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You are here: Home / Politics / domestic terrorists / It’s Baaaaacccckkkk (Sort Of, Maybe)

It’s Baaaaacccckkkk (Sort Of, Maybe)

by Tom Levenson|  July 20, 20173:33 pm| 110 Comments

This post is in: domestic terrorists, Free Markets Solve Everything, Fuck The Middle-Class, Fuck The Poor, World's Best Healthcare (If You Can Afford It), Outrage

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It is impossible to overstate the Republican commitment to ripping health care from millions, while taking a chainsaw to our medical system.

Rand Paul has just announced that he will vote “Yes” on the Trumpcare motion to proceed as long as he is given a clean vote on his amendment, which would simply repeal the ACA (which, given the CBO evaluation of a similar proposal, would lead to something on the order of 17 million without health care next year, and 32 million Americans left in the cold by 2026).

That’s still not enough to get Trumpcare to the floor if the other declared “Noes” hold out, but each senator McConnell can peel away significantly increases the pressure on those who remain opposed.  And certainly, Paul’s cave reminds us that counting on any Republican to maintain a party-base-unpopular position as a matter of principle is a mug’s game.

This won’t be over until the GOP loses its majority in one house or the other.

Image: Workshop of Lucas Cranach the Elder, Massacre of the Innocents, c. 1515

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Reader Interactions

110Comments

  1. 1.

    rikyrah

    July 20, 2017 at 3:39 pm

    CALL CALL CALL

  2. 2.

    Major Major Major Major

    July 20, 2017 at 3:41 pm

    What? You can’t repeal the ACA with refonculiation.

  3. 3.

    JGabriel

    July 20, 2017 at 3:42 pm

    Tom Levenson:

    This won’t be over until the GOP loses its majority in one house or the other.

    Approximately 17.5 months til the midterm election.

  4. 4.

    Major Major Major Major

    July 20, 2017 at 3:46 pm

    Also, if it’s Collins+the other two+McCain all not voting yes, it kind of doesn’t matter?

  5. 5.

    dmsilev

    July 20, 2017 at 3:47 pm

    With McCain not voting (presumably), McConnell can afford a maximum of one defection. Two, and he loses 49-50.

  6. 6.

    Yarrow

    July 20, 2017 at 3:47 pm

    Motherfuckers! I hate them all so much.

    I feel like this is one of those horror moves that has a zillion sequels.

  7. 7.

    TenguPhule

    July 20, 2017 at 3:47 pm

    @Major Major Major Major:

    What? You can’t repeal the ACA with refonculiation.

    Calvinball, my dear Major. Its all Calvinball.

  8. 8.

    hueyplong

    July 20, 2017 at 3:48 pm

    I’ve said it before. They’ll wheel McCain in there and assist his voting yes if they can get to that point. Irony will lie doused with gasoline in a shallow grave.

  9. 9.

    TenguPhule

    July 20, 2017 at 3:49 pm

    @Major Major Major Major:

    Also, if it’s Collins+the other two+McCain all not voting yes, it kind of doesn’t matter?

    Anyone who trusts Collins and the other two to not be turned around by McConnell money sooner or later may need to avoid responding to Nigerian princes asking for help.

  10. 10.

    TenguPhule

    July 20, 2017 at 3:50 pm

    @Yarrow:

    I feel like this is one of those horror moves that has a zillion sequels.

    Jeepers Creepers. Its still the same movie, but it just won’t stop coming for us.

  11. 11.

    SiubhanDuinne

    July 20, 2017 at 3:55 pm

    I hate to concern troll, but are we absolutely sure of all the Dem votes (well, and the two Indies who caucus with Dems)? Do we need to make reminder calls to them as well?

    Not that that would be an issue for me in red GA….

  12. 12.

    JMG

    July 20, 2017 at 3:56 pm

    Heller’s making it pretty clear he’s a yes. “Keeping his options open.” Capito, too. It passes. There are no Republican “moderates,” only particularly cowardly wing nuts.

  13. 13.

    Major Major Major Major

    July 20, 2017 at 3:56 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne: even Manchin has been pretty forcefully opposed, but it doesn’t hurt to check in!

    ETA: alright, I have better things to do than read gloomporn, I’ll check back later.

  14. 14.

    Frankensteinbeck

    July 20, 2017 at 3:57 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    I hate to concern troll, but are we absolutely sure of all the Dem votes (well, and the two Indies who caucus with Dems)?

    Yes.

    Do we need to make reminder calls to them as well?

    It’s always good to thank them for their opposition.

  15. 15.

    TenguPhule

    July 20, 2017 at 3:58 pm

    This won’t be over until the GOP loses its majority in one house or the other.

    Talk about optimism.

    Its never going to be over. The war on Americans will continue as long as there are Republicans.

  16. 16.

    LurkerNoLonger

    July 20, 2017 at 3:58 pm

    @JMG: You’ve always been a bright ray of sunshine on this issue.

  17. 17.

    Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (Formerly Mumphrey, et al.)

