Senate Republicans consider keeping parts of Obamacare they once promised to kill https://t.co/2aC6YgT5xp
— Washington Post (@washingtonpost) June 9, 2017
Don't believe it. This is how they're trying to soften the resistance. We have two to three weeks to turn this around. Get busy. https://t.co/5cRY54xzha
— Al Giordano (@AlGiordano) June 9, 2017
…Senate GOP leadership told rank-and-file Republican senators during private talks this week that they favor keeping guaranteed protections for people with preexisting medical conditions — a departure from the House approach of allowing states to opt out of a regulation ensuring such individuals are not charged more for coverage.
Senate Republicans have also been mulling options to more slowly roll back the expansion of Medicaid that most states accepted under Obamacare, and they are also openly talking about keeping many of the taxes the law imposed. The goal is to find a sweet spot of at least 50 votes in a sharply divided group of 52 Republican senators, many of whom are from states where coverage levels increased under President Barack Obama’s signature health-care law.
But Senate GOP leaders run the risk of alienating an influential trio of conservative senators — Ted Cruz (R-Tex.), Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) — who previously demanded that the party follow through on promises to completely gut the law…
Even some less aggressive critics of the law are uncomfortable with bluntly describing what the talks have largely become: a negotiation about how much of Obamacare to leave in place and for how long…
GOP is writing the bill now, in close touch with CBO. Their goal: send it to CBO for official score between now and Tue, unseen by public 3/
— Ben Wikler (@benwikler) June 8, 2017
NO hearings w/ experts & affected witnesses, NO committee markups, NO consultation with Dems, NO town halls or public forums—undemocratic 7/
— Ben Wikler (@benwikler) June 8, 2017
Unlike the House vote, where most people only noticed the onrushing train in the final 48 hours, we have 3 weeks to make this toxic. 10/
— Ben Wikler (@benwikler) June 8, 2017
When you call a Senate office, ask to speak to the relevant Health Legislative Assistant. Hey look, a list of staffer names! 18/ pic.twitter.com/UQ0yZNaSxc
— Ben Wikler (@benwikler) June 8, 2017
Bonus: worked w/ @IsTrumpCareDead tonight to set up this online directory of GOP health staffers: https://t.co/EgEa2Xw2ip plz flag errors!
— Ben Wikler (@benwikler) June 9, 2017
If Republicans go with a Medicaid "glide path" through 2027, they set up Medicaid funding to be a dominant issue in the next *six* elections
— Josh Barro (@jbarro) June 8, 2017
Sense after hours of GOP meetings on healthcare: optimism after presentation from leaders, no real bill outline yet, urgency to vote soon
— Burgess Everett (@burgessev) June 6, 2017
If you have an urgency but just can't go, maybe it's time to see your doctor. Unless it's a preexisting condition. In which case, good luck.
— Philip Koplin (@pkkp42) June 6, 2017
Zach
Trump’s back on Twitter:
Guess his lawyer didn’t make it clear yesterday that the reason HIS LAWYER was calling Comey a liar and forcing Trump of Twitter was because, if Trump said the same, he’d open himself up to the Bill Clinton / Paula Jones scenario.
Unsure how accusing someone of lying under oath before Congress (and treason to boot) ranks against accusing someone of lying about an affair. Also, the basis under which Jones was allowed to sue (and subpoena Clinton to testify) might not apply here since the subject of the defamation is relevant to Trump’s job.
rikyrah
Good Morning,Everyone???
Baud
Interesting that they’re counting votes before they even know what’s in the bill.
Baud
@rikyrah: Good morning.
Keith P.
It’s not even daylight outside, but when I went to go check out my fish pond to see if they were eating the food I put out a few minutes earlier, I got dive-bombed by a bird. Didn’t make any noise, but it swooped at me and then hovered at my head like it was ready to attack again.
Keith G
@Zach: Zach’s contribution to this thread is reasonable and is also exhibit A of the horrible problem the health-care debate is facing.
The old white men of the GOP Senate leadership must be loving the Comey hearings and all the noise surrounding it because it’s allowing them to push through this horrific health care bill with a minimum of adverse publicity.
Trump’s policies must always be the prime target and not Trump’s stupid behavior as a pretend chief executive.
What I have found in in my little patch of red America is that if the topic of discussion is Trump and Russia, the reaction of Trump supporters runs the gamut from confusion to belligerence. But if you talk to them about health care their reactions run the gamut of disappointment to worry.
