WASHINGTON — Republicans forced a vote Thursday on a Democratic proposal to create a single-payer health care system that failed to get a single vote — including the vote of Sen. Bernie Sanders, a long-time proponent of the approach.

The Vermont independent called the GOP move an “old political trick” designed to embarrass Democrats as the Senate debates legislation to repeal and replace Obamacare.

He called on all members to vote "present" instead of in favor. The bill failed 57-0, with 43 responding "present." Four Democrats and one independent — Sen. Angus King of Maine — joined Republicans in opposing the measure.

“I think this is another joke, another game, another sham, that’s part of a horrendous overall process,” Sanders railed from the Senate floor.

Sanders, who plans to introduce his own single-payer legislation, said during a 45-minute Senate floor speech that he would not support the amendment from Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., unless Daines and other Republicans support it, as well.

“At a time when we are engaged in a very serious debate about the future of health care, I think this is not a time for political games,” he said.

Daines said he opposes single-payer health care, calling it a "complete government takeover." But he said Americans deserve to watch senators debate different ideas. Responding to Sanders, he said his amendment shouldn't embarrass anyone.

"I'm trying to show the American people, bring it out here in full light: Who is supportive of socialized medicine and who's not? if you're supportive of that, why be embarrassed?" Daines said.

Daines later mocked Senate Democrats on Twitter for not supporting the measure.

"60% of House Dems endorsed this legislation & today not 1 Democrat Senator is willing to stand by and defend their socialized solution," he tweeted.

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Daines introduced the House bill by Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., who has 115 Democratic cosponsors. Single-payer health coverage is becoming increasingly popular with Democrats, but most other party leaders say they want to focus on fixing Obamacare while fighting deeply unpopular GOP plans.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, on Thursday morning, panned the idea of a single-payer program, saying it would “quadruple down on Obamacare.”

“Nearly every health-care decision could be decided by a federal bureaucrat,” McConnell said. “Taxes could go up astronomically. The total cost could add up to $32 trillion, according to an estimate of a leading proposal. We’ll vote on ‘single payer’ this afternoon, and we’ll find out what support it enjoys in the Senate — especially among Democrats.”

An Urban Institute study of Sanders’ proposal during his 2016 presidential campaign said it would increase federal expenditures by $32 trillion over 10 years, though a Sanders aide says the forthcoming bill will cost less than the campaign plan.

Sanders on Thursday pledged to offer his own “Medicare-For-All” program either during the health care debate or in the near future to guarantee health care in a cost-effective way.

“When we do that and when we eliminate the need for families to spend $15,000 or $20,000 a year for health insurance, we will save the average middle class family substantial sums of money,” he said.

Sander said the current health care system is the most “expensive, bureaucratic and wasteful system in the entire world,” allowing insurance and drug companies to rip people off.

He said his single-payer plan will say that in America, “if you are rich or if you are poor, if you are a man, woman, and child, yes, you are entitled to health care as a human right and not a privilege.”

Support for single-payer health coverage is growing, with 33% of the public favoring this approach to health insurance compared to 21% in 2014, a Pew Research Center poll found in June. The share of Democrats (52%) supporting a single national program to provide health insurance is up 19 points since 2014. But nearly two-thirds of liberal Democrats (64%) support single-payer health insurance while only 42% of conservative and moderate Democrats favor that approach.