>>raising taxes on the middle class is such an ass-backwards
>>way to phrase the debate. it's the kind of political
>thinking
>>that demonstrates how conventional democrat wisdom has
>backed
>>us into a corner.
>
>I didn't phrase it that way...Bernie did...When they asked if
>everybody, not just the elites and millionaires, would see
>their taxes raised to pay for his college and healthcare
>program, he said yes...Didn't flinch...

that doesn't have anything to do with what i said. bernie didn't flinch because he knows every politician out there is bullshitting on tax policy when they talk about protecting the middle class.


>Now I have a feeling he's going to massage that talking point
>in order to not totally give up the game, but yeah...`American
>voters for the most part r not that smart....They r not
>nuanced....Bernie's plan is going to be a hard sale for people
>in the middle and independents who already have healthcare
>with their everyday job and don't want to come out of pocket
>with a tax...
>
>Now if u think that Bernie should take that chance because he
>is somehow showing that he is thinking out the box and being
>brave, upfront and honest, throwing out "conventional
>democratic wisdom" which will appeal to voters beyond his
>base, then that's a totally different discussion....
>
>American voters, beyond the people u and I know, are simple
>folk...

that's the point most of the pro-bernie posts are making. it is exactly what bernie is/should be doing. middle class americans already have that tax/cost burden. "having healthcare" with your everyday job doesn't mean you don't pay for that shit. we're still paying more (and often for worse care) than other countries. instead of bemoaning possibly higher costs, we should be exploring why they're so damn high in the first place. and that's mostly because we have our public/private formula backwards. it's exactly the kind of thing a social democrat movement can articulate.

the discussion we need to be having as a country is "why are we compounding inefficiencies by mixing the worst of public and private solutions to our big problems? what can government do well and what would that look like?" healthcare is the perfect example of this.

it is an extremely tough sell for many americans. but for people who are nearing retirement and people who came of age during the recession, it's not an impossible sell, because they see firsthand the negative consequences of the last 40 years of conventional wisdom.