Amir Khalid
@Baud:
What’s in the bill is clearly unimportant so long as Obamacare is repealed. As you well know, the Congressional Republican party doesn’t give a hoot what it replaces O’care with, and many in its ranks would like to replace O’care with nothing at all.
satby
Good morning all, I hoist a coffee ☕ in your general direction.
I blew off the farmers market this week. This endless feeling of running like a hamster on a wheel, both politically and personally, is really bringing me down. I never feel like I’m making headway, just treading water. Just like the country is.
Brachiator
What a morning. HuffPo is reporting that moderate Republicans are caving on protecting Medicaid expansion. The Republicans are determined to kill Obamacare because they want to repeal the tax increases on the wealthy that help fund it.
The Guardian reports that Theresa May has formed a deal with the DUP (Ulster) party and will seek the Queen’s permission today to form a government.
The GOP has decided that destroying James Coney’s reputation is essential in order to protect Trump. This will please Putin.
Quinerly
New ad by the Dems: http://crooksandliars.com/2017/06/ad-will-kill-trumpcare-and-rightly-so
Baud
@Brachiator:
Is that even news?
bystander
@Zach:
They’re exactly the same. With the exception that if the one lying about an affair is a repub, then IOKYAR.
debbie
@Baud:
Because their party matters more than their country, solidarity matters more than content.
satby
@Quinerly: I’ve seen that ad a couple of times online the past couple of days. We think it’s powerful, but the other side will think it’s hyperbole. Bad stuff will never happen to them, in their minds, as long as the undeserving minorities stealing their tax money don’t get free healthcare anymore.
Betty Cracker
@Keith G: We’ve got to walk and chew gum, I’m afraid. The Comey hearings are a circus, it is true, but there is policy of a sort underlying it: We’ve got a lawless president who is calling an unprecedentedly broad, successful and ongoing attack on our election system “fake news.” That’s important.
HeleninEire
Morning, morning crew. Just got back from an interview at Dublin City University. It went so well that I don’t even care if I get it. I was real worried about the calcification of my interview skills cuz I’ve just been pissing around for the past 6 months, but this was just great.
They will let me know by the end of next week.
Let the weekend commence!
debbie
@Brachiator:
Oh, I don’t know. I think Theresa May is conservatism’s bellwether. The GOP should (but won’t) take heed of this and the possibility that they too will be turned on.
debbie
@HeleninEire:
Good luck! It’s always reassuring to have a positive interview.
Baud
@debbie: She still won the most seats.
ArchTeryx
@Baud: So basically another moral victory for the Left. We’re winning a whole lot of moral victories and precious few actual victories, no matter how badly the Right screws up.
When Trumpcare passes and is signed into law, I’m referring to it as an immoral victory, because that’s what it is. Unfortunately, it will also have the force of law, and the law’s majestic equality will see several hundreds of thousands condemned to die in the world’s richest democracy.
To quote Yakov Smirnov (another infamous right-winger) what a country.
debbie
@satby:
No ads like that here. Our airwaves are filled with ads for and against a drug price-lowering bill that will be on Ohio’s ballot this fall. Max Clelland is the sole supporter for the bill which would lower prices, while the drug companies have recruited a whole bunch of what I’m sure are actors posing as doctors, nurses, etc., etc. Their ace in the hole is that passing the bill will increase drug prices for veterans, so Clelland’s presence is an interesting juxtaposition. It will also be interesting to see if any in the opposition try to call him a coward or a traitor.
Baud
@ArchTeryx: Can’t say. UK is really different from the US. All comparisons should be taken with a grain of salt.
debbie
@Baud:
Yeah, but she’s been weakened significantly. She can’t forge ahead on her own, and she will enter the Brexit talks as a diminished negotiator. She certainly won’t be able to dictate the terms like she envisioned.
EBT
@ArchTeryx: She has to actually use political capital and personal charm to lead now, instead of having a wall of support to fall back on.
DU(r)P is only supporting her being PM and voting yes on the Queen’s Speech, not forming a coalition government as well.
MomSense
Thanks for the info on the healthcare staffers. More calls today
Baud
@debbie: I know. From what I hear, she ran one if the worst campaigns in the history of campaigning. I’m just saying we should be wary of deriving lessons from it one way or the other.
satby
@HeleninEire: Best of luck!
Another Scott
@Baud: Almost nothing surprised me when it comes to the Teabaggers any more. Not surprising, but continually infuriating, disgusting, etc., etc.
Paul Ryan’s family has a history of heart disease.
Talk to Jim Fixx. Oh, you can’t.
