I’m going out on a limb and say that such is not part of any major Democrats proposals.
Warren + Abrams 2020
Things are quite far enough along that if Huey Long ends up with the nomination to run against Trump, I’ll happily vote for him. Likewise Biden, Harris, Sanders, Buttigieg, and any of the other characters in this show.
Been liking Warren for awhile now though.
And you seem to be throwing shit at the wall to see if it sticks. Appreciate your concern. Gotta cite for any of these ascertations?
Happy, none of your picks have brand recognition, and therefore IMHO of dubious value as a ticket adder. One of Hillary’s unforced errors was picking largely unknown Spanish speaking Jesuit Tim Kaine instead of demographic marketing (ahem pandering ahem) to a person of color, and it probably cost her the election (the election was so close in the battlegrounds, that there were several factors that could have swung it).
Warren is growing on me. She’s quite the policy wonk. Like all policy wonks, there are a few policies that I don’t like (ex. it should be medicare for all that want it). As an ex Lehman Brother, the President absolutely should put controls in place on Wall Street to prevent another bailout from mainstream America because they are a buncha greedy fucks with pitiful oversight.
It’s unfortunate that Warren isn’t a decade or two younger (and I write this as someone pushing 60).
Keep the focus on Warren, please.
Let’s not get hijacked into more libertarianistic foolishness.
That said, the important takeaway about Warren isn’t that she’s ‘electable’ or how good she is at ‘retail politics’.
The big thing is how well run her campaign appears to be. She’s slowly and methodically moved up in the polls over the last few months in the early states. Her team is good, well-organized and professional. That speaks a great deal about her, her ability to hire good people, and how much they’re here for the long haul. We saw the same thing in 2008 with Obama’s team. Professionalism counts for a lot in a primary season.
Only two candidates have moved up in the polls consistently since the first of the year, Warren and Buttigieg (whom I saw yesterday). Both of them have approached it as a process and not a series of big events.
In Iowa, Biden is about where he was six months ago or losing ground (29% to 28%). Sanders is the same (15%-17%). Ditto Harris (7% - 8%).
Warren? From 11% to 19%. Buttigieg? From who? to 13%.
If she keeps it up she’ll take this thing.
No candidate is 100% electable. If 2016 taught us anything, it should be that. I think that Warren is probably over 50% electable, vs. Trump. But I’d like a lot better chance than that.
I would be quite pleased to vote for Warren on a ballot pitting her against Trump. More than pleased and satisfied to do that.
Buttigieg up consistently? Are you looking at the same polling data the rest of us are? He had a nice run up for a bit but he’s more recently dropped to 3 to 5%. Really Warren is alone in that class.
No one guarantees a win. Believing 538 Clinton was 2 or 3 to 1 favorite. If it’s Warren will it be better or worse odds than that? Would Biden be much better or worse by then?
You are right that some of that is the quality build of an organization but some of that is … other things.
But yeah, she has a strong organization in place which will amplify her polling numbers in the early states.
Every single sentence of my post references Warren, but thanks for your uncomprehending concern.
Gotta agree with Will Farnaby on this one (a rare situation). I don’t think “libertarianistic foolishness” is really a thing to put in a mod note either. Seems kind of rude, regardless of where you stand on that issue. And he really was talking about Warren.
If you add up her polling numbers, debate performances and organization, Warren does seem to be the best-performing candidate but I think people underestimate the gigantic problem her proposal to abolish private health insurance will pose in the general election. She may find a way to walk back from it but it won’t be easy and if she runs on it, I think it could single-handedly bring about her defeat. It will be an existential threat to the health insurance industry and they will orchestrate a truly gigantic campaign against it. It will freak out tens of millions of suburban voters who are perfectly happy with their private health insurance and these are precisely the people that the Democrats have succeeded in attracting in the last few years.
Who are these suburbanites who are perfectly happy with their health insurance? :dubious:
“OK, we need you to get an x-ray. We don’t do that here”
“Umm, so where do I go?”
“Here’s a list of radiology offices in the area. Choose one…”
calls
“Yes we can see you if you come in. May I have your insurance info…”
gives
“Oh, we don’t take that”
“Your prescription has been sent in to your pharmacy”
goes
“The insurance info we have on you has expired. May I have your insurance card?”
gives
“Oh, it’s a different plan than you had before”
“Yeah, my employer switched us”
pharmacist makes some calls
“This medication isn’t covered by your plan’s A list, they want you to try this other medication first. I’m going to have to call your doctor to approve the substitution”
pharmacist makes more calls
“Your doctor really wants you on the medication originally prescribed. You’re going to have to go back to your doctor and have them make out a request”
later, goes to a specialist’s office for the first time, feeling awful sick
“Oh hi, you must be SoAndSo. Please fill out these forms and we’ll call you shortly”
page 2 asks a dozen++ questions about the health insurance. Plan name, plan type, and so on, address of the insurance carrier
- peering at card trying to figure out whether the phrase at upper right is the “plan name” or if it’s the phrase at lower right *
- submits paperwork *
“Oh, from them we need a written referral. If you want I can call them up and see if they’ll FAX it”
“Don’t bother, they’re closed today, I guess I’ll have to come back. #$@!”
I would happily vote for Warren. I prefer her to Bernie and almost every other Democratic candidate, except Mayor Pete.
85% on private insurance rate their quality of healthcare as excellent/good and 70% rate their healthcare coverage similarly.
The polling is pretty clear: voters want a private coverage option and many would opt for it. Including among likely Democratic primary voters.
My WAG is that she tacks back to the “many paths to get there” position in the general: the goal is to eliminate it by offering the public option which is so superior that eventually all opt for it, by outcompeting them.
I have concerns about her electability. I don’t think single payer is going to play well, it needs to be a public option so that those who like their insurance aren’t going to fear losing it. If she would adopt Biden’s view of health insurance, then she’d win in a walk. She has many strengths. First of all, she’s the only one running who wants to be president, the others think they should be president. She enjoys the campaign trail and she’s terrific in working a crowd. People will vote perhaps not for the one they want to have a beer with, but the one who seems like he/she’s happy to be with them. Donald is happy to be with only the base who turns up at his rallies, Warren is equally happy to be with enthusiastic, indifferent, or hostile crowds. Her workmanlike approach to the campaign is paying dividends, she’s patiently plodding along and sticking to business. To this point, she has easily run the best campaign.
That’s the way to do it. Just open up Medicare to all regardless of age. Do that and eventually private insurance will wither away.
Alternately, it will adapt and become more effective.
I suppose it would not function well as a popular message but what I’d like would be more like MedicAID for all. If you want to see a health plan that actually works (or at least used to work) extremely well for the people who have it, that’s the model to go with. There aren’t many aspects to my experience as a profoundly poor and homeless person that I look back on and say “wish it was still that way” but when I had Medicaid if I needed medical care I went in and they gave it to me, period, end of story. Zero paperwork. No copayments. No “gaps”.
It’s possible to rate your own healthcare positively but the entire system negatively. If you believe that your own costs are good because you’re fairly healthy, you can still worry about what catastrophic illness would do you to your family’s finances, and think that an overhaul of the system is the best approach.
Personally I’m pretty healthy and have a healthy family; I’ve paid less than $100 to my GP this year total, and family costs are in those lines. But a catastrophic illness, even if we made a complete physical recovery, could bankrupt us.