What's Wrong with this Picture?
"ObamaCare will explode and we will all get together and piece together a great healthcare plan for THE PEOPLE. Do not worry!"
Donald Trump tweet after getting made a Fool, again
From the republican president who has a republican party majority in the Congress and Senate.
"We were very close, it was a very tight margin. We had no Democrat support, no votes from the Democrats," Trump said Friday."
Sociopaths don't care what happens to people along the way, it's the destination that counts. The U.S. Sociopath in Chief who said he had a great health care plan to replace Obamacare, wants people to suffer first, then he'll get real about a health care plan he said he was already real about.
"When it explodes, which it will soon, if they got together with us and we got a real healthcare bill, I would be totally open to" working with Democrats, Trump said."
The Crusader against Fake News continued his Crusade.
"The president followed up his healthcare tweet Saturday with a promotion for a Fox News show."
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-tweets-we%e2%80%99ll-put-to...
Is this dude weird or what?
Comments
If we had real Democrats,
wonder what would happen if they pitched Trump single payer, Medicare for all. It would repeal ObamaCare and insure everyone with better and cheaper health care, which is his campaign promise. Oh, if we only had Democratic Party.
"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon
No, democrats won't do it.
This is a case of alternate facts...
Don't you love the new reality? It's like Bob Ross, the painter...it's your world...drop in a happy little war...you know because of all the terrorists...we have to!
After all Obama did it...ruined your healthcare.
It is the processed news selling you processed food...no mental calories.
Amazin' ain't it Al?
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
It is amazing. I suppose it's no different,
@dkmich Bernie Sanders said he
"Bernie Sanders said he would work with Trump"
a pathological liar" on Meet The Press one Sunday, so that will be interesting to see happen. Hope it's a transparent process, for the future. "How to negotiate with liars and win", go Bernie.
Bernie also called Trump "If Democrats decided to selflessly pursue ...
..only the best interests of Americans (without considering their own selfish, financial sycophantic rewards), as if they were purely public servants, then they would make a heck of a lot of noise about #medicareForAll, and thereby expose the cruelty of the Republicans, and they would win in landslides in the coming elections. Corruption and vagueness and moral weakness prevents that right thing from happening.
Beware the bullshit factories.
Democrats need to stop gloating, stop defending
Obamacare and stop proposing that Obamacare be tweaked.
This is the time to advocate for Medicare for All, but with sliding scale premiums for people not on Social Security. (Good for Conyers who is still filing HR 676.)
In 2009, I called and/or emailed the white house, my rep and my Senators at least once a week, just to beg for the strong public option that Obama/Biden had campaigned on, saying it was the only way to keep down costs. Some doctors and nurses lobbied for it. There were some demonstrations, too. So, I don't know if I'd urge doing that again. On the other hand, what do we have to lose by seeing if bombarding them will work?
It was Grade A chutzpah
Even though the Dems had nothing to do with stopping "Trumpcare", they still managed to miss the message from the townhall meetings. The people weren't saying that the ACA was the greatest thing since sliced bread. They were saying "Jesus Christ, it's all we have. Don't take that too." What the people want is single payer national health care. But that would interfere with what the Dems' overlords want.
"Just call me Hillbilly Dem(exit)."
-H/T to Wavey Davey
^^^^
Making the point that Americans are not represented at the Federal level.
"Taxation without representation is tyranny."
I learned that in school.
I could certainly be wrong here
A lot of wanderers in the U.S. political desert recognize that all the duopoly has to offer is a choice of mirages. Come, let us trudge towards empty expanse of sand #1, littered with the bleached bones of Deaniacs and Hope and Changers.
-- lotlizard
Why Bannon?
To save his Hairball?
Not exactly
I'm doing a lot of tea leaf reading here and absorbing info from my son. Bannon's an interesting character the closer you look at him.
A lot of wanderers in the U.S. political desert recognize that all the duopoly has to offer is a choice of mirages. Come, let us trudge towards empty expanse of sand #1, littered with the bleached bones of Deaniacs and Hope and Changers.
-- lotlizard
Could have been the Koch brothers.
It was, after all, the Freedom Caucus that stopped it--Teabaggers, astro-turfed by the Koch brothers. https://caucus99percent.com/content/obamacare-v-ryancare-and-corner-winner
That's what I thought, too, until a friend brought up
the Koch brothers. Now, I don't know what to think.
https://caucus99percent.com/content/obamacare-v-ryancare-and-corner-winner
It is time and there are many working on it.