Mitch had polio as a kid:
It’s horrible that the Federal Government supported your treatment, and made it possible for your mother to be with you throughout, isn’t it, Mitch?
It’s a shame about those “pre-existing conditions” you fellows have. If only there was something you could do about it…
(sigh)
Grr…
We must fight them every single day.
Chers,
Scott.
Baud
@HeleninEire: I’m a horrible interviewee. Good luck.
Patricia Kayden
@Baud:
Because the goal is to get TrumpCare passed, substance of the bill be damned. Trump can hold this up as a major victory if it gets through Congress.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Baud:
They talk and spell funny.
ArchTeryx
I hate to say it, but I’ve said it all along: Republicans fall in line. Always. Certain R senators may be making noise now, but as many of them will press that Yea button as necessary to pass that bill. Those few allowed to do a symbolic Nay will strut and preen, the ACA will be toast, and the purging will begin.
I wish I were proven wrong on this. So far, I’ve called it all the way. It’s why getting that job was so important: The GOP is gunning for my life and everyone like me. We’re lined up at the altar to be human sacrifices to their twin Molochs of greed and spite.
satby
@Another Scott: deplorable wasn’t the right word. Despicable is.
EBT
@ArchTeryx: Hate to the the barer of bad news, but AHCA is going to tank employer offered health care too.
Baud
@EBT: That’s good politically. The bad news would be if it only affected the poor, in which case not enough people would care.
Quinerly
@Another Scott:
Really unrelated…McConnell’s brother was (may still be or retired) an ObGyn in the group in Greenville, NC that my mom saw for years. Seemed like a decent guy, good doctor. I knew his daughter (Mitch’s niece) when we both interned on the Hill in 1982. Never thought about it until now and need to look it up. Mitch wasn’t a senator yet. She and I both worked for the same senator that summer.
Baud
@Patricia Kayden:
That would be fair for him to do. It would be a major victory for them.
JPL
@Baud: That’s the state of the nation.
Wait until they pass Ivanka’s child care bill, which openly moves funds that benefit the working poor and shifts it into care for the top ten percent. The GOP will cheer.
debbie
Someone should do a side-by-side comparison of the benefits of the AHCA and Congress’s health plan and then get it to go viral.
ArchTeryx
@EBT: I live in New York State and my plan is essentially a public option (Empire). The national GOP can try to tank it, but right now it’s holding its own as-is. It helps, as well, that the public sector unions in this state are willing to go to the mat, up to and including statewide strikes, to maintain their health benefits.
My seat on the lifeboat isn’t shellproof, but it’s pretty sturdy. It’s why I’ve fought so hard for so many years to get a public sector job in this state. The benefits are literally unbeatable.
satby
Shit. I have to go pick up a beautiful male kitty that someone just abandoned in a house when they vacated. (That’s a FB link, you may not see it).
My rescue group has no foster homes, I don’t really have room either.
Any Chicago-Indiana-Michigan area peeps want to foster a cat? Purebred Russian blue, it appears.
Baud
@JPL: Put Republicans in charge and you get Republican policies. It’s not that complicated.
Quinerly
@satby:
I hate these people so much. Don’t like living like this with this much hate in my heart.
Kay
@Keith G:
The Russian interference is an actual issue, though. I listened to the hearings and both GOP and Dem Senators described it, variously as “some of the most important work we’ve ever done” and “a profound threat”, etc.
It really isn’t just about Trump’s behavior. There’s been little or no substantive coverage of what happened. No one in the public knows what happened, but listening to that hearing something did and they all believe it’s pretty important. They ruled out “changing votes” – they said no votes were changed- but that’s all we know.
This investigation can’t drag on forever because they have to reveal something to the public before the next election. They have a deadline. I think it’s premature to say people don’t care about it- people don’t know anything about it.
O. Felix Culpa
Good morning! I’m so groggy yet awake from jet lag that I read last night’s thread from hell (UK politics version) in its entirety, hoping it would put me to sleep. No such luck.
In other news, little white fluff dog has velcroed his little fluffy self to me since my return home. I think we are both comforted.
Baud
@satby:
You actually don’t have to. That you choose to do so is what makes you an amazing person.
Baud
@Kay: Right. I can’t believe people are pooh-poohing this.
Quinerly
@O. Felix Culpa:
Welcome home! I’ve been seeing some beautiful sunrise and sunset pictures from my Turquoise Trail chicks on FB. Looks like you have come home to beautiful weather. Enjoy!
