The Biden-Bernie unity pact seems to be dissipating a bit.
According to the Daily Wire, Bernie delegates, which total more than 360, say they may not stick with Biden’s proposed party platform, and will not support him if the party doesn’t include “an explicit endorsement of Sanders’ ‘Medicare-For-All’ plan.”
Politico reported that “[M]ore than 360 delegates, most of whom back Sanders, have signed on to a pledge to vote against the Democratic Party’s platform if it does not include support for ‘Medicare-For-All.’ They argue that single-payer health care is an urgent priority amid a worldwide pandemic and the biggest unemployment crisis since the Great Depression.”
Sanders delegate Judith Whitmer, who organized the effort told Politico, “[T]his pandemic has shown us that our private health insurance system does not work for the American people. Millions of people have lost their jobs and their health care at the same time. There’s people leaving the hospital now with millions of dollars in medical bills. What are we going to do about that?”
The Bernie Delegates Network and other Leftist groups, such as Progressive Democrats of America, are behind the petition and plan to shame the Democrat party leadership into supporting the healthcare plan.
Interestingly, one supporter told Politico that “[W]e’re going to fight like hell for Biden. And there’s no contradiction between doing that and supporting this pledge.”
We shall see if the Biden-Bernie unity plan will continue to stand or continue to crumble from here.
