Fred Upton is a no on the House health care bill. https://t.co/AjCDalA3KZ
— Caitlin Owens (@caitlinnowens) May 2, 2017
You’re succeeding. Your efforts are working and let’s keep on calling.
The dynamic is that the AHCA either passes with 3 votes or fails by at least 15 votes. There is no upside for any vulnerable Republican Representative to be a Yes vote on a bill that fails. Let’s get keep the cascade incentives in place as we keep calling.
rikyrah
keep on keeping on, people.
O. Felix Culpa
Called. Rep. Ben Ray Lujan is a strong supporter of the ACA and opponent of the AHCA, so I thanked him for his good work and urged him to keep on keeping on, as per rikyrah.
randy khan
I think the calculus is a bit different – I believe there’s going to be a cascade to the winning side, so it will pass or fail by double digits – but it doesn’t really change the message. We need to keep pushing.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Matt Fuller of HuffPo has a new (well, updated today post-Upton) list up. He was said to be the best head counter in the press last time around. Ros-Lehiten’s neighbor and close ally Diaz-Balart is still listed as undecided
Yarrow
Tell anyone you know with employer-based healthcare who might not be following this issue all that closely that their coverage it at risk too.
patroclus
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Thanks for that list – except Fuller warns readers to take him seriously but not literally. As of now, 20 “No’s” and 8 leaning “No.” That’s enough to kill it, but it’s still close enough that the liars could use enough pressure to change votes. It needs to be killed HUGE so that the undecided all break towards opposition. My problem is that my representatives – Quigley, Durbin and Duckworth – are all Dems and are firmly against it already. I did call Quigley’s office and the staff was friendly and glad I called. (Quigley’s on the Intel Committee and has been far more active investigating the Russian connection).
rikyrah
YES, PLEASE TELL THEM.
They don’t think that they have a dog in this hunt….yes, they do!!
Major Major Major Major
Couldn’t they just not have a vote (again) so NOBODY has to have a vote for this piece of shit on their record?
Just keep swimming, folks…
Gretchen
I just called Kevin Yoder’s office and told them that he is on TPM’s list of the 20 who will be the deciding vote to take health care away from 20 million people. I also said I hoped he’d watch Jimmy Kimmel’s video before he decides. And that, yes, it will take away pre-existing conditions protections, because you know that if Kansas has the chance they’ll do it.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
OT: I said yesterday, one thing I’m not hearing about is Senators like Paul and Cruz trolling the bill in the House to keep it out of the Senate. Anyone hearing anything different?
and just for grins:
If he’s hearing this, he must be watching CNN or Morning Joe again, I’m sure Fox hasn’t repeated it.
Yarrow
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
I think the dynamic is different this time. The House Freedom Caucus is on board with it this time and it’s so-called moderates who aren’t. It was opposite last time. The Senate doesn’t have a Freedom Caucus, but Cruz and Paul would be more aligned on that end. I heard Lindsey Graham said something that sounded like, “Don’t look to us to fix it.” He’d be more “moderate” so again, dynamic shifted.
Betty
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: I heard Lindsey Graham is saying that. I was able to get through to undecided Scott Perry’s office. The aide listened to my full explanation, including reference to the Jimmy Kimmel piece. She was non-committal as expected.
Yarrow
@rikyrah: YES. PLEASE tell all your family, friends and neighbors who are on employer-based healthcare that this bill will affect them too. All those goodies, those “essential benefits” can go away on this bill. People may not know that!
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Yarrow: I thought the consensus was that Paul wanted to be able to say he would’ve voted for something more conservative, but in reality doesn’t want to deal with voters kicked of Medicaid. And ya gotta think Heller and Flake are hoping this doesn’t come up. I wonder if there aren’t a few governors getting nervous, too
Keith P.
Oh, lord, Trump’s giving a rather political speech in front of a bunch of Air Force officers…going after Democrats a few times so far.
Here’s a choice line he just spouted (this is presumably an Air Force appreciation speech): “What would you rather have – spending cuts or more planes? Planes? Me too!”
Bg
I could not get through to Ros-Lehtinen’s Washington office. Voicemail box is full. (Yay!) Called local office & spoke to someone there. Local office is mostly constituent services & she wasn’t sure which bill I was talking about. I had to explain very carefully. Be sure if you call local office of your rep that you are very clear about what you want them to do
Mike J
amber
I live in the bluest of bluest districts in NYC. beyond occasionally telling my congressman (who’s great) to carry on and donating to other races, is there anything I can do in terms of calling Congress? or is this really only valuable for constituents?
patroclus
@Keith P.: It’s the Air Force Academy’s football team for winning the C-in-C trophy last year
rikyrah
This Teen Took Her Harvard Acceptance Letter To Prom Instead Of A Date
Because who even needs boys?
