The Senate is back in town.
You know what that means.
Time to keep on calling the DC offices and the local offices and tell the interns answering the phones your strong, polite and coherently worded opinions on the AHCA/BCRA tax cut bills.
Andy Slavitt lays out the contours of the next two week:
Of all the many Senators who oppose the bill, McConnell is likely to press them 1:1 not to be the THIRD no if he gets that close. 11
— Andy Slavitt (@ASlavitt) July 9, 2017
The fundamental assumption in that tweet is that no Republican wants to by the decisive vote. The two allowable “No’s” have been taken by Heller and Collins. If there is a single vote left on the floor and the count is 49 Yes-50 No, the pressure will be immense to not be the person blamed for killing the bill. The bill will probably go to the floor if McConnell can count on 47 or 48 solid Aye votes. He figures he can arm twist and allow a political pressure cooker to squeeze the last few people whose personal political preference is “Vote No, hope yes but is there if needed.”
So that means the hard No’s need to be locked down. So people from West Virginia, call Senator Moore Capito; people from Kansas call Sen. Moran. Keep on calling.
rikyrah
CALL CALL CALL
rikyrah
.@lisamurkowski .@SenDanSullivan Doctors & Nurses know #BCRA is #wealthcare not #healthcare & NOT better than #ACA. We need #CareNotChaos pic.twitter.com/J5uLMx6prK
— Judith Fardig (@FardigJudith) July 9, 2017
Ohio Mom
I already know Portman is hardly a firm “No” but it still makes me wince to read it — or more accurately, not read it.
Back to the phone it is…
low-tech cyclist
And keep leaning on soft No’s to keep them leaning No, even if we can’t lock them down. There’s safety in numbers: if there’s 2 hard No’s and 3-4 soft No’s, it passes. But if there’s 15-20 soft No’s, then Mitch has a problem. We probably won’t get a third hard No without at least 10-12 soft No’s ready to vote No only if they’re sure the bill’s a loser anyway.
rikyrah
Here comes the cavalry: 7-figure TV ad buy targeting Heller, Murkowski, and Capito. Here’s the Heller ad:https://t.co/v8Ma51F7K3
— Topher Spiro (@TopherSpiro) July 9, 2017
Nelle
Have you any idea how novel it is to have someone call on a Kansan to do something with a hope (however small) that it might make a difference? I’ve been calling most every day since January. They know me by voice and name. I call the DC office, I call the KC area office, I call the office nearest his home town (Hays, KS). They are all on my contact list so it is easy. Moran is visibly upset at the turn things have taken in DC; I was at a town hall with him a few weeks ago. He is also one of the few Republicans who had town halls and “listening sessions” this past week. He kept them all on the western, less populated side of the state, which upset people on the eastern side and some of them drove six to eight hours to get to Palco, KS, population 277 (and near where Moran grew up). But what I’m sensing is that Moran is also taking the temperature of those who are the old fashioned Republican base (and he may have wanted to be near his roots for the most important time of the year, wheat harvest). He readily voices his disgust with the process. But this is also the state of Charles and David Koch. He’s under mighty pressure. One can see the twitching of a moral fiber, though, which is unusual for a current Republican. I’m trying to cajole that moral fiber into more strength and if I don’t get what I want this time, I’ll keep twinging it for the next issue.
tobie
@Nelle: It’s so heartening to hear how committed people like you in Red States are to trying to sway their corporate-owned Republican representatives and senators. Thank you for keeping up the fight. You’re doing yeoman’s work.
Nelle
My husband and I were talking yesterday about his desire to live in a blue state again. That was nice (as was living overseas in New Zealand). But the truth is that we are in a blue town, so day to day life isn’t too bad. This town, a university town with many international students, has so many “You are welcome in our neighborhood” signs in multiple languages, that it is a balm to the soul. But we were gerrymandered out of representation years ago. The town is nice enough and if all blue people leave red states, we will have a red senate and red state governments forever. Come on down, folks, and help us purple up some states.
tobie
Given that the political split in this country is cultural, it doesn’t surprise me in the least that people with similar interests, values and passions congregate in the same areas. I imagine that blue areas in red states are really blue. I divide my time between a blue city and a red rural area in my state and have tried to get politically involved in the latter but could never live here full time. What my neighbors say often appalls me, so I limit contact to the exchange of pleasantries. I don’t know what to do about this divide. It seems unbridgeable, but maybe partisan gerrymandering is in part the cause. It’s designed to make us (more) tribal.
Rathskeller
@Nelle: that is fantastic. Thanks for doing that.
I live in CA, so I feel helpless
Percysowner
Capito seems to be pretty solid Capito: If I Have To Be The Vote That Kills The Senate Repeal Bill, ‘I Will Be It’ but shoring her up and telling her that’s the right thing to do is still a good idea. Keep the pressure up.
Now I have to call Portman, who will NEVER be the vote to kill the bill and let him know that standing up is a good political move.
Ohio Mom
@Percysowner: I had luck getting a human at Portman’s Cleveland office, after getting answering machines in DC and Cincinnati.
It’s amazing to me how little they answer the phone. The simpliest task they have and all they do is shirk it.
Percysowner
@Ohio Mom: I just called the Columbus office and DC and got Voicemail at both. They haven’t answered the phones in weeks. I left my stern voicemail. He is really hiding from his constituents. He holds a “constituents coffee” every Wednesday, but I’m not 100% sure if it’s in Columbus or Washington. If it’s in Ohio, I may RSVP (on his voicemail) and pay old Rob a visit and drink coffee.
Raoul
@Nelle: Wow, there were two blue counties in KS in ’16 in the Senate race. I have three cousins and an uncle (he’s 92!) in Johnson County KS. I think most of them and their spouses are horrified by the current occupant of the WH, though some of them could easily be called ‘old school’ Republicans. Problem is, that means about nothing in modern voting. I know my uncle resigned his GOP membership something like 15 years ago, but how he actually votes, I’m not sure, though he affirms he votes split ticket at least.
Citizen Scientist
@Nelle: Thanks for your dedication to the fight!
FDRLincoln
Another Kansan here in reliably blue Lawrence. And I have been calling Moran constantly.
No One You Know
God/Gaia/Universe bless you, every one, for doing what you can. Oregon’s blue representatives send me a polite form letter each time I call, but I like it anyway!