 So last week on the program, we talked about how Beto O'Rourke was relaunching his 2020 campaign because obviously the momentum died about a month after he announced. There was, you know, a little bit of a trickle of enthusiasm and then all of a sudden we're not hearing anything from Beto O'Rourke. So on the program last week, we talked about how he would be relaunching his campaign and some of the things he would be changing is one, there would no longer be this self-imposed blackout where he doesn't go on any news programs and we saw that he went on the view, he had his town hall on CNN which we're going to talk about and one other thing that he's trying to do is talk about policy now. He's trying to put that front in center as opposed to platitudes. The problem is that you should have done that from the very beginning. I mean the policies are what should have been the driving factor that made you want to get in the race but it's Beto so man I was just born to be in it so that's why he wanted to run and the hands if you can see. So he's a complete and utter joke but nonetheless I do see somewhat of an improvement at this seat in town hall. He is talking more about policy which again credit where it's due. You should have done this from day one but nonetheless he talked about ending the drug war but where you really see that there's been no fundamental change is when we get to the issue of Medicare for All. Now I'm going to play a clip where somebody is going to ask him a question about healthcare who will have a very poignant story about how one treatment for her illness costs thousands of dollars for just one dose. So he's going to give you an answer and it's going to start out really strong. He's going to talk about all these things. He's going to list the issues that affect her and all of us and here's what I want you to pay attention to. So whenever a politician is asked about Medicare for All or healthcare and the word access comes out of their mouth I need you to understand that this is a bullshit word. In spite of them using terms like universal or guaranteed or healthcare as a human right that doesn't necessarily mean that they believe every single American should have healthcare. And the reason why we should assume that that isn't what they believe is when the word access comes out of their mouth because access is very different than just having healthcare. Like my goal is for you and I to have healthcare. Period. Full stop. But politicians like Beto will say well I want you to have access to healthcare. Well having access to something and having something these are two very different things. So it's one of those words that they use to bullshit you. So he's going to throw around this buzzword. Watch out for that. And then on top of that he's going to be asked directly about Medicare for All and his answer is going to be absolutely atrocious. This is basically Beto O'Rourke face planting on national television because this answer was that bad. I have multiple sclerosis and this disease is treated with very expensive pharmaceutical drugs. In addition to the ever increasing costs of my generic drugs the cost of the primary drug I take for the multiple sclerosis now retails one dose at $21,800. I get this every six weeks $21,800 for a little bag of white of clear liquid that is infused in my chest. It has depleted our savings and I worry about how we can afford the ever increasing costs of these drugs that reduce the progression of my MS. Diane thank you for being here. And again for having the courage of sharing your story so we all understand the consequences of the policies that we've adopted in this country. You should be able to get the care that you need to live your life to the fullest. And cost should not be an object or a concern or an anxiety of yours. I want you to focus on being well and doing well for others. To add insult to injury you and I as taxpayers have funded so much of the research and development for the cures and the medications and the pharmaceuticals that are sold back to us at the highest prices on the planet. We prevent you from buying from Canada or from Europe or somewhere else where you can purchase it cheaper and we refuse to use the purchasing power of Medicare. The leverage in all of the prescription medications that we buy for those beneficiaries to drive the price down. We have a plan to address this. We're going to make sure that every single American has access to high quality universal healthcare without exception. There's a plan called Medicare for America that will ensure that everyone who does not have care today is enrolled in Medicare. Those who have insufficient care they can't make the copay after insurance kicks in or afford the premium or bridge the deductible. They can choose Medicare as well but those who have employer sponsored insurance and like it because it works for them and their families are able to keep it and we use the leverage of this government not just for Medicare but Medicaid beneficiaries, VA beneficiaries, tricare beneficiaries to bring the prices of these medications down so that you and other Americans can afford them. That's what we should be able to do. Thank you Diane for asking a question. Appreciate it. So you mentioned your plan or the plan that you signed on to Medicare for America. Why not Medicare for all? I think about Diane. I think about Joey, a young man 27 years old that I met in Laredo, Texas. He's been to a doctor once in his life because he does not have insurance and that doctor told him that he had diabetes, that he had glaucoma and that he would be dead before the age of 40 because he's not getting any care right now in this country. Joey, Diane, others, they don't have time for us to get to the perfect solution. If we were to start from scratch maybe we would start with a single payer but we've got to work with the system that we have here today. The surest, quickest way to get there is Medicare for America. It guarantees every single person in this country gets the care that they need to live to their full potential and do those things that they were placed on this planet to perform in the first place. So that's why I support that plan. Thank you for that. So health emergencies can't wait for a plan like Medicare for all. That's why he's not supporting it. That sounds familiar. It's almost like somebody else who was also a