Thursday, September 21, 2017

Barack Obama slams Republicans for trying to once again repeal Obamacare. Update!

Courtesy of Yahoo News:  

Former President Barack Obama mocked Republicans in a speech on Wednesday for repeated efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act, his signature health care law also known as Obamacare. 

“The legislation that we passed was full of things that still needed to be fixed,” Obama said at an event hosted by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in New York City.

“It wasn’t perfect, but it was better,” he continued. “And when I see people trying to undo that progress for the 50th or 60th time with bills that would raise costs or reduce coverage or roll back protections for older Americans or people with preexisting conditions — the cancer survivor, the expecting mom or the child with autism or asthma, for whom coverage would once again be unattainable — it is aggravating.”

“All of this being done without any demonstrable economic or actuarial or plain common sense rationale, it frustrates,” Obama said. “It’s certainly frustrating to have to mobilize every couple of months to keep our leaders from inflicting real human suffering on our constituents.” 

Obama said Wednesday that the people who worked on drafting the Affordable Care Act weren’t just politicians and “policy wonks” but parents “who had the experience of a sick child or crushing medical bills that threatened to bankrupt them.” 

“And for the first time, more than 90 percent of Americans know the security of health insurance,” he said. “Paying more for insurance or being denied insurance because of a preexisting condition or because you are a woman, that’s not a thing anymore. We got rid of that and people are alive today because of it, and that’s progress.”

“Those of you who live in countries that already have universal health care are trying to figure out what’s the controversy here,” he said. “I am too.”

I think that these are the strongest statements that Obama has made on this topic so far, but I hope they are only the beginning because I think he really needs to fight to protect the progress he made while in office, or it will be erased for good.

The good news for him is the the Left has been mobilized: 

The liberal activists roused into the streets by President Donald Trump are revving up for one last campaign to save Obamacare. 

The sudden resurgence of Republicans’ repeal push appeared to catch Democrats and their base by surprise. But ahead of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s plans to vote next week on a new bill to dismantle the health law, the Democratic grass roots is on what one leading activist called “full war footing.”

From a new six-figure advertising campaign by the pro-Obamacare group Save My Care to a flurry of rallies planned on the ground, the left is throwing everything it can at the new repeal bill from Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.).

 "The reality is that the progressive coalition has never been more unified or determined than they are right now,” Organizing for Action spokesman Jesse Lehrich said in an interview.

Well that is good news indeed.

If you yourself have not yet joined the fight then please try to find local groups to join, or at the very least send those emails and make those phone calls to Senators, both Republican and Democrat, and tell them how important Obamacare is to you and your family.

Somebody the other day mentioned that they did not think phone calls worked, but the reports from the Senate are that they are currently overwhelmed with calls, and Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins both mentioned that phone calls and emails from their constituents helped to shape their votes last time around.

So yes, your voice does make a difference.

Update: It appears the Republicans are working hard to buy Lisa Murkowski's vote:

A Republican Senate aide told Independent Journal Review Thursday that Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.) are attempting to buy Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski's support through new changes to their controversial Obamacare repeal proposal before an expected vote next week. 

According to the aide, here is a summary of what the new draft of the bill entails: 

"This draft includes 3 separate provisions benefitting Alaska.
  1. Alaska (along with Hawaii) will continue to receive Obamacare’s premium tax credits while they are repealed for all other states. It appears this exemption will not affect Alaska receiving its state allotment under the new block grant in addition to the premium tax credits. 
  2. Delays implementation of the Medicaid per capita caps for Alaska and Hawaii for years in which the policy would reduce their funding below what they would have received in 2020 plus CPI-M [Consumer Price Index for Medical Care].
  3.  Provides for an increased federal Medicaid matching rate (FMAP) for both Alaska and Hawaii." 
This is repugnant as it would have Alaska receive special treatment while other states do without.

The ACA was set up to benefit ALL Americans not simply those living in blue states, Murkowski cannot think this is a good idea.

Alaskans are known for their generosity, to do this would be undermine our very identity.

