By John Bowden
The Hill, September 9, 2017
Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D) dismissed conflict inside the Democratic Party on Friday in a new interview, noting that Democrats are rallying around health care and other issues.
Warren told the editorial board of The Republican on Friday that the Democratic Party has found agreement on the idea that health care should be a guaranteed right for all citizens.
She added that the true strength of the Democratic Party doesn’t come from the party elites, but rather the grassroots activists who shifted the party left on health care.
“We don’t live in a world where a handful of insiders get to run the Democratic Party — we just don’t live in that world,” Warren insisted. “We live in a world where the heart and soul of the Democratic Party is down at the grassroots — this health care fight has shown the power of the grassroots.
“It’s not only that people have shown it to themselves and to each other, they’ve shown it to the leadership, as well,” she added.
Warren on Thursday announced she would join Sens. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) in co-sponsoring legislation from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt) establishing a single-payer Medicare-for-all health care system.
“I believe it’s time to take a step back and ask: what is the best way to deliver high quality, low-cost health care to all Americans?” Warren said in a statement Thursday.
“Everything should be on the table — and that’s why I’m co-sponsoring Bernie Sanders’ Medicare for All bill that will be introduced later this month.”
Comment:
By Don McCanne, M.D.
For our purposes, Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s message is not what is happening within the Democratic Party but rather that the recent surge in support for single-payer Medicare for all has originated within the grassroots and not from the political elites.
Yes, the lead taken by Sen. Bernie Sanders certainly has helped to spark the movement. But it is not Bernie Sanders alone who is bringing other politicians on board. When those politicians went to their home districts, it was the demand of the people that woke them up. “Hey, this single payer movement is the real thing.”
The people lead, politicians follow, and that is not a phenomenon limited to the Democratic Party. So gather the grassroots together and lead. Be there, bring others, and do it.
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