Peope wonder why Joe Biden’s healthcare proposal was met with a “Meh” by some in progressive circles and on Daily Kos. I admit to being one of those who was not impressed. And this was before Biden tipped his hand and made further critical comments about Medicare for All.

In announcing his plans to shore up Obamacare Monday, Biden equated Republican efforts to repeal the law with plans from other Democratic presidential contenders that would completely overhaul the U.S. health care system and eliminate private health insurance. “I knew the Republicans would do everything in their power to try and repeal Obamacare,” Biden said in an email to supporters Monday. “But I’m surprised that so many Democrats are running on getting rid of it.” “I know how hard it was to get passed,” he added. “Starting over just makes no sense to me.”

This smacks of the famous Clinton “triangulation.” Hey, I’m not some radical Democrat or reactionary Republican! I’m separate and different from those Democrats and Republicans!

It’s a great way not to keep a House Democratic majority or gain seats in the Senate. If you don’t believe that, you have not been paying attention for the last 24 years.

And Biden is going out of his way to protect the private insurance industry by stating that he will not replace private healthcare plans with a single payer system. The private insurance industry got us to this point were millions have lost their healthcare because it is no longer affordabel. Yes, the ACA helped millions get healthcare, but many of those people also got it through a government program called Medicaid.

I was one of those Medicaid recipients, and I was grateful for that. But once again, lose your job lose your healthcare. And to be honest, after decades of private healthcare insurance, guess which I found to be the BEST healthcare program? Medicaid.

I didn’t long for my private insurance. What I and many others in America care about IS KEEPING OUR DOCTORS!

This is the terrible messaging by those against a single payer system. No one gives a shit about the insurance industry. They care about seeing a doctor and getting care. Period.

And to be honest, Medicare for All does not mean that the ACA would be repealed:

Medicare for All would not “do away with the ACA in the same way that repeal of the ACA would,” but it “would be a significant change and likely disruptive for certain people who may like the private insurance they have,” said Cynthia Cox, vice president and director for the program on the ACA at the Kaiser Family Foundation. She added that Biden is “trying to walk this line between opposing changes to the ACA from both the right and the left.”

And let’s face facts folks, the ACA had holes in it, besides the lack of a public option. Yes, Biden claims he wants to build on the ACA, and he admits that it was damn difficult to get the ACA passed. Part of that reason was that Obama was not a good negotiator. And I am not convinced that Biden is any better at negotiations. As I have said before, even centrist Democratic Senator Bennet of Colorado hit Biden on his negotiations with McConnell on the fiscal cliff.

Besides, I thought Biden was supposed to know how to beat McConnell and the Republicans? And he knows how to work with them. If he is so versatile, why should he be worried about “starting from scratch”?

Sounds to me like Biden wants it both ways on healthcare. He can work wonders with Republicans until he can’t. And one of those cants is moving to a single payer system or Medicare for All.

By the way, Biden has no back up plan if the SCOTUS kills the ACA.

Biden’s plan does not include any contingencies that would kick in if federal courts currently considering a legal challenge to Obamacare strike down the law, in part or in full. “We are moving forward with the expectation that it will continue to be (upheld), and he’s going to continue to fight to build on it and expand on it,” a senior campaign official said.

And some wonder why people like myself go “Meh” when it comes to Biden’s proposals?