Sanders is speaking to the real issues

As we enter another election campaign year, candidates have begun vying for the power to set our political agenda. In 2008, I recall the campaign focused on what was deemed “the number one priority” of the American electorate, to fix a broken health care system with its “40 million uninsured” and its astronomically rising costs.

Jump ahead eight years – high numbers of uninsured and underinsured, and continued rising costs that now some say could threaten the future of Medicare. We still have high levels of public dissatisfaction, and increasing numbers of physicians so disgruntled that they are choosing to leave this still-broken American medical system to practice in other countries. Despite the then newly-elected president ’s courage to tackle the hardest issue first, the only system that the Congress could agree upon was what has been falsely labeled “Obamacare”. With what is formally known as the Affordable Care Act, or “ACA”, we got a mix of public and private interest models, blended into a frustrating, failing effort to reduce costs and insure all, while limiting profits for none. This was not Obama’s vision but an “at least we did something” appeasement effort by the Congress that has mainly benefited private insurance companies. After eight years of trial and mostly error, the still “broken system” may be beyond fixing and it’s time to look at an entirely new model.

Now we know that the Republican members of Congress have been trying to throw out the ACA since its passage, for the wrong reasons and with no proposal for a substitute. Anyone thinking seriously about the issue of health care understands we couldn’t move forward without an alternative plan in place. After all, people who are sick need somewhere to go for care and someone to care for them. No one can or will provide care without a system in place to pay for it, right? So what now?

We are hearing a lot from Republican candidates, trying to get the public’s attention by snatching a piece of the media obsession with the rhetorical antics of Donald Trump. So far, I have heard no great visions or plans from them yet. In the Democratic corner, the mainstream media continues to deny a contest, presenting a perception that Hillary is the only one running and her campaign is “against herself and her own problems.” This is despite polls that indicate Bernie Sanders, the long-time Senator from Vermont, is head-to-head with Clinton in New Hampshire and just a few points behind her in Iowa, the two states that open the primary season. How come?

It might be because Bernie is not wasting any time running on anything but vision and plans to better our country! He is as disgruntled with establishment (big money) politics as the rest of us! He also knows that the only way he can win is to clearly identify the real problems that the majority of Americans are struggling with. He’s talking about things like how to make enough money to make ends meet now, and how to save enough for the future; how to afford higher education and training opportunities, surer ways to actually earn enough to make ends meet; and how to access quality, affordable health care.

Bernie wants to get America on board with Germany, Canada, Finland, and France just to name a few countries that identify quality health care as critical to a productive life. He believes that good medical care should be guaranteed to all citizens in a successfully functioning society, not just to those privileged enough to afford it. And he’s supporting a method that can make it happen.

Bernie gets it! That you and I — the 99 percent as we have been called – who work hard for a living, and are concerned for those who can’t ( namely our children, the disabled, and our elderly), have the ability to meet our most basic needs with greater ease, dignity and respect. One of the reasons I’m looking at Bernie is because he’s leading the charge for a single payer health care system that’s been tried and found “true” in numerous other countries. The single- payer model has been endorsed by many of the leading organizations who represent American physicians and nurses. That’s why I want to hear more from Bernie and about what he stands for — just in case I might want to vote for someone who is standing for me! If we show up, our votes determine who gets to lead next. Deciding who best will represent us starts now. Major news media outlets need to open the airwaves, allowing the public to hear more from Bernie Sanders on the issues that matter to us!

Kathleen McQuillan

Cook, Minn.