Discussion: Small Bipartisan Group Of Senators Meet To Discuss Health Care Policy

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No, Democrats, no. Just stop. I donā€™t care if these people are your friends. Stop.

When Republicans start to question Trumpā€™s firing of Comey or Russian ties, itā€™s always about the Republican being courageous or starting to stand up. Itā€™s never ā€œbipartisanā€ in that these Republicans are joining the Democrats in condemning Trump. Itā€™s always the GOP acting on their own.

But if one single Democrat gets in a room with the GOP to discuss something the GOP wants to discuss, it becomes ā€œbipartisan discussionsā€ which are ā€“ solely because they are ā€œbipartisanā€ ā€“ considered reasonable and right and serious.

Dems have been screwed by this hypocrisy time and time again. The GOP is not going to give you a reasonable solution. They are going to do what they want, then say, ā€œWell, it was a bipartisan groupā€ and be hailed as patriotic statesmen.

An apropos example is the Affordable Care Act negotiations which had Obama constantly reaching out to the GOP, constantly meeting with Collins and Snowe and the rest of the ā€œreasonableā€ GOP. Obama cut out progressive features and added what the GOP Senators asked, and then not one GOPer voted for it. Despite getting what they wanted, it was never called bipartisan. It was always the Democratsā€™ plan they forced down Americaā€™s throat.

Just ā€¦ stop.

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Susan Collins, the somewhat aged comfort girl of the GOP.

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Collins has a voting record here.

Anything sheā€™s for is guaranteed to be worse than Obamacare.

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Hey!

Democratic Senators!

WAY MORE IMPORTANT THING GOING ON RIGHT NOW!!!

Stop working with republicans until they start actually addressing the really fucked up Russia troubles.

And by actually addressing, I mean drawing up articles of impeachment.

Oh and after they do thatā€¦ tell them to blow their healthcare ideas out their ass.

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A truly ā€œbipartisanā€ plan is a unicorn. And if it ever did appear, it would never get through the House while the GOP controls it.

Also, too, ā€œrepealā€ is not an option in a real bipartisan plan. And Medicaid must not be touched. Healthcare is a right, not a privilege.

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Can the phrase ā€œmoderate republicanā€ please be retiredā€¦
Itā€™s gotta be the most oxymoronic oxymoron aroundā€¦

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Iā€™m not sure I mind that Manchin et al are going into a room to discuss. Thereā€™s no way that he, Donnelly and Heitkamp are going to be the ones advocating the most confrontation with the GOP.

Based on this 538.com barometer, the three are leaning further left in the context to their own statesā€™ politics than almost all other senators: https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/congress-trump-score/

Misinformed as many of his constituents may be, Iā€™m sure they want him to be open to bipartisanship. What matters is where he finally lands on this and other issues. And that Tweet about what he said actually sounded pretty good: ā€œMANCHIN after leaving bipartisan health meeting tonite: ā€˜There is no Plan B.ā€™ Wonā€™t work with GOP if they start at repeal.ā€

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Miss U.S.A. apparently disagrees with you.

Miss USA argued that health care is ā€œa privilegeā€ for working people and that she rejected ā€œdie-hardā€ views of feminism.

Kara McCullough, a physical scientist at the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission, was asked Sunday during the Las Vegas pageantā€™s question-and-answer section if ā€œaffordable health care for all US citizens is a right or a privilege.ā€

ā€œIā€™m definitely going to say itā€™s a privilege,ā€ the 25-year-old said. ā€œAs a government employee, I am granted health care and I see first-hand that for one to have health care, you have to have jobs.ā€

This once again proves that while beauty may be skin-deep, stupid cuts clear to the bone.

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That was perfect. Sometimes I need a good slap to be reminded of the history of health care legislation even though I thought at the time the ACA legislation was a Rube Goldberg invention held together by duct tape. We might have single payer right now if a small handful of Republicans, along with Democrats, had supported health care for all back in 2009-10. Nelson and Lieberman would not have been a problem. And Obama might not have given up so fast on single payer. Republicans continue to hold back our futures far more than Americans realize. Weā€™re reliving the same battle again, meaning weā€™re not moving forward, with the potential for returning to health care, the way it use to be. So yea, FU Collins.

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Absolutely. The Republican POTUS has created a constitutional crisis, and Republican legislators have refused to confront it or even accept it. No further business should be undertaken until the crisis is resolved, preferably by removing Trump from office, and Pence as well, since I suspect he is implicated up to his eyeballs.

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Collins is a snake. Donā€™t trust her!!

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I donā€™t think thereā€™s anything to lose by seeing if a deal can be worked out with a small group, so long as the Democrats involved adhere to the rule that this needs to be a ā€œfixā€ or improvement of Obamacare where it needs fixing. If nothing comes of this, then everyone will have wasted time, which the Senate seems to have plenty of.

On the other hand, itā€™s something of a political victory if a small bipartisan group comes up with something that is then rejected by the Republican Majority in the Senate or by the House.

I donā€™t think the Democrats should be in the position of appearing to refuse to make every effort to preserve and fix Obamacare.

Thereā€™s a great deal of pressure on some of the GOP Senators to preserve the benefits of Obamacare. Letā€™s see if that can lead to progress.

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[quote=ā€œstradivarius50t3, post:10, topic:55890ā€]
This once again proves that while beauty may be skin-deep, stupid cuts clear to the bone.
[/quote]And that bone can be extremely dense.

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Someone should ask her why even basic heath care is a ā€œprivilegeā€ for working people, and yet itā€™s a ā€œrightā€ even for the worst criminals in our prisons. Itā€™s a right for Charles Manson or Jeffrey Dahlmer ā€“ but Janet Jones working her ass off at two or three low-wage jobs can go pound sand?

Please just go away Miss McCullough, you fatuous twit.

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I agree - there are a lot of useful potential fixes for the ACA that a sensible Congress should pass in a rational world. If Democrats actually negotiated something like that ā€“ always prepared to jump out if it started down the ā€œrepeal/replaceā€ slope ā€“ and it were to pass the Senate, it would be obliterated in the House and be Exhibit A for why 40+ Republican congresscritters need to be replaced in 2018. It all comes down to the Dems who are engaged being willing to jump out if it goes south, and Manchinā€™s comment is encouraging.

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Sheā€™s an idiot. Sheā€™s a 25 year old General Schedule physical scientist. She has a BSc in Chemistry. Iā€™m going to guess (on the basis of her age) that sheā€™s a GS-7 glass-washer.

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Susan Collins is one of the most ineffective panderers of the GOP. Hey Maine, time to take her back.

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Who wants to kill off 24 million Americans with kindnessā€¦

So nice to see that she won the All American Summarize Ayn Rand Competition.

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