ANALYSIS/OPINION:

The crowded Democratic presidential nomination contest can only be described as a mess, with its candidates offering irresponsible, giveaway proposals that would plunge our nation into decades of debt.

Radical left-wing candidates like Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, who soared to one of President Trump’s chief challengers with a proposal called Medicare for All.

Worst of all, many voters are buying into her giveaway plan, regardless of the fiscal disaster it would inflict on our nation, national security, and the U.S. economy.

“A trio of polls released” this week “showed a majority of Americans support Medicare for All, but offered conflicting signals about whether the health care overhaul could hurt the party in the November 2020 general election,” Reuters reported Wednesday.

“In polling data made public Wednesday, the nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation said 53% of Americans favored Medicare for All,” the news service reported.

Not all of the Democratic candidates support Medicare for All, but Ms. Warren “has faced criticism from her moderate rivals,” including former Vice President Joe Biden.

The proposal’s biggest problem is that it “would eventually eliminate most private insurance in favor of a government-run plan, Reuters said.

Mr. Biden and several moderate Democratic candidates, (if any Democrat can be called “moderate,”) are including a “public option” which would offer a government plan that would compete with private plans instead of replacing it.

Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana, is one of the candidates embracing Mr. Biden’s plan.

If Ms. Warren’s socialist, health care nationalization plan, and the idea of putting private health insurance plans out of business doesn’t disturb you, it should.

Talk to one of our veterans who can tell you many tales of the poor treatment they have received at many of our Veterans hospitals.

It isn’t widely known, but there is a movement afoot by liberal extremists to turn our private health care insurance plans over to the government, and it’s gathering support.

The nonprofit Progressive Change Campaign Coalition (PCCC), which has endorsed Ms. Warren, announced its own poll this week, which found that 66 percent of registered voters nationally, and 63 percent in battleground states, embrace Medicare for All.

The Reuters story suggests that “many Americans are still fuzzy on Medicare for All’s details.”

“Democrats took control of the House in 2018 powered by victories in moderate districts that were largely credited to the party’s disciplined messaging on health care,” the story reminded voters.

“Democratic candidates focused on Republican efforts to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, thereby eliminating protections for people with pre-existing medical conditions,” Reuters reported.

In the last Democratic candidate debate, Ms. Warren “was attacked … for refusing to say whether her proposal would raise middle-class taxes.”

Not all Democratic leaders support Ms. Warren’s plan.

A number of party leaders, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, have cautioned their party that it’s support for Medicare for All could lose swing voters next year.

A Kaiser voter survey released Tuesday in battleground states that included Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan, showed that more than 60 percent of swing voters said it was a bad idea.

Ms. Warren’s numbers were flying high earlier this year, but she’s been on the skids ever since, according to Charlie Cook, the brains behind the widely-read Cook Political Report.

“In early summer, Elizabeth Warren’s poll numbers were on the rise in both Iowa and New Hampshire. By mid-to late-September, national polling started moving in the same direction. But over the last couple of weeks, her numbers have flattened and even dropped,” he wrote last week.

Ms. Warren was climbing in many polls, even ahead of Joe Biden in Iowa and New Hampshire. But she began losing support from party leaders who turned against Medicare for All.

“While many people are not in love with their health insurance carrier, polls show that most are reasonably satisfied and do not want to risk losing what they currently have,” Mr. Cook writes.



Donald Lambro is a syndicated columnist and contributor to The Washington Times.

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