On the Democratic side, some are saying that we should have Medicare for all while others are saying that it's unrealistic while facing down the backdrop of Republican criticism that Medicare for all is a move toward socialism. (On the last point, don't believe the hype as the scare tactics of moving toward socialism in America are completely overblown. Plus, Americans happen to like the two biggest socialist programs we have - Medicare and Social Security.) With that said, we have to acknowledge particular truths that Senator Bennett outlined. One, the United States is the only industrialized country in the world that doesn't cover all its citizens and that we pay the most for healthcare.
On the environment, the Green New Deal introduced by Congresspersons Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Ed Markey (D-MA) is an aspirational proposal to address climate change as today's panel accurately described it, however which House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called a 'green dream,' playing the pragmatic realist understanding that Republicans will never go for it.
In both cases there has to be the acknowledgement by both parties that one, everyone needs to be covered with healthcare and two, that climate change is real and needs to be seriously addressed. So far, only Democrats have come to embrace these realities. As much as Republicans hate the Affordable Care Act, they are still yet to offer a serious proposal that would be better. To Senator Bennett's credit (as he mentioned today), he has authored a bill with Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) that puts in place a public option (i.e. Medicare) for who ever wants it. It would be the first move in a gradual process of potentially providing Medicare for all. The problem for Republicans, and why they blocked it in the original ACA proposal, is their fear that it will in fact become the most popular option for healthcare.
Daily Kos founder Markos Moulitsas explained, the American system of democracy and legislating was designed to be slow. Extrapolating that out a bit, change is meant to be gradual and providing a public option is provides for a gradually directed process of getting more people covered.
As for the environment, the first step is getting Republican politicians to simply acknowledge that climate change is real. In 2019, it's inexplicable that Republican politicians writ large still deny the overwhelming science that climate change presents a clear and present danger. As NBC's Katy Tur mentioned, the eventual economic damage and loss of human life is becoming ever more prevalent and can no longer be ignored especially here in the United States where we're having to allocate more and more billions of dollars in emergency relief funds for areas of the country hit by catastrophic storms, floods and fires.
Speaking of emergency funds, according to the acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney the president is thinking of taking some of those funds as part of a declaration of a national emergency to build a border wall at the southern border, where there is no security crisis. Mr. Mulvaney said he was not optimistic about a border security deal given on his experience in Washington. More clearly, he's not pessimistic about a deal, just one that the president will be willing to sign into law, hence why another government shutdown is not being taken off the table. However, if Republicans and Democrats do strike a deal and the president doesn't sign it, the responsibility of another government shutdown will fall squarely on his shoulders and will further tank his approval ratings.
All this speaks to what Senator Bennett called the fiscal hypocrisy on the part of the Republicans, running up the biggest budget deficit in American history during the last Congress, completely controlled by the GOP. With the tax cuts passed by the Republican-controlled Congress, preparing for emergency contingencies including rebuilding infrastructure and providing affordable healthcare have become completely prohibitive.
Lastly, Congress Adam Schiff (D-CA) explained that the Intelligence Committee will expand its scope beyond Russian meddling in the 2016 election to include President Trump's potential financial ties to the Kremlin and to Saudi Arabia to find out whether or not the president is financially compromised in anyway which would hence put his personal financial interests ahead of his duties as president. Despite the president's protests, this type of oversight is to be expected and is necessary. Congressman Schiff explained that the committee needs to present the facts to the American people no matter which way they cut, and this should be the case.
Panel: Katy Tur, NBC News; Kimberly Atkins, WBUR in Boston; David Brody, Christian Broadcast Network; Markos Moulitsas, the Daily Kos
One more thing...
Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) should have never claimed Native American status and though she has since apologized for this it was disingenuous of her to use a 1/64th heritage (or whatever ultra-slim margin it was) to claim minority status. This problem doesn't bode well for her chances to become the Democratic nominee for president in 2020, despite her populace economic message.
However as equally distasteful perhaps more so is the president's utterly callous reference to the 'Trail of Tears' in a tweet. It's pathetic that the President of the United States doesn't realize how offensive this is. Four thousand Cherokee Native Americans died from disease, cold and starvation by being forcibly relocated west while white Americans looted their homes because they weren't allowed to take any of their possessions with them.
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