Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

The Giant Orange Man Baby is having a bad day.

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

One of our two political parties is a cult whose leader admires Vladimir Putin.

We will not go back.

These days, even the boring Republicans are nuts.

Anne Laurie is a fucking hero in so many ways. ~ Betty Cracker

Republicans don’t lie to be believed, they lie to be repeated.

Shut up, hissy kitty!

They traffic in fear. it is their only currency. if we are fearful, they are winning.

Hey Washington Post, “Democracy Dies in Darkness” was supposed to be a warning, not a mission statement.

When you’re a Republican, they let you do it.

This has so much WTF written all over it that it is hard to comprehend.

When you’re in more danger from the IDF than from Russian shelling, that’s really bad.

No offense, but this thread hasn’t been about you for quite a while.

Every decision we make has lots of baggage with it, known or unknown.

Authoritarian republicans are opposed to freedom for the rest of us.

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

There are more Russians standing up to Putin than Republicans.

Good lord, these people are nuts.

Republicans: “Abortion is murder but you can take a bus to get one.” Easy peasy.

Celebrate the fucking wins.

In my day, never was longer.

America is going up in flames. The NYTimes fawns over MAGA celebrities. No longer a real newspaper.

The most dangerous place for a black man in America is in a white man’s imagination.

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190Comments

  5. 5.

    Villago Delenda Est

    In a society more attuned to empathy, that would be a powerful image.

    Unfortunately, millions in this country seem to lack empathy.

  7. 7.

    Served

    @Yutsano: It’s a video of a woman in a wheelchair being removed from the hearing room while chanting “No cuts to Medicaid, save our liberty”

  9. 9.

    TenguPhule

    @Villago Delenda Est:

    In a society more attuned to empathy, that would be a powerful image.

    Unfortunately, millions in this country seem to lack empathy.

    I wish I could say you were wrong about that.

  10. 10.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Kasie Hunt‏Verified account @ kasie 17m17 minutes ago
    Republicans have all left hearing room as most Democrats remain listening to protestors shouting

  12. 12.

    Emerald

    At least they didn’t dump her from her chair and drag her out, the way they did last time. Publicity about that must have had an effect.

    Bravo to the ADAPT!

  20. 20.

    EveryDayIHaveTheBlues

    This requires a tremendous amount of courage. I certainly could not protest so boldly, and am in awe of their guts and grit.

  21. 21.

    rikyrah

    Republicans set the stage for a striking health care showdown
    09/25/17 12:48 PM
    By Steve Benen
    If you were one of the many Americans who was involved in the recent effort to derail the Republicans’ latest heath care repeal plan, I have some good news and bad news. The good news is, you succeeded: the Graham-Cassidy plan unveiled two weeks ago is dead, unable to secure enough GOP support.

    The bad news is, there’s a new Graham-Cassidy plan.

    As NBC News reported, the new proposal, out this morning, includes “a series of carve-outs for Alaska.” The point isn’t subtle: Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) has been deeply skeptical of her party’s repeal campaign, and Republican leaders are effectively trying to pay her off.

    To her credit, the GOP senator has been resistant to these efforts in the past, making clear she’s concerned about the national system overall, not just her home state. And if that’s still the case, this latest attempt at a Polar Payoff should fall short, since as the Huffington Post’s Jonathan Cohn explained, this latest repeal bill is in some ways worse than its predecessor.

    Based on initial inspection, the new bill is a lot like the original bill, which would have decimated existing federal health programs, reduced government spending, and left many millions without insurance.

    But now the legislation, which Politico and Vox first reported, includes a pair of important changes – an even more aggressive assault on protections for people with pre-existing conditions, as well as some extra money to blunt the impact of funding cuts for a handful of states.

    ………………………..

    * Industry stakeholders continue to plead with policymakers to reject the bill. Indeed, in an unheard of move, the nation’s largest organizations representing doctors, hospitals, and nurses issued a joint statement denouncing the Republican effort. Soon after, Cleveland Clinic released a similar condemnation. (Cleveland Clinic is one of the largest employers in Republican Sen. Rob Portman’s home state of Ohio.)

  23. 23.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Susan Collins could bring an end to all this, and stop people from being bullied by Capitol police, with one fucking tweet.

    ETA: I’ve got MSNBC on in the next room, pretty sure I just heard that Orrin Hatch told the protestors to “shut up”

  24. 24.

    Chyron HR

    But Republicans must trash the ACA to pave the way for single-payer. Can’t the junior senator from Vermont waggle his finger in this neoliberal shill’s face until she understands that?

  27. 27.

    Mary G

    @sharl: Thanks to you for Jeff Stein’s feed. Too bad all the networks are covering Huckabette’s defense of Trump’s NFL twittering.

