Then again Clinton did win by a landslide in ITTL 1996, and we know from OTL 1993-1994 that he did legitimately support universal healthcare.
Also, while lots of Communism fear mongering would be happening in America- even more than usual levels, I suppose- fascism would also be discredited much more. Extreme ideology in general would probably be less popular.
Big recessions are also times for big economic change, an example being the Great Depression creating much of the modern American welfare state and the Great Recession leading to Dodd-Frank and Obamacare.
Alright, this is the last I will say about this topic, because we're veering dangerously off topic.
The reasons that the chances for an American Universal Healthcare System are abysmal are that the people advocating for it have no clue what they actually want and have proven themselves unwilling to make the necessary sacrifices to implement it. Kraut did a great video about it(Edit:
here), which I'll edit in later, but for now, let's just continue onwards.
When American politicians talk about healthcare, they talk about the "European System" and how it should be copied. Anyone with even the slightest knowledge of European Healthcare however will tell you that there is no "European System." The various countries of Europe have vastly different systems in place. Here in Germany we have a hybrid system, where (almost) everyone is automatically part of the public system, but you can also instead choose a private insurance instead. England has it NHS, which is entirely public. And so on, and so forth. All of those systems have their own quirks, and not all of them are compatible with the US. Hell, they may not even be compatible with individual member states. So just taking some European healthcare model and applying it 1:1 in the US is a recipe for disaster.
The point being, there is no actual plan of how that is meant to actually work in the States.
Which brings me to the next point: about how healthcare isn't a right, it's an obligation. Without universal healthcare, you being a fat f*ck is your problem. If you don't take care of yourself, you just have to pay more for the inevitable illnesses you'll contract. And if you can't pay, well, that's just the consequences of your actions.
But with universal healthcare, you being healthy all of a sudden is a matter of public interest. Because if you aren't, everyone else will have to pay the bills for you. And nobody wants to do that. As a result, the government starts increasingly interfering both in business and in your private life. The amount of sugar in food is regulated, marketing unhealthy food towards children is banned, sports are encouraged and incentivized, etc. All of which flies in the face of the American character.
Rejecting universal healthcare isn't some extreme, fringe position in the US. So it won't be discredited in the slightest. I do not believe congress would be willing to pass that bill. Meaning it would have to be installed via Presidential Order, and thus would simply be abolished by the next Republican to sit in the Oval Office.
Again, individual states may try out the healthcare model, but it didn't work OTL, so I doubt it'll work here.
