Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

I was promised a recession.

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

After roe, women are no longer free.

Good lord, these people are nuts.

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

All your base are belong to Tunch.

It’s the corruption, stupid.

Republicans don’t want a speaker to lead them; they want a hostage.

… pundit janitors mopping up after the GOP

Infrastructure week. at last.

“But what about the lurkers?”

The next time the wall wtreet journal editorial board speaks the truth will be the first.

Conservatism: there are some people the law protects but does not bind and others who the law binds but does not protect.

And now I have baud making fun of me. this day can’t get worse.

John Fetterman: Too Manly for Pennsylvania.  Paid for by the Oz for Senator campaign.

A Senator Walker would be an insult to the state and the nation.

Let me eat cake. The rest of you could stand to lose some weight, frankly.

Usually wrong but never in doubt

“Everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”

Bark louder, little dog.

We cannot abandon the truth and remain a free nation.

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires republicans to act in good faith.

You are here: Home / Cruel to be kind, in the right measure

Cruel to be kind, in the right measure

by | 138 Comments

This post is in: 

I know not everyone likes it when I talk about how much passing Shitcare 3.0 will hurt Republicans. But I think it’s important to keep talking about it, because (a) it’s true and (b) it’s the argument that should most convince Republicans not to pass the piece of crap.

Even the conservative Reihan Salam agrees:

If Graham-Cassidy is signed into law, it just might represent the death knell of today’s GOP.

[….]

Of course, all of this hinges on Graham-Cassidy actually passing. That might not happen, as some of its regulatory provisions might not pass muster under the Byrd Rule, and because Sens. Lisa Murkowski and John McCain might break ranks with their fellow Republicans while Sens. Rand Paul and Susan Collins show no signs of softening their opposition. If the Republican dissenters continue to hold out, they will almost certainly stand accused of party disloyalty. But in a roundabout way, they might be doing their fellow Republicans a huge favor.

So, McCain and Murkowski, do it for your constituents, do it for conscience, do it for your party. Just vote against the fucking piece of shit.

Reader Interactions

138Comments

  2. 2.

    Felonius Monk

    But in the end they will all fall in line and vote for it. So, folks, bend over and kiss your ACA goodbye.

  3. 3.

    Jeffro

    Will it help if we call him John “Regular Order” McCain? That was his big objection to the last turd of a health deform bill the GOP was trying to pass…

  4. 4.

    Elizabelle

    To the tech savvy here: is there a free (or low cost) Macbook app that would allow me to scan a handwritten letter and fax it out?

    Why yes, I am thinking of writing heartfelt letters to the more approachable Republicans to stop this Graham-Cassidy abomination.

    Also, FYI, a TED talk some other Juicer put up yesterday. Former mayor of San Carlos, CA [San Francisco area] on the importance of sending monthly handwritten letters to your public servants. Not a bad habit.

    Want your local politician to pay attention to an issue you care about? Send a monthly handwritten letter, says former mayor Omar Ahmad — it’s more effective than email, phone, or even writing a check. He shares four steps to writing a letter that works.

    WRT Congress: I am thinking a fax with note that original will follow (to congresscritter’s district office) — that way it may be read and logged in faster (and not face a mailing delay from the East Coast to Alaska or Arizona …)

  5. 5.

    Elizabelle

    @Jeffro: I think we could work the “Regular Order” comments hard into letters (and calls) to McCain. Applaud him for stopping the last abomination, and for his brave and principled words.

  6. 6.

    Roger Moore

    @Felonius Monk:

    But in the end they will all fall in line and vote for it.

    The same way they all fell in line and voted for BCRA? Cut the doom and gloom crap. It’s demonstrably possible to peel away just enough GOP senators to kill the Republicans’ awful attempts at destroying Obamacare, so let’s work on achieving that rather than giving up.

  7. 7.

    Hunter Gathers

    They’re fucked either way.
    They pass it, they’re fucked.
    If they don’t pass it, their Nazi constituents won’t show up on election day or they’ll be replaced by a Richard Spencer clone during the primary.
    They’re going to get spit-roasted no matter what they do.
    Because they’re all fucking Nazis.

  8. 8.

    Doug!

    I don’t think they’re going to pass this thing. It’s the worst bill yet and they’re getting hammered even worse than last time. Plus, and it pains me to say it, I think Murkowski might have a functioning conscience.

  9. 9.

    Elizabelle

    @Roger Moore: I agree.

    I am sick of the defeatism here. Anger is more useful.

    These senators need to get elected statewide, and their constituents have heard of Jimmy Kimmel, even if they can’t name their congresscritter.

  10. 10.

    Doug!

    @Hunter Gathers:

    I don’t think they’re fucked if they don’t pass it. I think Dems have a decent shot at the House in 2016 if they don’t pass it. If they pass it, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Dems take 50+ seats in House and re-take Senate. And the fun really begins in a few years as the coverage losses accumulate.

  12. 12.

    Elizabelle

    @Doug!: I’d like this thing to make Graham and Cassidy radioactive. Not allowed onto reputable channels and programs because they are known liars. The affable goober masks have slipped.

    Fox News will be the only ones that want to fellate them.

    I’d like to see real longterm blowback on this one.

  13. 13.

    FlipYrWhig

    I know that Republicans don’t really give a shit about anything, but is there any good reason why the solution to the “it’s unfair that some states expanded Medicaid and others didn’t” isn’t “so expand Medicaid in those states too, you dumbfucks,” followed by “if you don’t like the off-the-shelf solution, roll your own and get a Wyden Waiver for it”?

  14. 14.

    SFAW

    @Hunter Gathers:

    They’re fucked either way.
    They pass it, they’re fucked.
    If they don’t pass it, their Nazi constituents won’t show up on election day or they’ll be replaced by a Richard Spencer clone during the primary.

