---
[ ERIC PREVEN'S NOTEBOOK ](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/eric-preven-s-notebook)
# California’s US Senator Kamala Harris: ‘Medicare for All … the Right Thing to Do’
August 31 2017
Written by Jake Johnson.
[](https://www.addtoany.com/share)
RESISTANCE WATCH--At a town hall Wednesday night in Oakland, California, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) [announced](http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article170350962.html) that she will co-sponsor Sen. Bernie Sanders's (I-Vt.) Medicare for All legislation, which is reportedly set to be introduced mid-September. (Photo above: US Sen Kamala Harris.)
"Thank you Kamala Harris for your support. Let's make healthcare a right, not a privilege."
—Sen. Bernie Sanders
"I'll break some news: I intend to co-sponsor the Medicare for All bill because it's just the right thing to do," Harris, [the first Senate Democrat](https://www.vox.com/2017/8/30/16230390/kamala-harris-medicare-single-payer) to publicly endorse Sanders's legislation, told an audience of around 700 people at the Beebe Memorial Cathedral church.
Harris [added](http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article170350962.html) in an interview with the *Sacramento Bee* that "there's certainly momentum and energy around" single payer.
The crowd "[roared and cheered in applause](http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article170350962.html)" as Harris—who is viewed as a likely 2020 presidential candidate—made the announcement.
Support for Medicare for All among the American public has soared since the Republicans began their effort to dismantle the Affordable Care Act. A recent AP/NORC poll [found](https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/07/20/new-poll-shows-nation-moving-left-healthcare-embracing-medicare-all) that 62 percent of the public believes it is "the federal government's responsibility to make sure that all Americans have healthcare coverage."
In the face of this grassroots enthusiasm and pressure, "the Democratic Party has moved swiftly to the left on healthcare," [notes](https://www.vox.com/2017/8/30/16230390/kamala-harris-medicare-single-payer) *Vox*'s Jeff Stein. "Most key 2020 contenders—including Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.J.), and Corey Booker (D-N.J.)—[have said they](https://www.vox.com/2017/7/24/15915406/bernie-sanders-medicare-single-payer) support the idea of single payer without necessarily backing Sanders' bill or an existing bill. More than half of House Democrats now support[ Rep. John Conyers' (D-Mich.) single-payer bill](https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/3/29/15056672/single-payer-democrats-medicare)—a historic high."
In Harris's home state of California, the executive board of the Democratic Party [voted unanimously](http://www.healthycaliforniaact.org/california-democratic-party-endorses-single-payer-bill-sb-562) earlier this week to endorse SB 562, the Healthy California Act.
"Thank you Kamala Harris for your support," Sanders [wrote](https://twitter.com/SenSanders/status/903040525946814466) on Twitter as news of Harris's announcement broke. "Let's make healthcare a right, not a privilege."
*(Jake Johnson writes for [Common Dreams](http://commondreams.org) … where this resistance report was first filed.)*
*-cw*
[  ](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/component/banners/click/116 "USA Radio Museum - Wide")
[  ](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/component/banners/click/107 "LA DWP | Save $4K, Green | Priority Ad")
[  ](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/component/banners/click/82 "LA DWP #2 (Power Savers)")
[  ](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/component/banners/click/97 "Home - LA DWP #2 (Pay Water Bill Help)")
## Get The News In Your Email Inbox Mondays & Thursdays
Name
[  ](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/component/banners/click/110 "Something You Should Know")
---
## Featured CityWatch Stories
[  ](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/election-2024/33710-bass-is-out-raman-is-in-is-los-angeles-trading-failure-for-a-bigger-crisis)
### [Bass Is Out. Raman Is In. Is Los Angeles Trading Failure for a Bigger Crisis?](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/election-2024/33710-bass-is-out-raman-is-in-is-los-angeles-trading-failure-for-a-bigger-crisis)
THE BOTTOM LINE - Karen Bass lost the confidence of Los Angeles voters. Nithya Raman won their support. But can a new m…
[  ](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/voices/33687-first-test-of-next-governor-s-leadership-demand-a-full-forensic-audit-of-bullet-train)
### [First Test of Next Governor`s Leadership: Demand a Full Forensic Audit of Bullet Train](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/voices/33687-first-test-of-next-governor-s-leadership-demand-a-full-forensic-audit-of-bullet-train)
NICK’S VIEW - For a case study in lost public trust and squandered taxpayer money, look no further than California’s hi…
[  ](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/voices/33698-a-great-night-for-america-and-a-warning-to-both-parties)
### [A Great Night for America—and a Warning to Both Parties](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/voices/33698-a-great-night-for-america-and-a-warning-to-both-parties)
FRED TALK - The opinions in this column are solely mine and I stand by them. I did not write yesterday because I wanted…
[  ](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/los-angeles/33704-nithyas-budget-buzz-saw)
### [Nithya’s Budget Buzz Saw](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/los-angeles/33704-nithyas-budget-buzz-saw)
LA WATCHDOG - Nithya Raman, our new mayor, will inherit a budget that is a river of red ink. According to the First Fi…
[  ](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/los-angeles/33709-progress-not-presto-chango)
### [Progress, Not Presto-Chango](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/los-angeles/33709-progress-not-presto-chango)
IN MY VIEW - If We Want People Off the Streets, We Have to Give Them Somewhere to Go. I was about five years old, wa…
---
## [ ERIC PREVEN'S NOTEBOOK ](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/eric-preven-s-notebook)
[  ](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/eric-preven-s-notebook/31760-the-28-lie)### [The $28 Lie](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/eric-preven-s-notebook/31760-the-28-lie)
[  ](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/eric-preven-s-notebook/31737-the-county-duty-to-cover-up)### [The County Duty to Cover Up](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/eric-preven-s-notebook/31737-the-county-duty-to-cover-up)
[  ](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/eric-preven-s-notebook/31689-the-optics-emergency)### [The Optics Emergency](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/eric-preven-s-notebook/31689-the-optics-emergency)
[  ](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/eric-preven-s-notebook/31661-faith-fear-and-microphonics)### [Faith, Fear, and Microphonics](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/eric-preven-s-notebook/31661-faith-fear-and-microphonics)
[  ](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/eric-preven-s-notebook/31616-long-beach-edition-smart-speaker-takes-the-wheel)### [Long Beach Edition “Smart Speaker Takes the Wheel”](https://ded2209.inmotionhosting.com/~citywa9/eric-preven-s-notebook/31616-long-beach-edition-smart-speaker-takes-the-wheel)