Democrats want to repeal Obamacare - Mark Shields - PBS NewsHour

[question everything]

For those Democrats for whom the highest mortal objective politically in 2020 is the retirement of Donald Trump, it's not been a good week. The — if you think about it, the great unfinished business of Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal and Lyndon Johnson's Great Society and Harry Truman's Fair Deal and Jack Kennedy was national health insurance.

And at great political cost, the Democrats, without any help from the Republicans, with total objection and resistance, passed it in 2010, under a Democratic president, Barack Obama. And ever since then, five consecutive elections, Republicans have run on, we're going to repeal it, going to repeal it.

As a consequence, Democrats — public by 2-1 thinks the Democrats are better on health care. So what do the Democrats suggest? We're going to get rid of it. We're going to get rid of it, going to get rid of — you like private health insurance that you have and guaranteed for preexisting conditions covered under the Affordable Care Act, we're going to get rid of private insurance.

I mean, and this is a party, let's be honest, in a polarized Washington, couldn't pass an adjournment motion, but they're going to pass this national health.

So I would say — I would say it was impractical, unhelpful, and flirted with open borders on immigration. And I just — I just think the whole image coming out of that was not of a party that was responding to voters, but responding to its own interests and its own constituencies.

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/shields-and-brooks-on-democratic-debates-supreme-court-rulings and scroll a bit down

[wasupaloopa]

1. Medicare for all has not been studied or discussed

enough so far.

Any program would have to pass Congress. We may have the majority but we would need Repubs also.

So the no compromise, pass the torch, government run health care folks need to do more research imho.

[LibFarmer]

2. MfA will make us lose the presidency, senate AND the house

It is a socialist pipe-dream that is disliked by 87% of the population.

It is suicidal to promote it. ACA with a public option is the most sensible approach.

However, some people can pull out a defeat from the jaws of victory.

[Owl]

5. I agree!

[George II]

6. It's not even a fully fleshed out plan yet, it's a concept with no concrete ways....

....to implement it or fund it. It's just a bunch of vague bullet points and "we have to" proclamations. We have nothing upon which to make a sensible judgement, either for or against.

[LibFarmer]

9. It is another one of Sen BS's slogans with no plan

too bad Sen. Harris fell for it.

[UniteFightBack]

7. I agree and this 'open borders' tag could really stick. We could coast to victory but instead we

are going to give them all the ammo they need and more.

[LibFarmer]

10. Senator BS thinks the whole electorate is made up of

(democratic) socialists and completely forgets that the overwhelming plurality of Democrats is made up of compassionate centrists who want to give a helping hand to create social safety nets but not undertake a complete disruption of a 15 trillion dollar industry which functions well for most people except a few. Those few can be accommodated by expanding ACA with a public option or medicare as a public option.

[Turin_C3PO]

11. That's ridiculous, we're not open borders.

Yes, of course Republicans will call everyone, including Joe, socialists who want open borders. Doesn’t make it true.

[Kahuna7]

12. Yep. nt

[ooky]

13. Yep. This reckless MFA talk will drive away general election voters and

piss away a great opportunity.

Some of our candidates need to regain their senses on this, and the House democrats need to get an ACA improvement/rescue bill passed in the House now - and then our candidates should campaign for 2020 on that.

[redstateblues]

3. Political Suicide

[ucrdem]

4. Well, two did last night:

Bernie and Kamala. And that's something I think she's wrong on.

[mcar]

8. Both Shields and Brooks were terrible tonight

We always watch them on Fridays. This time they both seemed to go out of their way to misrepresent the Democratic debate.
Such a shame.

[question everything]

14. Do you disagree that coming with Medicare for All - as presented by Sanders and Harris

will not interfere with any desire to tweak ACA? And ACA does need tweaking.