Kay
What blew me away about that hearing was how the Senators and Comey kept saying there was this huge Russian interference issue, this “grave threat to democracy” running in the background of the 2016 elections and voters were told absolutely nothing specific or, I don’t know, actionable, about it. They still don’t know.
Kay
@Baud:
It really struck me how even the GOP Senators dropped the Trump defense talking points and kept coming back to the interference itself. That’s what they’re investigating.
Quinerly
@Kay:
Well, if you were to listen to McCain, HRC should be investigated for it. I guess…I still don’t understand what the fuck he was talking about.
Baud
@Kay: As the investigation continues, the information always gets worse.
satby
@Quinerly: Right there with you. I’m blaming my current malaise on how little I want to interact with other people because of how many of them are ok with this state of affairs. People suck.
Quinerly
Here’s a AM diversion from my St. Louis station. I remember we had quite a few Berry fans on some of the threads when he passed: http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/chuck-berrys-final-album-shows-his-lasting-talents-songwriter-and-musician
O. Felix Culpa
@Quinerly: Thanks! There really is something special about the quality of light in New Mexico. Last night’s sunset offered another beautiful array of colors. I never tire of watching the light and skies here and every morning I am thankful to have landed in this place.
Patricia Kayden
@debbie: Republicans put party over country quite some time ago. That’s how you can explain any votes for someone as clueless as Palin and certainly can explain any votes for someone as unqualified and lacking in self-control as Trump. How much damage will they cause as they pursue their extreme agenda of tax cuts for the rich.
Baud
@Quinerly:
You get used to it, and then it becomes a cherished and in some ways quite liberating part of you.
BBA
@ArchTeryx:
Empire is owned by for-profit Anthem. The only major non-profit plan in NYS is Emblem Health, which so far has been refused in its attempts to turn for-profit.
satby
@Baud: You’re right, I don’t have to; but if I don’t the only other option is for the landlord to take him to animal control, she’s been trying to find a home for him since she started cleaning out the trashed out house last week. At least it’s not a full Walter situation, the cat was only there for a few days before the landlord showed up and started caring for him. She says he’s shy but warms up fast.
O. Felix Culpa
@satby: You don’t suck, and you’re a people. :)
There are at least two or three other BJ regulars who don’t suck either, but I’m not naming names.
As for *people* at large, yeah, I get what you mean.
efgoldman
@Quinerly:
Neither does he
Patricia Kayden
@Kay: What stands out to me is that Trump has taken no steps to protect the election system against future foreign interference. It’s almost as if he’s fine with what Russia did. Funny that.
satby
@O. Felix Culpa: LOL! Yeah, I am spending an unhealthy time online with the like minded folks here (trolls and bros excepted) to maintain my sanity.
ArchTeryx
@BBA: All the more reason to go and fight for Medicaid Buy-In, I guess. (That is an option for disabled people in NYS, and the program existed before the ACA ever passed).
efgoldman
@Patricia Kayden:
The congress is all party. Their deplorable voters? You could call it the Jovian-Martian party, wouldn’t matter as long as the white racists are comfy in it, and they punch down on black and brown people.
germy
@Another Scott:
Well, he DID do something about it. He got himself a nice cushy gubmint job and now he gets the best healthcare in the country. And he’s made millions! His wife got a nice gubmint job, too!
It’s like a wingnut neighbor I used to have. He parroted every RW talking point. But he worked for the county, and his wife was an admin. asst. in the school district. Both unionized, both had pensions.
Bootstrappers!
Quinerly
@Baud:
The sunnyside of Baud! I’m off to clean and repair my basement…Poco has been on a jihad this week. Started with a section of drywall when a clap of thunder hit Sunday afternoon. Broke through the divided part. I have repaired the hole twice…he keeps destroying and seems to think it is funny to jump back and forth between the sides, run up the interior steps and attempt to break down that door. He’s skating on thin ice right now. I’m in a lousy mood and it’s too “peoplely” out there….
rikyrah
@HeleninEire:
Crossing fingers for you ?
Ian G.
@ArchTeryx:
Yup. Those of us fortunate enough to live in a state like New York will come out of this AHCA fiasco a lot better off than those who live in Alabama. I wish I had better advice other than come to New York. We’ve welcomed immigrants and refugees for centuries. We’ll take refugees from the lunatic regions of the US too.
rikyrah
@MomSense:
I agree. The Healthcare staffers is good info.. I will continue to spread the word.