    Arrests beginning. Worth stressing how many more were willing to be arrested but couldn't get in room pic.twitter.com/MGg6eT5ls9— Jeff Stein (@JStein_Vox) September 25, 2017

    This gave me chills. I am so happy disabled people have the tools to go and protest now.

  28. 28.

    Yutsano

    @schrodingers_cat: The could both have their licenses suspended for this. They could also face sanctions from the AMA (who is opposed to this along with every other major medical association) for violating their Hippocratic Oath. I can only imagine how my friend the newly minted doctor (only got his white coast three years ago!) must feel about this.

    @? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?: There was a New Yorker cartoon in a similar vein, but I don’t know how to search for that right now.

    (Side note: been forever since I’ve done a time travel edit!)

  29. 29.

    Barbara

    @Chyron HR: In fairness — Sanders has clearly been supporting activists against the latest ACA repeal efforts. As for Collins and Murkowski, I think they are tired of being on the front line, but I doubt if they have changed their minds. If I were them I wouldn’t even be answering my phone at this point.

  30. 30.

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

    Obviously a Dem establishment neoliberal operative! The worsening news with NoKo and this mess with G-C has really chapped my hide about the loser left’s insistence it still did nothing wrong.

    If I had the time and money I’d make a 30-60 minute ad depicting a few leftier-than-thou types (maybe even some totebaggers) in a fascist dystopian future. The scenes would imply some are about to be executed (never shown of course) and still hold steadfast to the the righteousness choices, such as not voting for Clinton in WI for example. An instrumental version, with the chorus, of I Love the Whole World would play in the background. It would go something like this:

    Lefty dumbass: “Sure, tens of millions of people died on the Korean peninsula, not to mention Japan, but I couldn’t trust that shifty bitch, Hitlery. Plus, bank speeches. I couldn’t compromise my purity by voting for that corporate whore or be assed to stand up to fascism. And isn’t that what really counts? Have the contradictions been heightened yet?”

  32. 32.

    Marcopolo

    The chant is “save our Medicaid, save our liberty.” And if you are mobility impaired (or have another impairment which requires you to need a healthcare attendant to help you get out of bed/ get dressed/participate in daily activities we take for granted G/C basically means you’ll probably end up institutionalized due to cuts in funding.

    Thanks for posting this. Puts my fatigue comment in the prior thread in a useful context for me.

  33. 33.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Barbara: As for Collins and Murkowski, I think they are tired of being on the front line

    Maybe Murkowski, I could see where she’s one of the rare non-showboats in the Senate, but I suspect Collins has one eye on the exit door, and the Maine gov’s mansion beyond it, and is thinking about how she can stage manage a moment as viral and dramatic as McCain’s downward thumb

  34. 34.

    vtr

    So, anyway, Senator Paul, sorry about the interruption, You were saying the bill isn’t tough enough. Please go on.

  35. 35.

    Fair Economist

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Susan Collins could bring an end to all this, and stop people from being bullied by Capitol police, with one fucking tweet.

    They could still pass it by flipping everyone besides Collins and McCain. Collins + Murkowski could end it. Nobody believes a word Paul says, so he wouldn’t be any good.

  40. 40.

    Yutsano

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    I suspect Collins has one eye on the exit door, and the Maine gov’s mansion beyond it

    And Maine is about to have a vote on Medicaid expansion. Which will pass. She’ll want to be on the right side of that history in that regard.

    @efgoldman: To be fair medical boards work quite a bit differently than bar associations. Suspension of someone famous is likely to happen, although that doesn’t explain Dolt45’s “physician” still having his.

  41. 41.

    Barbara

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Well, that could be. She was apparently very gratified by how many people came up to her over the Fourth to congratulate her for voting no. It’s hard to see her throwing that away. The problem for people banking on donor directed politics is that it works less well in small states, where advertising is less expensive and people are more likely to know each other.

  42. 42.

    Mnemosyne

    @Marcopolo:

    I remember that here in California, former Governor Ah-nold was threatening to cut funding for home assistance for the disabled, until someone managed to get it through his head that it’s actually MORE expensive to institutionalize someone than it is to provide an assistant so they can live independently.

    Ending home care for disabled people will cause state Medicaid costs to blow up rapidly as people are forced to go into nursing homes just to survive.

  43. 43.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Barbara: I’ll defer to the regulars from ME, MomSense and DXM and I think a couple others, but IIRC she’s very unpopular with a LePage’d state GOP, and may run for governor as an independent. I always thought she was dumb, but she’s been playing this very shrewdly. I think.

    where advertising is less expensive and people are more likely to know each other.

    when I’ve asked in frustration how she and her erstwhile co-queen kept getting reelected as the state got darker blue in presidential races, the answer is always, constituent services and personal contact.

  44. 44.

    Mary G

    @Mnemosyne: ADAPT is the protesters’ main organization and here is their donation page.

