Thread by @BregmanPs

@wendellpotter @tfgyem @JoeBiden I'm with you. I've been following this for 40 years. I happened to be finishing university in Ontario when I was diagnosed with a rare genetic condition. I was preparing to return home to the US for law school and changed my mind. I was lucky to be dual citizen. That was 1978.

@wendellpotter @tfgyem @JoeBiden I found a letter Rick Santorum sent me in 1992 (I lived in Pgh before moving). He explained why he wouldn't support then-First Lady Clinton's plan. The GOP has excelled at saying no. The Dems give them too many openings by running on slogans.

@wendellpotter @tfgyem @JoeBiden I have spent my time in Canada working on disability and health law and policy in govt, the not for profit, community, and legal settings. I had a front-row seat as it made the last transformation and developments since then.

@wendellpotter @tfgyem @JoeBiden I fully support the single-payer system. It let me work, buy a house, travel while dealing with sudden and sometimes lengthy hospital stays, and running my own IV therapy at home and on the road.

@wendellpotter @tfgyem @JoeBiden I didn't expect the US to still be searching when I retired. My family all stayed in the US. I assumed I would have the choice of moving back. I don't regret it, I'm sorry for my friends and family in the US.

@wendellpotter @tfgyem @JoeBiden The lessons I learned don't bode well for the US. Canada succeeded because it worked within a culture that supposed the public good and the trade-offs it required. There was also strong and consistent advocacy that fought the attempts to roll it back.

@wendellpotter @tfgyem @JoeBiden Congress isn't a social movement or advocacy group. Within outside advocacy to keep the pressure on members of Congress there is no room to grow support. As the lawyer for provincial and national disability groups, I was at the table.

@wendellpotter @tfgyem @JoeBiden We made submissions on proposed legislation, submissions on the budget, and in response to white papers. When provincial budgets were released we were with the lobbyists given early access to be ready for media scrums

@wendellpotter @tfgyem @JoeBiden My hope with Biden is that he adopts an open government policy that gives advocates more access to the process. In an ideal world there would be funding for community advocacy to cover the costs of research, travel

@wendellpotter @tfgyem @JoeBiden There are advocates in the US who are ready to step up, they need help with the structures. To defeat the lobbyists who are ready, we have to work outside a partisan structure to grow support.