Good video below – less than 3 minutes long. Can you spare 3 minuter? Watch it. Share it. Spread the word.
I think it’s fair to say that I’m hoping for more constructive ideas and less discussion of how anyone might feel about Bernie or AOC.
Health care out of pocket costs are about to double. Let’s talk about what we can do to get the message out.
This is a winning issue for us.
As Congress debates federal health care spending as part of spending bill negotiations, including extending the enhanced premium tax credits, the latest KFF Health Tracking Poll finds three-quarters (78%) of adults say Congress should extend the enhanced tax credits for people who buy their own insurance through the ACA Marketplace. This is more than three times the share of the public (22%) who say Congress should let the credits expire. Notably, majorities across political party want Congress to extend the tax credits including nine in ten (92%) Democrats, eight in ten (82%) independents, and six in ten (59%) Republicans. A majority of Republicans who align with the MAGA movement (57%) also say Congress should extend these subsidies.
Both parties could face political fallout if the enhanced tax credits are not extended, though the public says they will place most of the blame on those currently in charge. About four in ten (39%) adults who want to see the tax credits extended say that if Congress does not extend these enhanced tax credits, President Trump deserves most of the blame, while another four in ten (37%) say the same about Republicans in Congress. About two in ten (22%) say that Democrats in Congress deserve most of the blame.
Democrats are most likely to place blame on President Trump (56%) followed by Republicans in Congress (42%), while six in ten Republicans (61%) say they would place the blame on Democrats in Congress. Among those who buy their own coverage (nearly half of whom identify as Republican or Republican-leaning), Republicans in Congress and President Trump receive the majority of the blame (42% and 37%, respectively).
Seven in ten adults who buy their own health insurance say that if the amount they paid for health insurance each month nearly doubled, they could not pay the higher premiums without significantly disrupting their household finances. In addition, four in ten (42%) say they would go without health insurance coverage if the amount they had to pay for health insurance each month nearly doubled. About a third (37%) say they would continue to pay for their current health insurance, while two in ten (22%) would get insurance from another source, like an employer or a spouse’s employer.
Majorities across partisanship also report that they would be concerned if they heard about something of the outcomes for both letting the tax credits expire, as well as if Congress extended the tax cuts – granted to a lesser degree. Majorities say they would be concerned if they heard that health insurance would be unaffordable for many people who buy their own coverage (86%), that 4 million people would lose their health insurance coverage (86%), or if they heard that people who work at small businesses or are self-employed would be directly impacted (85%). On the other side, if Congress does extend these enhanced tax credits, two-thirds of the public (63%) say they would be concerned if they heard that it would require significant federal spending that would be largely paid for by taxpayers.
Three months after the passing of the tax and budget legislation, the bill still remains largely unfavorable among the public overall – lagging far behind both the Affordable Care Act and the ACA Marketplaces in overall popularity. Many are still unsure of how the legislation will impact them personally but four in ten (43%) think it’s most likely to hurt them and their families.
SPREAD THE WORD
HOW CAN WE GET THE MESSAGE OUT?
If you don’t think the message in this video will be effective, what do you think would be more effective to help get the word out?
The media sure isn’t going to do it for us, so who is left, but us, right?
DON’T MOURN, ORGANIZE!
T.and his henchmen are playing mob boss – in plain sight! Certain that they will get away with everything.
Do not let them convince you that T. is unbeatable. That belief is their best weapon against us; don’t be complicit.
(Okay, there’s a lot to mourn, but there’s time enough in the day to mourn and organize.)
SiubhanDuinne
This is an excellent video, and seems to be making the rounds — I’m not sure it’s technically “going viral” yet (whatever that precise metric may be), but I’ve seen it on different platforms at least four times since yesterday.
WaterGirl
@SiubhanDuinne: I hope a lot of us here will start sharing it – the news about what’s ahead for health care should be everywhere!
Old School
Good video. Let’s get the message out the best we can. It’ll be tough because I think the media will focus on the piece that might possibly benefit the undocumented.
trollhattan
Chris Murphy says a true thing.
iKropoclast
I was looking for something to do with all this spare pocket change kicking around…
iKropoclast
And here’s the rub. Dems winning likely means almost no one knowing what happened except for political junkies.
Not saying protecting healthcare isn’t worth it*, but it’s an issue we’ll have to deal with.
*To my mind, the real fight is over the President’s asserted power to impound legally authorized funds. Practically nothing else matters if the President can do this. But I guess that’s not the fight we’re having and Dems are on the right side of the narrower fight we have.
cain
@trollhattan:
I agree. How does that work though? What can we do?