Yeah, getting 200k out of about 711K, including kids,
would be quite the feat. Also, I am very cynical about whether calls and emails to the White House, Senators and Representatives do a thing. But, sure, go for it. Do you have any way of reaching all the individuals or households in your district?
Local cable access channel would be a way to
reach everyone in your district. Go for it!
I read these two comments in another discussion about
the health insurance games that both parties are playing.
And there's this one
We know that the democrats could have passed single payer if they wanted to because the republicans couldn't block it and the ACA passed without one republican voting for it. But the democrats let the republicans take out the good parts of it and told us it was because they wanted the republicans votes.
And while this play was happening, Obama was shaking the insurance and pharmaceutical company's hands after giving them everything that they wanted.
Kabuki theater at its finest. And a lot of people fell for it.
How many times have you seen people on DK defending it and telling us that they didn't have the votes to pass it?
Scientists are concerned that conspiracy theories may die out if they keep coming true at the current alarming rate.
Ya, neither party is going to go there, it's too big.
The only way is to somehow make it so the people can decide/demand it, and/or start at the state level and have it cascade.
SD, even Bernie said that MFA 'ain't gonna
happen, right now' on CNN, last night. Now, he did endorse lowering the eligibility age to 55 for enrollment in Medicare (short term), which I could certainly support. And, lowering drug prices--which is good.
IOW, he's pushing for improvements in the ACA, and advocating for states to develop and offer a 'public option.' I've never been in support of this idea, since I figure that it would turn out like Expanded Medicaid--most states wouldn't try to implement one; especially, the Red States.
IOW, I would want a public option to be a federal plan.
Mollie
"I think dogs are the most amazing creatures--they give unconditional love. For me, they are the role model for being alive."--Gilda Radner
Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.
Oh good lord! Read this statement on the democrats and the ACA
How the Hell can someone write this let alone believe it?
Obama himself was a leader, who consistently made it clear that he wasn't going to walk away!
For Dawg's sake, don't they remember all the emails, phone calls and petitions we signed to try to get the democrats to pay attention to us and at least pass a public option, which Obama promised that he wouldn't sign any legislation that didn't have that in it?
The saying that "people who don't learn from the past are doomed to repeat it" should be changed to "people need to remember the past correctly so that they don't repeat it"
One guess where this came from.
Scientists are concerned that conspiracy theories may die out if they keep coming true at the current alarming rate.
He campaigned on a strong public option, saying
it was the only way to keep costs down. He also campaigned on no individual mandate. He delivered the opposite of what he campaigned on.
Caitlyn Johnstone has a great article about Trumpcare
In one of her previous articles she wrote that Pelosi was for this bill but of course now that there are people who have written the legislation, she is now against it.
Ah, where would we be if the democrats quit keeping their powder dry and started using it?
H.R.676 - Expanded & Improved Medicare For All Act which has 72 signatures.
http://www.newslogue.com/debate/413/CaitlinJohnstone
Scientists are concerned that conspiracy theories may die out if they keep coming true at the current alarming rate.
I've received a few fundraising emails
I think folks are beginning to see the sad truth, which is that the Dems have no powder.
"Don't go back to sleep ... Don't go back to sleep ... Don't go back to sleep."
~Rumi
"If you want revolution, be it."
~Caitlin Johnstone
Unsolicited email, a.k.a. spam from DiFi today
I'm pretty pretty sure DiFi's office has never sent me anything except a reply template so huh! It was all about her votes. No no no no no. The Party of No! Resistance marketing 101. I have been NPP in California for a few years, Ds are ruining the joint if you ask me. So tell me what woulda been different with Clinton? Yes yes yes yes yes? On something slightly less eviler, because "We're Capitalists"? Oops, back to no. LOL! Maybe if they drop the crony parts, and get rid of the billionaire puppet strings, then maybe.
Peace & Love
@eyo
Unfortunately, the character traits and pathological perceptions would remain. These people are obviously not qualified for the public service - which qualification involves, for starters, upholding the rights of the people enshrined in the Constitution which they must swear to uphold in order to hold office at all for a freaking reason, that being the purpose of democratic government - serving and protecting the public interest against such as the greed-blinded, thieving and murderous predators to which the current Franken-crop of corporate politicians sell them to, by the pound of flesh.
Enough with The People being forced to hire and pay criminals to poison and drain them and their country, as well as other people's countries, democracies and lives, while acting for hostile outside interests.
