Bernie Sanders is an independent US Senator who is closely associated with the Vermont Progressive Party. He caucuses with the Democrats in Congress. From The Raw Story:
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) on Wednesday assailed the White House for purportedly wasting a year vying for Republican votes on health care reform, alleging that the protracted debate weakened the bill and damaged the party’s standing among progressives.“We have wasted month after month negotiating with people who do not support serious reform,” he said at a progressive media summit on Capitol Hill. “It’s been a year now and I think the White House finally got that message.”
President Obama advocated for a bipartisan bill last year and worked extensively to court Republican votes, offering major concessions in the process. But only one Republican – Rep. Joseph Cao (LA) – in Congress wound up voting for it, and even he has since backed out.
But Obama has struck a more aggressive tone in recent weeks, demanding an up-or-down vote on the health care bill and championing the use of reconciliation to amend it. Better late than never, said Sanders, who also claimed Democrats made a strategic blunder by ignoring the single-payer option.
“I think [Sen. Max] Baucus [(D-MT)] made a mistake and would admit it when he said single payer was not on the table,” the senator said.
Cao isn’t getting primaried because their is no point–he’ll lose the general anyway.
Michael,
I definitely agree that this bill is worse than nothing. However, it’s not fair to blame Sanders for “not trying” to get his amendment inserted into the bill. A Republican (whose name I cannot recall ATM) made sure during the debate that any amendment being inserted would have to be read aloud. Sanders’ amendment was something around ~700 pages long, and he would have to read the whole thing before it could be debated and voted upon.
Trust me, as a socialist myself, I believe that single-payer is what is needed right now (I really want socialized medicine, but single payer is the best first step). I think Sanders will try hard the first real chance he gets. We just need to get more socialists in Congress, and it would be nice if we had a real socialist in the White House (not the capitalist douchebag in there now).
Ross
I hear you and understand what you are saying.
However, Senator Bernie Sanders could have helped block the current Heathcare Bill.
This Bill, in it’s current form is worse than nothing. Bernie Sanders supporting it, gives it credibility it does not deserve. In fact that was the point of the Kuchinich Amendment in the House Bill that was stripped from the House Bill.
The House Bill, bad as it is was not as bad as the Senate Bill.
This Bill is in place for one reason and one reason only. To help the Democrats. At the expense of us, the American people.
That is the actions that I am talking about. It is becoming the common thought within the Single payer activist community. Hell, ask Kevin Zeese.
I am judging him by his actions. He got a state single payer amendment into the bill and got some money for projects like nationwide primary care clinics. That’s what I’m judging him on.
The Tea Party folks said that they are going to get back at Cao for voting for the bill, but I don’t see a single candidate running against him.
Ross
I used to think the same thing. Until I found out about his amendment. Which he then refused to stand up for or even support.
We need to judge them by their actions, not by their rhetoric..
Michael, I’ve got a bit more sympathy for Sanders than that. I think he’s in a tough position of being the lone independent (other than “independent Democrat” Lieberman) and socialist in the Senate and also trying to retain some power so that he can have an effect on legislation. So he did get a state single payer amendment and some other good things (from his perspective, at least) into the health care bill, and hopefully with Kucinich’s help the state single payer amendment can be improved. He’s in a tough position and he is one of a handful of politicians that I tend to give the benefit of the doubt.
Senator Bernie Sanders lost any credibility he may have ever had, when he refused to speak out in support of his own amendment for Single Payer healthcare.
Lots of progressives have seen thru his rhetoric and seen his actions for what they really are..
Of course, I am just a Registered Nurse so what would I know of these things, right?