    July 20, 2017 at 3:59 pm

    I don’t really know whether they have enough time to pull this off any longer. I don’t know; maybe they do. It kind of took me by surprise when it flopped. I truly thought McConnell was going to find a way to get it through. Maybe he still can, but they’re running out of time. For the life of me, I can’t understand why they’d want to pass this shitty law going into 2018, though. Are they trying to fuck themselves out of a majority in both houses? What are they doing?

  18. 18.

    SatanicPanic

    July 20, 2017 at 4:00 pm

    @Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (Formerly Mumphrey, et al.): It’ll have to go back to the House, but passage there seems like a done deal.

  19. 19.

    TenguPhule

    July 20, 2017 at 4:02 pm

    @Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (Formerly Mumphrey, et al.):

    For the life of me, I can’t understand why they’d want to pass this shitty law going into 2018, though. Are they trying to fuck themselves out of a majority in both houses? What are they doing?

    Hell if I know. From all appearances, these idiots in Congress do not understand or care how the world actually works. Between this, the debt ceiling, the federal budget, the rollback of rules and regulations, the desire to open up the ANWR to drilling AGAIN while hawking off the national petroleum reserve to the free market, the trade tariffs and the dickering over Iran and Quatar, the only rational conclusion is that these fuckers really do want to just burn it all down in the belief they will be the warlords living on top when its all over.

    That or they’re all certifiably insane.

  20. 20.

    Yarrow

    July 20, 2017 at 4:03 pm

    @JMG:

    HELLER on coverage losses: "That's not the discussion I want to have." Call him up and have that discussion. https://t.co/mKb0P48zzX pic.twitter.com/d9MpMOpoQs— Topher Spiro (@TopherSpiro) July 20, 2017

  21. 21.

    Mnemosyne

    July 20, 2017 at 4:03 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    People with Dem reps and Senators should call to thank them and remind them to stay strong because they have the majority of the people behind them.

    Politicians always love to be thanked and have their egos stroked, so let’s do that for our faithful Dems.

  22. 22.

    Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (Formerly Mumphrey, et al.)

    July 20, 2017 at 4:03 pm

    @SatanicPanic:
    When do they all go out for the year, though? They have August off, and then I think there’s another break in there sometime this fall, then it’s Thanksgiving, and then soon after that Christmas, and we’re into 2018. How much time, practically speaking, do these guys have to pull this off? It would be funny beyond belief if they passed this hunk of shit only to see Czar Manbaby veto it because some senator wasn’t deferential enough to him in their last meeting or something. I’d pay good money to watch that happen. And with this clown, I wouldn’t bet against it. I wouldn’t bet on it, but I wouldn’t bet against it, either.

  23. 23.

    JMG

    July 20, 2017 at 4:04 pm

    @LurkerNoLonger: Josh Marshall is right. Republican “moderates” always fold. I give Collins credit for her stance, but the rest WANT to give in. They are more afraid of their states’ 500-watt radio station right wing talk show hosts than they would be of an actual lynch mob.

  24. 24.

    SatanicPanic

    July 20, 2017 at 4:04 pm

    @TenguPhule: In order to run for reelection, they have to get through their primaries first.

  25. 25.

    dmsilev

    July 20, 2017 at 4:05 pm

    @Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (Formerly Mumphrey, et al.): They have until September 30th. That’s when the reconciliation bill, the thing which allows them to do this without needing to clear the 60 vote filibuster threshold, expires.

  26. 26.

    Mnemosyne

    July 20, 2017 at 4:06 pm

    @TenguPhule:

    The Kochs and Mercers are calling the wavering Republicans and telling them that they won’t get a dime from them unless they vote for the repeal. And I bet there are some veiled or not-so-veiled hints that their friends from Russia might interfere again, and not on the wavering Republicans’ side this time

  27. 27.

    hueyplong

    July 20, 2017 at 4:07 pm

    @Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (Formerly Mumphrey, et al.): What if the idea is that the combination of gerrymandered districts and dark money-funded primaries means that they don’t care what happens to “moderates” and they’re looking for 51 or more Senators who might as well all be from Oklahoma?

    I have more hope for Collins than usual because she’s not returning to the Senate and voting no on the most egregious stuff fits in with her presumed gubernatorial campaign. If McCain is out, that would require only one more no. Not sure who that will be if the Rand move means all the hard right people decide to give it a go.

    There is always the possibility that hard right people nail the “Obamacare lite” bill while the “moderates” nix outright repeal in individual bill votes once it hits the floor, but that sure seems like the last ditch and it would be pretty nerve-wracking to be in that ditch.

    This is what comes from electing majorities from the Proud Assholes Party.

  28. 28.

    Mnemosyne

    July 20, 2017 at 4:07 pm

    @JMG:

    They’re afraid of the Kochs and Mercers.

    Billionaires now own our election system, and not just America ones. ?

  29. 29.

    TenguPhule

    July 20, 2017 at 4:07 pm

    @SatanicPanic:

    In order to run for reelection, they have to get through their primaries first.

    This isn’t even primary level craziness. This is Heath Ledger Joker level madness.

    They are fucking around with the pillars of the world economy and human civilization.

