Senator Bernie Sanders joined Democratic Gubernatorial hopeful Ben Jealous to launch Jealous’ plan to make Maryland the first state with Medicare-for-All

Story Transcript

AARON MATÉ: It’s The Real News. I’m Aaron Maté. We are at the Notre Dame University of Maryland, where Ben Jealous, the longtime civil rights leader who is running to be Maryland’s next Democratic governor, is unveiling his new plan to bring single-payer health care to Maryland. To do that, he’s enlisted the politician who has brought universal health care to the national stage, Senator Bernie Sanders. BERNIE SANDERS: One of the issues that is so terribly important is that here in the United States we have got to end the international embarrassment of being the only major country on Earth not to guarantee healthcare to all as a right. We are here now working at a president and a Republican Party who had the nerve, had the nerve, to attempt to throw 32 million people off of the healthcare they have. But the American people said, “No, you’re not going to get away with it,” and from coast to coast, people stood up, fought back, and we beat them. Some people think Medicare for all is a radical idea. It is not a radical idea. Spending twice as much per capita on healthcare, having 28 million Americans without health insurance, that is radical. It’s not only healthcare where Ben has it right. Ben understands that in the wealthiest nation in the history of the world, if you are working 40 hours a week in Maryland, you should not be living in poverty. He’s going to fight for a $15-an-hour minimum wage. BEN JEALOUS: When we win this election and we put the working families of Maryland, across every line of race, across every line of religion, across every region of the state, we put the people of Maryland back in charge of our state’s priorities again. We will assemble in Annapolis, and we will tell every member of our House of Delegates and Senate, we are here to pass MD Care, we are here to get healthcare for everybody in Maryland. Why? Because we must. Crowd: We must! BEN JEALOUS: We can. Crowd: We can! BEN JEALOUS: And we will. Crowd: We will! BEN JEALOUS: Thank you and God bless.