Murder by legislative means.
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That’s not the Republican Party goal, though.
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How about we keep on topic and quit the intra-party navel gazing and back-biting.
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So did Steve Mnuchin…just ask Kamala Harris, or all those homeowners who were foreclosed illegally in CA.
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I’m going to a Joni Ernst town hall in about 2 hours. Here is what I want to say, although it is unlikely I will get the chance.
I have two questions, one for you and one for Chuck Grassley. But he hasn’t done a public meeting in this county in 6 years. What’s he afraid of, that we’ll give him the “Full Grassley?” Just yesterday, he described the new health care bill, “…I could give you ten reasons why this bill shouldn’t be considered, but Republicans campaign 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.” He’s more interested in party politics, more interested in Hillary Clinton’s emails than a President that committed treason by collaborating with the Russians.
But I am going to assume you won’t put party politics over the interests of your constituents. And here in Iowa, we have already seen how party politics changed health care. When Gov. Branstad was elected, his #1 goal was to tear down IowaCare. Over 150k people were kicked off IowaCare and told to reapply for Medicaid or go on the ACA exchange. He called it “Medicaid Expansion” but it was really Medicaid Contraction. He did this deliberately as revenge, to destroy the IowaCare system created by Tom Vilsack, who beat him in the 1998 election.
I was poor enough that I was right at the borderline of coverage, so both Medicaid and the Exchange refused to cover me. I fought with them for 6 months, during which time I had no access to medications or any health care. One of the Iowa Medicaid agents said, “oh you’re a ‘Looper,’ you’re getting kicked back and forth and neither system will cover you.” Finally I got the Exchange to cover me. I got an ACA subsidy and bought health insurance, which made me poorer than ever. Then, 6 months later, Medicaid sent me a letter, oh you were right, you were covered all along, we retroactively covered you so now you can apply to get your insurance payments back!"
So now I’m on Medicaid. But Iowans already have experience on how this Republican system works. Brandstad subcontracted the perfectly adequate Medicaid system out to private insurance companies like Anthem. Now I am getting letters from THEIR sub-subcontractors, refusing to refill prescriptions that I’ve had covered for years. And I can’t see one of my providers, her group practice was covered by my Anthem/Amerigroup MCO but she moved to a private practice. She submitted the paperwork a year ago, but can’t get approved by Amerigroup, so I haven’t had an office visit in a YEAR. I’ll have to find a new provider, or switch MCOs.
Iowans know how this Republican health plan is going to work. They’ll give states a block grant, the governors will call it “health care expansion” and use it to reduce services. People with preexisting conditions like me will have no coverage, because the Federal Government won’t require it. Everyone’s coverage will be reduced because they can’t afford it. People will die. And you’ll blame “Obamacare.” You already wrecked the ACA because the insurance companies don’t know what’s going to happen. I’m asking you to commit to FIXING the ACA. That’s what people want. It’s not what the Republican Party wants, but you are responsible to your constituents, not Chuck Grassley and Mitch McConnell. Please help us save our health care.
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And it Shud be Should, too.
Let us know how it goes…
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How about if the bill passes we collect money to put up monuments in every state to those who voted for the bill?
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Excellent idea.
You are surely aware that the party came to be dominated by pro corporate, pro Wall St types who were called “New Democrats” and that those “New Democrats” voted with the GOP on the most damaging policies of our lifetimes. This is what I’m referring to…
I am waiting and hoping the Medicaid Directors will call Graham and Cassidy( and the other white boys pictured with them ) dotards. What a great word !
Yes, I’m aware of the Democratic Leadership Council that became associated with the Clinton administration brand of moderation.
Those folks are mostly gone, however, as is the DLC. Under the previous administration we regulated the banks and the healthcare industry, raised taxes on the wealthy, enacted regulations to protect the environment and the interests of workers and retirees.
And we did it with a messy, noisome coalition that ranged from Bart Stupak and Ben Nelson to Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.
Moderate Democrats aren’t the problem.
