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‘Medicare-For-All’ Gets Buzzy In Unexpected Locales

Published

7 years ago

March 15, 2019

Shefali Luthra, Kaiser Health News

It was a sleepy South Carolina Saturday in mid-February. But Virginia Sanders was speaking, and the audience was rapt.

“One might not have the power. But a thousand has the power,” she said. “Don’t let anybody fool you that you don’t.”

Sanders, 76, has been an organizer and activist all her life. She marched in the civil rights movement. She protested against the Vietnam War. During the 2016 primary, friends recall, this petite Black woman marched up to men in Ku Klux Klan robes to distribute flyers about then-candidate Bernie Sanders — no relation. (They took the papers, she said.)

Now, she is focused on a different battle, one that has captured liberals’ imagination across the country: “Medicare-for-all.”

Outside Washington, Sanders is among the ranks of activists readying for a fight, even in states where, backers acknowledge, this approach often isn’t considered mainstream.

Organizers working with National Nurses United, the largest union and professional association for registered nurses in the U.S., have launched a grassroots campaign, championing a sweeping Medicare-for-all bill introduced in Congress late last month by Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.).

In states including Texas, Arizona, Louisiana, Idaho and Missouri, a series of events have been held to harness energy on the ground and to showcase enthusiasm — even in unlikely places — for the Medicare-for-all idea.

And that enthusiasm is sizable.

Sanders was speaking at what activists call a “barnstorm.” The event was meant to turn the roughly three dozen people in this gray hotel conference room into foot soldiers in what’s at best a sharply uphill health care fight.

Winning Medicare-for-all wouldn’t be easy, Sanders told her audience of would-be activists, but she is still a believer.

“When I say South Carolina is a red state, it’s a blood-red state,” Sanders said after the event. “[But] if we can just educate people who live at or below the poverty level to vote with their best interest, we can change South Carolina.”

The battle over health care reform is playing out in heated rhetoric on the national stage. Polling shows the concept has general support. But that backing wanes if respondents are told about potential consequences, such as eliminating private insurance or raising taxes.

Democrats seeking the party’s 2020 presidential nomination are for the most part adopting the Medicare-for-all slogan head-on, though often hedging on specifics. Health industry interests are lining up in opposition. And Republicans decry it as “socialized medicine.”

At this barnstorm in South Carolina’s capital, about 36 people showed up to munch sandwiches and potato chips at what was effectively a two-hour organizing lesson in an off-election year — and on the same day as a visit here from Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, a New York Democrat running for president.

In Columbia, S.C., local activists meet to brainstorm advocacy strategies for “Medicare-for-all,” a slogan that has captured the imagination of liberals nationwide.

The following afternoon, in Fayetteville, W.Va., about 30 came to a similar event, this one hosted above a local sandwich shop and bar. Activists sipped beers, swapped health care stories and planned phone banks and canvassing events to spread the word.

It’s an unusual kind of energy around a policy that, before 2016, had been relegated to a progressive pipe dream.

“There is an incredible amount of activism among liberal communities, which also exist in conservative states,” said Robert Blendon, a professor of health policy and political analysis at Harvard University. That activism, he added, could shape the Democratic primary and, by proxy, the 2020 presidential contest.

The coalition pushing Medicare-for-all is widening — with what started as a signature proposal for Sen. Sanders’ presidential campaign taking on broader appeal.In Fayetteville, local Democrats who had fiercely supported Sanders or Hillary Clinton in the 2016 primary came together to learn about Medicare-for-all, said Chris Pennington, a 36-year-old substitute teacher and Bernie Sanders delegate in 2016.

Columbia’s event certainly drew a familiar crew, said Lucero Mesa, 61, who organized it and co-chairs the local chapter of Our Revolution, a political action group with ties to Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaign. But then her eyes widened as more attendees filed in: “I’m starting to see faces I don’t recognize!”

Chad Pennington served as a Bernie Sanders delegate in the 2016 Democratic primary. But in his town of Fayetteville, he says, enthusiasm for “Medicare-for-all” isn’t a partisan issue.

On a national level, Medicare-for-all earns ire from Republican lawmakers. But “it’s not a partisan issue” in a place like West Virginia, Pennington said. Indeed, polling from the Kaiser Family Foundation suggests that as many as a third of Republicans support the idea.

Kaiser Health News is an editorially independent program of the foundation.

Shefali Luthra, Kaiser Health News

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IN MEMORIAM: Longtime OUSD Employee Debra King-Cooper, 73

Longtime OUSD Employee Debra King-Cooper, 73 Caption: Debra King-Cooper. Courtesy photo. Special to The Post Debra King-Cooper, a beloved mother, grandmother, queen, sister, church member, caregiver, and matriarch, transitioned peacefully on May 20 surrounded by family and love i

Published

2 days ago

June 17, 2026

bpusa-syndication

Debra King-Cooper. Courtesy photo.

