Cassi | For lehighvalleylive.com)
lehighvalleylive.com

A crowd of Donald Trump supporters gathered April 15, 2019, outside SteelStacks in Bethlehem, ahead of the Sen. Bernie Sanders town hall. (Sarah Cassi | For lehighvalleylive.com)
As attendees walked toward the SteelStacks building, Trump supporters greeted them with Trump 2020 flags and signs including “Build the Wall” and “No Sanctuary for Criminals.”