BREAKING:
CNN reporting that @POTUS has asked @SpeakerRyan to "pull the bill"
— Timothy McBride (@mcbridetd) March 24, 2017
Are you tired of winning? I’m not
Next fight is to make sure CMS and the Trump Administration do not sabotage the exchanges and avoids approving horrendous 1115 Medicaid waivers.
And yes, I am big footing Doug
patroclus
YIIPPPIIIEEE! I’m getting SO tired of all this winning!
Yarrow
So much winning! And also good, Trump is a loser! Ryan is a loser!
David, tell us what to call and make noise about with the next steps. Fired up! Ready to go!
Major Major Major Major
Out of curiosity, what were your final odds? 70% passage? Hooray!
mdblanche
Damn, and I was so looking forward to Paul Ryan’s impression of Lord Cardigan.
dr. bloor
How much sabotage can they get away with before Republican governors and the health care lobbyists tell them to stop fucking around?
Formerly disgruntled in Oregon
Gotta take the victories you can get. This isn’t how I thought things would go down back in Nov/Dec, thank FSM.
Ian G.
I’m glad for millions of people who are less fortunate than me who would have been completely fucked. And, on a more selfish note, I’m glad the health insurance company I work for won’t be thrown into chaos.
Paul W.
Feels so good, now just need to keep beating them down and not let even tax cuts (which I thought were guaranteed to get through, if nothing else).
dmsilev
So, the GOP has been asked to pull the plug on a bill that was previously on life support?
GOVERNMENT DEATH PANELS!
TenguPhule
@dr. bloor:
I could tell you, but you really don’t want to know.
Elizabelle
Thank Dog, but we are going to have to be relentless.
Exceeded the two minutes I can usually stand CNN. Wolf Blitzer was going on about the GOP working incrementally. Like all the shit sandwich ingredients are going to be more palatable, served up one after the other.
CNN makes the Republicans sound so reasonable. And it’s just Democrats who would be playing politics over a recess break.
How we got President Trump. CNN, you’re right up there with the NY Times.
dmsilev
Apparently Ryan is going to hold a press conference shortly. Would it be asking too much for it to conclude with ritual seppuku?
hovercraft
Aww poor little ZEGS looks so sad in this picture.
Oh well I’m sure they’ll try again, but we’ll be ready and waiting for them. Turns out that for once in his life Bill Krystal was right, it’s really hard to take away people’s benefits once they’ve got them. They’ve spent hundreds of millions of dollars denigrating and lying about Obamacare, but when push came to shove, people didn’t want it taken away.
Mary G
I’m hoping that Paul Ryan is finally exposed as the amateur and fraud he is. He was boasting before the election that he had a pocket full of great bills ready to go if Trump was elected. Oopsy!
So happy. Ready to fight more.
Just heard a Republican on C-SPAN chastise the Republicans for acting like a bunch of children.
eclare
@Mary G: Same here, fired up! Ready to go!
raven
Come on, 14 posts and no chicken little shit?
TenguPhule
@dmsilev:
You gotta dream big. Reach for the stars.
TenguPhule
@raven: That chicken shit is not little by any stretch of the imagination.
Thoroughly Pizzled
The Medicaid expansion is safe. This is a great victory.
dr. bloor
Joe Biden pantsed Ryan and exposed him as a poseur on national teevee four short years ago. The Beltway Lie about his powerful intellect and wonkiness is even more of a zombie than the man himself.
Hellbastard
Calling this debacle “amateur hour” is an insult to amateurs everywhere.
ArchTeryx
Does it mean I finally can breathe again? That my health care won’t be pulled in a matter of weeks or months, on the eve of my starting biologic therapy for my Crohn’s?
If it’s truly the case, then it’s Miller Time.
hovercraft
Now the real fun begins!!!
Report: Bannon Wants A ‘S*** List’ Of Health Care ‘No’ Votes
JPL
How do we prevent Price from tanking the bill?
schrodingers_cat
Time for a victory dance?
Barbara
The relief I feel is for my brother and a lot of other people I know who have not had their lifeline yanked away from them. I am sure my Facebook friends look forward to a day without posts from me begging them to contact their House Reps.
Corner Stone
I want someone to truss Mick Mulvaney up on a bamboo pole, march him out in front of the press and then shove a fucking apple in his mouth.
Anonymous At Work
Brave Sir Ryan ran way
Bravely ran away away
When danger reared its ugly head, he bravely turned his tail and fled
Yes, brave Sir Ryan turned about and valiantly he chickened out
Bravely taking to his feet, he beat a very brave retreat. A brave retreat by brave Sir Ryan.
Barbara
@hovercraft: So do the Koch brothers. Boo fucking hoo.
Goku
The last few months have shown me that even when they (Republicans) win they still lose, which is what has happened today. What a humiliation for them. Awesome!
TenguPhule
@Corner Stone: I don’t think you can afford my rates.
oldster
Fired Up! Ready to Go!!
Who knows what will happen with Obamacare Repeal–the weasels have been trying to destroy Social Security for 80 years now, so I’m sure that they won’t quit overnight.
But for today, this is a great victory.
It exposes Ryan for a powerless wimp and an incompetent legislator.
It gives the lie to Trump’s “deal-making skills”.
And it united 83% of America in standing up for their right to Obamacare.
This Is What Democracy Looks Like.
Barbara
@ArchTeryx: Have a beer. Even if there are more fights to fight tomorrow, today is a good day.
hovercraft
@ArchTeryx:
Yes for now, I wish I could say you’re safe, but you know these fuckers will try again, but at least for a while you can breath easy.
Yay !! ;-)
Thoroughly Pizzled
@ArchTeryx: Congratulations! We’ll fight the bastards off next time too.
amygdala
Important battle won, but the war’s still on. We live to fight another day.
God, what a relief.
ArchTeryx
@Thoroughly Pizzled: Actually can’t drink (due to the meds I take) but my best friend and I are going out to dinner and celebrating. Good food trumps everything. My usual dose of my medical pot will take care of the feel-good stuff.
amk
BBC
‘Trumpcare’ collapses as vote withdrawn
Love the word collapses.
WINNING BIGLY !!!
amk
eat it, assholes.
Mike J
SFAW
@dmsilev:
Asking? No.