    They had 60 Capitol Police there and the protesters still outnumbered them. They got there so early one of the custodians went out and bought them Egg McMuffins. The Dem senators are getting cheered as they go by in the hall – Ron Wyden brought them pizza for lunch. Looks like the Republicans have a back route.

  47. 47.

    sharl

    @schrodingers_cat: (My original response got caught by the banned word bot; hopefully I have properly identified and safely misspelled the offending word, FYWP-be-praised.)

    Yep, Bill Cassidy started out as a doctor – liver speshialist and later gastroenterologist, according to his Wikipedia page. It looks like he started his adult working life as a decent human being, but has gone over to the Dark Side without a moment’s hesitation.

  48. 48.

    gene108

    @Mary G:

    This gave me chills. I am so happy disabled people have the tools to go and protest now.

    27 years ago a Democratic Congress and Republican President enacted the Americans with Disabilities Act.

    Republicans have gone so far off the rails they can no longer pass a budget.

    And the media works to normalize the current incarnation of Republicans as a rational party.

  50. 50.

    Ohio Mom

    @Barbara: As of this morning, both Collins and Murkowski had their answering machines in their D.C. Offices on — which is more than I can say about “Sorry this mailbox is full” Rob Portman.

  51. 51.

    Yutsano

    @sharl:

    It looks like he started his adult working life as a decent human being, but has gone over to the Dark Side without a moment’s hesitation.

    Koch money is a helluva drug.

  53. 53.

    efgoldman

    @sharl:

    It looks like he started his adult working life as a decent human being, but has gone over to the Dark Side without a moment’s hesitation.

    At least, based on the fact that they hid from the media and the “cripples” (their word, I think) the RWNJs still have a little, teeny bit of shame.

  55. 55.

    TriassicSands

    @rikyrah:

    Republicans to disabled person: “Why don’t you just get a job? Get a damn job!”

    Other than changes of leadership brought about by violence, our change from Obama to Trump must be one of the most profound changes in the history of democracies. (Hitler was another.)

    We’ve gone from our first African American president — a man of unquestioned competence and decency — to a totally incompetent racist pig. The Washington Post has a column today by Philip Bump that says of course the president’s comments about NFL and NBA players is about race, despite Trump’s claims to the contrary.

    Trump probably doesn’t think he’s racist — he’s just calling a bunch of inferior people — who hate America and its flag — to task for their unforgivable actions. And there don’t seem to be any “fine people” among those protesting police brutality and the murders of unarmed African American citizens — all of whom, no doubt, deserved what they got.

    What a monster!

  57. 57.

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

    @Yutsano:
    Ha! I’ll have to look that up sometime.

    I’m sure the purity ponies would just love my hypothetical tv spot. Would probably just deny any responsibility and call it stupid.
    @gene108:

    And the media works to normalize the current incarnation of Republicans as a rational party.

    But who’s still buying that anymore? One of the few good things Trump has done is to rip the scales right off many people’s eyes.

  58. 58.

    ruemara

    @Villago Delenda Est: This is correct. The one truly impossible thing in Kingsman: The Golden Circle, was only the American president and his military sycophant feeling that millions should die. And that Fox News would report that as bad thing.

  59. 59.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    I see on the twitter that Santorum is testifying now. I’m trying to think of an ex-elected who would be less embarrassing but just as willing to hack for Lindsey and trump. Could it be that Santorum was the best they could do?

  66. 66.

    Oatler.

    See them throwing cripples in jail, sobbing at their own damnation and at God: “Look what you’re making me do! Hillary’s emails!”

  67. 67.

    efgoldman

    @Mnemosyne:

    Santorum can remotely diagnose the disabled protesters who were all dragged out and reassure us that they’re all faking it.

    I thought it was Bill Frist what did that.

  68. 68.

    Barbara

    @Ohio Mom: I meant they should stop taking personal calls from other senators. By being cagey, they make it harder for Graham and Cassidy to know what target to shoot for in making changes.

  70. 70.

    sharl

    (lightly edited for clarity, outside the 140-character limit of twitter)

    Bit of a guess, but organizers put number of arrests today at +100. That’s so far. Maybe a few dozen more before it’s overhttps://t.co/XC5cPnPZJ0— Jeff Stein (@JStein_Vox) September 25, 2017

    Jeff Stein’s most recent piece at Vox: The resistance is making one last all-out push to kill the GOP health bill

    One person attending was Kimberley Benyr, whose 12-year-old daughter Madeleine died of liver cancer on September 12. Four rounds of chemotherapy had not been enough. Less than two weeks later, the former auto insurance salesperson flew by herself to Washington, DC. She’s here to remind senators that even though her daughter’s life couldn’t be saved, millions of others depend on the kind of care that could be stripped away should Graham-Cassidy become law.