  30. 30.

    hueyplong

    July 20, 2017 at 4:09 pm

    @dmsilev: Sept 30 kind of feels like about a year from now.

  31. 31.

    rikyrah

    July 20, 2017 at 4:10 pm

    @Yarrow:

    Motherfuckers! I hate them all so much.

    Come sit by me.

  32. 32.

    TenguPhule

    July 20, 2017 at 4:10 pm

    @Mnemosyne: It still doesn’t add up. Even the Koches and Mercers have to know that the currency all their wealth is stored in is now under direct threat by these legal arsonists. This is the kind of shit that brings down empires.

  33. 33.

    trollhattan

    July 20, 2017 at 4:10 pm

    @TenguPhule:

    They are fucking around with the pillars of the world economy and human civilization.

    You say that like it’s a bad thing.

  34. 34.

    SatanicPanic

    July 20, 2017 at 4:11 pm

    @TenguPhule: I dunno man, the people who vote in Republican primaries are about as crazy as they get.

  35. 35.

    MomSense

    July 20, 2017 at 4:11 pm

    WTF I can’t even walk to the bank and back without Republicans trying to kill us again.

  36. 36.

    Percysowner

    July 20, 2017 at 4:12 pm

    Miracle of Miracles, I got a live person at Rob Portman’s office. Asked him not to destroy the health care of hundreds of thousands of Ohioans. I don’t think he CARES about his constituents, but i actually got through! I had to leave a voicemail thanking Sherrod Brown, but a live person for Portman!

  37. 37.

    rikyrah

    July 20, 2017 at 4:13 pm

    @dmsilev:

    They have until September 30th.

    I know….running out the clock.

  38. 38.

    Spanky

    July 20, 2017 at 4:14 pm

    @Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (Formerly Mumphrey, et al.):

    Are they trying to fuck themselves out of a majority in both houses? What are they doing?

    They’ve been told that they are certain to win re-election, and to not ask questions.

    Conjecture, but waaaay too probable.

  39. 39.

    TenguPhule

    July 20, 2017 at 4:15 pm

    @dmsilev:

    They have until September 30th.

    And as a reminder, the Treasury has until July 31 for Congress to address the debt ceiling.

    Otherwise, its “crazy options” time.

  40. 40.

    Hal

    July 20, 2017 at 4:16 pm

    @JMG: Heller is going against his constituency in a state Hillary Clinton won, with a (Republican) Governor who opposes repeal. It would be career suicide for him to sign on to repeal only, let alone the repeal and replace crap. But hey, he can always get a job with Trump’s admin I guess. For as long as that will be around.

  41. 41.

    Brachiator

    July 20, 2017 at 4:18 pm

    @TenguPhule:

    And as a reminder, the Treasury has until July 31 for Congress to address the debt ceiling.

    “Hello, Debt Ceiling.”

  42. 42.

    gvg

    July 20, 2017 at 4:19 pm

    Any chance the Democrats can persuade any party switching? Change the Senate sooner? I really wish Specter hadn’t been primaried

  43. 43.

    SatanicPanic

    July 20, 2017 at 4:20 pm

    @Hal: Or until Trump goes to the NYT and poops on him.

  44. 44.

    Mnemosyne

    July 20, 2017 at 4:21 pm

    @TenguPhule:

    The Kochs and Mercers think their wealth will protect them, because it always has. They were born wealthy and have absolutely no conception of what their lives would be like if their money became worthless tomorrow.

    So of course they’re willing to crash the whole thing. They assume they’ll come out on top and don’t give a shit about the rest of us.

  45. 45.

    chris

    July 20, 2017 at 4:22 pm

    @Spanky:

    They’ve been told that they are certain to win re-election, and to not ask questions.

    Gods, I hope you’re wrong! But a little niggly voice keeps asking, “What if 2016 was just a first pass to see what works?”

  46. 46.

    Spanky

    July 20, 2017 at 4:24 pm

    @chris: Ask yourself why Republican Secretaries of State are totally disinterested in tightening election security. Particularly in electronic voting states.

  47. 47.

    scav

    July 20, 2017 at 4:24 pm

    @MomSense: Trumpland Scale of Threat to Security doesn’t go below Orange.

  48. 48.

    chris

    July 20, 2017 at 4:25 pm

    @Spanky: I already have.

  49. 49.

    TenguPhule

    July 20, 2017 at 4:27 pm

    @gvg:

    Any chance the Democrats can persuade any party switching? Change the Senate sooner?

    Sorry, the straws you are clutching for have been recalled due to failure meet minimum moral standards.

  50. 50.

    Ohio Mom

    July 20, 2017 at 4:31 pm

    @Percysowner: Calling a Portman office and actually getting through to a real person — that doesn’t happen too often. I’d say that for me, it’s less than once per ten attempts. You are right to crow about it.

    All I can think is, Portman’s staff are are a lazy bunch of slackers, without any work ethic or sense of responsibility. Sometimes I even tell them that, in so many words — I say, “I know you are getting a lot of calls, I know there are lots of calls on the voice mail to go through. But when I worked outside of the home, if it was crunch time, I went in early, worked late, even came in on the weekends. Why aren’t you doing the same?”

