Use our toolkit to unleash a tidal wave of pressure on Trumpcare. Target list, phone #'s, facts, graphics. Please RT https://t.co/3XvofXuTE9
— Topher Spiro (@TopherSpiro) June 7, 2017
Now that the fun and games are over for the day, here’s the link to the toolkit. Call your senators!!!!!!
TenguPhule
But Brachiator assured me that McConnell was slowboating this!
Adam L Silverman
@TenguPhule: I can’t speak for Brachiator, but I will admit I was wrong on how this was going to be handled in the Senate.
TenguPhule
@Adam L Silverman: I was afraid they were up to something like this when they dropped out of the media’s attention span.
It’s when you don’t hear anything that we need to be worried about what the hell they’re up to.
Adam L Silverman
@TenguPhule: My analysis was based more on the legislative calendar and how the Senate functions, but if there’s a way to finagle something, then Senator McConnell will figure it out.
ETA: And I’m a big believer in market my beliefs to market. I was wrong on this. Now it still may not make it through and depending on what is in it may not make it back through the House on reconciliation, but pressure needs to be exerted now.
rikyrah
Been spreading the word. Thanks for this, Mayhew.
Adam L Silverman
@rikyrah: Do I look like Mayhew/Anderson to you?
Starfish
How do we get some Obamacare for Senator John McCain?
hovercraft
@Adam L Silverman:
Um yes?
Most of the time one can tell who authored a post based on subject matter, I just assumed it was Richard?David, until you jumped down @rikyrah: ‘s throat ;)
hovercraft
@Starfish:
He already has it, though clearly he’s not taking advantage of the mental health provisions in the law!
trollhattan
@Adam L Silverman:
Only from the waist down.
TenguPhule
@Starfish:
Obamacare? McCain apparently needs the last rites read over him.
TenguPhule
@trollhattan: With pants on! (Or so we all hope)
TenguPhule
@Adam L Silverman:
Found your problem right there!
eclare
Got through to Alexander, will keep trying to get Corker. This was mentioned on the Tom Joyner Morning Show this morning, with all of the Comey distraction, the Senate is up to some nasty stuff.
The Very Reverend Crimson Fire of Compassion
Just got off the phone to McCaskill and Blunt. Made sure to tell them that I work with disabled kids, and that I will make sure that every family I serve knows who voted to take away their healthcare.
Wag
I just called Senator Gardner’s office, and for the first time in months was able to actually talk with the real person instead of leaving a message.I had a very respectful conversation with the young man on the other end of the line, and told him that in my 25 years of medical practice the ACA has been the most positive change in healthcare financing that I can remember. I’m 100% certain that my call will make any difference, but it was nice to finally get through to the senator’s office.
LurkerNoLonger
I don’t understand. I thought they were working on their own bill? Are they planning on voting on the same pile of shit that barely passed the House?
Major Major Major Major
@Adam L Silverman: you meant ‘conference’. Conference is where they reconcile the two bills. ‘Reconciliation’ is different.
Whee.
Brachiator
@TenguPhule:
WTF?
I have no idea what you are talking about.
trollhattan
@TenguPhule:
There’s a checklist.
Pants: yes/no. Circle yes.
Mop: yes/no. Circle no
Mustard: present/lost. Do not complete before data collection.
Subaru location: field/shop/crusher. Circle crusher.
All front pagers bask in the JC glow.
? Martin
Both of my Senators are in the SCIF. Their vote is clear. Focusing my energy on the state level – trying to get single payer moving along.
Politically Lost
I have a feeling my fantastic senator Harris is going to vote the right way on this one.
Politically Lost
She made me proud to be a lawyer today.
? Martin
@LurkerNoLonger: They are working on their own bill. It differs from the House one but it similarly odious if not quite as horrific in scale. If it passes, the House will pass it without changes in order to declare it done.
rikyrah
@Adam L Silverman:
Sorry Adam :(
Adam L Silverman
@rikyrah: No worries.
SatanicPanic
@? Martin: It looks like we’re going to have to lead on this one. Again.