Expecting? Maybe a tad optimistic on that front.
JMG
Fight never ends, but this was a very, very good day.
burnspbesq
@Paul W.:
If they go for rate reductions without structural changes, they’ll probably get that, but I still think Brady’s crackpot border-adjustment scheme is DOA in the Senate.
West of the Rockies (been a while)
The Art of the Squeal (like a stuck pig). I anticipate some unhinged Tweeting on the horizon.
hovercraft
After hours of debate on the House floor, Paul Ryan closed debate and pulled the bill off the floor at Donald Trump’s request.
Twitter was brutal.
amk
@GrandJury: yeah sure, after this hyped up shitshow, they will somehow get their shit together and kill it silently.
amk
MaryL
Any regulatory lawyers know whether there is a notice and comment period for waivers? Most people don’t realize that the public can weigh in on agency actions.
MikefromArlongton
Smoke and mirrors. Having them vote it down and then having to weasel out of Trump having said Obama Care stays if they don’t pass it today is a lot worse politically than Trump saying he pulled it. It was a softening of a loss imho.
You know, seeing that story with Comey going to the Whitehouse makes me think how soon will it be till we see a fleet of Black sudans coming from the FBI building to arrest Trump and his goons for conspiring with a foreign Govnt to win the Presidency. Any chance that could question the entire elections legitimacy ? How crazy would that be?
burnspbesq
@raven:
Nope. The sky was going to fall if this piece of shit passed.
hovercraft
@Mike J:
Okay so no one has yet explained to him that just like him, they were lying?
I hope they let him go on waiting for it to explode, I know Tom Price can sabotage it, but as long as the program remains we can always fix it later, right?
Corner Stone
@TenguPhule: You would *charge* for that privilege?!
ArchTeryx
Yes, it’s a battle in the endless war, but it’s a battle we just won, and this one was for all the marbles for me and millions like me. I’m not sure what to do with myself now that I don’t have to play Johnny One Note any more, and can go on with my life – and my treatment.
Chyron HR
But there was no joy in Trumpville,
Mighty Ryan had struck out.
:^(
MaryL
@Mike J: I’m extremely curious as to how they are going to lay blame on Democrats, when it’s Republican infighting that killed this bill?
oldster
Another thing to savor:
No one in Congress–on either side of the aisle–is going to look at Trump’s bluff the same way again.
Or at his power to campaign against them.
He took a very hard line in these negotiations. He threatened to campaign against anyone who voted ‘no’. He said he would force them to take a vote.
He laid down an ultimatum: You must vote on Friday.
And then he folded. He folded on every single aspect of it.
Not only that, he could not mobilize *any* public support for this. He could not get three people and a basset-hound to stand up and support his position.
Whereas our side mobilized hundreds and thousands at every congressman’s town hall.
During the last election season, Trump put the fear into the Republicans. Now the fear just leaked out.
The Republican leadership now knows that he has no super powers, no popular support, no clout.
Impeachment just got that much more possible.
amk
@Mike J: what is maggie blabbing about now?
West of the Rockies (been a while)
The Art of the Squeal (like a stuck pig). I anticipate some unhinged Tweeting on the horizon.
Howz that taste, Paulie, that maggot-encrusted turd sandwich?
MJS
@Mike J: Wait, I thought you weren’t supposed to tell the enemy what you’re doing? As if the Democrats won’t be pointing out everything that Trump and the Republicans do to make sure the ACA fails. Nancy already has her tattoo needles ready for that eventuality.
Keith G
This thing ain’t over by a long shot.
Obamacare has been a work-in-progress. It needs a lot of fixing. The question becomes how will they fix the things that need to be fixed….. or will they let those things devolve and create instability in more markets than is already the case?
Will the Freedom Caucus just continue to vote no and by doing so stop any of the important fixes needed to create more stable and affordable markets for the next sign up…. those decisions are quickly approaching.
Mary G
@ArchTeryx: So happy for you! Are you getting Remicade? I was on it for RA for about three years and it worked great.
Corner Stone
Poor, poor, Paulie Blue Eyes. Sad. So sad. He is just so sad. He so wanted to take your health care from you. Why wouldn’t you let him? Didn’t you know he’s been dreaming about it since college? Why would you do this to him? How could you be so cruel? He just wanted a clean repeal and tax cut for the incredibly wealthy. Is that too much to ask? No, Paulie Blue Eyes says. No it’s not you bunch of selfish fuckers.
amygdala
@ArchTeryx: I wish I had something useful to say. It’s horrifying that people coping with major illness have to devote the kind of energy they do here in the US worrying about coverage. Have a great dinner with your friend and know that we’ll suit up again to fight the good fight again tomorrow. There’s no other option.
MazeDancer
Trump is no longer All Powerful Mean Tweet King.
The little man behind the green curtain is exposed.
Pussy hats won. Phone calls won. Truth won. Big hearts won. Democracy won.
Many more battles ahead, of course. But the myth is broken. He’s not the deal maker. He’s not the closer.
I’m playing Lennon soundtrack. Power to the People, right on.
Barbara
@amk: She just has to show that she has access to the most important, bigliest people. When she is not a stenographer for those people, she is a political gossip columnist. The next Maureen Dowd. Ugh.
LurkerNoLonger
That sound was me exhaling. I’ve been holding it since November 9th.
MazeDancer
Oops.
Don’t type p–ssy hats won. You go to moderation.
But even in moderation – won they did!
Yarrow
@ArchTeryx: I was hoping you’d comment! So happy for you that this horrible bill went down. And happy for all of us.
Downpuppy
Might it be time to offer a technical corrections bill to do stuff like restoring risk corridors & offering alternatives for areas down to 1 insurer, or would that be too much an opportunity for evil amendments?
Yarrow
Ryan knows he’s going to take the blame for this. His body language is a mess. Can’t see him lasting long as Speaker.
Goku
@GrandJury: They can’t blame the Democrats for this. They have full control and will own whatever happens, even if they try to silently kill it. People will ask why Republicans didn’t do anything to fix it. They’re the ones who are fucked. From what I’ve seen recently of Dems, they won’t be let off the hook so easily
Corner Stone
ZEGS now pathetically talking out of his pathetic mouth. Sad!