    Which leads to the potential tactic of calling a Senator’s office and saying “Look, no matter what you do, your nutjob constituents will be pissed at you — so why not TRY to do the right thing? You still care about America, right?”

    Lead balloon material, probably, but maybe some of them will have a fit of conscience.

  15. 15.

    Hunter Gathers

    @Doug!: Their Nazi president promised to wipe the hated half-breed’s accomplishments from existence. If they fail, their Nazi president will tell the Nazis that voted for him to send more Nazis to Congress. If anything, Nazis are very good at following orders. The low T, beta cuck losers will be replaced with Very Fine Nazis.

  16. 16.

    Nicole

    Thank you for the lyric reference. Now I have a goddamn earworm, which I’m sure will be classified as a preexisting condition.
    (Actually, I like that song)

    Dean Obedallah has a fucking dumb ass op ed up on CNN’s site about how “Jimmy Kimmel is doing what the Democrats can’t” and how he’s making the case for why Cassidy-Graham is bad and the Democrats aren’t doing that and I’m thinking, “Because he has his own fucking TV show you dumbass space cookie. This rise of the right-wing GOP is as much your fault as anyone else’s because you have spent years licking the GOP’s backside and allowing them to present stupidity and cruelty as a reasonable option.”

    I swear to God, being a 21st century Democrat is like choosing to be a parent to an entire nation of teenagers. They scream and shout and call names and leave you to clean up the mess they made while they simultaneously demand that you take them to the mall and give them your credit card.

  18. 18.

    SFAW

    @FlipYrWhig:

    but is there any good reason why the solution to the “it’s unfair that some states expanded Medicaid and others didn’t” isn’t “so expand Medicaid in those states too, you dumbfucks,”

    “If everyone is special, then no one is” maybe?

    No, not being serious.

  19. 19.

    Jeffro

    @FlipYrWhig:

    is there any good reason why the solution to the “it’s unfair that some states expanded Medicaid and others didn’t” isn’t “so expand Medicaid in those states too, you dumbfucks,” followed by “if you don’t like the off-the-shelf solution, roll your own and get a Wyden Waiver for it”?

    I think from their perspective, they are seeing 400 million good Kochreasons why the solution is Graham-Cassidy. Expanding Medicaid would result in even more JobCreatorBucks being spent on health care for plebes, and who wants that???

  20. 20.

    Ohio Mom

    @Felonius Monk: As far as kissing stuff goodbye, the disability community would have a lot of smooching to do. Medicaid Waivers would be decimated, and that’s what pays for group homes, day programs, support staff, transportation, adaptive equipment. Respite for families…the list goes on and on.

    But no pleas from the disability organizations that constantly email me for money for me to call my Senators. I think it’s because they don’t want to get “too political.” Sigh.

  22. 22.

    Bill

    I don’t buy the argument that passing this bill – or any other GOP healthcare monstrosity – will hurt the Republicans. Five years from now, when their constituents are worried about dying of preventable diseases, there is a close to zero chance they will turn their ire on the GOP. Instead they will convince themselves there’d be plenty of health insurance to go around, if only lazy brown people weren’t hogging it all up.

    These people are unreachable. They will keep voting for Republicans just because they have an R after their names on Fox News.

    There are more of us then there are of them, but the system is rigged in their favor right now. As long as gerrymandering remains a thing, the GOP will do just fine.

  24. 24.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Doug!: Plus, and it pains me to say it, I think Murkowski might have a functioning conscience.

    One thing that’s getting little to no discussion, from what I’ve seen, G-C defunds Planned Parenthood.

    Also, even if this passes the Senate, which I’d say is 50/50, they need the House, and I think those critters are more easily spooked than Senators, and as Kay reminded us yesterday, a lot more Rs are going to be held directly responsible for the effect this will have on rural hospitals in places like the sainted Ohio River Valley, upstate New York, the Great Plains and the Appalachians. The bad press on this is building. Keep calling!

  27. 27.

    Nicole

    @Ciotog: That’s my concern. They don’t care about their constituents’ reactions because they know, going forward, their constituents’ votes aren’t going to matter.

    I explained to my right-wing cousin’s wife (to clarify, she is the right winger, my cousin is a Democrat) about spending time with a wealthy friend of my stepmom’s when we visited family in Cambodia, and how armed guards followed us everywhere (to protect us, and wealthy friend, from kidnapping) and how frightening it was to me. She said, “Oh, but that would never happen here” and I just wanted to start banging my head against their fence until I passed out. There is no reaching through that many layers of racism and belief that Amurrica is special.

  28. 28.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @O. Felix Culpa: I don’t want to be That Poster, the one who tells Cole et al how to run the front page: But could somebody put a link to resistbot on an FP post?

  29. 29.

    dmsilev

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Also, even if this passes the Senate, which I’d say is 50/50, they need the House, and I think those critters are more easily spooked than Senators,

    This is an important point. The previous iteration of ACA repeal passed the House with about a 4 vote margin, and that was with a bunch of sops to the so-called moderates thrown in to give them at least rhetorical coverage (there were, of course, far more things added to appeal to the lunatic wing). Graham-Cassidy-Heller-Johnson (let’s _always_ attach Heller’s name to this atrocity) strips out all of that and because of the Sept 30 deadline would be a take-it-or-leave-it vote for the House. Yes, the pressure on those Reps would be enormous, but it would go both ways and I’m not sure it would be a foregone conclusion.

  30. 30.

    Elizabelle

    @schrodingers_cat: I agree. FUCK THE DEFEATISM HERE. HAVE YOU NOT NOTICED HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE NOT HERE AS MUCH LATELY? MAYBE IT’S BECAUSE IT’S BAD ENOUGH LIVING IN TRUMP’S AMERICA, WE DON’T NEED YOU ASSHATS TO REMIND US HOW WE ARE ETERNALLY FUCKED?