    “Maddy didn’t make it, but there were hundreds of other children in that hospital who need Medicaid to have a chance,” said Benyr, 42, of Bella Vista, Arkansas, before showing her daughter’s death certificate to this reporter. “If you’re not on Medicaid and your child gets sick, you are in extreme danger [of medical bankruptcy] through no fault of your own.”

  71. 71.

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

    @Major Major Major Major:
    To that comic: Tell that to the kids whose parents have been deported. Or the South Koreans living in Seoul and the Japanese fearing even more greatly for their lives than they should. Tell them why you enabled a butcher. Tell that to future generations when they ask what happened to the ice caps, why its so hot, and why its so difficult to breathe (higher concentrations of C02). My point is this: so-called leftists should be ashamed and acknowledge that they’re morally culpable for all of this and work to reverse it.

    FWIW, that comic came out almost a year ago, so the artist may have had no idea exactly how bad things could get, but they still should have known better.

  74. 74.

    schrodingers_cat

    Rs (Republicans with the help of their Russian friends) have declared a war against America and its ideals. They are trying to undermine everything that makes us unique, from immigration to scientific prowess. They are destroying the Federal government from the inside from state to interior and everything in between. Attack on ACA fits the pattern. Its a fight and they want to destroy us.

  78. 78.

    Barbara

    @TriassicSands:

    Republicans to disabled person: “Why don’t you just get a job? Get a damn job!”

    The come back to this is pretty clear: I would be more likely to get a job if it didn’t mean I wouldn’t have access to health care. The SSDI system is a complete catch-22 to most disabled people. Many could work part-time and make enough money to get kicked off disability and lose Medicare, but not full-time, and become eligible for employer provided benefits. What they need is some other kind of program that allows them access to a plan of health benefits without being entirely dependent on the government . . . . sort of like, you know, the exchanges or Medicaid expansion!

  80. 80.

    Mnemosyne

    @efgoldman:

    I can’t tell these assholes apart anymore. But I’m sure Santorum will be happy to say that Gawd whispered in his ear and told him the protesters are all fakers. Looters and moochers, the lot of them. //

  81. 81.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @George Spiggott: IIRC Bill Frist’s daddy was (is?) the founder/CEO of one of the major corporate hospital associations. I would not be surprised if that company is on the list of those publicly opposed to this bill (and is still the foundation of Dr Frist’s considerable assets).

    /remembers google/ the old man is dead, the company lives on

    Frist began his career as a cardiologist in the Nashville area. In 1968, with his son, Dr. Thomas F. Frist Jr., and Jack C. Massey, who helped Harland Sanders create the Kentucky Fried Chicken chain, he co-founded Hospital Corporation of America (HCA), the largest private operator of health care facilities in the world, taking the company public in 1969.[3] He is widely regarded as “the father of the modern for-profit hospital system” in the U.S.[2]

    quick look doesn’t indicate a public stance on Grassidy

  83. 83.

    TriassicSands

    @Amir Khalid:

    As I wrote in comment 63, according to Santorum, the Graham-Cassidy bill was largely his idea. Given what a complete mess it is, I find that easy to believe.

  86. 86.

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

    @Eric NNY:
    I don’t want to derail this thread or anything. Just wanted to get that off my chest.

    @Mnemosyne:
    I’m all for greater party unity, but I am worried that single-payer-or-bust could be the Democrats’ repeal-and-replace; that what unifies us now will divide and paralyze us later on down the road if single-payer proves unworkable. Campaign slogans are one thing to win an election. Implementing policy is another. Look at what that’s done to the GOP.

  87. 87.

    SenyorDave

    I’m a 58 year old cynical MF, and it takes one hell of a lot to horrify me, but this video qualifies. I know it breaks all sorts of rules, but maybe it be worth it for a Democratic senator to call out some people by name.

    Its a shame that this insignificant event will be drowned out by some earth-shattering story of how “Trump calls out the NFL” for the 800th time.

  88. 88.

    TenguPhule

    @ruemara:

    The one truly impossible thing in Kingsman: The Golden Circle, was only the American president and his military sycophant feeling that millions should die. And that Fox News would report that as bad thing.

    Fucking spoilers, how do they work?

  93. 93.

    Jack the Second

    @? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?: The problem is that “incremental improvements to the Obamacare system” isn’t a very hearty rallying cry.

    I’d much rather see the party rallying around immigration reform; it’s the next big thing that needs a big overhaul, and this administration is creating some really public suffering on that front.

  95. 95.

    TenguPhule

    @Jack the Second:

    The problem is that “incremental improvements to the Obamacare system” isn’t a very hearty rallying cry.

    Progress is boring. Destruction is exciting.

  96. 96.

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

    @Major Major Major Major:
    But here’s the thing: they don’t seem to understand that. My advice to them is defeat the far-right first. The GOP is the mortal enemy of any socal@st/anarchist. Then go after the Dems once the Repub beast is slain. They don’t seem to understand priorities.

