. . .
As for Pelosi:
No, Pelosi is clearly in favor of single-payer health care. She just doesn't believe that such legislation can currently be enacted, and she's right:
But is she right? Recently I saw polls that show that a majority of the population wants single payer health care, I believe even among Republican voters who make less than 30K per year. people are getting more informed and now that the GOP is in power (and screwing up badly wrt health reform), the propaganda is starting to wear off. Now would be the perfect moment to actually really stand up for your 'values' (a word Corporate Democrats love to use) and get those disappointed voters to come back to the Democratic Party, go out and vote, etc.
I don't know if you are one of those commenters here who refuse to watch Jimmy Dore videos out of principle, but here he and his co-commentators really explain it well why Pelosi is so wrong on this and why she most probably does so (donor money), aside from the fact that the argument that single payer health care isn't politically feasible is becoming more and more passé (click 'no longer available' if the video window doesn't show up):
Bernie Schools Pelosi On How To Talk Healthcare
! No longer available
Jimmy Dore, once again, shows himself to be little more than a mirror image of Rush
Limbaugh. Half-truths, distortions, and utter failure to understand or communicate
the nuances of what he talks about.
No, ObamaCare is not wildly popular. Maybe half of Americans like it, the other half
don't. Those who don't like it fall into two broad groups, one feels it an
intolerable intrusion of government in healthcare, the other feels it doesn't go far
enough to cover everyone and cover enough benefits fully. Some who object fall into
both groups. All the sides have reasonable views, because it was crafted to be able
to pass, not to ultimately fix what's broken. An ultimate fix would have been
impossible to enact.
Sure, a majority of Americans have a favorable impression of single-payer. But
that's because the insurance and healthcare industries haven't bothered to switch on
their public relations machines to torpedo the idea. They would, and their
propaganda would have enough basis in half-truths to shift public opinion away from
single-payer.
Even if a majority of Americans retained a favorable view, that doesn't mean it could
pass. A majority of voters selected Clnton over Trump. A majority of voters
selected Democrats for the House of Representatives. But the Republican "losers"
still won. The very same factors that caused this mis-representation of voters'
wishes would play into the hands of those who will never support single-payer.
If you want a reform with a slightly better chance of enactment, drop single-payer
and push for an
all-payer system. The critical difference isn't the kind of
healthcare experience patients can expect, nor the economic benefits (these are the
same), the critical difference is that all-payer reforms allow the health insurance
industry to not go out of business immediately, en mass.
See:
The Many Different Prices Paid To Providers And The Flawed Theory Of Cost Shifting:
Is It Time For A More Rational All-Payer System?
http://content.healthaffairs.org/content/30/11/2125.full.pdf+htmlHis mockery of Pelosi struggling to ad lib an answer a very complicated question and
not having a well-scripted answer is just stupid. It's puerile. I don't know how
anyone can stand to watch this bloviator with his absurd cheering section in his
studio.
He utterly misrepresents Pelosi's record. She was among the very most effective
Speakers of the House in history. She successfully championed a very wide range of
quite progressive policies. He just slams her over his own pet peeves, denying the
fuller reality and nuance of her record.