    @Hunter Gathers: Could you go somewhere else for a while? Some of us don’t want to lay down in the roadway; there’s still time to act. Not picking on you personally, but you put up the asshat comment. Save it for when we’re being rounded up into IvankaCamps.

  35. 35.

    germy

    @Elizabelle: I’ve been using my local public library. They will fax for fifty cents and I get to support my local library.

    I don’t know if all libraries have this service.

  36. 36.

    SFAW

    @schrodingers_cat:

    I have been beating this drum for a while now and I have been attacked for it time and again by more than one person. I am close to giving up on Balloon Juice.

    Since I expect a number of people here would put me in the doom-and-gloom club — I don’t quite see myself that way, but I realize that I may not be objective — I’d like to suggest something. Specifically: “gloom-and-doom” and “defeatism” are (to me, at least) not necessarily the same thing, I see defeatism as “Group X will fuck us over, so why bother fighting it? Give up.” I see gloom-and-doom as being an overly-pessimistic/cynical view of any given (impending) situation, but not precluding resistance by any stretch.

    I’m pretty cynical when it comes to assessing how Rethugs and their RWNJ supporters will “behave,” but I’ve never said “fuck it, time to give up.” (Except to make an ironic point to someone, maybe.)

    Different people use different techniques to motivate themselves: some do the “Happy-Happy-Joy-Joy” thing, others do the “WASF” thing, and not every expression of WASF means that the speaker has given up. (I’m guessing that most of them have not, actually.)

  37. 37.

    Elizabelle

    @schrodingers_cat: Yeah, I think of giving up BJ too sometimes. baud and you and many others provide the thread that keeps me here. I will take a Betty Cracker post just about any day. But a lot of being here is microfocusing on crap that actually depresses me. It’s important to act, I am not sure how helpful it is to wallow.

  38. 38.

    Betty Cracker

    @Hunter Gathers: That might work out about as well as when the Republicans blew a chance to replace Joe Biden with former GOP Governor Mike Castle in the Senate. Remember that? Castle was pretty much a shoo-in until GOP primary voters picked teabagger Christine “I Am Not a Witch” O’Donnell, whom Senator Coons (D) defeated by nearly 20 points.

  39. 39.

    Elizabelle

    @germy: That’s a great idea. Show the library some money. Will do.

    ETA:

    Thank you to O Felix Culpa for the resistbot idea too. Both are useful.

  41. 41.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @schrodingers_cat: @Elizabelle: As an activist who resists the defeatism, I’d like to suggest we aim for balance here. Sometimes we (any and all of us) get down and depressed, which is a natural and appropriate human response to the current shitshow. I think it should be ok for people to post when they’re having a hard time. It’s our job as a community to encourage and support them, and continue resisting on their behalf until they’re ready to get active again.

    Now, consistent doom-and-gloom (or defeatism), that’s another matter. It’s amazing how easy it is to take action these days (e.g. text 50409 to send a fax!). Less moaning, more action – you’ll feel much better and you might even make a difference.

    ETA: edited to add “defeatism” per another commenter’s insightful analysis.

  42. 42.

    Bill

    @schrodingers_cat: Unclear to me how you got that from my post.

    There are ways Dems can win. On this issue and many others. Mostly it involves mobilizing Democratic voters (particularly in state elections so we can fix vote rigging) and using the demographic shifts that are happening in the electorate. But that’s a far cry from the GOP dying. It’s pretty clear that the there’s a core of GOP voters who are unreachable. They aren’t going to switch sides because they find themselves without health insurance. They vote for candidates who specifically promise to take away their health insurance.

    In more simple terms, Alabama voters are not going to stop voting for Republicans because they lose access to healthcare.

  44. 44.

    Bill

    @SFAW:

    I’m pretty cynical when it comes to assessing how Rethugs and their RWNJ supporters will “behave,” but I’ve never said “fuck it, time to give up.” (Except to make an ironic point to someone, maybe.)

    This.

  46. 46.

    low-tech cyclist

    At BWI, waiting for my plane to a funeral in Florida.

    Called one of my two Senators while waiting – Sen. Cardin’s office is closed for Rosh Hashanah, and the voice mail is full. But I left a message on Sen. Van Hollen’s voice mail. (He doesn’t have people answering his phones, and excuse me, but what’s up with that?)

  47. 47.

    trollhattan

    Cruel to be kind means that I love you, bay-bee.

    Republicans are nothing if if not predictable and evidently, lack inventiveness too. Like Michael Bay they keep making the same damn movie.

  49. 49.

    schrodingers_cat

    @O. Felix Culpa: I am talking about those who make predictions how everything is a win for Rs and a defeat for the Ds. That’s what gets annoying at least to me.
    ETA: And the excessive focus on T’s voters, just like the fucking stupid mainstream press.

  52. 52.

    Rob in CT

    I wish I had your confidence in Reihan Salam’s political acumen.

    Actually, I wish it didn’t take years of disastrous GOP rule for people to vote them out (under our wack system which over-privileges rural areas that lean conservative) – see 2001-2009 (or at least 2001-2007, as the Dems won control of both chambers of Congress in the ’06 midterms).

    Actually, I wish… yadda yadda, pony.

  53. 53.

    Aleta

    Besides calling, I’m sending certified letters to the local office. It only costs $3.30 (and going to the PO window) and the Senator/Rep’s offices have to sign for it. Supports the PO numbers, too. (They are restructuring (destructing) the delivery system even as we speak).

  54. 54.