JPL
The AJC poll has Ossoff up over Handle 51-44. In a runoff turnout is key, and the conservatives turnout, but it’s looking good.
Betty Cracker
@Patricia Kayden: Not only is he not taking steps to prevent it, he is actively denying that the interference happened, and his brain-dead followers are lapping it up. Trump’s gigantic, fragile ego is threatened by any suggestion that his electoral college win wasn’t solely due to his own awesome self.
Baud
@JPL: Wow. That’s quite a swing. When is the election? I swear I think the UK went through 3 changes in government in the time it has taken to fill this seat.
Kay
@Patricia Kayden:
Agree! I was listening on the radio so I don’t know which Senator brought that up but wasn’t that wild? Surreal. It’s like there’s 2 governments- a real one and the Trump Administration. One of them is concerned about Russian interference and the other is denying it happened. I guess it’s comforting that the real one seems more competent but it was just plain ODD- “Mr. Trump calls this fake news. Is it fake?” It’s almost like “that other weirdo fringe government thinks this is fake, what do WE, the real government, say in response?”
rikyrah
@EBT:
Yep.all the smug folks with employer provided Healthcare coverage thinking that this doesn’t affect them are wrong. They think that they don’t have a dog in this fight.
rikyrah
@satby:
You are good people satby ?
germy
I have a lot of problems with Andrew Cuomo, but I agree with this:
New York moves to shore up ACA protections, prod insurers to stay in state’s exchange
rikyrah
@Quinerly:
I know what you mean. I really do.
Quinerly
@satby:
I’m going to step away from politics today. Like minded people here this week sure have helped but it’s put me on a strange schedule. On overload. Trying to line up some work to be done here on the house since I’m here in one place until the end of September…need some tuckpointing bids. Gotta focus on something other than fucking Trump. Now with that said, I guess everyone realizes we just passed the 7 month mark since the election. I still can’t believe it. I think ultimately he will have to leave in disgrace…I have to believe that…but still can’t believe that President Donald J Trump will be in the history books as the man who followed President Obama.
O. Felix Culpa
@Quinerly: Hah! I read about Poco’s thunder escapade while I was in Spain. One of those funny/not-funny things. Curiously, little white fluff dog is completely indifferent to thunder. He has separation anxiety though (might come from having been abandoned in a Sam’s Club parking lot), which manifests itself in peeing on the carpet whenever we go out. The best solution thus far has been to barricade him in the bedroom, rather than letting him have the run of the house. I think he feels safer that way. We tried crating him, but he hated it.
ETA: On topic of healthcare, my Congress critters are all solid. I’ll call them (again) to encourage them to keep on keeping on.
Another Scott
@Quinerly: He was trying to insinuate that – since all investigations are the same – that Hillary should be investigated just as much as Donnie is. Because she was campaigning the same time Donnie was. Because setting up a secure, private e-mail server in 2008 is the same as getting help and money and guidance from Russia and Russian operatives in a Presidential campaign 7-8 years later. Because receiving hacked and stolen private communications and data from Russia and Russian operatives is the same as never having a private e-mail server hacked. Because losing an election as the result of outside interference is exactly the same as winning an election as the result of outside interference.
It’s from the squid ink clouds of butthurt whataboutery defense. And it was very poorly done.
Cheers,
Scott.
Kay
@germy:
It is good. I was hoping Dem governors would put in what they could at the state level. I imagine they can do a lot.
rikyrah
@Betty Cracker:
They need to drag Attorney General White Citizens Council in front of the committee and ask His Voter Suppression Azz what he’s doing to prevent Russian interference in our elections.
Baud
@germy: Cuomo sucks, but remember that the worst Dem is better than the best Republican.
Baud
@rikyrah: I assume his response is that he’ll take over the interference so only Americans are involved.
Another Scott
@satby: You’re good people, satby. Don’t run yourself ragged. Take time for yourself, foo.
Hang in there.
Cheers,
Scott.
germy
@Another Scott:
And after disgracing himself with his incoherent questioning, he has the outrageous arrogance to say a few hours later that his questions “went over” our heads.
Patricia Kayden
@efgoldman: The irony is that many deplorables will be damaged beyond repair by Trump Care and other GOP legislation coming out of this Congress. Their vote for Trump is going to hurt them more than some of us Black/Brown folks who can weather the storm easier than they can.