Special to The Post

Debra King-Cooper, a beloved mother, grandmother, queen, sister, church member, caregiver, and matriarch, transitioned peacefully on May 20 surrounded by family and love in the comfort of her home. To her children, she was royalty, grace, strength, and unconditional love embodied.

Debra Diane Edgar was born on May 28, 1952, in San Francisco, California, to Charles Edgar Sr. and Mamie Arthur Edgar. She was raised alongside her younger brother, Charles Edgar Jr., affectionately known as “Little Brother” or “Lil Bruh.” She also shared close bonds with her older siblings Carol Edgar-Lang, Maryann Edgar Calloway, and Lonnie Lewis Sr.

A proud product of San Francisco’s historic Fillmore District, Debra attended Andrew Jackson Elementary School, where she met her lifelong best friend and adopted sister, Lynn Green, in the fifth grade. She later attended Robert Louis Stevenson Elementary School, Roosevelt Junior High School and Thomas Jefferson High School.

Debra’s mother transitioned when she was only 17 years old, and her father transitioned when she was 23. Despite these profound losses, Debra remained grounded through the love and support of extended family and lifelong family friends,

In 1971, she married Harold King. On Sept. 24, 1972, they welcomed their first son, Dajuan Artese King, affectionately called “Pop” or “Poppa.” On Aug. 5, 1976, they welcomed their second son, Dante Dupree King, affectionately called “Tay” or “Taboocoo the Baby.”

After her divorce in 1982, Debra assumed full responsibility for raising her sons.

She supported Dajuan’s passion for football by purchasing sports equipment and attending games faithfully. She supported Dante’s love of music by enrolling him in the San Francisco Boys Choir, Oakland Boys Choir, and the Castlemont Castleers.

Professionally, Debra built an exceptional career. She worked at Blue Shield of California from 1973 until 1994, earning multiple promotions.

She later joined the Oakland Unified School District, initially in a temporary role before being promoted into management within the Labor Relations Department. She retired from OUSD in 2015 after years of distinguished service. During her years at OUSD, she built meaningful friendships with her colleagues.

Faith was central to Debra’s life. During the 1980s, following personal hardship, she joined Love Center Church under the leadership of Bishop Walter Hawkins, where she brought her children regularly. She later became a member of Triumphant: A Church Without Walls Ministries under Pastor Dr. Larry Short, who became a beloved spiritual mentor.

After Triumphant closed in 1992, Debra joined Cosmopolitan Baptist Church in Oakland under the leadership of Pastor Larry Ashley, where she remained for the rest of her life.

At Cosmopolitan, she worked in numerous ministries. She served on the usher board, sang in the choir, participated in the AIDS ministry during the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, helped feed and support unhoused community members, and mentored and supported a group of young girls.

After retirement, she cared for older adults in her church community, driving them to appointments, cleaning their homes, managing finances, preparing meals, and helping families navigate funeral arrangements after loved ones transitioned.

Even while battling Stage 4 cancer herself, she continued caring for others.

Debra was preceded in death by her parents, Charles Edgar Sr. and Mamie Arthur Edgar; her brothers, Lonnie Lewis Sr. and Charles Edgar Jr.; her sisters, Maryann Edgar Calloway and Victoria Stephenson Knight; and her adopted mother, Clara Oliver.

She leaves to cherish her memory her beloved sons, Dajuan King and Dante King; grandson, Tiyler Dajuan Artese King; sister, Carol Edgar-Lang; goddaughters Monique Belle and Ricketa Matthews Jones (Leonard); daughter-in-love Quiona Sullivan; son-in-love Marcel Walker; sister-in-law Delores Lewis; adopted sisters and lifelong friends Lynn Green, Barbara Stephenson Hill, and Sarah Fine; a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, great-nieces, great-nephews, extended family members, her church family and dear friends.

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Celebrating Juneteenth – Frederick Douglass on education and resistance

This video from BlackPressUSATV explores the significance of Juneteenth, focusing on the enduring wisdom of Frederick Douglass. It delves into his powerful perspectives on the vital role of education as a tool for liberation and empowerment. Douglass’s words are presented as a cornerstone for understanding the ongoing struggle for equality and the importance of continuous […]
The post Celebrating Juneteenth – Frederick Douglass on education and resistance appeared first on BlackPressUSA.

Published

3 days ago

June 16, 2026

Oakland Post

The content highlights how education and active resistance are intertwined, drawing parallels from historical movements to contemporary challenges. This exploration of Frederick Douglass’s teachings offers valuable insights into the spirit of Juneteenth and its relevance in today’s fight for justice and human rights.

The post Celebrating Juneteenth – Frederick Douglass on education and resistance appeared first on BlackPressUSA.

Oakland Post

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LIVE! — ASK ALMA! — TUES. 6.19.26 7PM EST

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3 days ago

June 16, 2026

Oakland Post

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