SatanicPanic
@TenguPhule: you’ve really figured out what’s important here.
trollhattan
@Politically Lost:
If I had a nickle for every time I’d heard that, I’d have five cents. ;-)
My senator as well and insofar as the comparison to hang-in-there DiFi goes, certainly reflects well on California’s next generation of politicians (fingers crossed). I know one of her investigators at the AG’s office who says she really digs in once focus on a case.
mai naem mobile
I spoke to am idiot at Flakes office and she was as Flakey as Flake. I asked what his position was and she said she doesn’t speak for him. So I repeated the question and she directed me to the website. So I asked is he for it or against it and she repeated that she doesn’t speak for the Senatoe. This was the DC office I called the Phoenix office yesterday and that was a simple uneventful call. Haven’t been able to get hold of a live person at McCains office.
? Martin
@SatanicPanic: I would be thrilled if we got there. There’s a lot to do, though, and some problems I don’t know how we will get solved. There’s no fucking way the Feds are going to give the state the waivers it needs.
brendancalling
I’m sorry: I have a pre-existing condition, and have neither time nor patience to feel bad for the son of a bitch who is going to take away my healthcare. Especially when that son of a bitch gets health care FOR LIFE, on my dime.
john b
I called the local office of TIllis and when I asked the man who answered what Tillis’s stance on the AHCA was, he said that they only deal with case work at that office and not policy. So then I asked if it was that office that I should call if my mom can no longer afford health insurance because of this legislation. And then I (unadvisedly) said that I’d hate to have to have that job and he said he “wasn’t forced to work there” and I said that I hoped his conscience would lead him in the right direction.
I have my doubts that he’d have been so circumspect about the Senator’s feelings about policy if I had been an obvious supporter of his agenda.
Patricia Kayden
@Politically Lost: My two MD Senators will vote the right way too. I can’t believe McConnell thinks he can get away with this. I doubt even the DINO Senator from West Virginia will vote for TrumpCare.
TenguPhule
@trollhattan:
No you wouldn’t.
A gram of weed goes for a lot more then that.
/pedant spelling commie!
SatanicPanic
@? Martin: If the Feds were smart they’d go “sure, good luck”, because I am kind of skeptical it’s going to work regardless.Instead they’re just give us a rallying point.
The Thin Black Duke
@brendancalling: Give me an “Amen” somebody.
TenguPhule
@SatanicPanic: They have 51 votes and McConnell is playing Calvinball with Senate rules. All of the sheep are going to fall in line on the GOP side.
The only question is whether or not McConnell is going to risk it going into conference with changes in the Senate version and force the House to vote on it again.
All the calling in the world isn’t going to change the basic calculus here. We don’t have the votes to stop them if they’re determined enough to ignore the rules.
Patricia Kayden
@brendancalling: Exactly. These Republican heartless bastards have healthcare — in fact the best this country has to offer — but could care less about whether the average Joe gets access to basic healthcare. Disgusting.
Also unbelievable that anyone votes for these jackals.
The Moar You Know
@Patricia Kayden: 52-48.
He can.
The Thin Black Duke
@Patricia Kayden: They vote for these jackals because the jackals hate the same people they do.
SatanicPanic
@TenguPhule: People here are stressing that they’re going to lose their healthcare and you’re trying to score points against a fellow poster. Even if it’s futile, can you just shut up for a while?
trollhattan
@TenguPhule:
D’oh! Should have said “Necco.”
? Martin
@SatanicPanic: Well, no. They know single payer will win if it can be implemented correctly (and there’s a lot of room to do it poorly). That’s beyond dispute. And if it works in CA, then federal policy will change. If it works every startup and every growth company will try and shift their footprint to CA because the cost footprint will be stable, and they’ll no longer have to manage that layer as a benefit. Everyone will demand that the feds either kill the CA plan or match it, because the economic benefits to California will be impossible to compete against.
low-tech cyclist
A practical question: is it helpful to call up Senators from other states, or does it get in the way?
I’m in Maryland, and I call up Cardin and Van Hollen regularly to let the staff know that we’ve got their back, but they’re 100% sure pro-ACA, anti-Trumpcare votes. If I call up Senators on the Trumpcare Toolkit’s list, does that add to the volume of anti-Trumpcare calls, or does it just keep people in their states from getting through?
