Opinion: They blew it, JRubinBlogger writes. The candidates who foolishly mimic Sanders’s health-care gambit.
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen during a news conference in front of the Supreme Court in Washington on April 2. By Jennifer Rubin Jennifer Rubin Opinion writer covering politics and policy, foreign and domestic Email Bio Follow Opinion writer April 10 at 11:45 AM Axios reports:
One would expect nothing less from Sanders, whose infatuation with centralized socialism would give President Trump the surest path to reelection. Likewise, no one is surprised to see progressive policy-wonk Sen. Elizabeth Warren add this to her collection of policy proposals. But for other candidates — Sens. Kamala D. Harris , Cory Booker and Kirsten Gillibrand — to co-sponsor the bill is, well, just plain foolish for a bunch of reasons.
Third, this also hands the tax issue back to Republicans. Sanders’s enormously expensive plan would demand an unspecified tax hike, most likely extending down to people who surely don’t consider themselves “rich.” Republicans, instead of defending their tax cuts for the rich, get to run on “Democrats will raise your taxes.” This might be a close second for the distinction of the move most damaging to Democrats’ chances of retaking the White House.
Fifth, it’s never happening anyway. Unless Democrats win the House and Senate and get rid of the filibuster, this will never pass. Moreover, it’s far from clear that a majority of Democrats would support this, certainly not the scores of moderates who beat incumbents in suburban districts. Rather than unify Democrats, Sanders’s plan divides the party and puts the House majority at risk.
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