Hungry Joe
Is there any reason Ryan can’t slap together something else — maybe a shit sandwich on sourdough instead of rye — and bring it to the floor after a few months of arm-twisting and Trump-tweeting?
TenguPhule
@Corner Stone: Personal satisfaction sadly doesn’t pay for the rent, the pole, or the apple.
amk
Dems should take this lesson of marching in lockstep and stay together to defeat the treasonous & traitorous thugs.
rikyrah
yeah.
YEAH!!!
20 MILLION KEEP THEIR HEALTHCARE
and, we’re eating up the clock.
Corner Stone
@Hungry Joe: Rye is far superior. Not even close.
Yarrow
Ryan’s reading off his script. He looks shaken. He also says “the worst is yet to come with Obamacare.” So they’re coming after it. We have to work hard.
ArchTeryx
@Mary G: I am getting Remicade, yes. It’s not something I can start if my insurance would be interrupted, because going on it and stopping it would leave me *worse* off then not being on it at all – and once you stop it, you can never restart it. The body makes antibodies against it.
This means the world to me. It also means I can talk about other things here, which I’ve desperately wanted to do for ages. I started this Johnny One Note bit because I wanted to leave at least a LITTLE legacy behind, but instead, I got adopted by the community. Time for me to give something back to it.
amk
LOL.
randy khan
@GrandJury:
First, it’s the only victory we could have today, and a loss would have been bad. It’s a big deal.
Second, now the Republicans own health care at some level. They’re in charge of implementation, so if it goes bad, they’re the ones who will get blamed. (Just like Obama got blamed when it wasn’t possible to move any tweaks to the ACA through Congress and when the Republicans cut off funding that would have stabilized the exchanges.)
Third, it cracks Trump’s “master deal maker” façade. That’s central to his brand, and now the people who supported him because of it have reason to wonder whether they were right.
Fourth, it exposed the deep divisions in the Republican caucus. That’s something Dems can exploit.
Plenty to be happy about.
efgoldman
@GrandJury:
Alla’ youse Cassandras keep saying this shit. That’s not the way it works with low info voters (which is almost all the mouth breathing, knuckle dragging flying monkeys). Just like football coaches and baseball managers, the president gets most of the credit and most of the blame, no matter what actually happens.
Not that the assholes are going to turn into Dems all of a sudden, but that a litany of RWNJ failures gives them incentive to stay home.
TenguPhule
@GrandJury:
Victories are not won by retreats either.
But every battle matters, big or small.
Mary G
Paul looks awful. Ha Ha Ha
burnspbesq
Rodney Frelinghuysen, hero? Unpossible.
D58826
first good political day since Nov 8th
Corner Stone
@Downpuppy:
Might be. If you were a legislator who actually gave a shit about people.
Patricia Kayden
@Elizabelle: Strange because Spicer and Trump have made it clear that CNN is part of the fake news that they hate. Yet CNN can’t stop kissing Repub butts.
rikyrah
@ArchTeryx:
Have that beer.
the fight begins anew tomorrow
Keith G
@Downpuppy: That would depend on what the Freedom Caucus decides to do. If they wanted to be total Randian shitheads about this, they could pretty well prevent any the needed fixes to help stabilize the marketplaces. I know some of them would be rather tempted just to let the whole thing go to shit.
Goku
@oldster: One can only hope. Impeachment can’t come soon enough. Maybe the investigation will implicate Pence and the GOP leadership as well.
Yarrow
@Mary G: He really does. Looks green. So his tie color isn’t his best choice today.
TenguPhule
@Downpuppy:
Answered your own question right there.
Yarrow
Paul Ryan: “Obamacare is the law of the land.” LOLOLOLOLLOL!
rikyrah
@amk:
Damn straight.
trollhattan
@Yarrow: Maybe, but who else wants the jerb? Ryan basically got dragged into it and McCarthy sure doesn’t want it.
Aleta
Over 45 Rs wouldn’t tell their constituents how they planned to vote; and they skated.
Ceci n est pas mon nym
@oldster:
Kinda makes me wish for the parliamentary system where (as I understand it from observation) a big loss like this means the Prime Minister resigns, Parliament is dissolved and you have new special elections. Always seemed kind of chaotic to me, but more and more I’ve wished we had some element of the UK/Canada system. Especially the short election seasons.
I’m sure I’m misunderstanding crucial aspects, but isn’t that why David Cameron resigned? He basically had no choice after throwing his weight on the losing side of Brexit?
Somebody Brit-splain it to me.
amygdala
@burnspbesq: Maybe not a hero, but a strange bedfellow, which is even more disturbing.
Chris
@MikefromArlongton:
Oh dear.
West of the Rockies (been a while)
@Hungry Joe:
Sure, the Repubs can trot out another half-assed bill. But will there be much appetite for another marathon circle jerk of inevitable failure?
Corner Stone
Bah-duh-bah-buh-baaahhh!! I’m lovin’ it!
schrodingers_cat
Old BS supporters are here again, pooh poohing any Democratic victory, like always.
Yarrow
@trollhattan: No one wants the job. But the Freedom Caucus won today. They got concessions and they killed the bill. Maybe they think they can take him out.
amk
wonder how all those asshole insurance honchos that twitler paraded around feel now.
Davebo
@GrandJury: I don’t recall him saying they would remove funding. That in itself would take legislation.
randy khan
@Yarrow:
Ditto.
schrodingers_cat
@Mary G: Are the MSM bots still gushing over his baby blues?
Mike J
gvg
@Hungry Joe: Yes. He doesn’t know how. He is so out of touch, he doesn’t actually understand how real people use and need insurance AND he doesn’t actually understand the business of healthcare nor does anyone else on his “side” apparently.
The problem is people want affordable healthcare and he doesn’t want them to get it. That is kind of unsolvable.
Its not even the tax cuts he wants to slip in, he just doesn’t want healthcare. I don’t think he understands or accepts that the ACA was good for private insurance too. He is unable to understand how government intervention can also be good business.
the Conster, la Citoyenne
Yarrow
LOL! ZEGS just admitted that “Obamacare taxes stay with Obamacare.” That’s why they wanted this bill first so they could cut more taxes. Too bad, so sad.
geg6
@ArchTeryx:
I am so happy for you and the millions like you that we all fought for to get this victory today. The war continues, but a big battle has been won.
efgoldman
@Keith G:
If they put any REAL fixes on the floor (which they won’t) they won’t need the kkkrazy kkkaukus votes, because the Dems will support it too.