Matt McIrvin
@low-tech cyclist: What I’ve always heard is that calling up any member of Congress who is not yours is worse than useless. There are rare exceptions in which some Congressional leader asks for nationwide public comment. But, by and large, you should only pester your own senators and representatives, because none of the others care even microscopically what you have to say.
gene108
@Patricia Kayden:
McConnell’s gotten away with so much shit, I am surprised he shows any restraint at all.
Mnemosyne
If you do have reliable Democratic senators, be sure to call their office to thank them and encourage them to stay strong. You will make their staffers happy, because I guarantee you that Trumpists are calling and yelling at them daily.
TenguPhule
@low-tech cyclist:
It doesn’t really matter. They mostly ignore those who are not their voters. The GOP just go one step further and ignore their voters as well.
Camembert
I’m so old I remember when Democrats thought the most important thing in the world was to preserve the filibuster, because there was no way Republicans would tear it down once it became inconvenient. So we gave up on passing good laws to coddle Holy Joe and President Collins.
It’s almost as though empowering fascists has consequences. Is Our Democrats Learning? Sigh.
Tenar Arha
@Adam L Silverman:
I don’t understand what they think they’re doing. It flummoxes me completely because I’m the kind of person who thinks about what’s next. When my father was dying I had to know what I was going to need to do when he died and I researched it; it was morbid but necessary. So, I am already aware that if the AHCA passes, people will die because they had pre-existing conditions because they’ll be priced out of insurance, and hospitals will close because they won’t get the necessary Medicaid money and so on. There are already lots of Democrats performing and planning die-ins, and I gather even on dumping their ashes on their Representatives and Senators like at the height of the AIDS crisis. In other words, there are plenty of people planning for the demonstrations to come and to hold the GOP responsible for every preventable death.
But these politicians, as far as I can tell, aren’t thinking about the bad things that will happen to their constituents or at least their voters when this passes. They also don’t seem to be aware that it will effect them and their families. They seem to think they will be insulated from the fallout somehow. I’m also aware they’re afraid of their Republican constituents both because of primaries and guns. Don’t they understand that between pre-existing conditions and the closure of rural hospitals, they will be both endangering their own families’ lives and creating people with nothing to lose after their child dies a preventable death or they have a new cancer diagnosis? I’m not a threat analyst, but if I can see this, why can’t they? Is this just the “it won’t happen to me” reflex?
(I was going to make this a standalone comment. However, I’m replying to you mostly because you mentioned how you thought the Senate might handle AHCA. Also, because you’ve written about stochastic terrorism, and I’m guessing this means you may actually have also considered attacks motivated by revenge).
ETA I know I have an active imagination but am I wrong to be worried about this?
eric
@mai naem mobile: neither can mrs mccain
H.E.Wolf
I just called the D.C. offices of both my (blessedly Blue) Senators, thanked them for their strong “no” votes, thanked the staffers (as always), and asked that the Senators urge their Republican colleagues to vote “no” also.
Those of us with the good fortune to have Democratic Senators (hello, TenguPhule! we could use your help on this), please consider pressing for that course of action when we call. At the very least, it might add to the Republican Senators’ discomfort; and I’m all for that right now.
And who knows? Maybe it will change a vote.
Chris
@Tenar Arha:
They’re insulated enough from consequences that they don’t think about these things.
The Moar You Know
@Camembert: shut the fuck up, troll.
Tenar Arha
@Chris: I guess I’m pretty odd, because I’m the kid who read the disaster novels and assumed I’d be like the diabetic guy who was smart enough to save the books. Yet he still died because even in a community which knew his value, they couldn’t afford to kill a sheep for him.
Mnemosyne
@Camembert:
Yes, because the people who are really to blame here are the Democrats. The poor, innocent Republicans were just misled and corrupted by the evil Democrats.
Also, shut the fuck up, troll.
TenguPhule
@Tenar Arha:
And there’s your answer.
These are MBA Politicos who only have one short term concern. What’s in it for me?
trollhattan
@Camembert:
Runny. check
Smells bad. check
Mold-covered. check
Away, gone with you be.
TenguPhule
@Tenar Arha:
They are. None of the provisions will apply to them or their immediate families.
ETA: And for the rest of it, that’s what they think the police and FBI are for. Its all about them, you see.
