comScore Bernie Campaign Says Dems Who Don't Support Medicare for All Will Kill People

Bernie Sanders Campaign Says Democrats Who Don’t Support Medicare for All Will End Up Killing People

By Tommy ChristopherSep 4th, 2019, 4:47 pm

Bernie Sanders Campaign Says Democrats Who Doesn't Support Bernie's Medicare for All Will Make People Die

An online debate over health care devolved into Bernie Sanders National Press Secretary Briahna Joy Gray accusing Democrats who don’t support Sanders’ “Medicare for All” plan of intentionally or unintentionally letting Americans die.

MSNBC contributor Jason Johnson got things started by noting that every 2020 Democratic candidate’s supporters believe their candidate is “fighting for their lives,” adding “why some online Bernie supporters seem to think this is unique to Sanders is beyond me…”

This drew a response from Gray, who said that “If you support a system that would continue to have people die bc they’re poor, you’re literally not fighting for their lives.”

Gray’s response prompted Johnson to ask “Why don’t you just call anybody who isn’t a Sanders supporter a murderer?”

Gray responded “If folks want to defend an approach to healthcare which would leave millions uninsured, it’s not only fair, but our responsibly to point out the human concequences of that political calculation.”

The Sanders campaign has previously been critical of former Vice President Joe Biden’s plan because it would leave about 10 million Americans uninsured. In a follow-up tweet, Gray again appeared to be referencing Biden, although not by name.

Gray also took a thinly-veiled shot at Senator Kamala Harris for good measure.

But Gray appeared to include other candidates who do support universal health care in another exchange. Johnson wrote “You REALLY think that Warren, Harris, Biden, Beto anybody who doesn’t support Bernie’s specific plan wants to HURT you? That they want people to DIE? That’s beyond arrogance it’s downright pathological.”

Gray responded, “Why do you keep making this about intent? Intent in the law can take you from manslaugher to homicide, but either way someone is dead. The effect of not supporting Medicare for all is that people will die.”

But Kamala Harris and Beto O’Rourke both support universal health care plans. Harris has rolled out her own version of Medicare for All, while O’Rourke supports “Medicare for America.”

And in a later exchange with former Hillary Clinton senior adviser Neera Tanden, Gray made it clear that only Bernie’s version of Medicare for All will do.

Following Gray’s debate with Johnson, Tanden tweeted “Your PSA for the night: there are a variety of ways to get to universal health care. One is Medicar for All – the Sanders version. Another is Medicare for All – the Kennedy/Harris version. Another is Medicare for America. Anyone who says there’s only one way is just wrong.”

Gray responded by claiming that these plans “leave millions uninsured.”

While their timetables differ, all of the plans Tanden referenced would result in universal coverage.

Bernie Sanders has long talked about the tens of thousands of people who die every year from lack of health insurance, but always in the context of Republican plans that would throw tens of millions of people off of their health insurance.

Even Biden’s plan, by Sanders’ own calculation, would result in fewer deaths from lack of health insurance, while the other plans Gray dismisses would result in universal coverage. The rub is that a plan that doesn’t become law won’t save anyone’s life.

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