    I was so glad to be done with them and now it looks like I have to start up all over again. Sigh…

  51. 51.

    oldster

    July 20, 2017 at 4:31 pm

    I called Tom Reed’s office, even though he is a sure “yes” vote for everything Trump. But I still have to call.

    I also called Gillibrand’s offices this morning, to ask her not to support the Anti-Boycott bill that would criminalize political protest.

    Ah, but that was this morning–in that sunny, cheerful past when we thought health-care was safe. Now the priority is back to health-care, and the rest will have to take care of itself

  52. 52.

    TenguPhule

    July 20, 2017 at 4:36 pm

    Speaking of the Undead. Trump is sneaking some serious shitholes into the third branch of government.

    Senate Republicans are scheduled to vote Thursday to confirm a federal judge who compared abortion to slavery, calling them “the two greatest tragedies in our country.”

    That’s just one of the questionable comments that John Bush, Donald Trump’s nominee for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, made on a blog he maintained for years under a pseudonym, G. Morris. He also called for gagging then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), applauded critics of same-sex marriage, mocked climate change and celebrated “the witch is dead” when he thought the Affordable Care Act might not be enacted.

    It never fucking ends with these people.

  53. 53.

    TenguPhule

    July 20, 2017 at 4:41 pm

    Major Major Major Major. Do not read this article. You have been warned.

    “It was a nothing meeting, all email were released and it has no bearing on the election.”

    “Typical of normal campaign activities. Nothing illegal.”

    “What could they have talked about, trying to take over the world? Come on, Pinky.” (This is a reference to “Pinky and the Brain.”)

    “It is another media hype, and the media, in my view, has completely overstepped. They should be ashamed of what they are doing. What ever happened to reporting good news?”

    “Let’s start with Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Loretta Lynch, Eric Holder and the rest of that Administration that let the country go downhill for the past eight years. And you are worried about a meeting with a Russian woman lawyer on child adoption?”

    “Pretty sure the Russians had no impact on my vote. Russians did not cause me to vote for him.”

    “If it was serious the President would be there.”

    Yeah, I have zero shits to give for whatever ills happen to these people.

  54. 54.

    Omnes Omnibus

    July 20, 2017 at 4:44 pm

    Calls made. Got a human at Johnson’s office. Unusual.

  55. 55.

    MomSense

    July 20, 2017 at 4:49 pm

    @scav:

    We are back to the terrorist traffic lights. It really does feel like terrorism to be worried all the time about whether or not you and people in your family and community will survive if they take away our access to health care.

    I keep thinking about all the people living with disabilities. What will happen to them if they lose the programs that keep them alive and not institutionalized? What about all the senior citizens living in nursing homes? They don’t all have families who would be willing or able to take them in. Foster children are on Medicaid. So much for the culture of life if you don’t care what happens to foster children.

    The GOP is evil-every one of them, including the people who vote for them. There is no justification for this kind of cruelty.

  56. 56.

    Major Major Major Major

    July 20, 2017 at 4:49 pm

    @TenguPhule: Not sure why that’s addressed to me.

  57. 57.

    TenguPhule

    July 20, 2017 at 4:49 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: You said you wanted to be warned about painful reads.

  58. 58.

    Peale

    July 20, 2017 at 4:50 pm

    @Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (Formerly Mumphrey, et al.): So far, congressional special elections have all run in their favor even if they are just squeaking by. The only thing that will give them pause is if they are wiped out in VA and NJ this fall. Otherwise, why worry? The mid-term electorate is even more conservative than the presidential election electorate. Its infinitely more white. Plus they’ve got a year to turn the discussion to bashing immigrants of all types, which is really popular with their voters and just makes our voters stay home. Until I hear stories of vast numbers of eligible democratic party voters registering to vote, we’re not getting any more new voters than what we had. Heck, hopefully there’s a few more police slayings of unarmed people. It’ll make the divisions even greater.

    Short of actually hanging mexicans from crosses, there’s really not much they can do to give white people enough concern about their rhetoric to actually turn on them. They may be unpopular, but our voters don’t tend to respond well to protecting each other. Hopefully I can be proven wrong, but I don’t know why they’d be concerned about losing yet.

  59. 59.

    Major Major Major Major

    July 20, 2017 at 4:51 pm

    @TenguPhule: Oh, the one you’re talking about I objected to because it was extremely poorly written and from the braintrust of the Chinchilla.

  60. 60.

    TenguPhule

    July 20, 2017 at 4:51 pm

    Rubin preaches with the conviction of the newly converted.

    Kobach quickly confirmed suspicions that he and his commission members are, well, crackpots. Asked if he thinks Clinton won the popular vote, he blithely proclaimed, “We will probably never know the answer to that question. Because even if you could prove that a certain number of votes were cast by ineligible voters, for example, you wouldn’t know how they voted.” What?! “What we really [will] never know is how otherwise smart people allow themselves to be part of a giant goat rope meant to validate the lunatic tweets of a president deeply insecure about losing the popular vote,” wisecracked GOP operative and #NeverTrumper Rick Wilson. To be clear once again, there is no evidence of widespread fraud.