But they won’t propose any such thing.
trollhattan
They can’t even keep their soundbites straight–this whole time every Republican spoke about ACA “imploding” and “in a death spiral” now suddenly it’s exploding?
Cacti
O/T but this is yuge, and will likely be completely eclipsed by the demise of Trumpcare:
Per the WSJ, Michael Flynn was discussing with Turkish officials how to abduct Fethullah Gulen out of the United States to get him in Erdogan’s hands for probable torture and execution.
Link
Corner Stone
Wait a second. You didn’t have a plan to ACTUALLY FUCKING GOVERN!?
Goku
@schrodingers_cat: Grand Jury, if that’s who you’re talking about, was formally shomi, and they were never a BS supporter
amk
@Hungry Joe: Is there any reason to believe that zegs stays that long to do more fubars?
amygdala
@Mike J: As I understand it, sick burns are covered by the ACA.
Yarrow
@schrodingers_cat: You should see him. He looks horrible. Like he’s going to vomit. He’s trying to suffer through this and make the best of it, but he looks awful.
Davebo
If only the guy had held a few more stadium rallies….
Aleta
@the Conster, la Citoyenne: I like that.
TenguPhule
OMG, it is true, the FSM luvs me.
/Warning, Wall Street Journal Link
Flynn was involved in plot to kidnap someone in the USA to send to Turkey.
amk
Ridnik Chrome
The schadenfreude, it tastes good. But if Trump and Ryan’s misfortune is just about everyone else’s good fortune, is it really schadenfreude?
schrodingers_cat
@Ceci n est pas mon nym: The Prime Minister is the leader of the majority party in the Lower House, in addition to being the chief executive of the cabinet and the government. If he loses confidence (doesn’t have votes to pass his agenda or comes up short in a vote of no confidence) of that chamber he resigns and fresh elections have to be called.
donnah
Now Ryan is backpedaling on health care and talking about tax reform, tax reform, tax reform. He’s so done. He said it was tough because now they’re now the governing party and it’s harder than being an opposition party. Boo-dee-hoo!
David Anderson
@Major Major Major Major: As of this morning I was at 70% of win/30% of failure.
Of that 70%, I figured it was an 80% chance of a vote and a loss… so an implied 14% chance of the bill getting pulled.
randy khan
@Hungry Joe:
There isn’t, but as of right now there’s a lot less concern about the impact of Trump-tweeting in the Republican caucus than there might have been a month ago – even a week ago. That’s one reason the bill failed.
Fair Economist
@Cacti:
Significant because kidnapping, and conspiracy to kidnap, is a state crime so the corrupt prosecutors Sessions will appoint can’t let him off by not prosecuting.
trollhattan
Interesting they waited for the markets to close before yanking the vote. Monday will be worth watching.
catclub
@Cacti: You know how the FBI entraps people by getting them to plan some act, but not carry it out,
to get terrorism and terrorism conspiracy cases and convictions?
This will not be like that. There will not be a conviction for conspiracy to kidnap.
Also, another happy Fitzmas – not quite sighted.
amk
@Cacti: Traitors’ day out.
Goku
@TenguPhule: LOCK HIM UP!1!!
Thoroughly Pizzled
@schrodingers_cat: What happens if they don’t resign?
amk
Elizabelle
Put up a little live-typing of Lyin’ Ryan on thread below.
He was bobbing and weaving and saying the Republicans were trying to do DEMOCRATS a favor since OCare is such a disaster and about to tank.
Uh huh.
Immanentize
@ArchTeryx: good for you and good for the country. I fornone never minded your comments — so Sing, Johnny One Note! Of course if you do branch out, you will just be another jackal in the pack…. but it is a great pack to travel with.
Elizabelle
@amk: That is so sweet. LOL.
schrodingers_cat
@Goku: No, he just likes to troll us but there is a high correlation between doom and gloomers and BS supporters.
Yutsano
@Thoroughly Pizzled: Wonder if this means Kansas is going to keep up their push for it.
Yes.
You heard me right.
MOTHER. BUCKING. KANSAS.
tobie
@the Conster, la Citoyenne: @Cacti: Do you think this might be why Comey met with Trump today:
Conspiring to kidnap a US person (i.e., a resident alien) at the behest of or to benefit a foreign power is a pretty big crime. This is speculation on my part. With the Rosneft story and now the Gulen story and the Manafort/Stone/Page testifying story, it’s hard to know what Comey had to discuss today in the White House.
LurkerNoLonger
Headline from my local paper: Rep. Faso will vote in favor of GOP health care bill, hails revision that shifts N.Y. counties’ Medicaid costs to the state. Woops!
Tilda Swintons Bald Cap
@the Conster, la Citoyenne: That’s a good one !
Goku
@ArchTeryx: Good to hear for you! Now maybe you can rest assured little easier, with what’s happened
Ceci n est pas mon nym
@Elizabelle: They just can’t talk about actually benefiting the citizens who they are supposedly governing, can they? They can’t even pretend the bill is aimed at helping people, it doesn’t even occur to them that’s a goal the government should have.
Brachiator
@schrodingers_cat:
A victory dance is totally premature.
The Republicans will likely try this again before their April 7 Easter recess.
We won the battle, not the war.
That said, the clip you posted is absolutely fabulous. I hope it can be invoked many more times.
At first glance the lead actor reminded me of Daniel Day Lewis.
Shalimar
@MaryL: Ryan made it clear what the strategy for blaming Democrats is. Do everything possible to force Obamacare to collapse, then blame Democrats because it was supposedly bad policy from the start.
I hope it won’t work. Obamacare was fine while Obama was president, blame Trump if it immediately collapses on his watch.
Keith G
@efgoldman: Yeah, I would be highly surprised to this Speaker or maybe any Republican Speaker in the near future reach across the aisle on a controversial vote like this. Not ruling it out, but I just don’t think Ryan has it in him to be that brave.
amk
Have the trumpanzees issued 2nd amindment solutions to ryan & co yet?
schrodingers_cat
@Thoroughly Pizzled: They are no longer the PM if they lose the vote of no confidence. Its not a choice.