As a minority, I am feeling stressed because of these ICE raids where they don’t bother to check if you are a citizen or not.
What I would like to see from Dems, and this is why I think we need younger Dems.
We need to have a lot of town halls, Dems need to be seen. We need to be loud. They need to take risks.
We also need class action suits brought by Dems. They need to use those campaign funds sitting in banks. In a way, this is a form of campaigning. You get your name out there, they’ll remember you during the midterms.
But we absolutely, need to flip congress and we need to become much more hardlined now.
Scout211
Okay, you asked for reactions, so here goes.
I am not fond of that video, sorry.
There are parts of it that I think are good messages but the walking and the setting, with the sun glare and trees makes it very difficult to concentrate on the message. That is probably just me as an old, though. It was unwatchable for this old. So the message was partially lost for me.
I do think the media is starting to inform the public about subsidies and what the healthcare cost will be to the public if the subsidies end. I posted one from NBC downstairs:
A majority of Trump supporters back extending Obamacare subsidies, poll finds
Many of those articles I saw on Google do couch the information about subsidies in terms of the shutdown, but so does this video. So I do think the media is getting a little better on this.
I have a personal bias against using the term “broken” so when Bernie said that, I cringed. I don’t know of other people have that same bias against that term, though. Just my bias, maybe.
I also felt that their message was way too complicated with too many confusing details. Unfortunately, in these times, too much detail in political messages tends to turn people off as they tend to be accustomed to clever Memes and phrases. Republicans have taken advantage of that.
I like the part explaining why Democrats are taking part in the shutdown to help Americans afford healthcare, but I think (again) that it should be shorter and sweeter.
Overall, I’d give that message a C when we need to go for an A.
Sorry. I’ll let myself out now.
Belafon
Republicans: We’re shutting down the government because Democrats want to protect the ACA.
Democrats: We’re going to protect the ACA.
Republican voters: Democrats are to blame for not protecting the ACA.
Betty Cracker
I liked the way they laid out the case for refusing to rubber-stamp the CR. Thanks for flagging it! Shared on Bluesky!
terraformer
Great and simple video – the only thing I think is missing is *why* MAGA is doing this, and it needs to be communicated clearly: the reason MAGA is raising your healthcare costs is to reduce taxes on billionaires
“Do you think 50,000 Americans should die each year so billionaires can have even MORE money?”
Belafon
@cain: Paxton last year taught national Republicans what to do: At various times, raid the offices and homes of Democratic candidates. Democrats are going to have to decentralize their campaign systems.
trollhattan
Our modern tech life.
Received a text saying that my food order had been received and was in progress. Mind, I was at home and had already eaten dinner.
Googled the restaurant and found Fresco’s Grand Cantina exists, in Astoria, Queens, New York. Isn’t you-know-who from Queens?
Hope it was a good meal.
dc
Here is an uplifting and funny story to inspire and help keep hope alive and keep you in the fight. It’s about how small actions can end up contributing to a big win for humanity:
youtube.com/shorts/O5yK7XiYQvU
Scout211
I agree with this. That was my point about too many details. It should be more about the number of people enrolled in subsidies and not all the details about who those people are.
iKropoclast
I think younger people are mostly looking for less polish and production in media meant to be informative. Polish and production being tools of artifice and, potentially, deception.
To me, it felt like a casual conversation between friends, where the viewer is necessarily the friend who mostly just listens.
Omnes Omnibus
@Scout211: APC has a pretty good handle on messaging to younger voters. I’ll trust her judgment.
Betty Cracker
@terraformer: Yes!
jonas
Great video. What AOC and even Bernie do so well is break issues down into easy-to-grasp non-politicalese. They talk like regular people talk, which even people not predisposed to like progressive ideas will at least listen to.
Who the fuck are these assholes so we can go punch them in the dick?
Hildebrand
It’s a good video – I just wish AOC would be having the conversation with a non-octogenarian.
Sorry, this isn’t critiquing Bernie as Bernie – but I don’t think he is exempt from the list of folks who need to pass the baton.
schrodingers_cat
@cain: Do you have the OCI card?
@Scout211: He also went on TV and dissed the ACA.
Josie
@cain: This is a post I received from Heather Cox Richardson on Thursday.
mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#search/heather+cox/FMfcgzQcpwwLTQfSPWjtgQQQbxhHFZMT
The last section describes a suit filed by a U.S. citizen who was detained twice on two different construction sites. I hope he is successful in turning it into a class action suit.
