Bernie Has A Plan

[The Industrial Atheist]

. . . while eerily and disturbingly resembling Mason Verger . . .

No, he doesn't have anywhere near the head of curly hair Mason Verger had.





Also, given how insanely difficult it was for Congress to pass Obamacare, which is basically a neutered version of the sort of universal healthcare, I can only imagine Berniecare going so well. If it was this difficult to get it to pass even in a Democratically-controlled Senate and House (bear in mind, when it was signed into law in 2010, both houses were still in Democratic control), I cannot see a proper single-payer health care bill being passed by a Congress with Republican control of the Senate, House, and Presidency.

Obamacare was a right wing reform passed by Democrats. Obama originally wanted a public option to go with it. But Obamacare is basically the right wing Individual mandate plan with some market controls sprinkled in.

[Rev. Rye]

No, he doesn't have anywhere near the head of curly hair Mason Verger had.





Also, given how insanely difficult it was for Congress to pass Obamacare, which is basically a neutered version of the sort of universal healthcare, I can only imagine Berniecare going so well. If it was this difficult to get it to pass even in a Democratically-controlled Senate and House (bear in mind, when it was signed into law in 2010, both houses were still in Democratic control), I cannot see a proper single-payer health care bill being passed by a Congress with Republican control of the Senate, House, and Presidency.

Obamacare was a right wing reform passed by Democrats. Obama originally wanted a public option to go with it. But Obamacare is basically the right wing Individual mandate plan with some market controls sprinkled in.

And yet they still tried to shut down the government in a last-ditch attempt at keeping it from being implemented.

[The Grand Nudger]

They didn't do that to stop Obamamcare, they did it to stop democrats (...and one democrat in particular) succeeding at something.  Republicans don't give a shit about healthcare.

[The Industrial Atheist]

Obamacare was a right wing reform passed by Democrats. Obama originally wanted a public option to go with it. But Obamacare is basically the right wing Individual mandate plan with some market controls sprinkled in.

And yet they still tried to shut down the government in a last-ditch attempt at keeping it from being implemented.

Yeah. They have to act like they are pissed off about something. Or maybe Republicans are just that much crazier than the days of Nixon.

I hope we can get a majority in the House and Senate and an actually progressive president to pass single payer in my lifetime.

[Rev. Rye]

And yet they still tried to shut down the government in a last-ditch attempt at keeping it from being implemented.

Yeah. They have to act like they are pissed off about something. Or maybe Republicans are just that much crazier than the days of Nixon.

I hope we can get a majority in the House and Senate and an actually progressive president to pass single payer in my lifetime.

I think it may be a mixture of both, but the latter simply cannot be discounted. The Republican party hadn't been infiltrated by the religious right in the days of Nixon and thus didn't feel the need to pander to people who thought the world was created in six days about 6000 years ago or openly denying crucial aspects of science. Hell, even in the Bush administration, the people in power weren't this far removed from reality or even basic self-preservation.

[vorlon13]

There's been a gradation of the infiltration.

In Nixon's time the 'religious right' wasn't organized and Tricky Dickie didn't feel the need to pander to them. He didn't seem much influenced by his own Quaker roots, either, BTW.

We had an actual believer when we got Carter, but he incited disdain and loathing from the nascent religious right of the time and scored few votes from them, particularly in his re-election bid.

Then we get to Reagan. He understood the power at the ballot box (or his advisors did) of the religious folks, particularly in their hatred of Carter. Ronald Reagan wasn't above pandering to the religious folks (while steadfastly declining to embrace any such religious crapola personally) and the religious folks LOVED to be pandered too, and if Ronald couldn't pass much of a test of religious fealty, they cared not a whit. Nancy Reagan was diligent to ameliorate any off putting her family might exude offensively to the religious folks (Ron wasn't much of a church goer, Patty was promiscuous, Ron Jr, well, I'll let that go, and it was evident to all but the most obdurate human being Nancy was potential bride material for Satan himself) and the religious right folks loved to ignore the incongruities even as they galled your younger vorlon's developing sensibilities.

And then we start seeing some 'true believers' elected to congress. Uh oh. Yeah, bad enough to have politicians just pandering to that group, but then that group decided to put some real deals in the halls of power.

And the rest of you young whippersnappers have seen what's happened over the last 20 years or so. More litmus tests, Newt Gingrich brazenly becomes the pander king, and the religious right folks literally kneel in worship of him. Rick Santorum, Ted Cruz, the horrors just keep lurching out of the laboratories these days.

[Minimalist]