    I know that they’re a very vocal minority, but they numerous enough last year to cause trouble. I hope they don’t continue to be.

  98. 98.

    Mnemosyne

    @chris:

    I am able-bodied myself, so I would have to say that it becomes a very literal photo of bullying: an authority figure using his superior strength against someone who can’t fight back.

    That’s probably why they wheeled this woman out — trying to carry her out while she screamed and fought would have made them look even worse.

  100. 100.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    in almost one breath, Lindsey Graham says we need to reform Medicare and Medicaid because the programs cost too much, then tells protestor we need to cut taxes. MSNBC reporter, not pundit, praises his “actuarial, dollars-and-cents” approach, in contrast to the protestors’ appeals to emotion.

  102. 102.

    Major Major Major Major

    @TenguPhule: to be fair Carson is supposed to have been a brilliant surgeon, but there’s a reason that surgeons are called ‘plumbers’ by other spec!alists.

    @? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?: they would have been a footnote on a footnote if a thousand other things hadn’t gone wrong last year. Look, I don’t like them either, but spending too much energy hating them feels unhelpful.

    @Mnemosyne: it was really more of starting a doomed offensive with mutual troops for no reason.

  103. 103.

    sharl

    Margot Sanger-Katz‏ @sangerkatz

    Sen. Hirono, just testified. She was recently, unexpectedly diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. In short, she is not a fan of this bill.

    Margot Sanger-Katz‏ @sangerkatz

    Cassidy says he’s sorry about the process.

    Michael Miller‏ @hlthcaremike

    Cassidy also says states that want to keep their Medicaid expansion can do so–not true. Does not appear to know what is in his own bill.

    Margot Sanger-Katz‏ @sangerkatz

    This critique is right. Bill eliminates the category of eligibility, so states can’t cover this population in Medicaid under the block grant

    Dylan Scott @dylanlscott

    Bill Cassidy is just straight-up not telling the truth about his own bill.

    Not exaggeration, hysteria, or spin.

    I left out some rebuttals – rather weak ones IMO – to keep this comment from being any longer than it already is. The basic form of at least some of the rebuttals is that states could apply for waivers to rules that forbid payment eligibility. In other words – as I understand it – states wanting to serve their poor who would otherwise go uncovered would have to rely on the humanity and generosity of folks like HHS Secretary Price and his successors to grant waivers to rules incorporated (directly or by extension) in G-C.
    As I said, weak…

  109. 109.

    Omnes Omnibus

    Make calls, people. Call about Graham-Cassidy. Call about disaster relief funding. Call about the right to vote amendment that was just introduced in the House. Call. Make your voice heard.

  110. 110.

    Mnemosyne

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    MSNBC reporter, not pundit, praises his “actuarial, dollars-and-cents” approach, in contrast to the protestors’ appeals to emotion.

    As I pointed out above, forcing disabled people into nursing homes because they can no longer afford health insurance and home care aides will actually be MORE expensive.

    That’s what proves that it’s all about ideology. The actual cost doesn’t matter. Republicans are happy to pay inflated prices as long as they feel those prices are ideologically correct.

    That’s why arguing that PPACA reduces costs and increases the number of people who can get healthcare is a losing argument. It’s like trying to explain astrophysics to your dog.

  111. 111.

    TenguPhule

    @Mnemosyne:

    It’s like trying to explain astrophysics to your dog.

    Objection.

    The dog might be able to understand, they just can’t express it.

  113. 113.

    trollhattan

    @sharl:

    Yep, Bill Cassidy started out as a doctor – liver speshialist and later gastroenterologist, according to his Wikipedia page. It looks like he started his adult working life as a decent human being, but has gone over to the Dark Side without a moment’s hesitation.

    Think about it–why give colonoscopies one at a time when you can do the whole country at once? Economies of scale!

  114. 114.

    TenguPhule

    @Mnemosyne:

    The time for “single payer or bust” is after we take back control of Congress.

    Single payer or universal coverage, whatever works.

    We can’t afford any more busts. Not if we want a country to live in.

  115. 115.

    burnspbesq

    @TenguPhule:

    Medical profession tends to have higher standards then the legal one.

    It appears that way because doctors get to bury their mistakes and have teamed with Republicans to block any meaningful measurement of quality of outcomes.

  116. 116.

    Mnemosyne

    @jeannedalbret:

    Sure would have been nice if Sanders had been paying attention to Senate business the last few weeks rather than running around demanding that Democrats take his purity pledge. It’s hard to plausibly claim to be the point person on healthcare when the Republicans roll you by pulling out a last-minute plan.

  117. 117.

    d58826

    Graham is already talking about including Trumpcare in next years recon. resolution if it doesn’t pass this year. I’m afraid this is going to be like the battle against terrorists. The good guys have to bat 1000. The bad guys only need to get lucky once. At some point the GOP will stumble on a set of conditions that will get the 50 (plus pence) votes needed to pass.

