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The American people have a very clear choice in the upcoming elections. On one side is Donald Trump and the Republican leadership in Congress, who made throwing 32 million Americans off of health insurance their number one priority in Washington. On the other side is my "Medicare for All" plan supported by 16 senators and 122 House members. It would guarantee everyone could get the health care they need without going into debt at far lower cost than the current dysfunctional system. And Americans are very clear about which side they are on. In a poll last summer, 70 percent said they support expanding and improving Medicare to cover everyone in our country. They understand that there is something profoundly wrong when our current dysfunctional health care system is designed not to provide quality care to all, but to enable the private health insurance industry and drug companies to make billions in profits. (Sen. Bernie Sanders, 10/11)

As Democrats have increasingly advocated for some kind of universal, government-guaranteed health insurance program (though there are multiple plans floating around with different features), Republicans have struggled to settle on the most effective rhetorical counter to the idea. “Big government takeover!” has gotten a little old. “Bureaucrats making decisions for you instead of your doctor!” rings false to anyone who has had to deal with the nightmare of insurance company bureaucracy. “It’ll cost trillions!” is less persuasive when they’re running up trillions in debt themselves for things like corporate tax cuts. So what’s the alternative? (Paul Waldman, 10/10)

Do you remember political spin? Politicians used to deceive voters by describing their policies in misleading ways. For example, the Bush administration was prone to things like claiming that tax breaks for the wealthy were really all about helping seniors — because extremely rich Americans tend to be quite old. But Republicans no longer bother with deceptive presentations of facts. Instead, they just flat-out lie. (Paul Krugman, 10/11)

Last week, the Trump administration reached out to the USA TODAY Opinion team to publish an opinion from the president, criticizing the Democrats’ proposal for a government-funded, single-payer health care system known as "Medicare for All.” David Mastio, the deputy editorial page editor, said it is not unusual for U.S. presidents to submit opinions to USA TODAY, especially ahead of key races such as the midterm elections. Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush submitted op-eds and opposing views during their years in office as well as in their campaigns. (Manny Garcia, 10/11)