Summary
Progressive lawmakers view the online praise for the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson as a sign of deep public frustration with the U.S. healthcare system.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called it a “wake-up call” highlighting resentment over financial and health precarity, while Sen. Bernie Sanders emphasized that anger reflects the belief that healthcare is a human right.
Though all lawmakers condemned the murder, some progressives argue it underscores systemic issues like claim denials.
Calls for healthcare reform have intensified amid public outrage.
Wouldn’t have mattered. Trump would have just countered with a similar populist angle, and by the time it was filtered down to voters, it would still be pro-Trump.
To be more specific about the college students, I saw them coo and rave about how “strong” Trump feels, or list off all these (seemingly) blatant lies about policy or what either candidate going to do, a few I recognized online, and again this is ostensibly a well connected and “smart” demographic. At that point, I realized their world is totally shaped by what their favorite feeds and influencers tell them, and this is a space being won by the GOP:
https://www.axios.com/2024/11/18/news-influencers-conservative-tiktok-youtube
I’m seeing a lot of right wing propaganda agents having their audiences turn on them over the shooting.
The Democrats would have had to do it right, and I do admit they wouldn’t, but I think it could have made a difference. Unfortunately, Republicans always have a villain to direct anger to, while Democrats are allergic to anything more than mild criticism of the oligarchs.