Can we pause for a moment and marvel at the fact that in 2019, the main debate among the candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination is how to best get to universal, free healthcare coverage? Thank you, Daddy Bernie!
At Tuesday night’s DNC debate featuring 10 (how!!!) of the remaining top candidates, including Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, the question that dominated the first 45 minutes was whether we need Medicare for All, or a system that allows people to keep their private insurance while giving the option of a public option. I personally find that question sets up a bit of a false distinction—I suspect people want to keep their insurance right now because they want health insurance, period.
At any rate, Sanders, Warren, and Marianne Williamson (who has expressed admiration for the two before) were firmly on the side of Medicare for All, with the rest, including Peanuts character come to life and former Representative John Delaney, who is somehow still trying to become president despite his own staffers urging him to stop campaigning, on the other.
Can we just get rid of everyone but my cool aunt Liz, my cantankerous uncle Bernie, and my witchy tarot queen Marianne already? Everyone else is tired and stuck in the past and it’s time for them to go.