Yarrow
@Cacti: I was wondering why he hadn’t been saying, “Interview me! I want to be interviewed!” like Manafort, Stone and Page. Now we know.
hedgehog the occasional commenter
@ArchTeryx: So happy and relieved for you.
catclub
@Keith G:
Another question is how many GOP led states adopt Medicaid expansion – that is now free money with no Obama stink on it.
David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch
Aleta
If this bill had been even harsher, did it have a chance of passing?
Chris
@Brachiator:
Yeah, that’s what I’m afraid of. Anybody got a transcript of what Paul Ryan’s saying? I can’t watch it at work and I haven’t found a transcript…
Downpuppy
@Corner Stone: @Keith G: I was thinking in terms of a Democratic bill, mostly to have it on record that there are people who know exactly what needs to be done to get the ACA running right.
Seemed like a good idea until I thought of what could happen.
But then, SOMEBODY has to start legislating right eventually, no?
catclub
@Cacti: That headline ‘ex-CIA director’ is wrong. Flynn was director of DIA.
That headline first threw me.
Wag
For seven years the GOP has been promising to repeal and replace. They had seven years to come up with a well thought out bill, one that might’ve corrected the few shortfalls of the ACA, but the petulance of the GOP, their insistence that the only way forward was through the complete destruction of the ACA set the stage for failure. Additionally, their failure to present any form of a complete alternative showed the GOP to be the party of ineptitude.
The way forward for the Democrats remains the same. Unity in opposition.
SatanicPanic
@Chris: They’ll still have the same issues and the same dummies in charge. I wouldn’t bet on Trump wanting to be made to look like a fool again. He’ll find other ways to beclown himself.
Elizabelle
Glad that’s over for the day. I don’t like watching CNN. Bunch of yucks who talk an issue to death, and frame things favorably for Republicans, even when they’re going down in flames. Wolf trying to turn the angle to what the GOP COULD be doing, rather than what they are.
Thoroughly Pizzled
@schrodingers_cat: OK. What happens if the party replaces the PM and never calls new elections? The idea of unscheduled elections is very weird to me.
geg6
@Yarrow:
Good. I hope he’s nauseous for the rest of his life after he spent the past few days giggling and laughing and crowing about how he was going take away health insurance for millions. Fucker.
Elizabelle
@Aleta: I doubt it. And who gives a fuck. It’s done. For now.
David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch
Mocking “#Art of the Deal” is treading Worldwide
amk
@Brachiator: Enough with the fluffing up the clueless clowns from twitler downwards.
Immanentize
@TenguPhule: Flynn is a nasty piece of work — just the kind who WILL NOT GO DOWN ALONE.
I’m taking bets…. (Is LAO or Bella Q around?)
trollhattan
@Chris:
Ryan excerpts:
Cacti
@tobie:
Like you said, so much going on it’s hard to say.
But a federal kidnapping offense carries a 20 year sentence.
Elizabelle
@Patricia Kayden:
It’s what they do. Our major news media is so corrupt and complicit.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Trump’s next Sixty Minute Hate will probably have a good twelve minutes of playing with Ryan like a half-dead mouse. “Now, a lot of people are blaming Paul Ryan…. No, no, come on, folks, we love Paul, we love Paul, he did his best. He came to me and said Mr President, I really want to try this, so I said, go ahead, Paul, you know these folks, I forgot for a minute that Washington doesn’t work, but Paul tried he tried, now we’re gonna try some common sense, I’ll help Paul, we’ll show him the way”
ruemara
Like Jason, this bill will return. When have the republicans ever stopped being as foul as possible? They’d have to lose elections consistently for about 50 years to be suitably chastened. And that won’t happen.
amk
@Thoroughly Pizzled: Unscheduled elections are the way of life in parliamentary democracies. And the election campaigning periods last 8 weeks at most.
David Anderson
@ArchTeryx: Enjoy your beer!
rikyrah
@ArchTeryx:
it’s ok. we understood your one note.
not a more important note to be on.
trollhattan
@Immanentize:
Flynn’s spittle-coated RNC speech was a thing to behold.
the Conster, la Citoyenne
amk
Heh, David Mayhew – How do you feel? You did quite a lot for this blog.
Another Scott
Well done, everyone! A great victory on a Friday, so we have a few days to savor it.
And then we get to battle them again on Monday, and every following day, until we manage to drive them from office. Here’s hoping it’s sooner than we even dare to hope.
Cheers,
Scott.
Hoodie
Enjoy it while it lasts. I have no doubt that foxnews and the rest of the wingnut Wurlitzer will, in the not too distant future, blame this failure on opposition by democrats, just like they insinuate that Obama is responsible for isis. Ryan will be relegated to obscurity because he’s a loser, just like gwb. The GOP might have had to pay a price if the bill passed and then the healthcare sector cratered, but they’ll airbrush this failure away. The fundamental truth is that the GOP is the party of entropy, and thus will always be with us. The Russian scandals have more potential.
Elizabelle
@trollhattan:
That is interesting. Not by chance, you think?
les
@Yutsano:
Heard one of the state senators yesterday say yes; but it never gets by Brownback, even if it gets through legislature.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
We’ll see, but… wow
rikyrah
I haven’t felt this way since November 8th:
Good Afternoon, Everyone ?????
hueyplong
There will be more bad days than good ones, but today is a good one, and grand jury’s little dose of petulance is the icing on today’s cake for me.
Immanentize
@Fair Economist: I think this is mostly a federal crime — unless there was an actual attempt. The conspiracy was not wholly infra state ( in fact it was international) and Gulen is a particularly well know international fellow. So, the state (Penn. where Gulen lives) could maybe prosecute, but will defer to the feds entirely.
TenguPhule
@the Conster, la Citoyenne: Paul Tarkin on the Death-to-Healthcare Star just poo-pooed those little X-wings flying down the trench.
amk
TenguPhule
@Hoodie:
There is a simple solution to that.
rikyrah
We have no power in the WH.
We have no power in the House.
We have limited power in the Senate.
And still we were able to #KillTheBill pic.twitter.com/xbeUx4oRBp
— TrumpsTaxes (@TrumpsTaxes) March 24, 2017
Brachiator
@Chris:
I am glancing over the Ryan transcripts now (you were linked to this earlier in the thread).