Eyeroller
@jonas: That’s below the crazification factor so I’m actually rather pleased it’s only 22%.
iKropoclast
If this is going to keep being a thing, some Democrats have fully lost the plot. This is bigotry. Full stop.
zhena gogolia
@iKropoclast: His age is the least of my concerns about him.
schrodingers_cat
@iKropoclast: Agreed. The ageism is gross.
iKropoclast
@zhena gogolia: Yes, but if I’m gonna make an issue of ageism, he gets covered. Shit, I don’t even want to hear that kind of talk about Trump.
@schrodingers_cat: Thank you for recognizing that.
Belafon
@Josie: I can’t wait to see the reason conservatives on the Supreme Court give for why this guy doesn’t have standing.
WaterGirl
@iKropoclast: The whole point of the post is for us to not give up before we start – but to make sure the word gets out.
Like us, regular people, working to spread the word.
iKropoclast
@WaterGirl: If I had a nickel for every time someone listened to me and I wasn’t just telling them what they already wanted to hear, I’d be working on about my second dollar in my whole lifetime.
WaterGirl
@Scout211: It’s obviously fine to disagree.
So keep the parts you like and add the parts you think are missing and help spread the word.
What would you include in a video to help get the word out?
iKropoclast
@WaterGirl: I strongly suspect there will be other videos floating around with different production styles that cover similar ground.
Maybe we could aggregate those or other useful videos so we have a library of cities for all manner of different types of audience.
WaterGirl
@iKropoclast: My point is that we can’t wait FOR SOMEONE ELSE to make the perfect video or use the perfect words to get the word out.
We all have to do it.
edit: I like the idea added in your edit.
pajaro
So many of us have wanted to see Democrats fight, and take a stand. Well, they are doing it. Is it the only, or even best issue they could have chosen? I don’t know, but I do know is an important issue that affects millions of people. One easy thing one could do, if one has a Dem. congressperson or Senator in one’s jurisdiction, is give a call, thank them, and tell them to keep fighting.
dkinPa
This is how my representative, Mike Kelly of the 16th C.D. of PA, put it in his latest newsletter:
On September 19, my House Republican colleagues and I voted on a continuing resolution (CR) that would have funded the government through November 21 while Congress works out a long-term budget. It’s a clean, responsible short-term solution — without strings attached — to keep the government’s lights on and its doors open. Now, Senate Democrats have repeatedly rejected our legislation and are demanding to include more than $1 trillion in new spending
Make no mistake — The Schumer Shutdown could have been avoided.
This is, of course, a lie. The $1 trillion is how much Republicans cut from federal health spending which included major cuts to Medicaid and the expired ACA subsidies when they passed the Big Ugly Bill. I will be calling Mike Kelly at 202-225-5406 to call him out on his lies. If you live in western PA, perhaps you might give him a call, too.
Archon
@iKropoclast: Wait, so its ageism to wonder if someone might be too old to be President?
Paul in KY
@terraformer: Agree!
Baud
Video has too many pants.
iKropoclast
@WaterGirl: I’d love to make videos. I’ve been lazily/lack of confidence-ily putting it off for years.
And I mostly want to talk about the process of checking sources, logic, religion/philosophy; but also art, food, things in popular culture.
I know I’m capable of this. I have the tools, even. I’m not sure what’s going to get me over the hump, though.
I do suspect, sometimes, that the reason they want people tied to a 40 hour job plus 20 hours of commuting every day is to restrain energy on creative endeavors that might result in unfavorable messaging for them or, worse, economic competition for their donors.
Paul in KY
@schrodingers_cat: I just knew you’d be by…
dkinPa
Also, I am circulating the video of Bernie and AOC to my friends. My older friends (retired like me) already like Bernie, and my younger friends (yes, I have a few) will appreciate AOC.
iKropoclast
Nooooow, was that what was happening there? Or was it suggested that he should not be part of the conversation at all?
Also, replace “President” in your question with fucking “anything” and what you have is pretty much a dictionary definition of ageism.
iKropoclast
@schrodingers_cat: To be fair, if you don’t think healthcare should be a profit-seeking endeavor, you might have some problems with the ACA.
He still recognized it as an improvement on the status quo and voted for it.
trollhattan
@iKropoclast:
My two now former senators are a demonstration of how “aging out” of office is relevant: Barbara Boxer, Diane Feinstein.
IMHO Boxer acted correctly when choosing not to run again and instead, making way for Senator Kamala Harris. In doing so she did right by the party and her home state.
Feinstein, by comparison, could not relinquish her precious and literally died in office while serving in a clearly diminished state.
