Mondays with Mike: Bernie? No bro.

Back in the 1980s, between Beth’s eyes and Gus’ genetic predicament, our little family used a lot of health care. We had insurance, thank goodness, but we still ended up with substantial debt that took years to resolve. In our 20s then, we’d learned early what it’s like to structure our lives around the top priority: Remaining insured.

So I was a big single-payer advocate back then. On moral grounds, yes, because I think everyone should have confidence that they’ll receive decent health care, and they shouldn’t live in fear of not having insurance. But from a capitalist’s point of view, I also think the case for single payer is also strong. Because, while some folks are calling it socialist, you don’t have to be an economist to see we are wasting enormous sums of money on inefficiencies inherent in our splintered mess. That’s a lot of money that could be used differently. Like, oh, infrastructure, private investment, you know, all that stuff. (A recent study supports the argument of prospective overall savings, though, like all such things, there are doubters.)

But then, there’s the rub. No matter how I feel about it, the insurance industry and the health care industry are enormous. That’s reality, however we got here. And they employ a lot of people. Even if the political will materializes, the task of managing and coordinating the switchover is fraught.

And that’s why I no longer support single-payer, at least in the short run. I do support universal coverage. And those are two different things.

Most countries that offer universal coverage do not rely on single payer. They rely on fairly heavily regulated insurance industries. I’m talking about the cool-cat European joints that American liberals regularly point to as good examples.

We have an enormous and inefficient health care machine that includes a giant private insurance industry. To me, that points to moving toward a West European model—Switzerland, Germany, etc.—choosing what works from all of them. To me, that looks doable. It wouldn’t upend an enormous industry, at least not in the short run—and if it includes a public option, it could also be an avenue for gradual and orderly transition to single payer without economic calamity. People could gradually migrate on their own to the public option, and not be yanked out of whatever they have now.

On the other hand, flipping a switch and shazaam! Single payer! That seems impractical, a potential nightmare. (Anyone remember the Obamacare web markets rollout?) This isn’t like Medicare, where it was a from-scratch deal. It was new, not “instead of.”

Which brings me to Bernie Sanders and at least some of his followers. To that contingent, I’m a centrist sellout. To them, there is only ONE WAY, which reeks of a sort of progressive fundamentalism. And at times, an air of moral superiority. There is no acknowledgment that we both want universal coverage, and that’s a very large common ground. There is no acknowledgement of my experience — with the health care systems but also in various workplaces — informing my view.

As for Bernie, he seems to bristle when asked for mechanical details. And he doesn’t have any proxies out there supplying those details either. At least in a way that gives me confidence. He does have true belief—and as I said, in theory, I agree. If he exhibited some awareness of the practicalities of his plan, and how to address them, I might get on board.

In practice, that certitude he exhibits scares me. I suppose it’s exactly what appeals to some of his supporters. To me that certitude is, in itself, a disqualification. Because it seems to be his standard operating procedure.

But I have other bones to pick with him, and for want of another term, Bernieism. One is the long-running bull about the Democratic party sabotaging him. Ask yourself this: Why, when he eschewed the Democratic Party his entire career, regularly dumped on it, did he decide to run as a Democrat? Why put up with all those people you say are hacks? Why not a new party?

Because, well, he gets a ton of benefits. Like mailing lists and infrastructure and all that, you know, practical stuff. Infrastructure that all those people he and his supporters revile so much worked hard to build and maintain. Welcome Bernie! We’re glad to have someone who likes to urinate on us!

And don’t get me started on his hypocrisy regarding delegates and superdelegates. He’s completely flipped from his 2016 position. (Thanks, Elizabeth Warren, for calling that out.)

Will I vote for him if he’s the nominee? As early and often as I am able.

But I’ll have to hold my nose. And if you are a Sanders supporter, and it doesn’t turn out the way you’d like, I hope you’ll do the same.