By Jenavieve Hatch
Priscilla Samey found herself without a date to her high school’s prom on Saturday night, so the Minnesota-based teen did what any reasonable woman would do ― she took her Harvard University acceptance letter as her date instead.
The teen, who was also accepted to six other Ivy League universities, tweeted a flawless photo in her flawless grown with Harvard’s letter on Saturday.
“Couldn’t find a man to accept me for prom so I took a college that did,” she wrote in the caption.
…………..
Samey’s post has since gone viral, with more than 122,000 favorites and 27,000 retweets. The reactions were, unsurprisingly, wonderfully supportive.
tobie
I faxed teahadist Rep Andy Harris (MD-1) yesterday. He’s in the Freedom Caucus so he’s on board with the AHCA. Nonetheless i really, really like the idea of the fax machine in his office making horrible sounds all day. FaxZero.com let’s you fax your representative for free.
JMG
@amber: Al Giordano had a good idea. Tell an out-of-state rep’s office (probably best not to do this with a Kansas rep) you are thinking of retiring in their district, then express yourself. They won’t know your age.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@JMG: I was gonna say call a NY rep and say you just moved to the district, but I don’t know what works best. And of course, I disapprove of such shenanigans. I also find jocularity most unseemly.
Major Major Major Major
@Mike J: That’s the stupidest thing I’ve read all day, and I’ve been debugging javascript.
themann1086
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Thanks for this. Comparing HuffPo (20 No’s) with FTFNYT (21) and The Hill’s (22) counts I have these discrepancies:
HuffPo has Daniel Webster (Fl-11) as a Lean No while FTFNYT and The Hill have him as a No
The Hill has Michael Turner (OH-10) as a No while HuffPo and FTFNYT have him as a Lean No.
Elizabelle
@JMG: Oh, that’s a great idea. Tee hee.
hovercraft
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
I reject her premise that the democrats are spinning this as a win.
No money for the wall.
PP still funded.
EPA and Obamacare subsidies still funded.
Yes they threw in a couple of things to let him claim he didn’t come away with nada, but all the big ticket items he said he was going to do did NOT get done. He LOST, Pelosi and Schumer won. There’s a simple way he can WIN, get his and his caucuses acts together, present a united force and them maybe you can get enough vulnerable senate democrats to cave.
Yes I know, that will happen when he learns the definition of the word compromise. Never. Just like the rest of the petulant assholes they’d rather stick to their guns and get nothing and just lie to the base and say the “won”. But you know what, that works for me. Twitler not so much, the lying media will continue to say he lost, time for another feel good, sold out rally, with people lined up around the block to hear him speak.
Elizabelle
@themann1086: I saw “Daniel Webster.”
That’s a name you’d love to carry in to politics. Much like “George Washington” or “John Adams” or what have you.
germy
germy
the party of adults.
hovercraft
@Mike J: @Major Major Major Major:
Hey it worked for NIKE
JUST DO IT
rikyrah
Alright. We’ve updated the AHCA whip list again based on some new information and added a new category of lean yes: https://t.co/y24iOcgafm pic.twitter.com/nGp703u4rt
— Matt Fuller (@MEPFuller) May 2, 2017
hedgehog the occasional commenter
@rikyrah: Thanks for the info! Just posted the link to the article on Facebook with a note to call Coffman (and helpfully included his phone number) :)
Yarrow
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Agreed. Paul doesn’t want to have to take a stand. Honestly, not many of them do. I was just referring to how the dynamic has shifted. The wingnuttiest were against it last time and this time they’re for it but so-called moderates are not.
Jeffro
@rikyrah: Keep calling everyone so that people like this horror show pay the price. “Move to another state if you have a pre-existing condition”?!?!
Can we order a DNA test on Rep Pittenger just to ensure he’s human??
hovercraft
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
I’d add if the budget or spending measure was such a big victory for him, why is he calling for a real showdown in September?
I know that his fans don’t give a shit about logic or consistency but FFS, could a journalist ask him why he needs/wants a government shutdown if he “won” this round. And then maybe they could follow up by pointing out how much the last shutdown cost the government and the economy. Oh and then ask why such a master negotiator is having such a hard time negotiating within his own party, never mind the democrats?
Ohio Mom
I called Wenstrup’s office again.
I suspect he’s doing what he did the last time, acting non-commital and hoping he never has to actually vote and show his true colors.
Major Major Major Major
@hovercraft: The last journalist who asked him a question got thrown out.
rikyrah
@Jeffro:
Are.you.phucking.kidding.me?!?!?!
rikyrah
ARE.YOU.PHUCKING.KIDDING.ME?!?!?
