From pushing 'Thoughts and Prayers' to dissing Medicare for All, DCCC called out for sabotaging bold demands
Progressives
found new reason for dismay on Tuesday after internal documents
revealed efforts by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee
(DCCC) to squash support for Medicare for All and a separate attempt
to curtail demands for stricter gun control following the mass
shooting in Las Vegas last year.
"It's
becoming evident that the DCCC—and the billionaire donors and
revolving door consultants that make up the Democratic Party
establishment—believe Democrats can only take back Congress by
running on a watered down message...instead of the basic values of
decency and fairness that voters demand," said Waleed Shahid
of Justice Democrats in a statement.
Documents
on healthcare messaging that were handed out to House Democrats in
the wake of the 2016 election treated universal healthcare as a
fringe issue, suggesting that lawmakers are not to entertain Medicare
for All as a potential solution to the nation's high healthcare costs
and poor outcomes.
"The
American people overwhelmingly want Congress to improve the
Affordable Care Act, not repeal it or replace it with something
radically different," reads the memo. "We need to
offer reasonable solutions to improve the law instead of a massive
overhaul."
In fact,
a Harvard-Harris poll taken in September found that 52 percent of
Americans backed a Medicare for All or single-payer healthcare
system. Among Democrats, however, that number is much higher, with 69
percent in favor.
The
messaging memo also included Republican talking points attacking a
single-payer system like the Medicare for All plan proposed by Sen.
Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), without providing any rebuttals to the
claims.
Full
report:
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