It’s almost magical when the public gets to see Republicans discover just how out of touch with reality — and popular opinion — they actually are. Social media is the perfect place for someone like, say, the President of the United States to bypass the news media and Congress and get answers directly from the people who care most about the things he says. Of course, he ignores any responses he doesn’t like, or at times has even blocked people who have sent messages contrary to what he thinks or wants.
Largely, however, it’s a winning strategy for him.
So other people and outlets on Twitter have attempted to recreate that kind of echo chamber mentality, that they can then use to propagate the notion that their ideas are popular, or to “prove” that things they don’t like are unpopular.
That’s exactly what Fox News was aiming for with a poll they held on Tuesday on the social media platform. The question was a simple yes or no:
Bernie Sanders’ ‘Medicare for all’ bill estimated to cost $32.6 trillion, new study says. Would the benefits outweigh the costs?”
What they’re referring to, of course, is the legislation that’s been proposed by not just Senator Bernie Sanders, but by numerous Democrats for years now: A “Medicare For All” bill that would create a single-payer health care system, streamlining costs and coverage and eliminating the profit incentive from the ludicrously expensive insurance and pharmaceutical industries.
The bill has now been scored for cost by a number of different agencies, and it turns out it would cost $32.6 trillion. But that number must be contrasted with what America would be spending anyway on the health care system we have — a number that Fox & Friends curiously chose to omit, and one that’s actually two trillion higher than the cost for Bernie’s plan.
More importantly, the Sanders plan would cover everyone. So make a little mental checklist, and then imagine how you might answer that poll. Covers more people? Check. Costs less than we would normally be spending? Check. Sounds like a no-brainer to me.
We’re guessing it did to the respondents on the Fox poll as well:
Bernie Sanders’ ‘Medicare for all’ bill estimated to cost $32.6 trillion, new study says. Would the benefits outweigh the costs?
— FOX & friends (@foxandfriends) July 31, 2018
Well, THAT didn’t go like they planned.
But even better was the fact that the “research” scoring the Sanders bill for cost was actually from the libertarian brothers Charles and David Koch, funders of many various schemes to eliminate Medicare and even Medicaid. Turns out even they got results they weren’t expecting, and even their own research indicated that the Sanders plan — which would include medical, vision, dental, and hearing care, all free at the point of service for every American — would cost less than what we currently have.
Bernie couldn’t help but chime in:
Even a Koch brothers-funded attempt to trash Medicare for All can’t hide the truth: Medicare for All will lead to a $2 TRILLION REDUCTION in national health expenditures over 10 years.
That’s trillion with a “T.” https://t.co/eOfd29cDoa
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) July 30, 2018
Maybe these guys shouldn’t ask questions they don’t want answers to.
Featured image via screen capture
