Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., says he will vote against the Democratic Party’s platform because it doesn’t support "Medicare for All."
Khanna made his comments in a Thursday column posted by Common Dreams. Khanna served as co-chair of Bernie Sanders' 2020 presidential campaign.
“I will do everything possible to help end the disastrous presidency of Donald Trump, and that means emphatically supporting Joe Biden and Kamala Harris,” he said. “At the same time, after much deliberation, I am announcing via this article for Common Dreams that I will not be voting for the platform that has been put in front of Democratic National Convention delegates for our approval.
“I recognize that the platform includes many positive planks. Among its breakthroughs is a call for a federal minimum wage of $15 an hour. There's much progress embodied in the platform.
“I believe that moving away from a profit-based healthcare system is the moral issue of our time. And in the final analysis, because of that belief, I could not vote for a platform that lacks a clear statement supporting Medicare for All.”
He claimed that the “specter” of four more years of Trump in the White House is a compelling reason to demonstrate unity within the party.
But he added: "I will be voting 'No' on the platform because when we say that healthcare is a human right, we must truly mean it — and fight for it. I believe if we remain stuck on such concepts as 'affordable' when talking about solutions to healthcare accessibility, we are badly constrained inside a limited debate."
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
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