  118. 118.

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

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    MSNBC reporter, not pundit, praises his “actuarial, dollars-and-cents” approach, in contrast to the protestors’ appeals to emotion.

    “Boy, that Max Heiliger sure knew how to invest in gold.”

  122. 122.

    TenguPhule

    @d58826:

    Graham is already talking about including Trumpcare in next years recon. resolution if it doesn’t pass this year.

    And they want to add tax cuts as part of it.

    What could possibly go wrong?

  123. 123.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Mnemosyne:

    As I pointed out above, forcing disabled people into nursing homes

    Cutting medicaid will keep them out of nursing homes, because nursing homes won’t get paid even that much. See how it works?

  124. 124.

    Ruckus

    @Amir Khalid:

    What expertise does he have on healthcare?

    Short answer of course, none.
    Long answer he has a whole passel of kids, one of whom was born with a birth defect. In rethuglican world that makes him an expert. Unlike those liberals who went to medical school.

  125. 125.

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

    @d58826:
    Yeah, but they wouldn’t dare in an election year. I don’t think they could either. Too busy campaigning for re-election.

  129. 129.

    Ohio Mom

    @Barbara: Oh…I get it.
    But are there really that many Senators on the fence? I just assume almost all of them are like my Senators: either a human being, like Sherrod Brown, or a coward like Bob Portman.

    It’s all one big game of chicken to Portman, he’s waiting to see who blinks first, with any luck enough others will blink and he’ll never have to take a stand.

  131. 131.

    Mnemosyne

    @schrodingers_cat:

    OT, but an anecdote for your immigration. files. My coworker just became a US citizen and said it took about 8 years to get through the whole process. The kicker is that he was born in Canada, so that’s how long it takes before a Canadian can get US citizenship.

    (His parents are from India, but they immigrated to Canada and he was born there.)

  132. 132.

    JMG

    @d58826: I’m not sure that’ll work, as it jeopardizes the tax cuts the donors want more than anything. If this fails, there have to be some Rs, especially in the House where they’re all up for election in 2018, who’ll argue that they need to put some points on the board, not go for it on fourth down.

  138. 138.

    catclub

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    then tells protestor we need to cut taxes. MSNBC reporter

    MSNBC reporter can never point out that come rain or shine, in good times or in bad, the ONLY prescription the GOP has is cutting taxes for the rich.
    It is so boring it is not even news – like Trump lying.

  140. 140.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Dylan ScottVerified account @ dylanlscott
    Lindsey Graham again aghast that the US could end up spending more on Medicaid than the military

    Jordan Weissmann‏Verified account @ JHWeissmann 1h1 hour ago
    Everything you need to know about Lindsey Graham

  142. 142.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Omnes Omnibus: That means he got his GC in 3 years of coming to the US, that’s quick. Also, its possible that a relative could have sponsored him and had a GC when he came to the United States.
    Employment based GC takes a long time even without backlog issues.

  147. 147.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    this made me laugh, and I hope it’s true

    Adrianna McIntyre‏ @ onceuponA Sep 11
    OH re: Cassidy-Graham–

    “What was the point of their whole exercise?”

    “After death, typically a corpse voids its bowels.”

  149. 149.

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

    @catclub:
    The point is, they’ll be too paralyzed next year. Hopefully in 2018 the House will be swept in a blue wave and the question of ACA repeal will become irrelevant.

  150. 150.

    geg6

    @Ruckus:

    In all fairness, he and his wife did have a stillborn child that they took home and took care of over a weekend before burying her. This happened while he was ripping off his local PA school district that he never lived in, making them pay for his kids’ charter school in DC. So he knows, he really knows.

  151. 151.

    Ohio Mom

    @OzarkHillbilly: If Medicaid was God forbid decimated, some very disabled people would end up in nursing homes and other institutions, but an awful lot could end up living on the street, joining up with their mentally-ill brethren. It would be those who were judged not disabled enough.

    Also, one of the wonderful things Medicaid has done is enabled disabled children to grow up living with their families. It used to be that if you had a child with complex medical needs, that child went to live in an institution (remember Willowbrook?). Now Medicaid underwrites the supports those families need: medical equipment like wheelchairs and lifts, visiting nurses, etc.

    Once again, the pro-life party proves to be anything but.

  152. 152.

    SenyorDave

    @Ohio Mom: I just assume almost all of them are like my Senators: either a human being, like Sherrod Brown, or a coward like Bob Portman.

    If it affected someone in his family he’d be the first to vote against it, like he was for gay marriage after his son came out. Otherwise he couldn’t care less.

  154. 154.