    She really is trying to make amends for prior bad behavior.

  61. 61.

    TenguPhule

    July 20, 2017 at 4:52 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: This one was almost as bad.

  62. 62.

    TenguPhule

    July 20, 2017 at 4:55 pm

    CBO again confirms the cruelty of GOP’s ‘repeal-only’ plan

    No matter what version of the Republican health-care scheme it examines, the Congressional Budget Office reiterates the conclusion of Trumpcare’s critics: These proposals are not about expanding affordable health-care insurance. The GOP is conducting an exercise aimed to deliver tax cuts for the rich funded by brutal Medicaid cuts as it tries to undo the federal government guarantee of health-care coverage that the Affordable Care Act created for able-bodied, non-elderly adults.

  63. 63.

    Major Major Major Major

    July 20, 2017 at 4:56 pm

    @TenguPhule: I don’t think so, it seemed to mostly be describing facts, albeit within a narrow domain (fanciful survey results).

  64. 64.

    Chris

    July 20, 2017 at 4:57 pm

    @TenguPhule:

    Because they believe in it. And their rabid base as well. It’s that simple.

  65. 65.

    dww44

    July 20, 2017 at 4:58 pm

    @Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (Formerly Mumphrey, et al.): Methinks they are more obligated to the monied class who must have their can’t live without tax cuts.

  66. 66.

    JMG

    July 20, 2017 at 4:59 pm

    @Peale: They’re worried, at least the ones who aren’t fanatics. They know the health care bill is super unpopular and if it passes (whatever it is), it’ll be much more so. They know Trump is a ticking time bomb of disasters to come. The midterms are 16 months away. Trump’s been President six months. It’s hard to see him winning new friends. He only cares about the adoring simpletons.

  67. 67.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    July 20, 2017 at 5:05 pm

    I’m currently verbally mugging that just-confirmed-piece-of-dogshit John Bush (6th Circuit Court of Appeals) under my real name.

    Fuck that guy.

  68. 68.

    Villago Delenda Est

    July 20, 2017 at 5:06 pm

    @TenguPhule: THIS.

    The GOP as it currently exists needs to go the way of the NSDAP and the CPSU

    Oblivion.

  69. 69.

    EBT

    July 20, 2017 at 5:08 pm

    @gvg: Rules don’t work like that any more. They now vote at the start of the session and it stays regardless of membership.

  70. 70.

    TenguPhule

    July 20, 2017 at 5:09 pm

    @Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes:

    that just-confirmed-piece-of-dogshit John Bush (6th Circuit Court of Appeals)

    Fuck.

  71. 71.

    MisterForkbeard

    July 20, 2017 at 5:09 pm

    @TenguPhule: As always, would be lovely if the media actually refuted these crazy fucking quotes in the same article.

    As in, “Adoption is likely a PR-friendly way of stating they were discussing the removal of the Magnitsky Act, which barred certain Russian individuals from coming to the United States. Putin retaliated by restricting adoption from Russia and refusing to change that until the Magnitsky Act was repealed. Discussing ‘adoption’ is tantamount to discussing repeal of the Act.”

    Or “Despite this voter’s assertions that nothing illegal happened, that does not appear to be the case. Most legal scholars believe this would be highly illegal under at least one or two statutes, and certainly violates the spirit if not the letter of other laws.”

    Or “The assertion that Trump would be there if it was important makes several assumptions, especially that Trump may have wanted to maintain plausible deniability. It is currently unknown if Trump knew about the meeting, but in the past he has insisted on overseeing and approving all possible deals his children make.”

    Or “Despite assertions from Trump Jr. that ‘nothing happened’, Russian efforts to assist Trump and damage Clinton ramped up considerably within days of this meeting. Likewise, Trump Sr. began to speak of Hillary and the Russians for the first time within days of this meeting. While not evidence, this does suggest there may be more to the meeting.”

  72. 72.

    jl

    July 20, 2017 at 5:13 pm

    If I understand David Anderson’s BJ post from earlier this morning correctly, this newly resurrected zombie is just same old thing in a new wrapper. The Senate GOP has cooked up another scheme for supplemental funding stream for Medicaid population that is so inadequate that it is basically used as false advertising, just as in previous versions. Huge and deadly slashes to Medicaid funding are still there. Don’t let your GOP Senator think that he or she can fool you.

    So, need to contact Senators and tell them you are fooled by putting old poisonous rotgut into old bottles with new labels pasted over the old ones. No substantial difference between new version and old versions. Junk and poison for the vast majority of the population. A tax cut bill pretending to be a health care bill.

    Maybe call it the ‘GOP Senate death care bill’ when you contact your Senator.

  73. 73.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    July 20, 2017 at 5:16 pm

    @TenguPhule:

    A mutual friend was congratulating him and he was accepting accolades, so I decided to take off some of the luster by taking a gigantic greasy shit in the punchbowl.

    He isn’t responding.

  74. 74.