    Barbara

    @Elizabelle: Sowing defeatism is the easiest kind of trolling. It takes out your opponents without even having to fight them for the victory. Likewise, predicting what will happen is the easiest kind of opinion to have. You can hold it free of facts and bank on not many people remembering when it turns out your crystal ball was actually pretty cloudy. I make it a point never to read “news” articles with the words “might” or “could” or most brazenly, “will,” in the title or first paragraph. Likewise with comments at Balloon-Juice. I am about as cynical and worried as a person can be about our political system, but so long as I have energy it will be expended in a positive direction.

  57. 57.

    Kay

    @rikyrah:

    BillCassidy is all over TV grossly misrepresenting impacts of #GrahamCassidy

    I know “constant blatant lying” is now the norm, but this has to hurt him. His name is becoming another word for “liar”.

    He should worry. I’m not at all clear the “special pampered baby rules” that apply to Trump apply to any and all Republicans. We’ll see of course, but this has not been field tested yet.

  58. 58.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    @Ohio Mom:

    @Felonius Monk: As far as kissing stuff goodbye, the disability community would have a lot of smooching to do. Medicaid Waivers would be decimated, and that’s what pays for group homes, day programs, support staff, transportation, adaptive equipment. Respite for families…the list goes on and on.

    But no pleas from the disability organizations that constantly email me for money for me to call my Senators. I think it’s because they don’t want to get “too political.” Sigh.

    The regional disability community here is full of brave, heroic, bootstrapping suburban MAGAts who are unhappy that the benefits which should be going to them and THEIR progeny are somehow being diverted to n****rs, sp*cs, illegal immigrants, f*gs and lazy people.

  59. 59.

    catclub

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: I wish that were true. I think they will be spooked into passing it fast.

    I also think since Reihan Salam is making the argument, I have no faith in it. He is a right-winger. A so-called moderate right winger.
    Very much sounds like a ‘don’t throw me in that briar patch’ reason.

  60. 60.

    Barbara

    @Aleta: The word is destroy not destruct. Synonyms include ruin, wreck and trash. The rise in fancy, clinical or literary sounding words is a pox on all discourse.

  61. 61.

    Repatriated

    @Nicole:

    That’s my concern. They don’t care about their constituents’ reactions because they know, going forward, their constituents’ votes aren’t going to matter

    Or they know they’re doomed anyhow, and are just trying to ensure their spot at the wingnut welfare trough.

  62. 62.

    Kay

    Menards is a big employer here. So they are desperate for workers and after whining for a while about how no one has a work ethic anymore, they raised wages. Shazam! They got workers.

    Some other employers should try it. It’s amazing how the “skills gap” disappears when you bump them up.

  63. 63.

    MomSense

    I understand why people feel so upset by this latest death care bill. I have a lot to lose if this passes so of course I am stressed out and worried. The only way I stay semi-sane is to do at least one thing a day to fight this. I was pretty sure we would lose the last two rounds and I’m not confident about this one but the answer is to keep fighting. Just do one thing every day. If you are really fearful and afraid, do two things every day. If you are convinced the end is near, you may need to do 3-5 things every day.

    It can be as simple as sending a free fax to your congress critter with resistbot. Text “resist” to 504-09
    You could text a friend or relative and ask that person to do the same and let you know how it went when they finish (more likely to follow through that way).
    You could make a call to a Senator’s office. You could forward the AARP statement to someone and ask them to do one small thing.
    You could ask a young person if they are registered to vote. You could make sure a friend or relative has the necessary ID to register.

    I could probably think of 100 more things if I gave myself more time and this group could think of a million if we did it together. The point is to do something. The Republicans and the Russians want us to feel despair because people in the throes of despair don’t fight back. Be furious. Be sad. Be depressed. Be frustrated. Be worried. I feel all of those things every day. Feel whatever you feel and then do one thing. Just one thing. Hopefully you will feel a little better, too.

  64. 64.

    randy khan

    I found myself reading the Salam piece and wondering who in the world who knows anything about the Democratic Party would think this. It was like Steinian heighten the contradictions stuff, but from the right. I mean, the Dems are the party where people in office have been known to vote for things that likely will doom them in the next election because they’re convinced of the public benefit of their vote (and not just in 2009, but also in 1993). Telling them that letting something bad happen will be good for the party in the long run just isn’t a convincing argument.

  65. 65.

    JMG

    @Nicole: So your acquaintance has, as the old newspaper joke goes, never heard about the Lindbergh baby? Or any of the other kidnappings which were endemic during the Depression and why it was made a federal crime? It’s one thing to say “it can’t happen here,” another to say it although it already did happen.
    If I had to guess, I’d say that no matter what happens to health care, the 2018 vote will be almost the same as the 2016 one except for little third party effect. The Trump voters just don’t care about what happens to themselves, let alone other people. They just want to express hatred and rage.

  66. 66.

    rikyrah

    There’s no way to talk accurately about the viability of Medicaid block grants wout factoring in the effect a of $1.5T tax cut. One big game
    — Todd Zwillich (@toddzwillich) September 21, 2017

  67. 67.

    Kay

    According to the FBI, as many as 39 states had their election systems scanned or targeted by Russia. There’s no evidence of votes changed. But given the stakes, some state agencies that run elections are trying to curb any further interference prior to mid-term elections in November.

    We need to pressure federal law enforcement to investigate and solve these crimes. I’m afraid there has been a kind of conflating between Donald Trump’s colluding with Russia and what are verified incursions into state voting systems.

    The FBI and the DOJ don’t need a special prosecutor or Congress to do their job, and this is their job. Ignore Trump and all the endless discussion about his misdeeds. These are specific crimes and Donald Trump’s ethical problems should have no impact on ordinary criminal investigations.

    The horse is out but they need to close the barn door. No waiting for Mueller or Manafort or any of that- solve the crime.

    What are they doing to investigate these incursions? This is Session’s purview, is it not? Does he have a conflict?