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

    @Matt:
    What makes you think I’m a “centrist” and the only thing I care about are “profits”? I’ll have you know I scored in the Left-Libertarian quadrant of the Political Compass test. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_compass

    I’m just not a self-righteous dumbass. I actually have a clue and know the GOP are the really big threat. The Dems actually know how to govern and are more electable than any other left party.

  155. 155.

    sharl

    Tweet is accompanied by a screen-capture showing some details:

    S&P has a new analysis of Graham-Cassidy. Sees 580k lost jobs, $240b less econ activity by 2027, fewer insured, return of pre-ex conditions pic.twitter.com/V18qTpSCQ0— Benjy Sarlin (@BenjySarlin) September 25, 2017

    These analyses are good and necessary, but it seems like Cassidy, Graham and their staff henchmen and associates keep effing with the details in an effort – hopefully doomed – to bribe uncommitted Senators. So professional analysts are being run ragged while the filling in this shit sandwich is constantly being rearranged by amoral schemers.

    Poor David…thank you for your service, Sir!

  156. 156.

    Chyron HR

    @Matt:

    punching left

    What, like sneeringly referring to gun control advocates as “always going on about the gun thing”?

  158. 158.

    gene108

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

    But who’s still buying that anymore? One of the few good things Trump has done is to rip the scales right off many people’s eyes.

    I think the media is and they are working very hard to make the current incarnation of the Republican Party not just the new normal, but to render them the best America can be.

    I mean beyond all the “this is when Trump became President” crap, they are making a strong distinction between Trump and “mainstream” Republicans and between “mainstream” Republicans and “Tea Party” Republicans, as to insulate some segment of the Republican Party from the fact that they all stand for basically the same thing and are just quibbling over whether to kick 22 million people off of healthcare versus 32 million.

    The media looks to give Republicans every possible out to distance themselves from their actual policies and this does have an impact on people, who get their news from NPR, NYT, CNN, etc.

  160. 160.

    Mnemosyne

    @schrodingers_cat:

    I don’t think he is, but he did say that there’s a much smaller backlog from Canada so it went a lot faster. And the 8 years is counting from after he got his green card, IIRC.

  162. 162.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Ohio Mom: When I was looking for a place to put my Alzheimered father, the first question they asked was “How much money do you have?” It was explained as diplomatically as possible that they do not accept Medicaid only patients, unless that patient has been with them for years. This was at every nursing facility I visited.

    So I don’t know where the aged and disabled will go if Medicaid is decimated but I doubt very much it will be any for profit nursing facility, and the non-profits are already all but overwhelmed.

    A whole lot of trump supporters are going to be severely disappointed when this reality smacks them upside the head. Pro Life party my ass, indeed.

  163. 163.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Matt: PROFITS UBER ALLES!”

    Everybody just hold on. I’m supposed to get paid for mocking Wilmer and his bleating cultists? I think I have some back pay coming.

  164. 164.

    Mnemosyne

    @Ohio Mom:

    Hey, if those parents didn’t want to raise a disabled kid, they shouldn’t have had one.
    /mordant sarcasm, in case that wasn’t clear.

  165. 165.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Mnemosyne: OK I thought 8 years from the time he arrived to the United States. You can apply for citizenship 5 years after you get your GC (3 if you are married to a US citizen or have served in the military)

    ETA: FWIW, GC is the bigger hurdle than citizenship which is fairly straightforward as these things go.

  166. 166.

    Mnemosyne

    @Matt:

    Like it or not, your personal Jesus threw the sucker punch that distracted everyone while the Republicans were getting this bill ready. Don’t whine that we’re punching back.

  167. 167.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @schrodingers_cat: I recall seeing the processing times for some of the forms from some countries when my ex’s green card and citizenship applications were being processed. All I was saying is that I am not one of the people who needs a reality check on immigration hurdles and delays.

  168. 168.

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

    @Major Major Major Major:
    It is a tad simplistic. According to them, Clinton is on the economic and authoritarian right (economic left is soc*alism/communism.) The authoritarian left would consist of Stalin, Mao, Mugabe, etc, on the left, economically. I think she’s placed too far right and upwards to the authoritarian axis. She would be lefter and more libtertarian.

  169. 169.

    Ohio Mom

    @SenyorDave: Even there, it was lucky timing. If Portman’s son had come out years and years before he did — unlikely because he would have been a young child years and years earlier — well, he wouldn’t have.

    Instead, the fat lady had already taken a deep breath and had opened her mouth — the first note was on its way and unstoppable. It was the first conceivable moment that it would be politically safe for someone like Portman to come out in support of a gay child. I give him no props.

  171. 171.

    rikyrah

    @sharl:

    These analyses are good and necessary, but it seems like Cassidy, Graham and their staff henchmen and associates keep effing with the details in an effort – hopefully doomed – to bribe uncommitted Senators. So professional analysts are being run ragged while the filling in this shit sandwich is constantly being rearranged by amoral schemers.