Brachiator
@? Martin:
Unfortunately, I don’t think the CA healthcare bill can pass. It’s too expensive, and the governor and state legislature already has to do magic acts to push items around so that the budget is balanced. The other wild card are the attempts to recall the Democrats who won by the slimmest margins in their districts so that the Dems will lose their super-majority.
low-tech cyclist
@Matt McIrvin: Thanks, I’ll stick to calling my own Senators and Representative, then.
pamelabrown53
Floridian here, Couldn’t reach either one directly. I found that interesting because Rubio mirrored a business practice (i,e, press a number; leave a message) where Senator Nelson was an “all circuits are busy” message.
Anyway, I did my best to register my opinion…with both of them.
Camembert
@Brachiator: If they set up a couple of gatekeepers (rubber-stamp PCPs for example, or social workers for ridic expensive cases), it’ll come way down. But it’s a fundamental change to how we do health care; it’s gonna cost.
Of course Tr45’s minion could refuse to grant the waiver, and that’ll be that.
Quinerly
Falling in line: http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/336814-key-gop-centrists-open-to-ending-medicaid-expansion
Ivan X
I remember back prior to when PPACA was being voted on, I went to an event at a bar here in NYC, where volunteers called constituents in other states and provided them with their congresspersons’ information so then an actual voter could call to voice their demand that PPACA pass.
I can’t remember if it was organized by OFA (I think maybe), local or national Democrats, an independent group, dunno. And lately I’ve been kind of out of the loop — is anyone organizing anything similar now? If so, who can we ask to do so? Seems like something those of us in in “safe” states could be putting our energy towards.
cintibud
Couldn’t get through to Portman – “experiencing higher than usual number of calls”. Left message, sent Email.
Cheryl Rofer
This thread lays out what seems to be the plan.
Steeplejack (phone)
@Cheryl Rofer:
And Wikler shoots himself in the foot: I presume he means DEFCON 1, highest threat, not DEFCON 5, lowest threat.
StringOnAStick
I called both my Senators, one is the odious Gardner. I was able to talk to a real person when I called Senator Bennet’s DC office, and I couldn’t do anything other than leave a message at Gardner’s DC and CO offices, so I sent an email too. Gardner’s office has been defaulting immediately to voice mail a lot lately it seems. I made it clear that if he votes for this mess, then my husband and I will do all we can to make sure he is not re-elected in 2020.
john fremont
@Tenar Arha: I’m gonna chime in here about the closing of rural hospitals. When these hospitals are shuttered many of these communities begin to rely on ambulance services (ground like Rural/Metro) and air (various helicopter operators) to access emergency care/trauma centers. In the last 20 years the number of helicopters flying EMS (emergency medical service ) operations has swelled from about 300 to close to 1000. Ground ambulance operators have seen a huge trend upwards as well, as rural areas have had hospitals closed due to aquisitions by larger hospital networks and depopulation. Medicaid and Medicare reimbursement are pretty close to cost in many states. I’m employed in aviation and I know that in a number of states, Medicaid reimbursement will pay for the avgas to fly the chopper back and forth to an incident scene. The pilot’s and flight nurse’s salaries don’t even get paid for. Medicare pays a little bit more but it still doesn’t cover all of the costs. Commercial insurance is what keeps ambulance operators going. With the AHCA and it’s cuts to Medicaid and Medicare , a lot of rural communities will lose even the ambulance services that can get patients to a trauma center. Commercial insurance can’t cover all of the costs.
Omnes Omnibus
I got a somewhat positive message when I spoke to Ron Johnson’s office. They said he is not in favor of rushing something through and wants to take time necessary to craft a good bill. We’ll see how it plays out.
cintibud
Got a response from Portman’s office – he has made it clear that he does not support the current health bill as it does not do enough to protect Ohio’s medicaid expansion BUT Obamacare is a disaster, yada yada yada. Expect he’ll go for some bandaid that will give him cover.
Lyrebird
I’ve contacted Toomey’s office a couple times before, but so far as I can see, he is wholly bought and paid for. As ethical as Ryan- can’t remember which of them was most recently seen mugging for the cameras at a children’s hospital RIGHT AFTER voting to take away their healthcare.
Toomey has complete confidence in that racist, sexist, cruel, lying monster currently holding the office of Attorney General, so that makes it pretty clear to me that Toomey would prefer I not have the vote as well as not having affordable health care.