political loser said something similar. Health emergencies can't wait for us to have some theoretical debate about some better idea that will never, ever come to pass. They don't have time for us to get to the perfect solution. That argument is so stupid. I am surprised that the audience didn't laugh at him. Like I was actually offended that they applauded him because that answer did not deserve a response. He was clearly bullshitting and I need you to realize something. Most of the time whenever a politician starts out an answer by name dropping a particular person that they talk to. Well, listen, I know this person named Joshua who I spoke with. They're giving themselves time to think of a way to dodge the question. He's trying to talk about this personal anecdote in order to think of what he's going to say to get himself out of the corner that he was backed in. So this is why his answer is so stupid. I mean, it's idiotic. Quite frankly, it's idiotic. He says that the reason why we can't have Medicare for All is because that's just too difficult. We need a really quick solution. And if you do Medicare for All, you're starting over. Except that's literally the opposite of what Medicare for All is about. What is Medicare for All? Simply put, you take an existing policy that we already have Medicare. People love it, but you improve it. You close all of the gaps and then you expand it to 100% of the population. How is that starting over? In what world would that be considered as starting over? That makes zero sense whatsoever. And this idea that if we do single payer now after we already have an established for profit system, that's too difficult. It's starting over. Do you think any other country who has some type of universal healthcare system started with single payer? No, these were things that were fought for. It was fought for in Canada. It was fought for in other countries. So this is a bullshit thing that he's saying to weasel out of the fact that his policy, Medicare for Everyone, this is a corporate friendly policy. That's all that this is about. And it's funny how he doesn't support Medicare for All, but he's coming up with a different plan named Medicare for Everyone. I mean, semantically, this is the same thing, is it not? But it's not. Because what he's saying is, I want you to be able to keep your insurance if you get it through your employer and you like it. Okay, well, that sounds lovely, better or work. But the problem with that is you're still leaving these for profit health insurance companies in place. And if you do that, then what's going to happen? They will use their power and influence to chip away at our single payer system. They'll try to pressure lawmakers to privatize parts of it so they get a bigger share of the profits. And all you're doing is setting up another system like Obamacare, where ultimately it will fail. And what makes this policy, Medicare for Everyone, quote unquote, especially disingenuous, is that he's appropriating that word Medicare. He's taking basically Bernie Sanders policy name, Medicare for All, and he's stealing it and he's trying to convince you that it's something it's not. He wouldn't call it Medicare for Everyone if he wasn't trying to gas like you. And this is what a lot of people are doing. We have Pete Buttigieg, who has Medicare for Everyone who wants it. So you see the word Medicare in a lot of healthcare proposals for these 2020 candidates. But when you ask them, you know, do you support Medicare for All in the sense that you believe healthcare should be free at the point of service? They'll say, oh, well, you know, something, something. I know this guy named Joshua, who I talked to in Iowa, who said this, this and that. It's all bullshit. There's one candidate who is especially strong on Medicare for All and that is Bernie Sanders. Understand that what Beto O'Rourke is saying here is completely nonsensical to even suggest that Medicare for All is starting over is so disingenuous. I think you can actually say he's just lying because it's not starting over. You are taking an existing plan, you're expanding it, and you are improving it. How is that starting over? And furthermore, to take this to the next logical step. If Medicare for All, where you take a plan that we already have and expand it and improve it. If that's starting over, then why isn't his plan, Medicare for Everyone, not also starting over? I mean, aren't you both doing certain things? You're tweaking Medicare. He wants to, I'm assuming, reduce the eligibility age to 55 and maybe offer some sort of Medicare buy-in. I don't know what he wants, but I mean, how is that not starting over? How is the ACA not starting over? Understand that these are bullshit tactics. He doesn't want to support Medicare for All. The reason why he's very careful about his words here is because he wants a pro-corporate friendly policy to make sure that he doesn't upset the health insurance industry providers. So Beto O'Rourke is a wolf in sheep's clothing and he's nothing more than a fraud. And the problem with Beto O'Rourke is that he may be a really nice talker. He may, you know, wave his arms around and get people excited and knows how to work a crowd. But at the end of the day, if he gets elected, do you honestly believe that your life will be substantially better? Absolutely not because this is not someone who's looking out for you. He's looking out for his own career because he's just born to be in it. And that's what he cares about. It's to get himself into a position where he's powerful and he's popular. And it's pathetic. Beto O'Rourke is absolutely a joke. And when it comes to the issue of healthcare, he is dead wrong. And if he doesn't support Medicare for All, he needs to go out of his way to explain how Medicare for Everyone is not the same thing as Medicare for All. And maybe don't name your policy something that sounds similar to Medicare for All. Because it sounds like you're trying to gaslight people. It sounds like you're trying to dupe people, Beto. So maybe you should change the name. Maybe you should try to actually be upfront about your ideal for America. Where we make a few tweaks around the edges, but at the end of the day, the status quo isn't necessarily shaken. And these for-profit health insurance companies that are predatory, they can still make profits off of us by denying us the care that we need.