Quinerly
@O. Felix Culpa: Poco has a lot of issues. I have tried to shield his fans from them. He has a very dark side. Yesterday, I came close to calling my Cerrillos friend who owns the shop in Madrid. Wanted to tell her I needed to run away from my house that I just got back to a week ago…board Poco for punishment (he never has been, and will freak…I’m pretty sure)Tell her that I’m coming out there to hang. In related news, I have picked up a bag of SW silver and turquoise jewelry at St. Louis and NC pawn shops for her shop that would at least pay for Poco’s punishment…doggie prison at a place called Kennelwood. This AM, I came to my senses and know that I can’t justify it.
MomSense
@HeleninEire:
Let’s hope they don’t send you the bizarre behavioral assessment test called Predictive Index.
I wanted to change the first question and there were only two. It was honestly one of the dumbest things I’ve ever had to do. So that probably means I failed the test.
Patricia Kayden
@rikyrah: It has just been revealed that Sessions met with Russians for a third time (of course, he didn’t disclose any of his meetings with them) so we already know that he not only doesn’t mind Russian interference, he may have actually coordinated it. Democrats in the Senate should keep up the demand that he step down as AG for lying under oath.
When I heard Trump’s lawyer claim that Comey lied under oath during yesterday’s Senate hearing, I wondered why he thinks that is a problem when so many of Trump’s sycophants have been caught in actual lies.
Kay
@germy:
Comey answered the question he (supposedly) asked right out of the gate so McCain’s explanation makes no sense.
germy
Quinerly
@Another Scott:
Plus, as I keep blurting out on inappropriate threads…Mrs. John McCain is going to work for the Trump Adm. Yes, this is still bugging me. I was counting on cranky, nothing left to lose McCain to be a thorn in Trump’s side…at least once in awhile. Isn’t this her first fucking job ever? Yes, I’m shrill.
MomSense
@Quinerly:
Do you have a good trainer/dog whisperer who can help you? I had to bring someone in to help me. It was very helpful even though the bulk of the advice was sort of like the old parenting trick of run around the house three times and then come back and we’ll talk about this.
satby
@rikyrah: @Another Scott: Thanks you guys. We will persevere!
Another Scott
@germy: lolz.
:-)
Did you notice the young woman over McCain’s left shoulder? She may look that way all the time, but her way of blinking and the vigorously-enforced featureless expression as she looked intently at McCain and Comey made me wonder what she was thinking. “OMG!! What is he saying now??!?! Did he just call Comey ‘President’?!?!!! Aargh!!1”
Have a good Friday, everyone. I’ve sent my web-form letters to Warner and
McCainKaine [sheesh – need more tea] this AM. You?Cheers,
Scott.
Kay
So one thing that I think goes away from the idea there was “coordination” btwn Trump and Putin is, wouldn’t Putin have interfered in the GOP primary, too? If he wanted TRUMP wouldn’t he have manipulated that race?
Marco Rubio seems like the only hackish GOP Senator who ever cared about the interference so I was thinking “does Rubio think Putin helped beat RUBIO- is that why he’s mad?” But, I don’t think there was interference in their primary, so why wasn’t there?
MomSense
@satby:
Yup. Yesterday I found out trump voting client did something wicked stupid and violent. I’m shocked, SHOCKED!
karensky
Another “I Don’t Care” bill.
Quinerly
@Another Scott:
This was all hashed and rehashed yesterday re McCain but the real thing I don’t get was it looked like he was sticking to some notes. Who in the hell prepared them for him?
D58826
@Patricia Kayden: The text of the bill could ban dogs from peeing on DC fire hydrants and it would get 52 Goper votes as long as the words ‘repeal Obamacare’ is in the title
Cheryl Rofer
@Kay: You reminded me of one of the less-quoted things that Comey said yesterday. He said that hundreds, maybe thousands, of entities related to the government were hacked by the Russians.
Even if there was coordination between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin, the Kremlin had its own objectives. Most Russia experts think those objectives were disruption of the election and making democracy look bad. That doesn’t necessarily equal support for Trump through the primary. With seventeen candidates, the Republicans were voluntarily making their process look foolish.
And there could have been interference we haven’t heard about yet. It has been said, a number of times, although I don’t recall it in Comey’s testimony, that the Republican Party was hacked.
I think there’s an enormous amount of information about this that we haven’t heard yet.
satby
@Quinerly: Poco may need anti-anxiety meds for storms. And put chickenwire or a metal grate over the hole next time you repair it. He’ll stop when he can’t bust through anymore. For my sweet but troubled girl Rosa, I had a 6 foot square kennel in the basement. Not as confining as a crate for the day if I was gone, but still safely enclosed.
