Bennet for America

"2010" +

:30 TV ad from Oct. 3, 2019 run in Iowa.

[Sound]

2010 Clip from CNN
Anchor John King:  "If you are a critical vote for health care reform, if every piece of evidence tells you if you support that bill you will lose your job, would you cast the vote and lose your job?"
Bennet:  "Yes."

[Music]

I didn't win two swing state elections by apologizing for Obamacare or making empty promises.

I did it by going everywhere, offering ideas that can win broad support.

Even the places that don't vote for me.

You want to beat Trump?  That's how.

I'm Michael Bennet, and I approve this message.


Notes:  The Oct. 3, 2019 press release:

Michael Bennet Charges Forward on Decade-Long Fight for a Public Option, Airs New TV Ad, as President Trump Is Expected to Address Medicare

New TV Ad Highlights Bennet’s Health Care Record

DENVER — Bennet for America today released its third television ad in Iowa highlighting Michael Bennet’s decade-long fight to achieve universal coverage with a public option, as President Donald Trump prepares to deliver a speech on Medicare.

“Donald Trump is the first president in history to take health care away from millions of Americans and has proposed cutting Medicare and Medicaid by billions of dollars. His hypocrisy knows no bounds,” Bennet said.

“Democrats are the party for universal coverage, not ripping health care away from people. We must protect and build on the Affordable Care Act to cover everyone and lower costs. A public option like my Medicare-X plan is the best and quickest way to do that.

“This race is going to be won on the issue of health care. We need a Democratic nominee with an agenda that helps us not only defeat Trump but also take back the Senate and hold the House. Democrats in 2018 won in swing states running on a public option. We should follow their playbook and play offense — not defense with Medicare for All.”

BACKGROUND

Bennet for America is releasing its third television ad in Iowa this week that highlights Bennet’s decade-long fight for a public option. “I didn't win two swing state elections by apologizing for Obamacare or making empty promises. I did it by going everywhere, offering ideas that can win broad support — even the places that don’t vote for me. You want to beat Trump? That's how.”

Bennet has long been at the forefront of this issue, leading his colleagues to push for inclusion of a public option in the original Affordable Care Act in 2009.

Bennet wrote the public option legislation in the Senate, called Medicare-X, to cover everyone and lower costs. This is a plan he has had for years; he did not create a healthcare agenda to run for president.

Medicare-X increases competition, lowers costs, and gives every American a choice to make the right healthcare decisions for their family. It also requires the federal government, for the first time in history, to negotiate lower drug prices for Medicare and Medicare-X. Medicare-X also preserves the Medicare trust fund and protects Medicare Advantage for 20 million seniors. It does not ban private insurance for the 180 million people who receive it through their employer or union. 

Bennet has more experience winning tough races by running on a public option than any other candidate. He won elections in 2010 and 2016 — both difficult cycles for Democrats — in a state that is a third Republican, a third Independent, and a third Democrat.

In 2010, Bennet prevailed in a general election that saw Democrats lose races up and down the ballot as the Tea Party wave swept America. During that race, he said he would be willing to lose his seat over voting for the Affordable Care Act. Rather than shy away from the issue as many candidates did that year, he held town halls in Colorado’s most conservative counties, defending his progressive position.

In 2016, Bennet won in areas of Colorado that Trump won, including Pueblo County, which Bennet carried by nearly 10 percentage points. He again ran on protecting and improving the Affordable Care Act, not dismantling it. He won reelection with more votes than anyone in Colorado history.

Other candidates have followed Bennet’s lead and now support a public option. To date, Biden, Klobuchar, O’Rourke, and Buttigieg have all embraced a plan that is essentially the public option plan Bennet began advocating for a decade ago.

In 2018, candidates that helped take back the House of Representatives ran on a public option. In Iowa, Cindy Axne and Abby Finkenauer won their races running in support of a public option, not Medicare for All. This is reflective of the broader strategy of down-ballot candidates across the country. This especially will be true in swing states that Democrats need to win in 2020.

Bennet has won his races saying the same thing in the primary election that he says in the general election. He says the same thing in rural areas as urban areas, and stands on principle. According to a new Third Way poll, “two-thirds [of Democratic primary voters] think it’s important for the 2020 candidates to take positions in the primary that they can defend against attacks in the general election.”