I don't doubt Bernie's committment & sincerity, but electorally he has suffered an optics blow. His team calls what he had a "Myocardial infarction". That is the medical term for what is called a "heart attack"

He may be back on the trail, but the Republican slime machine can weaponize a health problem like this. If we "knock" Biden & Warren because we believe they are DNC stooges, we may be knocking the eventual Dem. candidate & help elect Damaged Donald for another 4 years.

I hope Bernie recovers soon, but we must face political reality.

As I understand it, Sanders & Warren are talking about completely eliminating private insurance & forcing everyone into "Medicare for All", an enormously expensive program they have not really explained how they will pay for.

This plan will face an enormous barrage of negative ads from the private insurance lobby, it will also scare the hell out of 150 million people who may not be satisfied with their coverage, but are terrified of losing it. Many people, such as union members who gave up pay raises to get "better" coverage, will run to the Republicans for protection against those big, bad Democrats who want to take away their health coverage & replace it with a scary, untried "government" system.

The way to go is to say Medicare for All is the ultimate goal, but the way to get there is to improve & expand ACA, with a robust public option. As Medicare costs about 4 cents on the dollar to administer & private health insurance about 17 cents, because of payouts to executives & shareholders, this system will provide better care at lower cost than private insurance. We can expect large numbers of people to migrate to it.

Yes, It's the way to go to another 4 years of Donald Trump

@Remiforce Go ahead Dumbass and Go Bankrupt then .

90% of you are wrong. If you insist on this Medicare for All nonsense, Trump will be reelected & our freedom, democracy, & American way of life will be destroyed. We might as well tear up the Declaration of Independence, The Constitution, & submit ourselves to the YOKE OF TYRANNY!!!

@Remiforce Rethuglicans and the Oligarch masters have already shredded the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
Obviously you believe the Socialism will destroy our way of life, unlike Capitalism which enslaved us by wage control. Perhaps you should give up your Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid. I also gather You're ok with Homeless families, Homeless Vetetans, Destitute Cancer Patients and Diabetics dying because they can't Afford Insulin..so be it..

@Charlene Rethuglicans & American oligarchs are trying to shred our Declaration of Independence & Bill of Rights, & naive "socialists" are their enablers & go-fers. We must get smarter if we are going to defeat the evildoers. Idealistic "socialists" are bringing spitballs to a assault weapons fight.

Socialism will not destroy our way of life. Socialism exists successfully with a "capitalist" market economy & robust democracy in many countries. The enemy is not capitalism itself. The market economy has brought unparalled prosperity in many places, but this market economy must be regulated for the common good or it will destroy itself on Marx's Gravedigger Theory of Capitalism. We Progressives must save capitalism from itself..

Being a Progressive means you are someone who wants to help society make progress. You won't make progress if you don't gain power, even in our flawed electoral system. You don't gain power if you are so blinded by your idealism & hatred for the "capitalists" , you don't realize what's happening among the people. If you are their leader, you must follow them. Rigid ideology can blind us to the realities we face & drive us into a ditch

Stents installed by laproscopic surgury, relatively non invasive, can dramatically improve heart functioning. I wish Bernie well, but he still has the age factor. Also I think he is a dufus for running around calling himself a "Socialist", even a Democratic Socialist, & citing an old playbook from the '30's

Most votors are woefully unsophisticated. They have been brainwashed in this country by cold war propaganda. Most of them don't have the foggiest notion of the difference between Socialism, which can coexist with a market economy & democracy, & Communism, a state controlled totalitarian system.

If the Democrats put up Bernie, the Republicans will crucify him with the Socialist label. I know people in this group have your ideals, but this is the time to be practical. It is vital we put up an electable candidate & get rid of that criminal, traiterous, incompetent madman in the White House. GET REAL!!!!

@Remiforce Points taken. I think a lot of Bernie followers (like myself) aren't so adamant that Bernie wins the nod...

.Liz Warren is walking in his footsteps...

and she might have Bernie on as a cabinet advisor.

But; Having Trump and the obvious corruption of the Republicans has done one good thing....

Made a lot of citizens stand up and offer to run.

@Robecology Bernie & Warren are very ideological close. Notice their poll numbers, when totalled, top Biden. If Bernie should leave the race, Warren's numbers would top Biden's & Bernie's fundraising would likely come to Warren.

I think after the Hillary fiasco, the country is ready for a woman president. Warren is a terrific teacher & "Explainer in Chief" She should do well in New Hampshire, which is right next to Massachusetts, which should give her a boost.

But she is too far left for much of the country & will have to moderate her positions, especially on Medicare for All.

Biden may have an in with the older black vote in South Carolina because of his association with Obama, but that is malliable & could change.

Warren must choose her V.P carefully. Kamela Harris may be hurt in the primary because of her experience as a prosecutor, which may hurt her with some blacks, but being a strong law & order black woman candidate may help her in the general.

Or Warren might turn to a working class cred middle of the country male type like Sherrod Brown or Tim Ryan

Sure most of the people in the Progressives & Socialists group agree Medicare for All is the way to go, but they are not representative of the country. 150 million people may not love their health insurance, but they are very leary of having it taken away for a government program they know not of.

Also Warren & Sanders have not really explained how such a program will be paid for. Tax the rich will only go so far. Middle class taxes will have to be raised. The total cost may be less than current private health care, but most people don't look that far into the future.The Republicans will make hay.

Medicare for All may be the ultimate goal, but the way to get there is Medicare for All who want it, an improved ACA with a robust public option. With the payouts to executives & shareholders, private insurance costs 17cents on the dollar to administer. Medicare costs 4 cents. A public option will provide much better care at much less cost, & people will migrate to it without scaring the hell out of them & taking away their choice

@Remiforce Incorrect. It is. It just the progressive crowd who wants medicare for all, and Warren, for one, has explained exactly how it would be paid for. I was at a town hall with her and she most certainly explained, burger explanation has also been well documented. Anyone paying attention knows how.

g

@genessa Warren has presented some ideas of how Medicare for All can be paid for. Some of it is cogent & may work, But MFA will undoubtedly involve middle class tax hikes, just as the public health systems do in many other countries. Taxing the rich & even the Wealth Tax won't completely pay the freight. That will be a hard sell

Ideally Warren's funding proposals sound good, but practically they're going to scare the hell out of people, especially when they get hit with a massive barrage of attack ads from sinister billionaires & the health insurance industry.

Karate Sensei say, "Best defense, don't be there". Why lead with our chin on MFA

did anyone else who dropped out, now or in the past, ever return the money to their donors, for any reason? did bernie plan to have heart troubles? better he should donate his campaign funds to someone he wants to win, other than himself, if he should choose not to continue running (it is up to him). i hope if that is the case, it's warren. i plan to vote for warren whether or not bernie is running, even though i like bernie. i like a few of them, but warren's the one for me. but i will vote blue no matter who in november 2020!

g

Forgive me if I am wrong, but you sound like you might be a Russian troll. I hope the weather is nice this time of year in Moscow or St. Petersburg

@Remiforce
I forgive you because of two things

1. You do not what you are talking about
2. The line in the graphics is true