Discussion: Dems Say They'll Slow Senate Work Over Secretive GOP Health Care Bill

I wouldn’t have thought that Congress moving slower was even possible under the laws of physics…

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Some senator ought to insert an amendment to reduce or strip out all Black Lung benefits from this so called health care bill. McConnell’s head would spin like a top.

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Even if the Democrats manage to draw attention to and get media coverage of the GOP’s undemocratic tactics, that will not stop McConnell from holding a vote. He has already made the decision that the voting public does not care about process so the GOP majorities will not suffer any electoral consequences, a theory he tested with his unprecedented refusal to consider the Garland nomination. GOP voters have no problem with things being rammed down their throats so long as the rammer is not a black Democrat.

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H a v e y o u e v a h s e e n s a p f l o w f r o m a t r e e ?

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McConnell gets to approve what amendments, if any, are allowed for the bill. That’s the whole point of doing it in secret, under reconciliation rules, and under a rule that allows him to bring the bill to the floor and call for an immediate vote.

Gotta cut taxes on the rich somehow.

Btw, if they’re going to make the cuts to medicaid less draconian, that means they’re going to have to extract a similar amount of money from some other constituency, or else reduce the volume of tax cuts (ha).

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They should update this classic. Yertle the Turtle and Grampy McCain would fit right in…

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Good.

I love how Republicans present their plan as greater choice.

Here’s the gotcha.

A business won’t reveal the details of their health benefit until you’re hired. So you can’t know what you’re losing until you lose it, like coverage for a life-long condition.

More choice. That’s a laugh. More choice for businesses to stick it to their employees.

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I don’t think he can get the 50 votes. They may be able to sneak past the filibuster rules, but I have to believe there are at least 3 GOP senators who want to be employed after 2018.

This is why the Georgia special election is going to matter. If the Dems steal that seat, it’ll be a shot across the bow at just the right moment. The bill is already incredibly unpopular nationwide. The fact that it’s still moving forward is a testament to how unafraid of the voters the GOP feels. When a safely GOP seat swings blue, it may just put the fear of god into those GOP members banking on their “base” saving them.

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The only slower place in the Universe other than the US Senate is crossing the event horizon of a black hole. From a “laws of physics” perspective.

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You can’t add amendments to a bill that (a) hasn’t been written and (b) you’re not allowed to see. The GOP has no incentive to do this and Democrats have no opportunity.

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I think McConnell knows it can’t get 50 votes so he’s calling a vote just to get it over with and move on.

Since the Dems haven’t seen the bill, I think they should feel free to pretend they have and to start lying about it. I mean, I heard that to secure the vote of one senate republican, they added funding to support research into gun violence, which we all know is the first step in gun grabbing.

This is what really gripes my cookies:

The totalitarianism of rural states.

Republicans have outsourced the entire deliberation to 13 male senators from 10 states. The Senate GOP advantage in small states is reflected in the working group, and then compounded by the fact that it includes both senators from Wyoming and Utah. The senators who have been looped into the process represent less than one quarter of the nation’s population. If you hail from either of the coasts, your interests are being safeguarded by zero of the senators endeavoring to overhaul the U.S. health care system.

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In the old days, when unions had power, the cry would be, “Hit the bricks!” Let Democratic senators hit the bricks, and keep hitting them, tying up the Senate over absolutely everything (even “must pass” legislation) until Republicans cry uncle.

Maybe we’ll get to see him filibuster his own bill again…

Or the Pitch Drop Experiment.

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