House GOPer: Move To Another State If You Have A Pre-Existing Condition
By ALICE OLLSTEIN
Published MAY 2, 2017 12:17 PM
President Donald Trump and GOP leaders are asserting that their bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act will protect people with pre-existing conditions—despite fact that the current bill allows states to waive the protections, giving insurers a green light to jack up the rates of those with a chronic illness or disability.
Other rank-and-file lawmakers have been more blunt.
“People can go to the state that they want to live in,” Rep. Robert Pittenger (R-NC) told reporters Tuesday morning when asked if people with pre-existing conditions could be charged much more under the American Health Care Act.
“States have all kinds of different policies and there are disparities among states for many things: driving restrictions, alcohol, whatever,” he continued. “We’re putting choices back in the hands of the states. That’s what Jeffersonian democracy provides for.”
Sab
@Elizabelle: Yeah. We had a Tom Sawyer who was mayor and then Congresscritter for years until redistricting got him. He voted for NAFTA, so the GOP put Youngstown into his district.
Tom Levenson
@germy: He could have just shouted “LEEEROYYY JENKINS!”
Barbara
@rikyrah: And so North Carolina continues its long slow walk back to 1960, when it was just another sleepy tobacco state, before all those Yankees moved in to do heart surgery and banking and technology and other stuff real Murricans can’t even spell, and if you can’t spell it why the heck would it ever be important to you? I certainly won’t be moving back for retirement or otherwise.
Yarrow
Okay, I’ve called my Dem Rep. The person who answered the phone told me my Rep hasn’t issued a statement yet but is rock solid on voting against that sort of thing. I find it interesting no statement yet. Maybe the Dems aren’t as worried this time?
I also called Rep in the adjacent district. My zip code crosses over into his district so I fudge it a little bit. He’s a Freedom Caucus member and I thought they were now on board with it. Person who answered the phone said he’s still considering his vote based on the amendments that have been added. That was a surprise! I thought he’d be a solid Yes. I asked him to vote against it and mentioned the Jimmy Kimmel monologue.
hovercraft
Prospects for black America about to get worse under Trump, report says
By Tracy Jan May 2 at 6:20 AM
Black and Hispanic Americans continue to lag far behind whites economically — and their prospects look much worse under President Trump, according to a report to be released Tuesday by the National Urban League.
Despite promises of a “new deal for black America,” any recent progress made towards racial equality is increasingly under threat, said Marc Morial, the league’s president and chief executive. The president’s incendiary rhetoric on the campaign trail has translated into discriminatory public policy, he said.
“The social cancer of hate continues to metastasize, thriving in a climate conducive to hostility towards religious and racial minorities, permeating even at the highest levels of national discourse and threatening to further crack our fractured nation,” Morial wrote in the report.
In an interview with The Post, he pointed to Trump’s intent to roll back key Obama-era policies from expanding health care coverage to greater police oversight as evidence that the future for black America is precarious.
The annual report found the standard of living for African Americans is 72 percent that of the average white person.……………..
In response to the one question Trump repeatedly posed to black Americans during his campaign — “What do you have to lose?” — Rep. Cedric L. Richmond (D-L.A.) said African Americans have plenty to lose under Trump given his budget priorities, proposed policies and personnel decisions.
“From appointing an attorney general with a hostile record on issues of justice, equality, and civil rights, to proposing massive cuts to programs of critical importance to the most vulnerable in our communities, this president has made it clear that he intends to roll back the progress we have made in recent years,” Richmond wrote in a column included in the report.
Trump has proposed major budget cuts to agencies responsible for overseeing federal programs spanning housing to health care that help low-income Americans, who are disproportionately black.
The administration has also proposed rolling back President Barack Obama’s Labor Department initiatives that would expand the number of workers eligible for overtime. Trump is also pulling back from the Obama Justice Department’s recommendations on police reform……………….
“Given what we’ve seen so far in terms of the kinds of policies that are being set forth by this administration, I don’t sense that there will be great gains on narrowing these gaps, and in some cases, they could widen,” said Valerie Rawlston Wilson, director of the Economic Policy Institute’s Program on Race, Ethnicity, and the Economy and one of the report’s authors…………….
Mike J
(Torygraph, autoplay video at link)
hueyplong
Someone needs to take a 2×4 upside Pittinger’s head so he can see what it’s like to live with a fucking pre-existting condition.
World class asshole. It’s irritating to live in “his” state.
germy
hovercraft
Today’s ‘I never thought leopards would eat MY face,’ voters who voted for the Leopards Eating People’s Faces Party.
Pro-Trump farmers now worry he was serious about NAFTA repeal
CNN WARNING AUTOPLAY
By Dan Merica, CNN
Bob Hemseath, whose corn-farming business hinges on the whims of mother nature, is comfortable with uncertainty.