Anyone know if the main opposition came from the Freedom Caucus dopes?
Chris
@Hoodie:
LET ‘EM! I have no trouble at all being “blamed” for the failure of a bill that had a whopping 17% public support.
Suffragete City elftx
That WSJ story came out after Trump’s buddy’s newspaper The Enquirer had a HUGE story claiming Trump caught a Russky spy in the White House, then went on to name Flynn.
schrodingers_cat
@Thoroughly Pizzled: They usually do. The members of the opposition can make it impossible for any business to be carried out. Watch the question hour in the Parliament. PM is a member of the house and answerable to the other members, not like the President in this country. Besides the normal term for an MP is 5 years.
Immanentize
@Yarrow: I think I have an insight into the offer to testify before the HOUSE. They want immunity deals. I can do a longer explanation later, but that is what saved Ollie North’s lying ass in the 80’s.
West of the Rockies (been a while)
This ACHA fiasco is like a group of knuckleheads going on a road trip to the big city to kick some asses and get laid. Instead, they got their asses kicked, but good, came home with dysentery, and most definitely did not score.
Next time Paulie asks, “Who’s up for a road trip?” there may be fewer takers.
Corner Stone
I am starting to think I want to have all of Adam Schiff’s babies.
Corner Stone
What a fucking man baby POTUS is.
Mike J
Corner Stone
“I had and have no fucking idea how governing works.”
/Trump
Yarrow
@Aleta:
No, because the less crazy Republicans (on a scale of crazy to completely crazy), the ones the media likes to call “moderate Republicans” wouldn’t vote for it.
Corner Stone
He keeps calling it “Democrat”. What an asshole.
SatanicPanic
@rikyrah: yeah, the left deserves at least some credit for this
hovercraft
I’m watching this shitshow and he’s telling us that going forward Nancy and Chuck NOW OWN Obamacare. He learned a lot about the process!
Corner Stone
Trump is the President of the United States. What in the fucking fuck.
Aleta
@ArchTeryx: So glad. Thanks for the things you’ve talked about and explained so far.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
I wonder if this silly “deal” language is going to wear on people who aren’t True Believers any time soon
also, too, this Klein is the openly RW brother, right? not the ABC one?
the Right, even the ones who have been making nice publicly, is thoroughly enjoying this, I bet.
Corner Stone
You do know the R’s have a majority in the House, right? And blaming the D’s for failing the vote sounds really low T beta cuck BS nonsense. Right?
Immanentize
@rikyrah: yea Rikyrah!!! I hope I see that tomorrow Morning too. <3 your smiling faces
Corner Stone
Is it going to implode or is it going to explode?
Elizabelle
@Mike J: LOL. Noticed that in real time. It was one of the few true statements emanating from Speaker Ryan this afternoon.
Elizabelle
@West of the Rockies (been a while): And somebody shaved their cat-asses too.
They got pantsed today.
Corner Stone
Is it just me or do Tom Price and Pence look like they are standing at the ready to taser stick Trump at the earliest moment’s notice?
amk
those one page eo’s can go only so far. welcome to the reality, you pos.
hovercraft
I didn’t particularly like this bill, but it was a very good bill Dense and Price did a very good job! Huh?
Keith P.
LOL at it being the Democrats’ fault for not supporting the bill. LOL even more at Trump thinking they’re just going to come around and agree to the deal later on.
steppy
Brian Williams wins the Understatement Award for today: “Well, that was an extraordinary thing to witness…”
TenguPhule
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
What’s the sensitive biapartisan language needed for the Democratic Party to tell Trump that he can give them a nice rimjob instead?
JWR
@Corner Stone:
Bugs the fuck out of me, too.
MaryL
@Shalimar:
Politically, I don’t think it matters if Obamacare collapses. The GOP swore they would fix healthcare, and they didn’t – that’s on them. Dems don’t have to run on retaining Obamacare, they can run on improving it.
I hope every Democrat running in 2018 campaigns on some version of “Joe GOP and the Republican Party claimed they had a plan to expand healthcare coverage and reduce costs. They had their chance, and they failed. Jane Democrat has a plan to improve the Affordable Care Act(etc….).”
Hoodie
@Chris: the problem is they’ll cause the ACA to die from neglect and say “see, we tried to fix it, but democrat opposition prevented that!” I’m not saying there’s anything you can do about that and I’m glad the bill failed, but we’re not really safe until trump or some of his associates are wearing orange jumpsuits. Entropy persists until there’s an event that establishes a new equilibrium, like the financial crisis did. This is not one of those events.
Yutsano
@les: I know they’re trying to push for it to pass with a veto-proof majority, but yeah, Brownback is a big stumbling block here. Maybe the veto vote will go better than they think.
themann1086
@ArchTeryx: *raises glass* this one’s for you and the thousands of other lives saved today.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@TenguPhule: I saw “TerrifiCare” in a few places on twitter today, I’m sure Nancy will be happy to remind him that he spent a year telling people TerrifiCare would be better, broader and cheaper, “Don’t worry about it”
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Yutsano: There were rumors a couple of weeks ago that he was on his way to Europe as an Ambassador (The Vatican? Is he Opus Dei?). Haven’t heard anything about it in a while
?BillinGlendaleCA
@MazeDancer: I was thinking “Crippled Inside” for Paulie Blue Eyes and Dolt 45.
WaterGirl
@Corner Stone:
fixed that for you.
schrodingers_cat
@Brachiator: Every victory needs to be savored remembering that war is not yet won. So I will celebrate. The lead actor is Ranveer Singh, and the drums in the number are the traditional drums from the western state of Maharashtra.
hovercraft
Fucking Chucky, thinks that Twitler reached out to democrats by admitting that he can’t do things without democrats. He thinks he’s giving democrats an opportunity to work with him on improving Obamacare. Now Kornacki is saying that the way he handled the defeat is remarkably calm and confidence. Politically they got it out of the way for the time being, see so it’s actually a win. They get to work on Tax Cuts their favorite and maybe forcing the democrats to support him on infrustructure.
zhena gogolia
@Corner Stone:
Me too.
amk
Being the vindictive little shits they are, they planned this vote this week for the sole reason of showing finger to the kenyan during the anniversary of his flagship success and got their cowardly little asses burned.
bemused senior
I was playing this song by my millenial daughter waiting to hear what happened about the the vote.
