Last updated on September 25th, 2023 at 01:38 pm
Bernie Sanders described the Republican Party’s worst nightmare, and likely gave the GOP cold sweats by telling the truth about the success of the ACA.
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Sen. Sanders said:
The Republicans have opposed the Affordable Care Act from day one. It is their nightmare that it succeeds. These are the same guys that want to end Medicare as we know it. Convert it into a voucher program, who want to make massive cuts into Medicaid. Who had eight years under Bush to do something, even a little thing, about healthcare, and they did nothing.
So these guys have nothing at all to say, and their nightmare is that as millions of people begin to get affordable health insurance, as the Medicaid program expands and people who have never had health insurance in their lives finally are able to go into a doctor. For the Republicans, this is a nightmare. Imagine, if the United States government does something for ordinary people and not just billionaires. What kind of nightmare is that. That is what their biggest fear is, Ed.
Sen Sanders (I-VT) nailed it. Republicans are terrified that more people are going to be able to see a doctor. They are scared that people will realize that the government can make positive things happen, and they hate the ACA because it is an example of the government doing something for someone other than wealthy billionaires.
Republicans believe that government should only serve the interests of the wealthy. This belief is the basis for their whole job creators mentality. The people who aren’t job creators are “takers” who deserve nothing, and should be left to fend for themselves.
The ACA shatters this ideology. The Afforable Care Act demonstrates what happens when government acts in the best interests of the majority. Once people figure out that the Republicans were wrong about Obamacare, there is nothing stopping them from demanding that their government does things that benefit them.
The vision of a functional government that is responsive to the majority of its people gives billionaire controlled Republicans nightmares and causes them to break out into cold sweats. Bernie Sanders laid it out plain and clear. Obamacare could be just the beginning, and Republicans are terrified by the prospect of a government that works for the people.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