25 comments:

  1. Jesse, do you have a sense of how your fellow Alaskans feel about this "bribe". Ms. Murkowski is a strong role model, even for a Californian like me.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am not sure how many Alaskans even know about this bribe so far, so I cannot really weight their feelings.

      But I do know there was a very strong positive reaction the last time she voted no on Trumpcare, and there were some attempts to buy her off that time as well.

      Delete
  2. Anonymous12:05 PM

    Lisa Murkowski will lose her next reelection if she buys into this bullshit. Alaskans are not stupid and will remember when it comes voting time. I've never voted for the woman - just have never trusted her and I STILL don't!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree with this.

      I have said for awhile now that Murkowski is just about bullet proof up here and will probably remain in the Senate until she chooses to retire.

      The only thing I can see changing that would be to vote for this Graham-Cassidy bill.

      Delete
  3. Anonymous12:07 PM

    And what makes Alaska and Hawaii so special? Why not NM? I hate Republicans

    ReplyDelete
  4. It's not the Demos that need to be pushed. Nothing they can do. Efforts last time came down to one vote; it was that close. I only hope that 3 Republicans vote no or it's over

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous12:27 PM

    From Mazie Hirono: Hawaii will not succumb to ham-fisted #GrahamCassidy divide and conquer tactics. We will not throw the rest of the country under the bus.

    I hope Alaska agrees.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous12:33 PM

    Hearing Murkowski is taking the deal

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous1:35 PM

      prove it ..

      Delete
    2. Anonymous1:37 PM

      Fuck her if she does. She will NOT be reelected in Alaska if she goes along w/the other rancid Republicans in Congress.

      Delete
  7. Anonymous12:40 PM

    https://www.facebook.com/OFA/photos/a.203787266478791.1073741831.203330919857759/732405020283677/?type=3&theater

    "TOMORROW: Join Americans for Responsible Solutions, Captain Mark Kelly, Valerie Jarrett, and us for a conversation about the SHARE Act—a bill in Congress that would allow anyone to buy a gun silencer without so much as a background check."

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous3:10 PM

      http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/09/the-latest-push-to-deregulate-guns-could-make-gang-style-hits-easier/

      "A recent memo from the Law Enforcement Coalition for Common Sense, signed by more than a dozen current and former law enforcement leaders, argues that deregulating silencers could have “devastating effects” on public safety and the safety of law enforcement officers. “Silencers mask the sound of a gun, changing the sound into one not easily recognized as gunfire,” the memo says. “As a result,
      A$$assination-style murders become easier..."

      Delete
  8. Is Manchin in WV still a "no" vote?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wouldn't be surprised if that DINO fuck took a deal. He's thrown Democrats and his own people under the bus before.

      Delete
  9. Anonymous12:49 PM

    GOOD GOD "GMO's> Pimpin your Kid>
    Pi$$ON>U$e my daughter"

    http://www.rawstory.com/2017/09/alex-jones-blames-jimmy-kimmel-and-his-wife-for-their-sons-birth-defect-in-unhinged-rant/

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous12:54 PM

    https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/health/2017/06/23/fact-check-trumps-claim-about-the-catastrophe-of-obamacare-premiums-increasing-in-alaska/

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous2:23 PM

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/jimmy-kimmel-obamacare-bill-cassidy_us_59c3388ee4b0c90504fb75f3?ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009

    "“Could it be, Sen. Cassidy, that the problem is that I do understand and you got caught with your G-O-Penis out?”"

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous2:58 PM

    CNN$
    CNN wants to create drama and fireworks. Bernie Sanders is a personality, so CNN doesn’t care if his presence is going to allow Republicans to hold an imaginary debate of Trumpcare vs. Berniecare.