  69. 69.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @schrodingers_cat: I understand. It bugs me too. I look at people who have endured and fought back in truly horrible wartime situations (including relatives of mine) and think we have become ridiculously soft, kind of [White, mostly] Liberal Exceptionalists who believe that things should only, always get better for us and we should never have to struggle against or be threatened by evil. Of course, in a just world, nobody should have to face existential threats, but innocent people face unimaginable horrors every day and have done so throughout history. The question for them – and us – is, how do we respond? Are we made of stern enough stuff to resist and fight for what is right, or do we go along quietly or curl up helplessly into a ball?

    Fact is, we’re not being rounded up yet (except for ICE targets, that is), we’re not being shot yet (except for black people by the cops, that is), we’re not being bombed yet. Acknowledging the aforementioned exceptions – which are very, very bad – there are still millions of us who are free to act and defend the vulnerable and ourselves. Some of our institutions still work, we have remarkable access to instant, communications tools, and we have scored some victories. We shouldn’t underestimate the potential cost of resisting – see Heather Heyer – but I believe we still have the time, numbers, and the means to win. We have to be willing to engage in the long, hard, and unpredictable slog that will take us there.

    Edited.

  71. 71.

    SFAW

    @Kay:

    Menards is a big employer here. So they are desperate for workers and after whining for a while about how no one has a work ethic anymore, they raised wages. Shazam! They got workers.

    Some other employers should try it. It’s amazing how the “skills gap” disappears when you bump them up.

    Atrios has been saying that for years. And as he has said more than a few times, it ain’t rocket surgery (vis-a-vis employers figuring it out).

    There was a time when a lot of high tech CEOs/CFOs lamented that they just couldn’t find anyone to fill all their job openings, because Americans lacked the skills or some such. Therefore, they HAD TO “offshore” a bunch of work.

    What they forgot to mention was that the key “skill” American engineers (etc.) lacked was the willingness to be treated like shit by management, while working for shit wages.

  73. 73.

    MomSense

    If you think telling McCain and Murkowski that Graham Cassidy will destroy the Republican party, go for it. My personal opinion is that it doesn’t fucking matter. There are more non-Republicans than Republicans. The only thing that matters is how committed we are to making sure we are organized, voting, and having our votes counted. Don’t spend a minute thinking about those GOP vipers. They are not worth it.

  74. 74.

    catclub

    @Rob in CT:

    Actually, I wish it didn’t take years of disastrous GOP rule for people to vote them out

    There is a post somewhere at The Reformed Broker to the effect that “Every period of Unified GOP control of Government since 1900 has led to an economic crash” 1929 and 2008 are the notable ones. also 1907?

    and I found it

  77. 77.

    Repatriated

    @Elizabelle:

    To the tech savvy here: is there a free (or low cost) Macbook app that would allow me to scan a handwritten letter and fax it out?

    Use LibreOffice (free). Take a photo (or photos if it’s a long one) of the letter with your phone’s camera, insert the pictures into a text document created in LibreOffice, and use the “export as PDF” funcionality to create a PDF from it.

    Attach (or insert) the PDF into an email and send. You may wish to also put the text of the handwritten letter in the email too.

  78. 78.

    Kay

    There’s no evidence of votes changed.

    Don’t go hair on fire crazy, but the truth is for many states the systems are garbage and they couldn’t find “evidence” of vote-changing even if they were looking for it. Media is overstating the level of confidence people should have as far as the systems recording what would be “evidence”. If it isn’t recorded that could mean the systems were never intended to provide “evidence of vote changing” and don’t gather information on that.

  79. 79.

    rikyrah

    The case for the Republican health care repeal plan unravels
    09/21/17 10:05 AM
    By Steve Benen

    As this week’s developments have made clear, Republicans can’t offer a coherent explanation for why they’re scrambling to pass a regressive health care plan. Many GOP officials have no idea what it’s in the Graham-Cassidy plan they intend to vote for, or what it would do to the system and the public.

    But when asked to defend their intentions, Republican lawmakers can’t just offer a blank stare. In fact, over the last few days, the GOP pitch has basically been reduced to five talking points, each of which are spectacularly unpersuasive.

    1. Republicans have to keep a promise.
    Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said yesterday, “I could maybe give you 10 reasons why this bill shouldn’t be considered. But Republicans campaigned on this so often that you have a responsibility to carry out what you said in the campaign. That’s pretty much as much of a reason as the substance of the bill.”

    That’s absurd. For one thing, it’s ridiculous to think a vague campaign promise is as important, if not more so, than the real-world effects of overhauling the nation’s health care system. For another, if Republicans “have a responsibility to carry out what [they] said in the campaign,” they’d also be extending coverage to everyone, shielding Medicaid beneficiaries from cuts, and guaranteeing protections for Americans with pre-existing conditions. Instead, GOP officials appear desperate to break those promises without explanation.

    2. The clock is ticking.

    Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) said on Tuesday night, “We have a Sept. 30 deadline on our promise. Let’s finish the job.”

    Um, no. As New York’s Jon Chait responded, “Can you imagine being accused on national television of sponsoring a law that would hurt millions of people, and lying about its effects, and your response is “We have a deadline”? They are rushing to enact massive, permanent changes to the health-care system because of a legislative deadline? What if you said a used car was dangerously unsafe and lacked any of the promised features, and the salesman’s response was to tell you it’s the end of the month and he has a sales quota to meet?”

    ………………………………….

    4. States that rejected Medicaid expansion through the ACA must be rewarded.

    Graham-Cassidy backers, including Lindsey Graham and Bill Cassidy themselves, have spent much of the week saying it’s not “fair” that Medicaid expansion states receive more federal funding than states that refused to expand Medicaid. The current Republican legislation is therefore necessary, the argument goes, to create some sense of equality.