Poor Rosa.
Another Scott
@Quinerly: Yeah, it was a very, very bad performance by St. John. Comey seemed genuinely concerned that McCain was off-his-rocker. But it sounded to me like the usual Teabagger up-is-down type of “argument” that we’ve endured since January 2009 (and really since January 1981).
Hang in there. Best of luck with your pooch.
Cheers,
Scott.
rikyrah
@Patricia Kayden:
I knowthat he is neck deep in the Russian stuff, which is why the story from this week about there being a conflict between them was complete and utter bullshyt ??
Kay
@germy:
She’s probably just fundraising, scaring them so they send her money, but this “two governments” theme is bizarre.
Republicans really think this can continue? The real government and the loonies in the administration? We’ll have a divided country, all right. The President and then everyone else.
rikyrah
@germy:
He is head of your party, Dear. What he does SHOULD reflect upon you.
Dr. Ronnie James, D.O.
Will call my R Senator, human glob of room-temperature margarine Pat Toomey. I called earlier when the House bill passed, and they were non-committal. Expect more of the same.
I am a newly-minted Pennsylvanian and very eager to increase turnout in my corner of the state.
D58826
@Kay: I wonder if Putin’s initial goal was to get Der Fuhrer elected or just damage what looked like the inevitable winner – Clinton. But as the primaries played out and it looked like his lapdog Trump might actually get the nomination, Putin began to actively interfere on Trumps behalf. And are we sure that the Russians didn’t interfere in the GOP primary. With people like Ben Carson and Carly running Putin could just use a very light touch. They certainly seemed to have meddled in the democratic primary.
Kay
@germy:
The Government is investigating the Russian interference but The Trump Administration denies it existed.
Those two things have to collide at some point. They aren’t going to be able to maintain two tracks.
O. Felix Culpa
@Quinerly: Good on you for taking such good care of Poco! His troubles may subside over time. My parents adopted an abused hound who was very difficult to manage, but she eventually settled and became a real sweetie. I hope for the same outcome for you.
Steeplejack (phone)
@germy:
Screw Martha McSally. She voted for the AHCA and has a 100% “Trump score” at FiveThirtyEight. She deserves to have Trump tied around her neck like a millstone.
Quinerly
@MomSense:
One of my best friends is a dog trainer with Stray Rescue (the group that rescued Poco). She’s worked with him on some stuff but some of this stuff you can’t get out of an 8 year old dog that was on the streets for 2 years. She’s out of town right now. I’ve had him a little over 3 years…it’s separation anxiety. Right now, I don’t want to be loved this much. He’s losing his doggie door privileges with his once lovely cool concrete floor basement room. It’s a shame b/c it was a perfect set up for a dog…walk out basement…like a large, heated and cooled dog house with windows, his water, food, and an old sofa for lounging.
Baud
@Steeplejack (phone): Ha! That’s some independent streak. She lies like Trump too!
D58826
@Kay: to repost from a dead thread yesterday :A few thoughts on all of coverage today.
1. Der Fuhrer has made it a central part of his campaign and now administration that there is massive voter fraud. He has put the VP in charge of a program to investigate and fix the problem of voter fraud. For the sake of the post I’m not making any value judgment at this point on the issue of voter fraud.
2. On the other hand Der Fuhrer seems to have wanted to shutdown the Russian probe, seems ambivalent as to whither it is the Russians, the Chinese or some 400 lb kid who is behind the hacking. But, at least in public, he has made no effort to have his administration begin to build the necessary firewalls and systems to prevent our elections from being hacked (even if it is some 400 lb kid).
What is wrong with that picture.
And I suspect that building up the integrity of the voting system would have a secondary benefit of reducing even further what little in person voter fraud there is.
Kay
@D58826:
I don’t think we know because no one will tell us anything- we’re just the VOTERS- we don’t get to know about ELECTIONS, but something Comey said bothers me, too. He said Putin “hated” Clinton. That’s a weird word, but it’s also personal and specific. Doesn’t “love” Trump-“hates” Clinton.
There was reporting too that there was “fake news” on Bernie sites- they were passing around fake anti-Clinton news on Facebook and such- so if the goal was “get Clinton” then the Dem primary would be the primary to look at.
I think this stuff is fascinating. There was this third campaign that no one knew about! There’s a million different possibilities.
Quinerly
Ok, peeps. Didn’t mean to hijack thread with Poco problems but thanks for listening/responding. Needed to vent. Stepping away from the internet, news, politics, blogs…firing up my outside speakers with some Townes Van Zandt, JJ Cale, Randy Newman and Dr. John. Thanks for hanging out this AM. Take care and have a great day. I’m gonna try really hard to have one.