    It is all about creating interesting TV. Republicans can’t win a fight against Obamacare, but they know that they will win if the discussion is turned to a question of capitalism against socialism."

    http://www.politicususa.com/2017/09/21/cnn-hold-debate-republicans-kill-obamacare.html

    FUCK!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anonymous3:02 PM

    O CANADA!
    https://www.reuters.com/article/us-un-assembly-canada/trudeau-confronts-canadas-failure-of-indigenous-people-in-u-n-speech-idUSKCN1BW2KL

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous3:33 PM

    OT/'Eight months after a crowd of protesters ran him off campus, conservative provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos is back, organizing a four-day event event dubbed “Free Speech Week” on Berkeley’s campus Sept. 24-27. The event’s website has featured Ann Coulter, Steve Bannon, noted anti-Islam crusader Pam Geller, and Blackwater founder Erik Prince. Other slated speakers range from conspiracy theorists to a right-wing, Banksy-like street artist. The four days’ themes:
    #1“Feminism Awareness Day”, SEPT 24-27+
    "“We are showing up the hypocrisy of Berkeley, which prides itself on being the home of the ‘free speech movement,’” Geller said in an email to VICE News. “Now we know they meant free speech only for the left. If people are upset about it, it is because they are insecure authoritarians who aren’t intelligent enough to deal rationally with dissenting ideas.”“I think there is a renewed effort by provocateurs on the right to claim the mantle of free speech defenders, and position themselves as free speech martyrs,” said Ben Wizner, director of the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project. “Nothing pleases them more and galvanizes their supporters more than when they can present themselves as victims of a liberal or left-wing establishment.”
    " “Universities need to embrace ideological diversity as much as they embrace demographic diversity. What they’re doing instead is killing the ability for students to learn critical analysis of positions they disagree with.”"students on campus who are using it in part to help launch a conservative newspaper, the Berkeley Patriot."
    "Besides offering alternatives to “Free Speech Week,” there isn’t a whole lot that Nason and his peers can do to prevent “hate speech,” no matter how offensive they find it."“Whether it’s the KKK, actual Nazis, no matter how terrible these people are, the second you create a barrier and say you can’t speak, you’re too offensive, they only grow strong,” Jandhyala said. “They only benefit from that.”

    https://news.vice.com/story/milos-free-speech-week-hopes-to-troll-berkeleys-insecure-liberals

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They're hoping and praying protesters show up and get violent.

      Delete
  15. Anonymous3:48 PM

    "“That the Koch brothers were very involved."

    http://www.rawstory.com/2017/09/chuck-todd-blames-obama-for-us-race-problems-by-claiming-eric-holder-is-same-as-jeff-sessions/

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous4:06 PM

    Hey this is about citizen united-capitalism-communist vs Humanity-decency-socialism. It is about we the people-consumerism or corporations for profit. We must have the same healthcare coverage as congress and all of our paid servants. We the people pay taxes for our benefits. We the people pay for the benefits of our servants. We the people want to socialize our healthcare system. We want to own our healthcare facilities, our research facilities, our pharmacies. We want all USA citizens in good physical health, mental health and dental health. Young, Old all Americans will never worry of healthcare in America. Yes we can do it and yes we will. Healthcare, Education and Basics to pursue happiness in America must not be for sale or profit.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous9:11 PM

    Sarah Palin barnstorms Alabama: ‘Roy Moore was deplorable before it was cool to be deplorable’

    ...“Judge Roy Moore was deplorable before it was cool to be deplorable!” Palin said of the insurgent Republican who was twice suspended as Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court.

    Moore is facing interim Sen. Luther Strange, who was appointed by Republican Governor Robert Bently to serve until September 26 special election for the US Senate seat vacated when Jeff Sessions was confirmed as Attorney General.

    “I don’t think there’s a cooler nickname than ‘The 10 Commandments Judge,'” Palin noted, referencing the 2003 controversy that resulted in Moore being removed from office by the Alabama Court of the Judiciary. Moore was suspended as Chief Judge in 2016 and resigned in April while announcing he would be running in the special election.

    President Donald Trump weighed heavily upon the rally, which occured immediately after Moore offered lots of red meat in a televised debate.

    “We voted for a big beautiful wall and not more amnesty deals,” Palin said.

    http://www.rawstory.com/2017/09/sarah-palin-barnstorms-alabama-roy-moore-was-deplorable-before-it-was-cool-to-be-deplorable/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Since Roy Moore is likely to win, one can only hope that even in red Alabama they will vote for Doug Jones over this piece of crap.

      Delete

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