    In other words, states that turned down federal funds should be rewarded, while states that did the right thing should be punished. This is so plainly foolish, I’m amazed an elected senator would repeat the argument out loud. If MSNBC offered a benefit to everyone on Rachel Maddow’s team, and I turned down that benefit, would it make sense if I later whined that it’s unfair that my colleagues received something that I didn’t?

  80. 80.

    satby

    @O. Felix Culpa: thank you! I don’t like tone policing. Some people vent as a way of relieving , (not referring to the known trolls), and some others may not like it. People are just conversing, and I don’t want people to feel like they can say what they think (again, not referring to trolls attempting to derail a thread). We’re mostly here to support each other, remember?

  81. 81.

    catclub

    @rikyrah: call me cold hearted, but the first thing I think when a building collapses exactly 32 years after a previous large earthquake is where the fuck are building codes and shoddy building quality.

  85. 85.

    catclub

    @Kay: Yep. Also, de-registering people so they cannot vote is not technically changing votes,
    but the result is remarkably similar. Some people look at Wisconsin and think exactly this.

    The Russian were getting into state voter registration systems.

  86. 86.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @MomSense:

    The point is to do something. The Republicans and the Russians want us to feel despair because people in the throes of despair don’t fight back. Be furious. Be sad. Be depressed. Be frustrated. Be worried. I feel all of those things every day. Feel whatever you feel and then do one thing. Just one thing. Hopefully you will feel a little better, too.

    Amen!

  87. 87.

    catclub

    @rikyrah:

    would it make sense if I later whined that it’s unfair that my colleagues received something that I didn’t?

    it would make perfect sense. People do this all the time. Would it be logical? No. Would you have a case? No.
    But still people do it all the time.

  88. 88.

    Barbara

    @Aleta: Apart from not being a word, I think pulling punches on the negativity associated with what will in fact be a very bad development is probably not the best tactic. But of course, it’s your letter.

  89. 89.

    A Ghost To Most

    appropo to the discussion, Jason Isbell:

    Last year was a son of a bitch
    For nearly everyone we know
    But I ain’t fighting with you down in a ditch
    I’ll meet you up here on the road

    I know you’re tired
    And you ain’t sleeping well
    Uninspired
    And likely mad as hell
    But wherever you are
    I hope the high road leads you home again
    To a world you want to live in

    We’ll ride the ship down
    Dumping buckets overboard
    There can’t be more of them than us
    There can’t be more

  90. 90.

    rikyrah

    I read stories like this and just get mad all over again at the muthaphuckas that pursed their lips to say that there was no difference between Hillary and Dolt45.

    WE.WOULD.NOT.BE.HAVING.THESE.PEOPLE.BEING.CONSIDERED.TO.BE.JUDGES!!!!

    If Hillary was President.

    These are LIFETIME APPOINTMENTS , you ignorant muthaphuckas.
    Don’t open your mouth to say shyt to me.

    …………………………………………

    One of Trump’s most radical judicial nominees in the spotlight
    09/21/17 10:44 AM
    By Steve Benen
    Eight months into the Trump era, it may be tempting to believe the Republican president and Republican Congress have, at least for now, failed to change the country’s direction. But it’s important not to forget the federal judiciary.

    Shortly before lawmakers left for their summer break, for example, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) was asked about his party’s challenges advancing its agenda. He replied, “We have a new Supreme Court justice.” McConnell had a point: while legislative setbacks matter, GOP officials are moving the courts to the right.

    And that won’t change anytime soon. CNN yesterday put the spotlight on one of Donald Trump’s most radical judicial nominees.

    In a pair of 2015 speeches, President Donald Trump’s nominee for a federal judgeship in Texas described transgender children as evidence of “Satan’s plan,” lamented that states were banning conversion therapy and argued that sanctioning same-sex marriage would lead to polygamy and bestiality.

    Jeff Mateer, the current first assistant attorney general of Texas, was serving at the time as general counsel of the First Liberty Institute, a religious liberty advocacy group known before 2016 as the Liberty Institute. He faced criticism from LGBT rights groups for his work with the organization, such as opposing the expansion of nondiscrimination protections to LGBT people in the city of Plano.

    And as startling as the CNN report is, it’s really just the start. Right Wing Watch published a piece yesterday taking a closer look at the judicial nominee’s radical background, which seems like it should be disqualifying for the judiciary.

    In case this isn’t obvious, keep in mind that if Jeff Mateer is confirmed by the Senate Republican majority, it’s a lifetime appointment to the federal bench. In other words, barring impeachment, he’d be a federal judge for as long as he wants to be one.

  92. 92.

    trollhattan

    @geg6:
    A perfect song from a perfect album, what’s not to love? (Truth be told, I like “Jesus of Cool” even more, which makes it more perfecter?)

  94. 94.

    SFAW

    @Barbara:

    I think pulling punches on the negativity

    You know, I’ve read through this sub-thread with Aleta, and I can’t figure out what you’re talking about.

    Aleta was talking about sending a certified letter to various Congress persons to oppose Graham-Liar-Heller, with the bonus of supporting the USPS, (whose delivery system is being dismantled through active and passive means). How is that “pulling punches”?

  95. 95.

    rikyrah

    Facing new allegations, Price’s track record does him no favors
    09/21/17 11:20 AM
    By Steve Benen

    Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price’s private-jet travel is tough to defend. After initially refusing comment, the far-right cabinet’s secretary spokesperson said yesterday Price’s chartered flights were necessary to accommodate his “incredibly demanding schedule,” but given the circumstances, it’s a tough sell.

    And as Politico noted, congressional Democrats clearly aren’t buying it.

    House and Senate Democrats on Wednesday formally requested that the HHS inspector general investigate HHS Secretary Tom Price’s use of private planes for government business.

