"After seven years of talking about the same thing over and over again, you’d think the Republicans would have been able to come up with a better plan than this… "
Respectfully, Senator Schumer, actually I wouldn’t.
Not bad, Chuck, yet one’s heart cannot help yearning for “Give 'em Hell Harry” these days.
Republicans: “This bill is not Obamacare. Therefore it is, by definition, great.”
“…President Donald Trump made a lot of promises…”
–coffee spray–
It’s a good start but Dem Senators have to get MUCH more specific for the general public. This is still a little too wordy.
“It’s garbage because it doesn’t cover X”
“Under this terrible plan, people would have to pay for Y.”
Make sure that low info consumers really get basic aspects of it.
“They’re rushing it through because it’s very hard to defend what they have done, and the longer it’s out there, the harder it’s going to be for their colleagues, Republicans, to vote for it. Lawmakers will be voting blind,” Schumer said.
That’s been the intent since November. Ryan just wants to move, he knows he can’t sell the details to his splintered caucus. And, like Trump will be using this bill as a distraction from the Russian scandals, Ryan will use the Russian scandals as a distraction from any discussion of health care.
The Senate though, is going to be the problem. McConnell doesn’t have the votes to get it through Reconciliation, let alone the more normal legislative route. And to get those votes, he is going to have to make changes that will forbid the Reconciliation route. Which means even more votes are needed, which means more changes are needed. And at some point in there, Trump will be throwing them all under the bus.
all the issues Chuck is raising are the rethug principals (as if they had any) and the give backs to the Krotch brothers etc.
Only 10s. And a flat chested girl can never be a 10.
Can it be put thru on reconciliation of the CBO doesn’t score it?
For that they are going to need it scored.
Schumer saying “It costs more and delivers less” is much more easily dismissed than, “The CBO says it costs more and delivers less”. And of course once the CBO score is out, the serious policy wonks will start weighing in. All of which are going to make it much more difficult to pass.
And that is why Ryan is moving so rapidly. He wants this voted on and over to the Senate before its been scored or reviewed in depth. Though I don’t right now see how he intends to get it passed in the Senate. A victory lap for Ryan in the House seems like a lot of effort for patting yourself on the back for doing something that’s been done over 50 times before…voting to repeal Obamacare and then watching it die in the Senate.
No. Because the Reconciliation path requires that it be at least revenue neutral if not deficit reducing. And the only way that can be determined is via the CBO.
McConnell is a slippery weasel though…I am sort of afraid he has some wild ass procedure in mind.
Breathtakingly irresponsible sounds like everything Republians touch. ThaT and corrupt.
Note to Schumer’s staff: please write Chuck a shorter, sweeter script. How about:
“Trump promised insurance for everybody that would be better and cheaper. That was a con and a lie. Lie number one: TrumpCare will not cover everyone because it will be too expensive for millions of Americans currently on healthcare. Lie number two: it will not be better. It will be worse. That’s right: even if you can afford it, it will be almost worthless. It’s fake healthcare, just like Trump University was a fake university. Lie number three: It will not be cheaper. It will be much more expensive. You can’t take $600 billion out of healthcare and say that it will be cheaper. It won’t be. It will be unaffordable for millions of Americans. The whole thing is a GOP con. And as usual, the conmen will benefit. And the con is worth $600 billion to the rich who will be getting tax cuts.”
Glad to see Schumer’s branding it in advance. “Trumpcare.” It needs to be called that early and often.
No CBO score, no hearings, just jam it through.
I hate stupid words like “irresponsible.” How about “deadly?” Or “cruel?” Or a “bill that will kill Americans?”
Horrible.
And no doubt plenty of Republicans in the Senate know that it’s hopeless, and are gaming out ways to advance themselves to the detriment of any real repeal effort. Rand Paul gets to say the repeal doesn’t go far enough which effectively keeps Obamacare alive for all the Kentuckians who rely on it. The same goes for others throughout Appalachia where the Medicaid expansion has been an enormous boon.
And, of course, there’s Ted Cruz, who has never for a single second had any intent besides bomb-throwing and self-aggrandizement.
(That said, I’m still worried. Republicans are masters of tough talk followed by slinking back into the shadows, even on issues as key as Russia.)
@ralph_vonholst It’s the NC GOP way: jam that square peg through the round hole as fast as you can in the dead of night.
Good. Drive a wedge between the Orange Menace and his party. The OM promised better care - for everybody - for less money. That’s not available in this “wonderful plan,” as he described it before even reading the Cliffs Notes.