The link in the story is to the Conyers congressional webpage, here.
Kieth Ellison represents the will of the majority of the people in the nation on wanting this single payer legislation - in effect, Medicare for everyone, regardless of age.
The Conyers bill proposed to enact what Medicare should have been from the start back in the times of LBJ's post-Kennedy assassination honeymoon, if passed then as it should have been. Bruce Vento, you know his heart was right and his district sound, and were he with us he would be with Ellison.
Instead of that kind of take no prisoners mentality in this war against the leech-like likes of UnitedHealth, we have McCollum's take no risk attitude, Paul Demko in the report wrting:
McCollum’s political director, Will Blauvelt, takes issue with this assessment.
“Congresswoman McCollum is committed to working with President Obama to pass meaningful health care legislation this year that controls cost, ensures quality and increases access for all Americans,” he said in a statement to MnIndy. “Efforts motivated by either ideology or profits that are intended to undermine President Obama’s health care reform agenda should be recognized as more political game playing at the expense of millions of Americans who are demanding real change.”
Ellison ran to get real change, not to make his ego feel big and important.
Papa John Kolstad nailed it, as reported:
“This is a disgrace for a primarily Democratic state,” says Kolstad. “It’s shameful.”
But McCollum, in particular, has drawn his ire because she’s not politically vulnerable. Last year McCollum garnered 68 percent of the vote in winning her fifth term in the heavily Democratic district.
“I don’t know what kind of problems she could possibly face by saying we have to fix this problem,” Kolstad says. “She is being so weak — and she has no excuse for being so weak.”
When you have a 68% majority, and five terms behind you, show some courage. Show something resembling leadership. Show something resembling recognition of what's best for the nation rather than compromise that's kind to the underserving batch of privateer for-profit insurers who've done in the public long enough and should be kicked out; yesterday being better than later.
I would contribute and volunteer for any such challenger from the left against McCollum and her unjustifiable middle-of-the-road nonsense.
________UPDATE_______
Ellison, while favoring single payer per the Conyers bill, has made his "Sherman statement/" He will not vote in favor of any bill that does not at least include the public option. This link.