You\u2019re reading the Opposing View<\/a>, one of two perspectives in Today\u2019s Debate.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n For Our View, read \u201cWhat went wrong for down-ballot Democrats<\/a>.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n I am very proud of the hard work that the progressive community put into electing Joe Biden as our next president.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And let\u2019s be clear: This election was not just a normal election between two candidates. It was much more important than that. It was an election about retaining our democracy, preserving the rule of law, believing in science and ending pathological lying in the White House. And with a record-breaking turnout, the American people voted to reject President Donald Trump\u2019s racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia, religious bigotry and authoritarianism. That is very good news.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even so, truth be told, the election results in the House and Senate were disappointing. Despite Joe Biden winning the popular vote by more than 5 million votes<\/a>, the Democrats lost seats in the House and, so far, have only picked up one seat in the Senate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, with the blame game erupting, corporate Democrats are attacking so-called far-left policies like Medicare for All and the Green New Deal for election defeats in the House and the Senate. They are dead wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are the facts:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u25ba112 co-sponsors of Medicare for All were on the ballot in November. All 112 of them won their races.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u25ba98 co-sponsors of the Green New Deal were on the ballot in November. Only one of them have lost an election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It turns out that supporting universal health care during a pandemic and enacting major investments in renewable energy as we face the existential threat to our planet from climate change is not just good public policy. It also is good politics. According to an exit poll from Fox News, no bastion of socialism, 72% of voters favored the change \u201cto a government-run health care plan<\/a>\u201d and 70% of voters supported \u201cincreasing government spending on green and renewable energy<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The lesson is not to abandon popular policies like Medicare for All, a Green New Deal, living wage jobs, criminal justice reform and universal child care, but to enact an agenda that speaks to the economic desperation being felt by the working class \u2014 Black, white, Latino, Asian American and Native American. People are hurting, and they are crying out for help. We must respond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n All over America, voters approved progressive policies to improve the lives of millions of people:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u25baFlorida voters passed an initiative to raise the minimum wage<\/a> to $15 an hour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u25baColorado voted to provide 12 weeks of paid family leave<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u25baArizona voted to increase taxes on those making over $250,000 to increase funding for public education<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u25baVoters in Arizona, Montana, New Jersey and South Dakota voted to move away from the \u201cwar on drugs\u201d and approved legalizing marijuana<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The American people are sick and tired of seeing billionaires and Wall Street become much richer, while veterans sleep out on the streets, our infrastructure crumbles and young people leave school deeply in debt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They want a government that works for all, not just the few. That\u2019s the right thing to do, that\u2019s the moral thing to do and, for the Democratic Party, that is the way to win elections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016 and 2020.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Opposing View: But the lesson is not to abandon Medicare for All, Green New Deal, living wages, criminal justice reform and universal child care. Bernie SandersOpinion contributor You\u2019re reading the Opposing View, one of two perspectives in Today\u2019s Debate. For Our View, read \u201cWhat went wrong for down-ballot Democrats.\u201d I am very… Continue reading ![\"Sen.](\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2020\/11\/11\/USAT\/b7b61a20-f598-49c7-ae3b-e300c35f7f39-Sanders_1.jpg?width=660&height=430&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp\")
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