But as the fourth-generation farmer heads onto his northeast Iowa farm for the 2017 planting season, it’s the uncertainty coming from the White House that has Hemseath increasingly worried.
The farmer listened during the 2016 campaign as Donald Trump, the real estate magnate turned politician, promised to end the North American Free Trade Agreement. Hemseath, a Republican whose industry relies heavily on exports to Mexico, chalked it up to political bluster, noted Hillary Clinton’s anti-trade rhetoric and voted for Trump in November.
Now that Trump is looking to make good on his promise, Hemseath — and countless corn, soybean and dairy farmers like him — are worried the President’s NAFTA rhetoric could directly impact the markedly narrow margins that provide them their livelihood. The same rural communities that animated Trump’s campaign, would feel the brunt of changes to the trade deal, hurting the President’s political base as he tries to make good on a key component of the campaign that got him elected.
“Trade got a bad rap in the campaign,” Hemseath told CNN. “Mexico is extremely important to my farm and to corn farmers in general because they are one of our top consumers of corn. It is very important to have access to the market.”……………….
Jeffro
@rikyrah: Um, nope, it’s in the article that I linked to (which you also posted). Word needs to get OUT about this clown. And maybe America as whole needs to think about if it wants to be more like NC, or more like CA.
Okay maybe not CA. VA? =)
Roger Moore
@Major Major Major Major:
That seems like the likely outcome if they can’t whip the votes. Their problem is that one part of their caucus really, really wants a vote so they can prove they voted to slay the Obamacare beast, even- maybe especially- if they know it will die in the Senate, while another part desperately wants to avoid voting to deprive a bunch of their constituents of health coverage.
The latest thing I hears is that some of the “moderate” Republicans are trying to avoid declaring their intentions until the vote is scheduled, while the House leadership is refusing to schedule a vote until their whip count says they’ll win. Since the representatives who are refusing to declare a preference know the vote won’t be scheduled without their support, it’s a dodge to say no without getting it on the record.
MattF
OT: Jen Rubin has gone there with her latest– When is it OK to say the president might be nuts?
Major Major Major Major
@hovercraft:
Next thing you know they’ll realize he was serious about cracking down on undocumented ag labor.
tobie
@Major Major Major Major: Apparently ICE has been doing raids on mushroom farms in Kennett Square, PA, the nation’s mushroom capital. The farmers there voted for this, so they’ll have to live with the consequences. I’m beyond feeling sorry for people who cut their nose to spite their face, and this goes for left-wing populists, too.
JMG
@rikyrah: Maybe the nasty mouthbreathers in this clown’s district like this sort of thing, but there’s a big difference between demonizing sick people and demonizing blacks, Hispanics, gays, non-submissive women, etc.
Everybody gets sick.
rikyrah
@tobie:
I don’t feel bad for them either.
sheila in nc
@Yarrow:
Tell your reps that there are many, many people with pre-existing conditions even though they take care of themselves and try to live healthy lives. (I’ve heard many people dismiss pre-existing conditions as if we are just talking about alcoholics and smokers — not that I believe smokers, etc. don’t deserve health care but it sounds like some of these reps are thinking that way!) Anyway, the universe of people with pre-existing conditions includes: genetic or otherwise hereditary birth defects like Jimmy Kimmel’s baby; asthmatics, many diagnosed in childhood; many cancers not tied to any specific risk factor; inflammatory bowel diseases including Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. There are about 700,000 Americans with Crohn’s disease; it is life-long (you can induce remission but not cure) and expensive to treat. Many people who live with the health issues I have just mentioned did nothing to initiate them. We don’t even know what causes Crohn’s disease.
I only mention this information by way of helping callers to persuade the people — the too, too many people — who think that one’s health status is “deserved” or is somehow a marker of one’s moral worth as a person. Maybe if they start to recognize that there are more types of health conditions than just the ones you might call “lifestyle-related,” these politicians and their constituents might be more open to the idea that generous coverage isn’t just a moral hazard that throws away “my” tax dollars on undeserving slobs.
dww44
I’ve called my Rep, who is probably a yes as he was on the prior Trumpcare iterations. As on previous calls, spoke with a staffer. Have never spoken directly with him. While no longer a member of the House Freedom Caucus , he pretty much votes in line with the GOP leadership. Would it do any good for me to weigh in on any of the other fence sitters?
Emerald
I just called Issa. I briefly explained to the guy on the phone how the ACA literally saved my life and he reacted audibly. I also said that previously I had only voted, but now I’m making phone calls and if Issa voted to repeal the ACA I would go door to door.
They were polite, as was I (difficult with Issa, but after beating cancer with the ACA I am made of stronger stuff).
BTW, you don’t have to live in a district to call the congresscritter. If you have relatives in that district you can call. If it’s a neighboring district you can call and threaten to work there in the next election. You can tell them you vacation in that district and plan to retire there. All this is the advice of Al Giordano. Those calls also have an impact.
hovercraft
Do these people know that we can all hear them, including our allies around the world?