    MisterForkbeard

    July 20, 2017 at 5:17 pm

    @MisterForkbeard: Gotta respond to myself here – EVERY article about this meeting needs to repeat that “Trump Jr. lied repeatedly about the contents, intent, and attendance of the meeting with likely Russian agents, changing his story repeatedly and only releasing the e-mails after the New York Times informed him they were planning on releasing the mails and were requesting comment. Any statements from the Trump team should be evaluated with those facts in mind.”

  75. 75.

    Chris

    July 20, 2017 at 5:18 pm

    @MomSense:

    In case anyone wonders why I don’t givr a flying fuck that John McCain has brain cancer? This would be why.

  76. 76.

    TenguPhule

    July 20, 2017 at 5:23 pm

    @Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes:

    A mutual friend was congratulating him and he was accepting accolades, so I decided to take off some of the luster by taking a gigantic greasy shit in the punchbowl.

    You are to be commended for your service to our country.

  77. 77.

    jl

    July 20, 2017 at 5:24 pm

    Probably need a front post explainer on the current GOP attempt at fraudulent and dishonest legislation on health care. Apparently there are three (?) bills that may be up for a vote. Maybe McConnell’s new strategy, dangle several options out their and hand out confusing and dishonest (it is dead certain McConnell is an unscrupulous liar with this own caucus) golden passes, and GOP moderates can hide out that way.

    Contact your Senator and tell them to vote no on all the BS. Tell them that the fact that they are even putting up with McConnell’s dishonest BS without public protest is enough for you to vote against them and their party for the rest of your life, and to pledge your honor and fortune to driving the GOP thieves from your state.

  78. 78.

    Iowa Old Lady

    July 20, 2017 at 5:25 pm

    I’ve been out and I’ve lost track on what the Rs are getting ready to vote on. It’s possible they have too from what I can see.

  79. 79.

    TenguPhule

    July 20, 2017 at 5:26 pm

    In case you’re wondering why I’m so grouchy lately.

    The state of Hawaii is rolling out a preparedness plan in the unlikely event that North Korea launches an intercontinental ballistic missile at the Aloha State.

    The public education and information campaign will emphasize steps to be taken on short notice, according to state officials, because a North Korean ICBM would arrive in just 20 minutes, leaving just 12 to 15 minutes to warn the populace.

    And what is this genius plan you ask?

    The plan doesn’t mean a return to “duck and cover” from the 1950s, but it will include school students drilling for evacuation, similar to “active shooter” scenarios now, officials said.

    Public service announcements will be aired that advise “get inside, stay inside, and stay tuned,” according to the state.

    *facepalm*

  80. 80.

    jl

    July 20, 2017 at 5:26 pm

    @jl:

    Here is the tweet that seems to mention all the crap that is in the Senate legislative pipeline, er.. maybe I should have typed sewer main.

    Dylan Scott
    @dylanlscott
    This is where we’re at:
    Rand Paul wants a random drawing to decide the order of voting on BCRA, ORRA and Cassidy-Graham after the MTP
    https://twitter.com/dylanlscott/status/888100075976708096

  81. 81.

    quantum man

    July 20, 2017 at 5:27 pm

    This is only my second post at Balloon Juice. It is hard for many people to get their heads wrapped around a number like 32 million. This might help when you talk to others about this. The average width of men at the shoulders is about 18.25 inches, and for females about 15.5 inches. So since there are about as many men and women in the U.S., say the average width of a person at the shoulders is the average of these two averages, or about 16.9 inches, which is about 1.41 feet. Multiply this by 32 million you get, 45000000 feet, or about 8,522 miles. This many people lined up shoulder-to-shoulder would stretch from NY City across the U.S., across the Pacific Ocean to Tokyo and then on for about another 1,800 miles. This is about 1/3 of the way around the planet. If a politician wanted to shake all of the hands of these people who now have no health insurance (and so are now “free”) and it takes them 2 seconds per handshake and they shake hands 24 hours a day, each day, with no stopping it will take about 2 years. THAT is how many people 32 million is.

  82. 82.

    Tenar Arha

    July 20, 2017 at 5:32 pm

    @quantum man: Gonna steal this

    If a politician wanted to shake all of the hands of these people who now have no health insurance (and so are now “free”) and it takes them 2 seconds per handshake and they shake hands 24 hours a day, each day, with no stopping it will take about 2 years. THAT is how many people 32 million is.

  83. 83.

    Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (Formerly Mumphrey, et al.)

    July 20, 2017 at 5:33 pm

    @Peale:

    The only thing that will give them pause is if they are wiped out in VA and NJ this fall. Otherwise, why worry?

    I think they’re going to do pretty badly in both. I can’t see whoever’s running in New Jersey winning after eight years of Christie, and I live in Virginia, and I don’t think Gillespie has much of a shot.

  84. 84.

    Yellowdog

    July 20, 2017 at 5:34 pm

    @TenguPhule: They are certain that the midterm elections will go their way because Putin will make it so.