    Five Democrats asked the inspector general to review Price’s adherence to federal regulations on traveling by government employees, following a POLITICO investigation that found Price used charter planes to conduct official business within the United States. The request — sent by Reps. Frank Pallone and Richard Neal and Sens. Patty Murray, Ron Wyden and Gary Peters — asks the office to probe how many times Price used government or charter aircraft, the costs of the trips and whether HHS personnel raised internal concerns about Price’s use of private planes.

    …………………………………..

    As regular readers may recall, in late January, there were some striking reports published about the far-right Georgia Republican and his controversial investment record. The Wall Street Journal reported, for example, that Price “traded more than $300,000 in shares of health-related companies over the past four years while sponsoring and advocating legislation that potentially could affect those companies’ stocks.”

    Kaiser Health New added soon after that Price got “a sweetheart deal” on an investment opportunity from a foreign biotech firm. CNN then reported that the congressman bought stock in a medical company, introduced legislation that would benefit that company, and then received a campaign contribution from the company’s PAC.

  96. 96.

    Barbara

    @satby: Sure, we’re here to support each other, and when I see a comment that goes off in the direction of saying that we’re all fucked, I stop reading. And some threads are so negative that I don’t ready any comments at all, especially if it concerns something of what I think of as having lower order importance. Having lived with people whose negativity was a paralyzing force in their own and other people’s lives, you discount the effect of repetitive despair on those who have to live with it. We all only have so much time. I have decided that I have no time for other peoples’ despair, even if it is only venting.

  97. 97.

    Kathleen

    @Elizabelle: Should there be trademark after Camps? Also looking forward to the Ivanka branded orange jumpsuit. Trademark.

    Agree with your response to Ms Cat btw.

  99. 99.

    SFAW

    @satby:

    “don’t want people to feel they can’t say what they think.”

    I was OK with your tone in the unedited comment, but now … well, I don’t know.

    [Kidding. I can’t resist a bad joke. Probably why I’m not allowed in polite company any longer.]

  102. 102.

    LesGS

    @Kay: I remember the story of the garlic growers here in California being worried because they didn’t have an adequate work force to harvest and process their crops last year. They significantly raised the wages they were offering and “Hey, presto!”, they suddenly had a waiting list of prospective employees. And they were all “This is amazing! Who woulda thought?”

  104. 104.

    Barbara

    @SFAW: It’s okay. This is a pet peeve of mine. She told me the words I used were too negative. My point was that by not using direct negatives to describe directly negative things, we enable people to avoid the ugliness associated with what they are doing. The classic case of this are the words “sexual abuse” or “molested.” You say, huh? But I say, what if we were able to say, “adult male forced a 10 year old boy to put his mouth around his penis and proceeded to ejaculate in his mouth”? Okay, no way to avoid thinking about how cruel and violent these actions were. When lawyers appearing in front of Judge Reinhold in California in a case involving female genital mutilation kept referring to it as FGM in arguments and briefs he told all of them to spell it out every time. The way we talk about unpleasant things is almost automatically edited to avoid harsh reality. We do it so unconsciously we don’t even realize we are doing it.

  105. 105.

    Tilda Swintons Bald Cap

    You know I keep seeing people saying we’ve got to fight etc. but here’s the problem. Each of us individually cannot really do anything. As a group all we can do is vote, short of violence which will not work from our side in this country. So that leaves us with institutions that are supposed to stop this kind of thing from happening and they have UTTERLY failed and are failing continually on a daily fucking basis. So if people want to come here to vent their personal depression and despondency over our current situation I have no problem with it.

  106. 106.

    Barbara

    @Kay: My understanding is that Virginia is changing some of its election machines and procedures. I assume it relates to this fact.

  107. 107.

    Elizabelle

    @Barbara: Thank you.

    I appreciate satby’s comment about tone policing, and have no doubt that I am guilty of it, but want some to realize:

    Even if you present an upbeat face to the world, it does not mean that you are not rocked to your core and despairing over how your country is being torn to shreds. On purpose. For money.

    And think of how it feels to hear all these Eeyore despair monkeys. I see some definite wallowing here.

    You are so damn right about the paralysis. It is real. I am so grateful to the people who encourage action.

  110. 110.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Elizabelle:

    Even if you present an upbeat face to the world, it does not mean that you are not rocked to your core and despairing over how your country is being torn to shreds. On purpose. For money.

    Word sister friend, especially if you are an immigrant, this entire enterprise is based on xenophobia and bigotry against your existence.

  111. 111.

    Elizabelle

    @schrodingers_cat: It’s not just that. It’s hoovering up all the money too. A lot of the megarich have no use whatsoever for their fellow Americans. Save as marks and consumers.

    But the meanness displayed towards immigrants is appalling. I think frequently of your friend the oncologist and hope she is able to put her skills to use here. Is she giving any thought to Canada?

  112. 112.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Elizabelle: She has a daughter who was born here in elementary school and her husband is a post-doc somewhere in the south. They bought a house a few years ago. I don’t know, its hard to start all over again when you are no longer in your 20s.

  114. 114.

    SFAW

    @Barbara:

    She told me the words I used were too negative.

    I guess I’m confused because it appears that you’re setting the frame of reference (re: when to use frank/brutal/candid language) as the tactics used to defeat the Graham-Liar bill, when satby was (I believe) talking about the Rethugs’ attempted destruction of the USPS — which is a point not included (I assume) in her letter(s). Your list of synonyms did not appear to aid in making the case against Graham-Liar. I have also speculated that she chose a non-word as a parallel-structure bit of wordplay. Until she tells me otherwise, that’s what I’m going with. Or, as some might say “that’s with what I am going.”

    My point was that by not using direct negatives to describe directly negative things, we enable people to avoid the ugliness associated with what they are doing.