Good luck getting anyone other than the authoritarian club to cooperate on anything with you morans.
Trump’s commerce secretary calls Syrian missile strike ‘after-dinner entertainment’
By Mark Sumner
Tuesday May 02, 2017 · 11:00 AM EST
Speaking at the Milken Institute Global Conference on Monday, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross recalled the scene at Mar-a-Lago on April 6, when the summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping was interrupted by the strike on Syria.
“Just as dessert was being served, the president explained to Mr. Xi he had something he wanted to tell him, which was the launching of 59 missiles into Syria,” Ross said. “It was in lieu of after-dinner entertainment.”
Was he having the same great, great, simply beautiful chocolate cake as the president of China at the time? What pairs best with cake and throwing around massive amounts of military hardware? A nice spätlese? Will there be a cheese plate?
That little tale of casually making an international attack that risked embroiling the United States in an ongoing conflict with Syria and/or Russia into a momentary amusement, might be expected to cause astonished gasps among people who recognized the staggering inappropriateness of the attitude and the shocking lack of weight given the event. But Ross knew his audience.
As the crowd laughed, Ross added: “The thing was, it didn’t cost the president anything to have that entertainment.”
Gindy51
@hovercraft: Call a WAHHHmublance you idiots. I have some of these dopes living in my rural neighborhood and I just LAUGH at them. I love grinding “I told you so” into their sun burned worried faces. Your votes have consequences and if you were too blind and bigoted to vote for your economic interests too fucking bad.
Roger Moore
@sheila in nc:
As our own David Anderson has pointed out, you don’t necessarily need to have an actual preexisting condition to be disqualified. If you’ve ever been misdiagnosed with a preexisting condition- his story was about a lazy physician diagnosing him with gout when he had an acute foot injury- it would be enough for the insurance companies to deny you coverage or at least massively increase your rate.
eataTREE
In keeping with the spirit of the thing, I called my 100%-party-line-GOP-asshole congressman, Doug LaMalfa. The staffer was very nice, but I knew I was wasting my breath. Prior to the last redistricting, I lived in Tom McClintock’s district, who is still a Republican but shows occasional flashes of independent thought.
Yarrow
@sheila in nc: The Jimmy Kimmel’s baby story is a great shorthand. Newborn baby now has a pre-existing condition that will follow him for the rest of his life. It’s easy to understand and it’s not his fault. Pretty much anyone can understand the story and get how random and unexpected it is. And how it might happen to them or someone they love.
Frankensteinbeck
@Gindy51:
A good strategy, I think. People think conservatives are shameless, but it’s not true. They don’t feel guilt (a sense they are morally wrong), but they are very vulnerable to shame (a sense that others have contempt for them). One big reason they voted for Trump is that they want a president’s validation so they can stop feeling ashamed of their racism. And they can’t hate liberals more than they do already.
NYCMT
@amber: Call Stefanik’s office in Glens Falls, Faso’s office in Washington, Pete King’s office in Massapequa – they’re all talking to NYS out of district residents. (The chickensh*t Lee Zeldin in Patchogue is citing some bogus House ethics rule in order to hang up on me.
oldster
Well, I called my wingnutty Rep–Tom Reed, NY-23– twice today–once at his DC office, once at his local office. Talked to a smarmy aide this morning who said “he’s still studying the issue, but leaning yes.” My call to the local office went to voice mail, so I left a message.
I can’t help noticing that the HuffPo whip count does not list Reed anywhere on it. That makes me think that the people who know, are certain that he’s already a “yes.” And saying “leaning yes” to constituents is just a bit of vestigial CYA.
He’s a total scum.
Joyce H
I just called Rob Wittman’s office. The staffer there said they ‘hadn’t yet released a statement’ about how Wittman would vote, and that he was ‘carefully considering’ all aspects of the bill, blah blah blah. I told them it was a terrible bill, that the system we have now, though not perfect, is nonetheless the best health care our nation has had ever, and they were deliberately trying to destroy that and take health care away from millions of people and it’s just baffling. They’re being very noncommittal in Wittman-world.
Corner Stone
I hope an FP’er does a post on the HRC Women for Women Intl Q&A later. If she continues on this path it’s going to send Trump right to the fucking loony bin on twitter.
Barbara
@sheila in nc: Apparently these idiots have no idea that “preexisting condition” means ANY condition. An ingrown toenail, a prescription for Adderall or anti-depressants, a cesarean section, a kid with scoliosis count as medically indicative of poor health risk in the future. And of course, this bill just eviscerates Medicaid, but, hey, who cares about poor people, unless you become one because you can’t pay your medical bills.