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This is why we disagree. Could you explain to me why Kamala Harris didn’t seek to prosecute Steve Mnuchin when she was CA DA for illegally foreclosing on as many as 80,000 homes? Was it the donation she got from Mnuchin?
I ask because she’s starting to look like a strong candidate for 2020, and I need this answered before I could support her.
Yes, but if the republicans won’t be honest about the reason why they want to demolish Medicaid then the Democrats should. The Democrats should be parroting over and over and over, literally saturating the media and airwaves (on radio, interviews, editorials) with one simple bumper sticker message: The republicans want to destroy Medicaid in order to fund a tax cut for the wealthy. Next they’ll come for Medicare, and they will.
I don’t know enough about the Kamala Harris item you mentioned to speak on it.
I do see a number of people eager to criticize her for this. It could be more involved than you think, and I am unwilling to create a litmus test out of something I’m less than very familiar with. I know similar accusations were levelled against Senator Cory Booker – that he’s too close to bankers.
I am more concerned about the willingness of people to base their political opinions on optics, appeals to grievances and slogans such as “hippie punching.” Jimmy Carter, Mike Dukakis, Al Gore, John Kerry and Hillary Clinton all lost partly because a certain number of people were dissatisfied with candidates who, although they were competent, held good principles, and had an ability to rally a large number of people to effectuate positive and lasting change, were not blessed with an abundance of the charisma gene and also fell victim to “gotcha” attacks from certain quarters.
Just like you are doing with Kamala Harris, and just like Senator Sanders is doing with his quixotic single payer campaign. At a time when the Democrats are holding the line in complete opposition to ACA repeal, here comes Bernie with his latest litmus test which can only split Democrats. And just as I predicted, the Republicans are already proclaiming Bernie’s latest single-payer mission as evidence that the ACA is dead.
Again, I get you are mad, but too many demagoges have used our anger to undermine Democrats. In 2010, we went from 130 million votes to 89 million, which might have cost us the House. And I can’t help wondering if the efforts of Jane Hamscher and Ed Schultz and Adam Green and other might have had something to do with that suppressed turnout – Jane with her “Kill the Bill” mantra and Ed with his “don’t vote in 2010 and send the Democrats a message.”
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He knows more than the Orange Menace!
Mid term elections never get the same turnout as Presidential elections. It’s got nothing to do with what you’re talking about I don’t believe.
Frankly we need a litmus test. Cory Booker is a non starter for me. For me there are no questions about Booker, he is everything that I despise about the party. I don’t want to vote for someone I’m almost sure is going to sell me out but doing it because he/she is the lesser of 2 evils.
We don’t have time to fuck around with the same ole, same ole. This country is almost finished. Imagine the Fall of Rome with 10 times the population, with an incredible amount of weaponry out there, with zero national unity. What is coming is beyond the understanding of most of the people on this board.
Mark my words, when teh economy collapses you will be shocked at how quickly this all unravels, and how ugly it will be. We won’t survive it.
Bring up “lesser of two evils” and we are done with this conversation.
There will never be anyone pure enough to meet your standards, or hysterical enough to align with your sense of urgency.
And that’s the problem with people like you, darcy, georgeg and a few other regular commenters here. It’s not your principles; I think we all agree on those for the most part. It’s your tactics. You attack any sign of acccommodation or moderation, even those necessary to capture the broad public. You want it all, and you want it now. And you are so willing to jump on a bandwagon of outrage that you alienate the broad constituency that are your natural allies.
Just as we should not normalize the insanity of Trump, we should not normalize this tendency to smear moderate and left-of-center Democrats for some violation of assumed purity.
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Taking money from Wall St and Corporate swells to do their bidding isn’t a minor derogation of principle. I’m tired of “Democrats” who accommodate Wall St…they’ve gotten plenty of accommodation, including from, but not limited to, the last Democratic administration.
I won’t vote for a moderate Democrat. Yes another Republican will destroy the country, but that’s coming anyway with the current status quo, of which the current moderate Democratic party is part and parcel.
I won’t vote for collapse on the installment plan.