  85. 85.

    jl

    July 20, 2017 at 5:36 pm

    Here are more details on what may be the new McConnell plan, with help from Paul and Heller. A votarama not on amendments but all the alternative bills in hopes that something sneaks through. Disgraceful (of course). Should call your Senator and instruct them to stop this BS now. No excuse for it anymore. Irresponsible and dishonest policy, in addition to the fact that all the bills stink. I think David Anderson wrote that Collin-Cassidy was a decent start, but it is so moderate is least likely to pass, and that ignores the lack of hearings.

    Call Senator and tell them you expect them to shut down this BS process.

    Key Trumpcare Holdout Says He’s A Yes If Guaranteed A Vote On His Amendment
    http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/rand-paul-relents-obamacare-repeal

  86. 86.

    eemom

    July 20, 2017 at 5:43 pm

    Oh, but DO let’s talk some more about the thoughts and prayers we are sending to poor dear John McCain!

    Besides it being the totally RIGHT thing to do, it’ll take our minds off those 32 million he would have gladly helped shove into the abyss if that tumor hadn’t taken up residence in his brain.

  87. 87.

    Shalimar

    July 20, 2017 at 5:43 pm

    @Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (Formerly Mumphrey, et al.): The Koch brothers are basically threatening to sit out the 2018 cycle if some form of ACA repeal doesn’t happen. Will they really follow through? Will other billionaire supporters? How many Republican sheep will sit out the election if the repeal promises aren’t kept?

    It seems like Republican are screwed no matter what they do. I agree with your implicit assumption that they should be more worried about the millions in their base who never realized they would be among those who lost healthcare, but, as always, Republicans seem to be far more terrified of their billionaires.

  88. 88.

    jl

    July 20, 2017 at 5:44 pm

    Even setting aside the dishonest and irresponsible and civicidal (that is, murderous to one’s own population) substance of all but one of the GOP Senate bills is, the process has degenerated into sheer panicked madness.

    They really really really need to slash the taxes and redirect the money to the super rich. Their donors must be issuing dire threats of a donor strike or something. I also wonder if they have internal polling that tells them how damaging it will be to them if they do nothing, that is, if the fact that the GOP has been knowingly, and repeatedly, been lying through its teeth when it said it had a better plan than PPACA. I guess they figure if they can pass some shit, they can gull enough low info voters into thinking otherwise.

    Except, as far as I know, all the plans likely to pass will start hurting people all the way up into solid middle class before 2018. They probably think they can blame that on PPACA, or are losing track in their own self-generated confusion.

  89. 89.

    Steeplejack

    July 20, 2017 at 5:49 pm

    @quantum man:

    Hopefully some of them would die before their handshake came up. That’s the Republican plan, I think.

  90. 90.

    MisterForkbeard

    July 20, 2017 at 5:49 pm

    @eemom: I’m entirely in the camp of “We should send prayers/condolences to John McCain, because brain cancer sucks. We should also remind people that he was voting to remove health care from 22-32 million people, all oh whom would be completely hosed if they were in his situation.”

    We can do both! :)

  91. 91.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    July 20, 2017 at 5:50 pm

    @jl: Remember all the talk over the last 8 years of PPACA being “shoved down our throat”? This is what “shoved down our throat” really looks like.

  92. 92.

    FlipYrWhig

    July 20, 2017 at 5:51 pm

    @jl:

    A votarama not on amendments but all the alternative bills in hopes that something sneaks through.

    Isn’t the usual name for this “Russian Röulette”?

  93. 93.

    Shalimar

    July 20, 2017 at 5:52 pm

    @jl: Most likely scenario: voting for multiple bills isn’t a strategy to pass one. It is an election strategy for next year to make sure everyone can claim credit for voting for at least one healthcare bill and no one has to take the political blame for being the vote that killed “reform.”

  94. 94.

    eemom

    July 20, 2017 at 5:52 pm

    @MisterForkbeard:

    You can. I can’t and won’t. I want those who intentionally cause suffering to others to suffer themselves. Doesn’t happen nearly often enough.

  95. 95.

    MomSense

    July 20, 2017 at 5:53 pm

    @Chris:

    You and my thirteen year old. Last night he told me that McCain is a terrible person and he will feel sorry for him when he starts caring about the people who will lose health care.

  96. 96.

    MisterForkbeard

    July 20, 2017 at 5:55 pm

    @eemom: I’ll do that. I knew a 12-year-old girl that had brain cancer. I refuse to be happy that happened to anyone is put in the same situation, no matter how awful they are.

    I am entirely aware that McCain is horrible on many levels and even recently tried to ruin the lives of millions of people through ACA repeal. It doesn’t keep me from wincing when I know what his family is about to go through.

  97. 97.

    The Golux

    July 20, 2017 at 5:56 pm

    @TenguPhule:

    Public service announcements will be aired that advise “get inside, stay inside, and stay tuned,” according to the state.

    I am astonished that #pyhbykakyag is not already a Twitter hashtag.

  98. 98.