TenguPhule
@germy:
Paul Ryan is taking a page from Trump and trying pure unadulterated horseshit. Will the media simply report it as is without calling him on it?
hovercraft
So when I ran out for a snack, I saw the following bumperstickers on a PRUIS.
The ass was the democratic logo, donkey
With a picture of Hitler.
And to top it off the owner of the car walked up, older white guy wearing a T-shirt that said licensed to kill on the back.
I hate not only his idol, but I hate him too.
LurkerNoLonger
Called Faso’s office. The staffer said he’s still reviewing the legislation. I told him to vote no. The guy on the phone took my name and zip code. Last time I called they didn’t ask that info. I’m taking that as a good sign. Maybe he is actually on the fence this time, who knows.
Barbara
@rikyrah: They sit there in their beautiful little gem of a town and make hate against the horrible blacks living in Philadelphia and Chester and the GD Hispanics who are changing the tenor of their community, even though they would be lost without them.
TenguPhule
@Jeffro:
You can fool basic skin and blood tests easily. A full vivisection is needed to ensure proper confirmation.
/humor decidedly black in nature.
Corner Stone
Holy shit. HRC just called out, without saying their names, how Trump and Putin colluded to damage our elections.
frosty
@Betty: Perry’s undecided? Who knew? He’s my MoC. I called this morning and mentioned that my 22 yr old is on my insurance because of Obamacare and that I didn’t want it repealed or changed and that he should vote against this bill.
Major Major Major Major
CNN news alert tells me that they’re one “no” away from failure. I love how CNN is framing it as a countdown to failure.
@TenguPhule:
Given that he’s been doing it for years, and the media has indeed played along…
hovercraft
@Gindy51:
Guess who else is laughing?
“I want to respond to the President’s latest tweets about the bipartisan, bicameral deal we just reached to fund the government through September,” Schumer said from the Senate floor. “Now, members of both parties worked very hard to come to this agreement, and there was a real spirit of cooperation.”
“The President has been complaining about a lack of bipartisanship in Washington,” he added later. “Well, this deal is exactly how Washington should work when it is bipartisan. Both parties negotiated and came to an agreement on a piece of legislation that we can each support. It is truly a shame that the President is degrading it because he didn’t get 100 percent of what he wanted. Bipartisanship is best summed up by the Rolling Stones: You can’t always get what you want, or at least everything you want.”
The remark recalled Trump’s campaign rallies, which often closed with the Rolling Stones’ classic.
DOUG is really Chuck Schumer! Who knew?
Barbara
@Roger Moore: And it probably would not shock you to find out that there are more than a few doctors who out of laziness or greed use diagnostic codes that are easy to remember or less likely to arouse questions from insurers, even if they are not strictly accurate. Oops. “What do you mean I had a heart murmur?”
Corner Stone
HRC not ducking anything.
DAMN!!!
TenguPhule
@Major Major Major Major:
He’s been fluffed as a wonkish bullshitter, but normally hides his bullshit behind buzzwords and platitudes.
Straight out simply lying through his teeth is a new tactic for him.
Jeffro
@TenguPhule:
No, no, I’m good with this plan…
Shana
@Jeffro: I asked in the mostly dead thread below, but who do you think will carry NoVA for the primary for gov?
Major Major Major Major
@TenguPhule: Fair enough; I can’t say I’ve seen what he’s been saying lately.
Corner Stone
“…and part of the Resistance”
Jeffro
@Major Major Major Major:
“But I didn’t realize he was going to cause MY crops to go unharvested!” said the farmer who voted for the Crops Can Rot Instead of Being Picked By THEM PEOPLE Party
Patricia Kayden
@patroclus: It would be nice if the anti-AHCA vote was so huge that it died the ignoble death it so deserves. We don’t need to keep revisiting this argument. Republicans need to get it through their thick heads that the majority of Americans want them to fix any problems with the ACA — not to destroy and replace it with something worse.
hovercraft
The calls are working, because they’ve really got all hands on deck right now.
Club For Growth Goes After Rep. For ‘No’ Vote On Health Bill ‘When It Counts’
Peak Trumpcare Sad Trombone
Here’s how ridiculous the Trumpcare 3.0 situation has gotten. A few minutes ago, Rep. Rodney Davis was on MSNBC telling plain falsehoods, lying about Obamacare and also – in a weird mix of plaintiveness and disingenuousness – complaining that the Democrats in the House weren’t coming forward to help them repeal Obamacare.
Beyond the disingenuousness, he actually seemed slightly sad because their situation is so hapless and helpless.
Here’s the video …
bemused
@hovercraft:
He sounds nice.
A Prius? Weird.
