Sen. Kamala Harris, a rising Democratic star from California, may have just announced her 2020 run for president. That's according to pundits who see no other explanation after she decided to cosponsor Sen. Bernie Sanders's (I-VT) single payer health care plan.
“I intend to co-sponsor the ‘Medicare for All’ bill because it’s just the right thing to do,” Harris announced Wednesday at a town hall in Oakland.
“It’s not just about what is morally and ethically right, it also makes sense just from a fiscal standpoint,” she said. (The Hill)
Sanders has been pushing his Medicare for All bill despite it not being the most popular idea among Democrats. Leaders like Nancy Pelosi have distanced themselves from it in recent months. The House minority leader told The New York Times that it just doesn't have broad enough appeal to be a winning message in the 2018 midterms. DNC Vice Chair Keith Ellison apparently has the inside scoop that Pelosi isn't as opposed as she lets on.
Sanders chided Democrats this week during a book event in a New York City church for failing to listen to his progressive message during the 2016 campaign. Their defeat had little to do with Donald Trump. By refusing to support anyone who wasn't the establishment, they were their own worst enemy, he argued.
The Vermont senator is pleased to finally have an ally.
Thank you @KamalaHarris for your support. Let's make health care a right, not a privilege. https://t.co/hYbxTq8BVH
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) August 30, 2017