Former Obama Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel called the concept of Medicare for All, embraced by a majority of Democratic 2020 presidential candidates, an “untenable position” during a “This Week with George Stephanopoulos” panel on Sunday.
WATCH:
“We’ve taken a position so far, and the candidates have, through the process – few have not – about basically Medicare-for-All, which is we’re gonna eliminate 150 million people’s healthcare,” Emanuel said. “We’re gonna provide healthcare to people that just come over the border. That is an untenable position for the general election.”
The former Chicago mayor recalled biking 1,000 miles around Lake Michigan and having “nobody” come to him and say “take my healthcare away.” (RELATED: Democratic Support For Medicare For All In The House Just Crossed A Major Hurdle)
“You are basically, literally hindering yourself for the general election,” he said.
Emanuel’s anti-Medicare for All position struck a nerve with progressive groups and individuals, including Justice Democrats, who called him, along with fellow panelist and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a politician with “little relevance.”
As Democrats increasingly unite around solutions as big as the problems we face, the media still puts up panels featuring politicians with little relevance like Rahm Emanuel and Chris Christie solely to attack the progressive energy in our party. pic.twitter.com/oJmLQI4N7j
— Justice Democrats (@justicedems) September 8, 2019
A reminder that @RahmEmanuel helped kill the public option, and he is now an investment banker paid extra money on the side to moonlight as a TV pundit who pretends that expanding Medicare to cover everyone is “eliminating 150 million people’s health care.” https://t.co/RrQjYbo6iO
— David Sirota (@davidsirota) September 9, 2019
1) There are 20 times as many pundits on TV who attack Medicare for All than advocate for it.
2) The Very Serious People won’t criticize Emanuel for “dividing” and “attacking” Democrats.
3) Rahm Emanuel, Howard Schultz, Andrew Cuomo, and John Delaney should start a new party.
— Waleed Shahid (@_waleedshahid) September 8, 2019
It’s quite entertaining how he ends up being on the wrong side of every issue just about every time. https://t.co/svh1o4Jc20
— Kashif Shaikh (@kmshaikh) September 8, 2019
Ah, yes, a perfectly balanced panel: A centrist Democrat, a center-right Republican, a conservative magazine editor, and two straight news reporters. https://t.co/GksTxJx1gG
— Dave Weigel (@daveweigel) September 8, 2019
The segment did not disclose that Emanuel (spelled incorrectly in tweet above) is now working on Wall Street for an investment bankhttps://t.co/1hQfp3tWzk
— Jeff Stein (@JStein_WaPo) September 8, 2019
Those willing to make the most specious claims do seem to get booked most frequently.
The fact is that we already pay for everyone’s healthcare in America – in the most expensive, inefficient ways, with the worst outcomes.
M4A is both a moral *and* an economic necessity.
— Julie Oliver (@JulieOliverTX) September 8, 2019