Patricia Kayden
@hovercraft: Well, at least his car is environmentally friendly. /s
Jeffro
@Shana: Perriello will definitely carry NoVA. Whether it puts him over the top for the nomination, who knows? (I think it will)
Major Major Major Major
@Jeffro: I didn’t realize MY food prices would triple and he would cut MY food stamps, says mother of four who voted for making poor people starve party.
Patricia Kayden
@amber: I’ve heard that most Congress Representatives won’t take calls from non-constituents. I know that whenever I’ve contacted my Congress Representatives, they ask for my address to make sure I live within their jurisdiction.
hovercraft
I missed this yesterday. SIGH.
A federal court will not rehear the telecom industry’s net neutrality challenge
Judges said the FCC under Chairman Ajit Pai plans to gut the rules anyway.
by Tony Romm May 1, 2017, 12:04pm EDT
A three-judge panel on the D.C. circuit initially ruled last June in the FCC’s favor, prompting the group, USTelecom, and its allies in the wireless and cable industries to seek a rehearing before the full court.
After a lengthy wait, though, the judges on Monday denied that request, specifically pointing to actions by new FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, who just last week unveiled his plans to eliminate and potentially replace the agency’s net neutrality rules.
For that reason, a rehearing on the rules “would be particularly unwarranted at this point in light of the uncertainty surrounding the fate of the FCC’s Order,” wrote Judges Sri Srinivasan and David Tatel.
“In that light, the en banc court could find itself examining, and pronouncing on, the validity of a rule that the agency had already slated for replacement,” they wrote.
Chris
@Yarrow:
Which is why I’m worried, because the moderates are much more squishy, cowardly, and easily browbeaten than the loonies.
TenguPhule
@Jeffro: Cue the private prisons hiring out convict laborers to pick the crops. Under pain of death by prison guards for “trying to escape” if they fail to meet their quotas. Because its not like they’re gonna run out of prisoners any time soon.
/Sadly, I can actually see this happening soon enough.
TenguPhule
@Chris: This. A thousand times this.
Major Major Major Major
@hovercraft:
In Earth 2, that would’ve been written by somebody else, since Associate Justice Sri Srinivasan would have been busy elsewhere. Sigh.
ETA: Of course, they have a different FCC chairman, too.
TenguPhule
@hovercraft: Any time someone says they think Trump isn’t as bad as they thought he would be, then I see things like this. And I facepalm.
hovercraft
@bemused: @Patricia Kayden:
I know, everything about him was so RWNJ, but the the car doesn’t make any sense and it had to be his because of the DADDD sticker. It almost makes you want to ask, but I’m not crazy. Weird.
bemused
@hovercraft:
I would have expected a rolling coal pickup would have been more to his taste.
bemused
Today Rick Wilson tweets that researching before making anti-ADA ads in 2009 every group from Dems to every type of Republican hated the pre-existing condition clause. All of them.
hovercraft
@Major Major Major Major:
Because I’m a coastal liberal who looks down on “Real America”, doesn’t that describe a large swath of his voters in Appalachia and the South? Yes I know that most of his voters make over 50K, but in the rural areas, where he was dominant, he swept all income levels among whites, did he not?
And you know they’d be howling about affirmative action. FSM knows that if there ever was an affirmative action appointee to our highest court, it’s Clarence Thomas, a totally worthless piece of shit who’s been held up as a symbol of their lack of racism. What a legacy!
Roger Moore
@bemused:
A Prius is no longer a statement you care about the environment; it’s now just a car.
Major Major Major Major
@hovercraft:
Why yes, yes it does.
bemused
@Roger Moore:
I don’t think the rightwingers in my rural, pickup in every yard area have quite caught up with that trend yet. They can’t be far behind though because I think they’ve finally dropped their grudge against LED lightbulbs.
rikyrah
@TenguPhule:
Didn’t they try this in Georgia or Alabama, and it didn’t work out?
Major Major Major Major
@rikyrah: Turns out forcing black people in chain gangs to harvest crops has bad optics.
hovercraft
@Major Major Major Major:
Tee hee ;)
Tom Levenson
Just called into Maine-2, represented by Bruce Poliquin. I’ve genuinely got family in the district, and the nice lady who answered the phone at his Lewiston crib listened politely and promised to pass the message on. Wondering if I should call the other district offices…
TenguPhule
@rikyrah: Sessions wasn’t AG at the time.
