Gretchen Whitmer wants to be the Democratic governor of Michigan, and she has distinguished herself from her opponents Abdul El-Sayed, and Shri Thanedar by opposing single-payer healthcare and endorsing the broken, expensive, murderous private system, a subject she has deep expertise in thanks to being raised by Richard Whitmer, who built the family fortune during his 18-year tenure as president of Blue Cross of Michigan.
But Whitmer isn't just using her family's wealth to fund her bid to deny Michiganders universal health care: Blue Cross is chipping in by circulating fundraising to their employees that seek to coerce them into donating to her, signed by the top brass at Blue Cross for Michigan, and suggesting specific amounts that employees should donate based on their job titles.
Fighting for Our Lives: The Movement for Medicare for All"At the moment, Whitmer's most significant rival could be former Detroit Health Department executive director Abdul El-Sayed," reported Bridge magazine, out of Michigan. "Running to Whitmer's left, he appeals to many of the idealistic, young and college-educated progressives who gravitated to Sanders. That was reflected in an October survey of 500 University of Michigan students in which he polled at 32 percent, highest by far among the candidates for governor."
Jeff Stein at Vox did a flattering profile of the 32-year-old, who aims to be the first Muslim governor elected in the United States, and is not shy about criticizing Democrats for being too timid or conservative. He dismissed comparisons made between him and President Obama, calling Obama an advocate of "fairly centrist, middle-of-the-road Democratic policies," rather than the transformative policies proposed by Sanders and other social democrats who seek to push the party left.
El-Sayed's enthusiasm for a Medicare for All system is apparent in his speeches and comments. "I will drive DC to pass Medicare for All, and if they can't, then we'll do what it takes to achieve universal healthcare as a state," he said after a Trumpcare vote. His policies and tactics are similar to those of Sanders, who beat Hillary Clinton in the 2016 Democratic Primary in Michigan.
Blue Cross Pressures Employees to Donate to Opponent of Single-Payer Candidates [Michael Corcoran/Truthout]
(via Naked Capitalism)