It's literally killing the world, possibly within this decade and certainly finishing life's death-throes within the next few decades as essentials within the complex and interdependent global natural life-support system perish now for freaking short-term profit for the pathologically greedy few, and there's no time left to waste.
Life before expediency/profits, while anything still remains.
Edit: should have finished that first coffee before commenting, and then maybe I'd have got those missing two last letters into (ironically,) obvious-ly... sigh...
Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.
A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.
I got the blockquoted statement from a diary on DK
It was written by bbb who was writing about an article he read that says the same thing. Trumpcare went down in flames because the democrats wouldn't vote for it. When the real truth is that Ryan didn't have the votes for it to pass.
Some republicans said they didn't want people kicked off their insurance and others said that it didn't remove the subsidies that the ACA provides as well as not removing the mandates to buy it.
This is the article that he quoted from and it's mostly about how the republicans caved on repealing Obamacare.
Here's the link to the article so you don't have to get it from DK
GOP cave on Obamacare repeal is the biggest broken promise in political history. http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/gop-cave-on-obamacare-repeal-is-the-bi...
Scientists are concerned that conspiracy theories may die out if they keep coming true at the current alarming rate.
That's an absurdity--Democrats had no part in this. Guess
it could make for a decent fundraiser, though--with the right 'spin.'
Seriously, it blew up because the Administration went so far trying to accommodate the Freedom Caucus (40-strong), that the smaller Tuesday Group Caucus (about 25 members, give or take) decided in fair numbers that they wouldn't vote for the bill, either.
And that's partly because the Tuesday Group hopes to work with the corporatist Dems (from whom they are almost indistinguishable) to 'reform' the ACA--instead of repealing it. They've been all over Cable News talking about this, for days.
Mollie
"I think dogs are the most amazing creatures--they give unconditional love. For me, they are the role model for being alive."--Gilda Radner
Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.
Very possible.
https://caucus99percent.com/content/obamacare-v-ryancare-and-corner-winner
@Centaurea
They used it to powder their corporate-interest/billionaire-fattened butts, in their certainty that even Hillary's nukes could not possibly blow them to hell, just everyone else. Too bad for them that the Bernie-awakened people are looking at their
actionsantics now - and 'We Are not Amused'.In any democracy, the only legitimate 'ruler' is The Public Interest, which the various Public Offices within the Public Service exist specifically to serve. If we don't remind/replace them, who will?
Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.
A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.
They may still be powdering billionaire butts.
Two of them, anyway. https://caucus99percent.com/content/obamacare-v-ryancare-and-corner-winner
They all know better, even if the general public missed it.
https://caucus99percent.com/content/obamacare-v-ryancare-and-corner-winner
@snoopydawg
A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.
Hey d.o.
It's my understanding that Bernie is going to bring up
H.R.676 - Expanded & Improved Medicare For All Act which has 72 signatures this year and not before the next midterm elections. I can't find the article about his reasoning but it might have something to do with Pelosi not wanting any changes to how they do business (with the insurance companies) and that they don't want to change their platform.
I've recently read two articles that say the democrats would have rather have lost the election to Trump then let Bernie become president. Part of their reasoning is that people are going to be so disgusted with Trump and the republicans that they will come running back to the Democratic Party.
And that's why they sabotaged his campaign.
They still don't or refuse to understand that many people don't want anything to do with the DP because except for social issues there isn't any difference between the two parties.
Scientists are concerned that conspiracy theories may die out if they keep coming true at the current alarming rate.
If Medicare-for-all passes the system will collapse
Gee look what's been built since, the whole system relies on Windows monopoly (if Health Centers are an indication), out-of-the-box most insecure OS on the planet. Now, with your entire life's most personal data in digital format whee! Good thing our politicians are privacy experts, oh wait that's now part of the global "marketplace" too, the data bits and bytes. Great America, hooked on Windows Upgrade forever after.
Now I'm done ranting I still support it, incremental less-evil ftw. At least more people might suffer and die less often. Thanks.
Peace and Love
Medicare for all could have sliding scale premiums.
Seniors and disabled now paying a fixed premium could be grandfathered or not.
"could be grandfathered or not"
I remember trying to opt-out of Medicare entirely to increase my income but the phone rep talked me in to keeping it, so the amount is really cheap compared to everything else now. Every new enrollment period, the cost goes up. Even though I can't afford to see a doctor anymore, that small deduction coming out every month is comforting I don't why. Just in case? LOL, I already am a case.