Shana
@Jeffro: I’m not disagreeing with you, and I certainly understand the appeal of a younger candidate with the mantle of “progressive” whether or not he deserves it more than Northam, but can you tell me why you think he’s got NoVA? I’m undecided at this point, and will be happy, I think, with either candidate. I’m a little concerned that the label of “progressive” could work against Perriello in the general.
john fremont
Got through to Mike Coffman’s office in DC and said Vote No on ACA repeal. I live in CO-6, Arapahoe Country, CO, his district
Barbara
@Jeffro: Why do you think that? He is not from Northern Virginia and Northern Virginia was not notably strong for Sanders. The people who vote in primaries are the ones who vote all the time. I am not saying you’re wrong but Sanders’ schtick, which is Perriello’s, does not necessarily play well in the land of government employees and well-educated professional classes, not to mention a large share of ethnic voters. Perriello will do well in Charlottesville and Albemarle County and maybe in Roanoke and Floyd and Montgomery Counties. He will lose Richmond and Norfolk, and in my view, do no better than draw even in NoVa. I mean, have you seen the guy speak in public? He is a lot weaker than I expected.
Barbara
@Shana: You really owe it to yourself to go to live events where you can hear both of these guys. I was stunned at Northam’s passion and turned off by Perriello’s low energy “what am I doing here?” style of delivery. Every other candidate for Gov. or Lt. Gov. gave a shout out to women’s rights except Perriello. I guess we are just another special interest group for him. Very, very odd.
Jeffro
@bemused:
Agreeing to cover pre-existing conditions means agreeing to cover pretty much everyone, full stop. That’s why they didn’t like it. Then they – on both sides of the aisle – realized that meant that their pre-existing conditions would be covered. Huge sigh of relief onone side of the aisle.
Jeffro
@bemused: Btw checking out Wilson’s tweets led me to this article: The Professional Ethical Challenge of Publicly Discussing a President Who Appears Cognitively Compromised.
Unbelievable. And again (and again and again and again): if this were Hillary, or Joe, or ANY Dem, wouldn’t the GOP House already have demanded hearings, medical records, expert testimony on her/his/their fitness for office???
Jeffro
Mod help please? Two of my comments done disappeared into the ether…
Jeffro
@Shana: @Barbara:
Perriello and Northam = 99% in alignment on the issues. I truly don’t care who wins, I just know this is not some establishment vs grassroots, Hillary vs Bernie proxy fight. Anyone who tries to make it into that has another agenda. I’ve heard both speak and both are perfectly good Dems.
Jeffro
Here’s a great Tweet: “Combining Nixon’s paranoia, Reagan’s dementia, and W’s complete lack of knowledge, Trump truly is the ultimate Republican President” – Orli Matlow
randy khan
@Jeffro:
I’m not convinced that Periello will carry NoVa. He’s not as good on women’s rights as Northam (NARAL supports Northam quite enthusiastically for that reason), which matters a lot up here, or on gun control, and Clinton carried Alexandria, Arlington, and Fairfax with 60+ percent of the vote in each.
Jeffro
@randy khan: Sounds good, let’s see how it all shakes out.
Shana
@Barbara: I went to the debate last Saturday. I came away more impressed with Northam frankly, for the reasons you state.
Jeffro
@randy khan: here’s the only article I’ve seen with any polling thus far: Northam and Perriello tied
Looks like each has plenty of room to grow his support:
The nice thing is, if both guys’ supporters don’t completely frag each other, the winner should win handily:
randy khan
@Jeffro:
To be clear about their differences, Periello voted for the Stupak Amendment to the ACA and opposed an assault weapons ban. He’s good on most everything else, and has apologized – just recently – for the Stupak Amendment vote, but Northam has been pretty much unwavering on both abortion rights and support for reasonable gun control. He talks pretty movingly about gun control from his perspective as a pediatrician.
Shana
@randy khan: And, AIR, of Clinton’s margin in Virginia, all but 15,000 of her winning margin came from Fairfax County. Not NoVA as a whole, including Arlington, Alexandria, and Loudon counties, but Fairfax.
randy khan
@Jeffro:
Although I like Northam better, I promise not to frag Periello. Either of them would be way better than the Republican alternative.
randy khan
@Shana:
Are you talking about the general? That sounds pretty much right.
Barbara
@Jeffro: You didn’t answer my question. The reason why people see it as a proxy fight is because Warren and Sanders have sort of tried to make it one. Someone commenting in one of the other threads — Shalimar — was both defending Warren and talking up Perriello. I don’t want a proxy fight but I do wonder why Perriello is running. I wondered that even more when I saw him live.
Jeffro
@randy khan:
Same here/me too!
@Barbara:
I’d say the #1 reason is, whoever wins the Dem nomination is going to be governor. Ed Gillespie can try to pretend he’s some sort of moderate R but I don’t think it’s going to fly. Both Trump and the GOP leadership are unpopular as heck. Virginia is a pretty solidly blue state at this point.
Short of fratricide (and with Dems, that’s always the question, right?) it really is Dem primary winner’s to lose.
Same thing with Comstock’s race in VA-10. Whoever emerges from that scrum on the D side is going to be the representative.
Shana
@randy khan: Yes, her margin in the general.