In sum, while the issue of age should not be used as some sort of unguided cudgel, is certainly an issue that requires open, frank discussion. With that noted, Chuck Grassley has already filed to run for office in 2028.
iKropoclast
Thank you. And I like the edit function you have helpfully provided. I use it virtually every time.
I think it’s the anxiety.
iKropoclast
I think Feinstein is possibly the most authentic example of someone who stayed past their ability to do the job.
She was missing votes, failing to communicate well with constituents and presumably her staff also, forgetting things.
These problems are problems independent of age. They could arise from getting hit in the head with a baseball. Call them out by name. When the “age” thing starts coming out, now you’re talking about a whole diverse population of people.
Mike E
@terraformer: yep, they stripped SNAP benefits in order to give bailouts to farmers
Ishiyama
And I’m hoping for a pony.
Mike E
@schrodingers_cat: Sanders: “I’m not a fan of the ACA and would prefer Medicare for all.”
He’s being honest here, unlike you.
Betty Cracker
@trollhattan: Great points. It’s also true that age affects different people in different ways. Sanders is in his 80s, but he’s way sharper and more energetic and engaged than the demented orange creep in the Oval Office. Whether we like it or not, lots of folks find Sanders credible. I think it’s great that he’s using his megaphone for good right now and mentoring people like AOC.
trollhattan
They are strongly correlated to age and also exist outside of age.
Fetterman, for example.
trollhattan
@Betty Cracker:
My kid’s cohort loved them some Bernie in 2016. He spoke to them and I think his cranky old dude persona amplified rather than got in the way of the message.
By ’20 she moved on to Mayor Pete, who was dreamy and also broke through that high school firewall that has every single adult, suspect.
schrodingers_cat
@Mike E: You are calling me a liar when I included his yes, but clip. Agree with me or I will call you names, seems very MAGA like.
Geminid
@iKropoclast:
@WaterGirl: There ought to be some good clips to be made from the press conference staged by House Democrats Tuesday.
Archon
@iKropoclast: Saying Feinstein problems were “independent” of her age is absurd. The fact is I don’t want somebody in their 80’s as my pilot or my surgeon or my President. Acting like that is unreasonable or “ageist” is ridiculous.
iKropoclast
What I was trying to get across is those problems are problems whether they arise from age or not. Talk about that, not her age.
Especially when you know full well there are jerks going around demanding everyone over probably 70 give up their job regardless of relative capability, length of tenure in their current position, or whether they continue to be engaged with and understand society as it exists today.
It’s ugly shit.
WTFGhost
Can I spare 3 minutes to watch a video?
Um…
um…
No?
Can I sit on the sidelines, tell y’all I love you, yes, you specifically, yeah, even Omnes, though I still wanna punch him now and again, for fighting the good fight, not always in my way, not always the way I’d agree with, and certainly with far, far, more energy than me, and that’s not *why* I love you – love is a duty – but it makes it a whole lot *easier* to know you’re trying to be good people, each in their own way (do I need a Baud and Cole exception here for pants? If so, I need a special exemption for underpants under gym shorts. Often when I’m wearing pants(gym shorts), the UK would still say I’m pantsless. Underpants are a whole extra *decisionpoint*, which hurts!).
I’ll sit on the sidelines, I love y’all, and y’all are fighting the good fight.
Also, I’m still alive on a
mondaytuesdaywednesdaythursdayFRIDAYmorningafternoon, so it’s all good, after last Friday. Or was it Thursday? Goddamned thundergod, always messing stuff up.Don’t get me wrong – he taught me Groot which isn’t bad. Groot is a highly emotive language which made it trivial for me. I can say “I am groot” in ways that will make entire groves of *nonsentient* trees try to put loving shade on me, for all the pain in my life. He kept telling me he was “sore” with that terrible lisp – I know, I know, we worked it out. So, next, he said he was a god killer, saying he wanted to “sunder God” (again, I *know*), and when he tried to write, instead of speak, it was impossible to understand. It was all in Norse code! But once he taught me Groot, we had a common basis for communication. Still: you don’t want Thor around if you want a nice, quiet, day.
He does a mean curried goat, though, lemme tell you!
Lynn Dee
He can’t stop doing power moves on her. Good video otherwise, I guess.
12xuser
JV Last at the Bulwark makes the point that Dems should not be focusing on policy in the shutdown. Main point is that Repubs control the government, could pass it if they weren’t incompetent. If Dems really believe that democracy is on the line, they should act like it, and leverage the shutdown to make it more likely that they regain power. Demanding that the GOP rescind VERY unpopular and painful cuts that will be blamed on them doesn’t really do that. If Dems win on this, it will be less beneficial because voters are unlikely to reward Dems for something that didn’t happen.