Kay
@D58826:
This is the piece about the Bernie sites:
So maybe DEM primary? If you’re going to interfere in an election don’t you start in the primary?
Chris
@ArchTeryx:
More specifically, Republicans will give in when their extremists throw a tantrum. The moderates can’t hold the line because there are no moderates and haven’t been in twenty years.
D58826
@Kay:
Oh I agree on the fake Bernie stuff but Putin could have been putting his finger on the scale in the GOP primary in ways that weren’t as obvious in part because
1. no one has/was looking
2. the fake news could be spread over 16 candidates.
And I think Comey at one point over the past few months said that the GOP was hacked just like the democrats but the info wasn’t released. While Putin’s primary goal was to defeat and/or weaken Potus Clinton a secondary goal was to spread confusion and mistrust in the process no matter who won.
Chris
@germy:
Living in DC, I see this all the time. Ugh.
Cheryl Rofer
@Kay: Putin’s animus toward Clinton, but toward the US as well, seems to be quite personal This David Ignatius piece is one of many that describe it. Apparently Putin saw the release of the Panama Papers as a personal attack on him, so he’s justified in a personal counterattack. I have to admit that I hadn’t seen the Panama Papers as part of that, but it’s plausible that Putin thinks that way – there was material about him and his associates in it. Putin also sees the fall of the Soviet Union and much of what happened in Russia during the 1990s as an American plot, and look who was US president then!
Kay
@D58826:
I don’t completely buy the “mistrust in the process” thing because it’s too chaotic and random. If he’s going to put all the effort in he would want results- chaos can spin any which way.
I was gratified by the hearing because they seem to “get” my objection to all this- many of them said the American pee-PUL have to be told what happened. I’m glad they know that :)
Kay
@Cheryl Rofer:
Thanks. I’ll hate if it’s personal. “Personal” is so freaking petty. “Personal” is like Trump. They’re a good pair.
God, the EGOs on these people. They were poorly-raised. You’re supposed to tamp that down by kindergarten.
Yoda Dog
@germy: You’re goddamned right you are, Martha. Everyfuckingdayoftheweek your name is synonymous with the fascist toddler. Get fucking used to it.
bemused
@germy:
His questions went over his own head which seems to be a bit foggy.
Cheryl from Maryland
@Another Scott: My husband has the same family history as ZEGS — grandfather died of a heart attack in his early 50’s. We are fortunate to have excellent health insurance as he has needed bypass surgery and stents before age 60. His doctors told him his heart troubles were caused by calcium build up in his arteries, so clean living would have not prevented anything. That fucking hypocrite ZEGS had better watch out.
sheila in nc
Does somebody know a place to pick up useful stats about who is being covered by Medicaid? If I’m going to talk to a health policy staffer, I’d like to be able to meet him on his own ground and make a serious case for why Medicaid cuts will hurt non-poors. (I know they don’t care about poors.)
D58826
@Chris: my rightwing taxhating sister and BIL, who have been living on gov’t jobs and pensions all of their lives as well as 2 of three kids working in DC are the same. Hate gov’t and taxes except when it benefits them
Tilda Swintons Bald Cap
@germy: Fuck her feelings.
Another Scott
@sheila in nc: Charles Gaba is the go-to guy for numbers like that. (Scroll down.)
HTH.
Cheers,
Scott.
Bruce K
I’m short of options on how to act, but I figured since my last Stateside address is New York City, and I’m still an American citizen hoping to go back someday, that makes Schumer my Senator. So I sent him an email through his site, begging him to raise hell, publicize the GOP end-run however he could, and delay it as much as he could manage.
Probably not enough, and it doesn’t make me feel much better, but what the hell else can I do from seven time zones away?
Ruckus
Is it OK, because we don’t actually live in a democracy? You know free and fair elections with results that reflect the majority views, a place where all citizens can participate.
Ruckus
@Kay:
My question is how do you know he didn’t interfere in the gop primary?
Or was it just that none of their candidates play well outside a narrow band of support. drumpf not being a politician, or anything positive at all, could, and did cross that boundary. He played on their hate and greed.
No One You Know
@Zach: “Lies, damned lies, and Twitter” may have to replace the usual aphorism.
A stranger who saw me reading the NYT this morning earnestly assured me that the Times is all “propaganda.” Not this morning, it isn’t.