Republicans Push Fear of Socialized Health Care

There seems to be a bunch of Republicans running for re-election trying to convince their constituents that they are good for health care.  It seems like a strange position to run on seeing that it can be easily proven that they are doing just the opposite.  Stranger yet are the claims that Democrats who favor Medicare for All are pushing policies that would cost seniors their coverage.  They attempt to demonize Socialized health care as Socialism which to them is the greatest evil in the world.

So what is the goal of this strategy?  Is the rabid right wing base the intended audience or is it meant to sway a shaky swing vote?  The right most effective methods always involve instilling fear to drum up support.  They already have their base frenzied with the fear of anyone who looks, thinks or believes different.  But what about the baby boomer who is not firmly indoctrinated with the message of hate for others, and who has an optimistic view of the future?

Republicans are very nostalgic for the cold war era, and the great old classic enemies the USSR and China.  They are fond of reminding anyone old enough to remember that these evil regimes kept the world on the edge of destruction for decades.  They overlook the fact that Socialism is not good or bad by itself, but it is the management of system that determines the outcome.

Any system run by tyrants will prove detrimental to the populous, whereas a democratically elected government can provide a great service to the people through robust social programs.  Republicans are set on equating the Medicare for All Socialism with cold war Communism in the mind of citizens old enough to remember.  Stories of the the brutality of dissent in the Soviet Union in the 50s and 60s make for good fear-mongering in today's senior citizens.

This is not a very effective strategy with younger voters, although the Republican party would rather suppress their vote than court it.  Younger voters are more likely to equate Socialized health care with Denmark and Canada than East Germany and Cuba.  Democrats running on Medicare for All have a winning strategy and should not be intimidated into watering down their policy goals.  Educating older voters who are not blinded by fear and empowering younger voters to feel that their vote matters can bring about progress in this country.