SatanicPanic
There will be hell to pay for any Democrat who helps Trump on healthcare. In the House I can’t imagine more than a handful would be dumb enough to try.
Millard Filmore
@schrodingers_cat:
What happens if the prime minister refuses to resign? And his party refuses to push him out?
ETA: I see this question is already asked here:
https://balloon-juice.com/2017/03/24/im-not-tired-of-winning/#comment-6305121
Frankensteinbeck
@gvg:
Everything I’ve heard about him suggests he just plain wants everyone who can’t afford health care to die. His moral code is that the strong should get everything they want, and the weak should suffer. He is a pure Randian.
Barbara
@gvg: The problem, if you will, is that you can’t “fix” health care at the same time you are fighting a rearguard action to take it away entirely. The two goals aren’t compatible. It’s hard to be stealthy when you want to direct $800 billion away from ordinary health care users to wealthy people in the form of a tax cut.
Brachiator
@Ceci n est pas mon nym:
It’s just a different philosophy of government.The voters have to decide what they want.
The Republicans, for their part, have to show that their fantasy works, that the free market, can deliver affordable health care to practically everyone. Obviously, I don’t think they can do this. But it’s their vision of government, not mine.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@hovercraft: I used to like Kornacki. Maybe he had a kid and needs to make sure he fits in with the post-Purge era at MSNBC. I wonder if anybody in the executive suite has notice that their prime time audience has more than double since November. I hope Greta Van Newhead is tanking.
alce_ e_ ardilla
@Hoodie: That is always possible. However with the ACA still in place there will be a framework to repair the damage once the Democrats regain power. If the ACA were gone there would have been no way to replace any of the foundations even if we had regained the house. Now the battle shifts to the courts, and the states, where the governors and the AGs will fight Price and his minions.I am cautiously optimistic that most of the machinery will remain intact in the short to medium term.
D58826
@trollhattan: Among the many things that Trump doesn’t understand is how to count and how Congress works. It’s all the fault of the D’s because they would not supply any voles even though the GOP is the majority party in both chambers. Filibuster aside they don’t NEED D’s to vote for their proposals.
zhena gogolia
@schrodingers_cat:
That’s gangsta!
StringOnAStick
Just like when Obamacare first passed after the rethugs suddenly relented, we all know they are now plotting out other ways to get to the ends they seek. Now that we’ve won a serious battle AND we have a lot of woke and involved people on our side now, that’s going to be a lot harder for them to do. People are watching now, and once they decide to go after Medicare and SS, the most recent uprising of the woke will seem tiny in comparison to what will happen then.
I’ve always paid a lot of attention to politics, but this mal-administration is the first time I have consistently called, emailed, protested, or really done anything other than my duty as a citizen to be informed and to vote. I know I’m not the only one. I detest that we are having to go through the embarrassment of having this man-child in the WH, but if we get a more involved electorate out it if, then it is some consolation (and I hate the whole “enhancing the contradictions” crap, so don’t misunderstand me, please!). That consolation may not be enough to repair all that has happened, but it is a start and we have to start somewhere. But for today, we celebrate what people power as a force for good was able to do!
lollipopguild
@Corner Stone: All of these Katie!
Another Scott
@Millard Filmore: The PM is asked by the President (or the Queen) to form a government. If s/he loses a Confidence vote, then the President (or the Queen) gets his/her resignation.
If the PM refuses to resign, s/he will be removed.
The PM isn’t like a President (being both head of State and head of Government).
HTH.
Cheers,
Scott.
West of the Rockies (been a while)
@Elizabelle:
Oh, the poor kitties!
Yup, they got wedgied and then pantsed.
Deborah
@schrodingers_cat: No, they have fixed five-year parliaments now in the UK. They can override it if two-thirds of Parliament votes for it. Cameron said that if he lost the referendum, he would trigger Article 50 the next day. But he cut and ran. He could have stayed on.
Corner Stone
@hovercraft: Kornacki has turned in to a real POS. I don’t know what the fuck happened to that guy but he used to be middle of the road fact based tolerable. But during the election season he went full on nutso R slant/spin/hype.
Corner Stone
Of course, MSNBC’s Kasie Hunt very earnestly called Paul Ryan a “policy wonk” just a few mornings ago.
So, not much to really count on there except Joy Reid.
cain
I wanted to share this tweet with you. It shows how tenacious Nancy Pelosi is when it comes to whipping vote. This is our speaker, and we know what kind of speaker the Republicans are. Those who have a passion for govt and trying to make it work and believe in something is why we are going to win over those assholes on the other side.
Millard Filmore
@Immanentize:
Do you think these guys had some foreknowledge that the Flynn revelation was coming very soon?
alce_ e_ ardilla
@randy khan: As was noted previously, Ryan’s window for passing the bill was very narrow, for a lot of reasons, which are now becoming clear. There probaby isnt time to recreate any bill that won’t drag into summer and fall, and then election season, which is the last thing Ryan and the Republicans would want. Also now with Trump’s presidency imploding, all the oxygen for big change is being sucked out of the room, and they may be lucky to pass any thing. Which I will take in a New York minute.
Elie
@D58826:
As I said on another thread, Trump effed himself. All those tweets, accusations, etc that drove his approval to 37% and followed by a shit bill with a plan so unpopular that it had only 17% approval! Then he threatens these folks while giving them NO COVER. The Repub Ways and Means Chair today told him NO WAY and put it in the damned paper — all up in his face. He blew this all on his own. He knows nothing and is surrounded by yes men and other know nothings…
Frank Wilhoit
The important thing about Ryan’s remarks at his presser is the acknowledgement that the Coercion Caucus are de facto a third party, with whose “leader” he must negotiate, in the same manner in which he would have to negotiate with the Minority Leader (if it were, or when it becomes, politically possible for him to do so).