    I absolutely agree. But one need not be brutally frank at every opportunity that presents itself.

  115. 115.

    gene108

    Is there any crappy GOP economic policy that has cost them votes in an election?

    Just like no amount of good Democratic economic governance guarantees electoral victory for Democrats, the converse is also true.

    Seriously, their voters are in a cult. Republicans can do whatever they want and their voters will still turn out, because the alternative is come form of liberal Democrat urban homosexual communism rammed down their throats.

    The real issue is motivating our possible voters to turn out.

  116. 116.

    Sloane Ranger

    @rikyrah: This is great as far as it goes but the RWNJ’s will wave it away as just good business sense and the MSM will nod magisterialy and point out that encouraging inward investment is all part of MAGA.

    What is really needed is evidence of similar offers to Russian government officials.

  117. 117.

    gene108

    Called my Representative, Tom Macarthur (R-NJ3) today. The lady, who answered the phone was very happy to get a call, when she answered. I told her, “did you hear, Gov. Christie said this Graham-Cassidy bill is terrible. Macarthurs needs to fight this, if it gets to the House” and her tone went to “oh no, not this shit again”.

    I also faxed Sen. Booker’s office requesting he kick one of the sponsors of the bill in the Senate in the nuts, so they feel some pain, but I doubt he’d do it. And to vote no (but I doubt he needs reminding on this).

    I tried sending Cassidy’s office a fax, but it didn’t go through.

  119. 119.

    SFAW

    @Major Major Major Major:

    Except Reihan Salam is an idiot and you should almost always think the opposite of what he thinks.

    If Bloody Billy Kristol came out and said that Graham-Liar-Heller was doomed or a non-starter — THAT is when I’d get really fucking depressed

    Well, maybe not depressed, just resigned to its passage.

  121. 121.

    Doug!

    @schrodingers_cat:

    You are slowly morphing into a caricature of the cynically cool media bots you so despise.

    For saying that not only is Graham Cassidy bad policy it’s also bad politics? I’m sorry but that’s the argument that is going to save ACA.

  124. 124.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Doug!: No, not for that statement, but analysis like this:

    If 30 million people lose their health care by 2020 because of a shitty Republican bill, it’s not going to be that hard for President Gillibrand or President Harris (or maybe President Brown) to get a single payer bill through Congress in 2021.

    Although, I have to admit even in your Slate avatar you are better than the average media bot because in their world, Ds are never right nor do they ever win.

  125. 125.

    J R in WV

    @schrodingers_cat:

    Schrodinger, this is as gloomy and down as anything else I have seen around. Please don’t give up on B-J – we need you here for your world-spanning perspective and intellect. With Amir and the Europeans you give the blog a world-wide perspective.

  126. 126.

    satby

    @schrodingers_cat: and the trolls are pretty obvious. Skipping what you don’t like is simple, I do it all the time. As Eleanor Roosevelt once said, no one can make you feel inferior without your consent; the same goes for defeated.

  127. 127.

    TenguPhule

    @SFAW:

    so why not TRY to do the right thing? You still care about America, right?”

    Talk about long shots.

    Appeals to self preservation would probably work better except they’d probably interpret them the wrong way.

    But yeah, killing someone’s sick kid times a few million for tax cuts to the rich is not the path to a long life in a country where weapons are so easily obtained.

  128. 128.

    TenguPhule

    @Kay:

    I know “constant blatant lying” is now the norm, but this has to hurt him.

    Sadly, “Fake liberal media” gives him fairly good odds of not being held to account for it.

    When Republicans are literally refusing to believe what their lying eyes and ears are telling them, all the boots in the world aren’t going to do the truth any good.

  129. 129.

    J R in WV

    @Elizabelle:

    Maybe you guys should use the pie filter on people you find intolerable. I put several idiots in there, and it’s a wonderful tool. Try it, you may like it !!!

    Here’s my (current) pie list:
    1. 279
    2. Amaranthine RBG
    3. Amusing Ourselves to Death
    4. Ben from Virginia
    5. NR
    6. Partisan Cheese
    7. Procopius
    8. RS
    9. cumbucotrader
    10. goblue72

  130. 130.

    schrodingers_cat

    @satby: No one is making me feel defeated, I just get tired of reading a new version WASF in every other comment, when I do read the comments. Now you are telling me how I should feel, do and think, is that tone-policing or something else.

  131. 131.

    TenguPhule

    @rikyrah:

    In case this isn’t obvious, keep in mind that if Jeff Mateer is confirmed by the Senate Republican majority, it’s a lifetime appointment to the federal bench. In other words, barring impeachment, he’d be a federal judge for as long as he wants to be one.

    Which is why the “Trump is too incompetent to do much damage, thank Dog” myth needs to die and stay dead.

    He’s doing a LOT of damage, on a scale on par with Bush II, just to the federal government.

    The barrel scraping scum of the GOP are worming their way into last institution that still serves as any check on the balance of power.

  133. 133.

    TenguPhule

    @Kay:

    What are they doing to investigate these incursions? This is Session’s purview, is it not? Does he have a conflict?

    Nothing. Partly. Yes.

    The Congressional Investigation is stalled in the middle of nowhere, because you guessed it, Republicans.

  136. 136.

    Doug!

    @schrodingers_cat:

    So I think it’s undeniably true that if Republicans were allowed to do whatever they want unchecked, they would cause so much damage to the country that they lose future elections. But that doesn’t mean we should let them do whatever they want, because the point of politics is to make the country better, not to win future elections by standing on the sidelines while your opponents wreck the country.

  138. 138.

    Ozmodiar

    I agree with your assertion and your advice.

    (Thanks for the Nick Lowe reference in the headline. I’ll be humming that all day now.)

Comments are closed.