The reason I keep hounding Warren on Medicare for All is that I think she's being fundamentally dishonest about her position, and is trying to muddle the debate and string people along, self-servingly.
It's hard to watch her events or interviews and not get the clear impression that:
– she doesn't prioritize it, and rarely mentions it in her stump
– she defines it simply as universal healthcare, and "the best coverage for the lowest price"
– she doesn't have a "plan" posted
– she doesn't ever talk about policy specifics, as if she doesn't want to give up a soundbite
– she doesn't define the transition or timeframe
– she doesn't define the coverage
– she pivots to a criticism of insurance companies (good, but… deflection from an affirmative policy)
– she frames it as a "goal" or target in a distant sense, less a specific concept
– she never, ever says "single payer"
– she has repeatedly said, this cycle, that she wants to center people with private coverage "at the table" to figure out a "solution that works for everyone"
– many professional opponents of single payer keep noticing the wiggle room she leaves in her 'advocacy' and doubt her fidelity to Medicare for All, or remain stubbornly supportive of her candidacy
– she had been avoidant in answering questions about 'ending private insurance'
– she's already laid out a framework for a governing agenda that seems to foreclose on a big healthcare fight with any immediacy (see her Laconia rally, how she talked about winning over Trump supporters, particularly in relation to her "just three things" frame)
Once again, Warren refuses to talk with any specifics about Medicare for All.
“as we negotiate the pieces to get there”
“to a system that is sustainable”
“everyone at the table”
“the transition is really important”
“start by setting a goal and aiming toward it”
She's a cosponsor of a bill with a 4-year transition, does she agree with it (y/n)? If not, what timeline (years, decades?), what transition, to what kind of system, private coverage or not, what role for supplemental, what role for Advantage, etc.?
Her brand is being SPECIFIC.
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