    Victor Matheson

    July 20, 2017 at 5:56 pm

    @TenguPhule: I am not an expert in N. Korean nuclear capabilities, but based on what I have read we’re currently talking about bombs smaller than Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Drop one of those on on the Boston Common and the blast doesn’t even get to Harvard or Logan Airport. Drop one of the Statue of Liberty and the blast doesn’t even come close to reaching Manhattan. Thus, sheltering in a solid location to protect yourself from the initial blast and then limiting your exposure to radiation is not a crazy strategy.

    Unless you are right at ground zero, in which case you are screwed, but even with a direct strike on Honolulu, that would only be a small percentage of the population.

  99. 99.

    bemused

    July 20, 2017 at 6:02 pm

    @TenguPhule:

    I read Ben Shapiro’s piece about more and more Trump supporters are loving his nasty character flaws. Ben says, “we like it, we’re happy with it”. He calls Trump the hood ornament for a movement that now feels free from traditional rules of decent behavior. It was no fun to struggle with moral dilemmas all the time. Shapiro then goes on to describe how the right uses a backward logic to absolve themselves and feel justified the means are the ends. “All that matters is the punching, even if the punching is both counterproductive and immoral”.

    Just another confirmation for me that trying to reach Trump supporters is a waste of time and energy.

  100. 100.

    ? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?

    July 20, 2017 at 6:08 pm

    @bemused:
    Shapiro was always an asshole and nut

  101. 101.

    Mnemosyne

    July 20, 2017 at 6:11 pm

    @bemused:

    Sounds about right. Trump supporters are bullies, and they’re thrilled to have a chance to openly bully people now.

  102. 102.

    MisterForkbeard

    July 20, 2017 at 6:12 pm

    @bemused: This explains many of the posts and comments on facebook. I’ll buy it.

  103. 103.

    jl

    July 20, 2017 at 6:13 pm

    @Shalimar: Thanks. I overlooked that relatively optimistic possibility.

    People need to call their Senators and not just complain about one particular bill, but the whole irresponsible, immoral, very DISHONEST, and insane process. Tell them to Shut ‘Em Down!

    PE, Shut ‘Em Down
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAvjb0ieglM

  104. 104.

    bemused

    July 20, 2017 at 6:16 pm

    @? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?:

    He is but Trump supporters and other Republican voters sure do fit the bill, imo.

  105. 105.

    jl

    July 20, 2017 at 6:24 pm

    @bemused:

    ” Just another confirmation for me that trying to reach Trump supporters is a waste of time and energy. ”

    Hard to believe, but from polling on Trump job approval, our miserable and unfit president probably has a hard core unshakable level of support between 30% and 40% of the population. But, they were a minority of popular vote even in 2016, when chances for Trump were probably higher than in next election cycles (I think a lot of knuckleheads and white ‘soft-bigost’ will decide that they have had enough disruption and excitement in their government for a while).

    Electorally, no reason to tailor any specific message or appeal to the hard core Trumpsters or the supposed white working class backlash (which statistics of the turnout in 2016 show did not actually exist). Dems need to craft a good message for everyone in the country, and those who choose to listen, let them listen. Those who won’t listen at this point, forget about them. You can’t please everyone, certainly not irrevocably committed fools and knaves.

    If we can get close to 60% of the popular vote in upcoming contests it will be considered a landslide. Why worry about the votes of those you’ll never get unless you talk like a toxic nutcase?

  106. 106.

    eemom

    July 20, 2017 at 6:56 pm

    @MisterForkbeard:

    You are a kinder and more generous person than I. I am cool with that.

  107. 107.

    Aleta

    July 20, 2017 at 7:13 pm

    Republicans truly do not consider individuals when they “work” on health care or policy. They work to create a number they can use in speeches and ads as a measurement (as defined by them) of their success. Amount of tax dollars ‘returned,’ % increase in ‘efficiency’ (some bogus measurement that ignores critical results), the number of regulations removed per cabinet office.

    They got in trouble because of the size of the number they’re up against –millions who lose care, the number who will die. We need to know and use the estimated number of nursing homes and clinics that will close, the number of those jobs lost. Whatever numbers can be found, because they hope stories of hurt individuals will be drowned out by another crisis come election.

    And again, Tr and Jr will be saying shiny crazy stuff so the media will need to debate if they are right or not, are crooks or not, what would it mean if they are, but let’s also hear from Dershowitz et al. why might they not be.

  108. 108.

    Percysowner

    July 20, 2017 at 7:42 pm

    @Ohio Mom: @Omnes Omnibus: I honestly got the feeling that whoever answered the phone hadn’t gotten the news that the bill was back on. When I said I wanted to give my opinion on it, I was met with a silence that felt a LOT like they had no idea what I was talking about. Basically I think they thought this was over and it was safe to answer the phones again. I don’t know if it will go back to all voicemail all the time tomorrow.

  109. 109.

    TenguPhule

    July 20, 2017 at 7:56 pm

    @eemom: Come sit by me.

  110. 110.

    TenguPhule

    July 20, 2017 at 7:56 pm

    @Victor Matheson:

    Unless you are right at ground zero, in which case you are screwed, but even with a direct strike on Honolulu, that would only be a small percentage of the population.

    I would be part of that small percentage.

    As would many of my relatives.

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