    But, I thank these analysts. They’ve been right there in the trenches, trying to give us the information to get out.

  172. 172.

    Mnemosyne

    @schrodingers_cat:

    I wonder if there’s also some regional variation. We have a big population out here, so there are a lot of people working locally who process green cards for the Feds. I’m guessing that smaller areas take even longer to process? This is just a guess, though. People I know out here seem to get their US passports super fast, too.

  174. 174.

    Ohio Mom

    @OzarkHillbilly: Yeah, those nursing homes want to empty the potential resident’s bank account first, it’s cost-shifting. I don’t have a clue what they could look like but they must have some mathematical formulas: this much money from the resident’s bank account/adult children’s pockets vs. how long we can expect this sucker to live (here) and how little Medicaid will cover, and how much will be left over for our profit.

    I admit I don’t understand the financial end of it but there are still some disabled people living in institutions. Ohio is on the last stage of getting those people into community-based living situations, ironically enough if GC becomes law.

    If ADAPT is saying they’ll end up in nursing homes, I take that at face value. My kid doesn’t have a physical disability so I don’t know anything about that end of the disability continuum. It is a very wide continuum.

  175. 175.

    Mnemosyne

    @schrodingers_cat:

    The industry and state we’re in were probably a factor in speeding the process up. In California, entertainment and software companies are VERY familiar with immigration processes and have HR people who stay on top of things. Companies that aren’t as familiar with the process probably take longer with the paperwork.

    ETA: I peeked at the corporate directory and there’s a whole
    corporate department that handles immigration.

  176. 176.

    Citizen Alan

    @Matt:

    The Democrats did everything they could to reach out to the far leftist assholes and still got booed at their own convention. Hillary could have come out and giving a speech dressed as Chairman Mao and it would have made any difference. F*** Bernie. F*** Jill Stein. F*** every single member over their worthless cult.

  178. 178.

    catclub

    @rikyrah:

    So professional analysts are being run ragged while the filling in this shit sandwich is constantly being rearranged by amoral schemers.

    The schemers can then respond to any criticism: “Oh, that was in the last version, you are out of date, we fixed that in the latest version.”

  181. 181.

    sharl

    Dylan Scott @dylanlscott
    biiiiiiiig find from @annanorthtweets —>

    Graham-Cassidy would let insurers drop birth control coverage – Vox https://t.co/SYqdIiu0Pj— Nicolas Terry (@nicolasterry) September 25, 2017

    Graham-Cassidy would let insurers drop birth control coverage
    The new version of the bill goes even further than its predecessor in rolling back protections for contraceptive coverage.

    The health care bill sponsored by Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA) was already the most sweeping of any Obamacare repeal effort in its restrictions on reproductive health coverage. A new version released on Sunday night would go even further than its predecessor in rolling back protections that have allowed millions of Americans to get affordable birth control.

    This version would give states even more leeway to bypass the requirements of Obamacare — including those that guarantee coverage for contraception. In so doing, it may please conservatives who want states to have greater say over what is covered, and those who have opposed the contraceptive requirements from the beginning. But it will also threaten a benefit on which many people rely to maintain their health and plan their families.

    Starting in 2020, states can make their own rules when it comes to coverage

  184. 184.

    grandpajohn

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: I live in SC, anybody who believes his bull shit moderate act is ignorant as hell. But in SC that is normal.We have a terrible habit here of electing senators for life or they reach total senility and even that didn’t rid us of Strom

  185. 185.

    sharl

    It’s about damn time!

    BREAKING: Sen. Susan Collins is a NO on new Cassidy-Graham— Dave Weigel (@daveweigel) September 25, 2017

    ETA: I doubt that this made any difference to Collins’ decision, but it does serve as a demonstration that Twitler is absolutely useless to Graham and Cassidy. Thank goodness for that, I guess.

    I stopped thinking Cassidy-Graham could pass when the WH brought LePage in to lobby Collins. Like they knew nothing about her.— Dave Weigel (@daveweigel) September 25, 2017

  187. 187.

    Quantumman

    It is not over. If Murkowski says no, then maybe. Look for Rand Paul to announce tomorrow he will vote yes. Won’t be over until Oct. 1 for the next few months if Murkowski says no.

  189. 189.

    J R in WV

    @TenguPhule:

    Single payer or universal coverage, whatever works.

    We can’t afford any more busts. Not if we want a country to live in.

    No. Just no. I don’t care who get paid for by whom, the whole progressive point here is everyone needs, everyone deserves coverage!! Who pays for it is details to be worked out in the regular legislative process.

    I prefer that the bill allows people’s insurance to be portable, even if you leave a job for no reason. But if it covers everyone, all the time, universally, that’s all the matters.

    A border collie would do a better job than Trump, smarter, better emotional connection to others.

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