[Peace-discuss] Jimmy Dore on Medicare for All: "House Progressives can FORCE a Medicare for All Vote Now -- Here's How!"

[J.B. Nicholson]

https://youtube.com/watch?v=iIqw-mTX6ro -- "House Progressives can FORCE a Medicare 
for All Vote Now -- Here's How!"

One of the more important Jimmy Dore segments given that we're in the midst of a 
pandemic, millions are losing their jobs (and thus whatever healthcare came with that 
job, if any), and their ability to pay for privatized healthcare.

Jimmy Dore strongly encourages us to urge 15 self-styled progressive Congresspeople 
to push for bringing a Medicare for All bill to the floor of the House for a vote by 
telling them that they will not vote for Nancy Pelosi as House Speaker unless Pelosi 
brings a Medicare for All bill to the floor for a vote (such as Rep. Pramila 
Jayapal's (WA-07) Medicare for All bill, H.R. 1384 -- 
https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/1384). Jimmy Dore names 15 
Congresspeople who (given their rhetoric) should be amenable to such a demand of them 
and then asked:

> Jimmy Dore: If you voted for them, please ask them: are you fighters or are you
> careerists? Are you activists for the people or are you posers on Twitter? Is
> healthcare just a carrot to dangle in front of voters so you can win your next
> election[1] or are you gonna fight for it? Here's your chance: people's lives hang
> in the balance.


He also, again rightly, wants everyone in independent media to join him in this mission.

I think that Jimmy Dore's advocacy here is quite wise and appropriate to push for and 
achieve. The US healthcare delivery system is not working for the vast majority of 
us. Therefore we can't wait until some other set of conditions arises (no matter what 
that is, be it a popular corporatist trope like 'wait for Biden to take office' or 
'wait for the midterm elections to change Congress', or anything else). Medicare for 
All won't come about without dedicated persistent political action taken together. 
Medicare for All is an easy sell to the public: most people want Medicare for All 
regardless of party affiliation and most independents want Medicare for All too. 
Nancy Pelosi opposes Medicare for All and she seeks to remain Speaker. So now is the 
time to tell Congress to not vote for Pelosi as House Speaker unless Medicare for All 
is put on the floor of the House for a vote.

Mark Pocan
Progressive Caucus, Co-Chair
Phone: 202-225-2906

Pramila Jayapal
Progressive Caucus Co-Chair
Phone: 202-225-3106


[1] The correlation between Congresspeople who recently ran for election and their 
stance on Medicare for All is telling but not at all surprising: those who won were 
those who backed Medicare for All. Those who lost were those who did not back 
Medicare for All.