All four of the national co-chairs of Sen. Bernie Sanders’ 2020 presidential campaign on Friday applauded the more than 700 delegates to the Democratic National Convention who have so far vowed to vote against the party’s platform if it doesn’t include a plank supporting Medicare for All.
“We stand with the grassroots activists who understand that the party must stand for extending Medicare to everyone,” said former Ohio State Sen. Nina Turner, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), Ben & Jerry’s co-founder Ben Cohen, and San Juan, Puerto Rico Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz in a joint statement.
“Many hundreds of delegates are speaking out now with clarity to insist that Medicare for All belongs in the Democratic Party platform,” the statement continues. “They are correct to never waver in this fight for healthcare as a human right. During the last few months, millions of people in the United States have lost their jobs. They should not lose their healthcare.
The co-chairs released their statement after the DNC Platform Committee on Tuesday overwhelmingly voted down an amendment that would have inserted support for Medicare for All into the Democratic platform, which is set to receive a final vote at the virtual Democratic convention next month.
Turner called the Platform Committee’s vote against the single-payer amendment “shameful as hell.”