Good Strategy, Bad Strategy

President-elect Joe Biden ran against Medicare-for-All in the Democratic Presidential primary, and he won. Despite millions of Americans losing their medical insurance after being laid off in the midst of deadly pandemic, the crises of 2020 have not brought universal healthcare back onto the national agenda. So what do advocates for Medicare-for-All do now? And how should we think about using the leverage the Squad will wield inside a Democratic caucus that has only a slim, 222-seat majority in the House of Representatives? Group chat regulars Guido, Amira, and Waleed make sense of a recent strategic debate swirling around the left: what if AOC and the Squad refuses to vote for Rep. Nancy Pelosi until she brings Medicare-for-All to the floor for an up-or-down vote? Is that a good strategy? The Group Chat sifts the good from the bad while trying to stay humble and keep the good vibes going. Winning takes long-term planning, it turns out, which is why you, yes you, should nominate a leader in your community to run for Congress in 2022. Additional references: Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s interview with Jeremy Scahill at The Intercept. AOC: Pelosi needs to go, but there’s no one to replace her yet Jimmy Dore: How Progressives Could FORCE A Medicare For All Vote The Campaign Against ‘Medicare For All’ Is Spending Millions. Progressives Not So Much. The Majority Report with Sam Seder The Left Can Win, by Pablo Iglesias