For indispensable reporting on the coronavirus crisis, the election, and more, subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily newsletter.





Look who’s joining the party:

Under fierce attack by Democrats over the children’s health insurance plan, House Minority Leader John A. Boehner said Sunday Republicans will unveil their own health care plan over the next few months.

“Republicans are working on a plan that will provide access to all Americans to high quality health insurance, make sure that we increase the quality of insurance that we have in American, and we want to foster a sprit of innovation,” said Boehner on “Fox News Sunday.” “This is a plan we’ll see over the next coming months where we put the patients in charge of their health care.”

I agree with Steve Benen’s analysis: “I’m well aware of the fact that the Republican plans for universal coverage aren’t going to be very good. That’s the not the point. It’s more important to realize the big picture — we’ll soon have Dems and Republicans arguing not over whether to have every American insured, but how best to have every American insured.”

Yup. The debate is shifting in the right direction. Soon, it will be very easy for a Democratic president to put a universal health care plan forward to the American people, because the need for such a plan will already be well-established.

The same can be said for global warming, in large part thanks to Nobel laureate Al Gore. It cannot be said for the Iraq War. It feels like that issue is still being fought on Republicans’ turf.