Jim, Foolish Literalist
I didn’t know the details, but I’ve been watching her for years and she’s really good at managing her caucus. Nancy d’Alessandro learned politics from her old school city pol father, I think that’s what shows here. I don’t have anything against that guy who wanted to replace her a few months back, but I wonder if he has any idea what the job is, or if he just wanted to go on TeeVee and talk about how Dems need to start paying attention to working (ahem) Americans. One of Harry Reid’s aides said on twitter that one of the reasons Ryan is so bad at being Speaker is he thinks the job happens on TeeVee
the part that preening wanna-be doesn’t get.
Elie
What little Pauly did though was save their asses from the vengeance of Trump. If they actually voted, he would have on record all the folks who opposed passage. By getting it pulled, Ryan did save that from happening — and probably his speakership…
Millard Filmore
@JWR: Is the plural of members of the Democratic Party “Democratics”?
Miss Bianca
@amk: “I’d like to blame the Academy, and also my parents, for this great dishonor…”
Davebo
@Cacti: I wouldn’t get too excited.
The WSJ thinks Flynn was the CIA Director. If they can’t get that right….
zhena gogolia
@the Conster, la Citoyenne:
Great one!
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: in a similar vein
But if he had really wanted it, we could have had single payer.
Immanentize
@Millard Filmore: Absolutely. I mean, ultimately, Comey works for the President. If the President wants to know something, Comey has to tell him/keep him updated. I think the Nunes panic has something to do with Flynn, but more to do with others (like Sessions who it seems may be in a world of hurt if the Mayfair report is true.)
zhena gogolia
@TenguPhule:
Someone? hahaha Gulen
zhena gogolia
@Ridnik Chrome:
No, it’s just straight up Freude, schöner Götterfunken, Tochter aus Elysium!
StringOnAStick
@Davebo: I’m interested to see what Adam has to say about this story. As a military guy, he has to more than pissed that a flag officer would be involved in such an illegal act, and all just for the $. Flynn is in deep trouble. It is only through Adam’s posts that I learned that people at Flynn’s level can’t legally work for other governments without a waiver from the top of the DOD, something I haven’t seen reported anywhere else or even alluded to. I suppose that’s because no one in the reporting biz has served or can be bothered to check any further into the story.
PPCLI
@mdblanche: “Half a league, half a league, half a league onward. Into the valley of death marched the significantly less than 218”
cain
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Exactly.. being a speaker is really hard work. But that said, you can count on a Dem to hear you out regardless of your political bias. I don’t think that is true of the Freedom Caucus. Those fools are who tanked this bill for the most part by making it completely unreasonable even for members of their own party. There is just not enough whipping that is going to work.
We do have an opportunity though.. those republicans who did vote for the healthcare law could be vulnerable in the next election and we need to focus on them.
Yutsano
@cain: It’s my understanding the Majority Whip did…nothing. Like there was no tallying, no rounding, no hounding of the votes. It’s almost like they WANTED it to fail. Which honestly I can’t argue against that premise.
Gravenstone
@ArchTeryx: Happy for you, man. And good luck on the therapeutic regime.
grandpa john
@West of the Rockies (been a while): Yes, because anything they trot out will simply be a replay of what just failed. There is no way they would put forth a truly workable plan that would actually benefit the little people, the average American and would also please the crazies
Gravenstone
@GrandJury: Stick your head in a fire, Derf.
grandpa john
@amk: the difference is they want the repeal without the replace
john fremont
@MazeDancer: They persisted!!!!
misterpuff
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: I think MSNBC has noticed but still fears being the LIBerAL channel. All their new promos showcase a Resistance vibe, but the one that makes me puke is Chuckie’s…on the basketball court talking about rules and refereeing. “We are willing to call the game”, when he spent the whole prior decade saying our job (The Press) is not to point out lies and rule breaking/bending (IOKIYAR) F him.
Chet Murthy
@Corner Stone: Uh, yaknow there’s a line here for that. (points down the block) End’s down there about a half-mile.
Hobbes83
@hovercraft: I wonder how many times Nancy had to pull an ill because she couldn’t whip her caucus correctly. Oh, the soft bigotry of low expectations.
les
@Yutsano:
I’m not sure they have a plain majority. Here’s how much they like gov’t medical care: they privatized Medicare (“KanCare”, pretty clever); they did such a bad job the feds are talking about coming in and taking over.
les
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
He is Opus. Fucker. Unfortunately, his Lt. Gov. is cut from the same cloth, and is owned by the same Kochs.
Cacti
@Davebo:
No, it was the ex-CIA Director Woolsey who walked in on him talking about it.
Patricia Kayden
@GrandJury: Since Republicans have made it clear that their intention is to kill the ACA, they’ll take the blame when it dies. There are many ways that they could fix it which is what most Americans want them to do. I don’t see how they win this war. They’ve been way too vocal about killing the ACA to get away with blaming it on its architects.
Chet Murthy
@SatanicPanic:
FTFY …. uh …?? By which I mean, “I hope?”
Patricia Kayden
@Elie: But isn’t the fact that he promised to replace the ACA with something terrific and spectacularly failed to do so enough to make Trump look ineffective and weak? I don’t see how this healthcare law FAIL helps Trump or Republicans at all. He has not kept one of his most important election promises.
Chet Murthy
@Millard Filmore: Is the plural of “mouse” then “mouses”? C’mon, man. We all know the history of this slur. Goes back a long way.
Fair Economist
@john fremont:
More like “derpsisted”.
moops
They might just throw up a straight Repeal ACA bill. Tell the public that first ACA needs to repealed before they can stand up a replacement. Hard to see it going any worse than this. The Freedom Caucus would sign on. It might actually pass. A few more Moderate Republicans will shift, but you pick up Teahadists that are openly hostile to the needy.
You don’t need to have any plan in hand for people to be upset about. Once repealed it would be up to Democrats to vote against a new replacement health care act. That would be much harder to stomach.
JWR
Thank you, @Chet Murthy, for this:
As for me, I’m tired of pointing out to the grammatically challenged why it’s not only incorrect, but also how it’s been used as a slur going back to at least the 1980’s.
Gvg
@Davebo: no, the ex cia director is James Woolsey. He is the source of the story and witness to Flynn discussing kidnapping with Turkey. Woolsey says he arrived late to a meeting and the discussion was already begun. The WSj story was clear to me but seems to have been garbled in transmission for you, not sure where you got the idea they said Flynn was ex Cia.