Peace & Love
Why would a sliding scale mean no coverage?
You already pay premiums, the same premium as Warren Buffet pays, in fact. The point of a sliding scale is that people who can afford less pay less and people who can afford more pay more.
Because "That's the system."
mitigate for not having." In other words, NoSoup4U! That to me is the system we have, if talking about the system we want, then of course sliding scale sounds great. Here is the full quote from Jerry Brown, King Neolib of California:
thanks, was replying to the part I quoted from the comment "grandfathered in or not", it just made me think oh yeah that sounds like something a neoliberal would ""Sounds like something someone says who is constantly trying to cover up for their corporatism." Is my experience watching California go public/private on everything good over the decades, it has driven me quite mad. Jimmy Dore: Bernie Schools Pelosi On How To Talk Healthcare
Mad to the point I can imagine them trading away my current benefits for zero, as "mitigation" for saving the next rung up. Disposable is how it seems, that's all. The DiFi spam I got was sent from outreach.senate.gov, lots of folks are drinking Bernie's kool-aid. My cynicism says implementing MFA through the currently corrupt system ain't gonna work, but go on. Incremental progress ftw.
Peace & Love
I'm talking about the system we want.
Neolibs would not enact Medicare with a sliding scale because they would not enact Medicare for all in any shape or form.
@snoopydawg
Exactly! If private and therefore 'unaccountable' private parties can determine which 'unaccountable' private selections are permitted by them to form government - especially when specifically to act against the public interest in order to freely poison, drain and dispossess them for the empowering and profiteering of outside hostile interests - that flies against every principle of democracy, where The People are intended to form legitimate democratic government representing and protecting the public interest. They are subverting democratic government.
Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.
A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.
@snoopydawg
Hah, the other day I found a Dem email in my inbox, telling me to panic (and, I expect, donate) harder because there was proof that (some variation of) the Russians!!!!! collaborated!!!! with Trump!!!!!
Unfortunately, I was in such a hurry to delete the cursed thing before it bred and which provided no option to unsubscribe, although I could block it and did so just as I realized that I'd missed the opportunity to clear any others out with it, as I just then noticed the option. Can't recall her name to search and remove them and lack the energy anyway. But they really seem to expect that the Big Lie works on enough of the more heavily dis-informed to spread; sure hope they're wrong and that too many are aware now - and increasingly outraged at the insult to everyone's intelligence - for that to happen...
Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.
A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.
Thanks for posting the Hayes video, DO. The main
difference in his conversation on MSNBC versus CNN, (both on Friday evening) is that Bernie was pressed considerably more on CNN, hence, he gave more detail, as I outlined above.
I planned to post the CNN video at EB next week. I'll go ahead and post the Hayes video, as well. Between the two, folks will probably get a decent idea of what Bernie believes is doable.
I hope somebody does something soon--I'm worried that DT will strike a 'deal' with corporatist Dems, which will include the Copper Plans that Senate Dems were pushing in 2014, and the expansion of HSAs that were pushed in Ryan's plan that just failed. (In the real world, the two go hand-and-hand.)
Frankly, I think that the last thing we need is for Dems to work a 'deal' with the Administration to reform the ACA. From all that I've read, I'm sure that it would be just as Boehner said weeks ago, ". . . wrapped in a more conservative box."
Everything Bernie talked about, I could support--except for the state-based 'public options.' IIRC, a public option even failed in Vermont. (We aren't Canada with a handful of provinces, so it's just not practical, IMO.)
Thanks for posting this essay, Al. I hope by May to be posting about the Bowles-Simpson recommendations--both those already passed, and those still hanging out there [for corporatists to try to legislate].
IMO, we need to follow any attempts to form a bipartisan consensus, very, very closely. I still suspect (considering DT's past stances on health care, which are to the left of Repubs, in general) that this entire exercise may have been a bit of Kabuki, so that DT could come back and suggest that it's time for them to work together, before the ACA implodes--which it's already doing in some states.
And, I shudder to think what would have to be given up in order to satisfy the Freedom Caucus, etc., having watched the negotiations the past couple of weeks.
Mollie
"I think dogs are the most amazing creatures--they give unconditional love. For me, they are the role model for being alive."--Gilda Radner
Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.
I've been marking all DCCC emails as junk
which, on my browser, usually means the sender and topic no longer appear. But DCCC must have a special arrangement, because whether the sender is identified as Pelosi, Obama, or a staffer, if the return address is DCCC the mails continue to show up. This has been going on for days and I don't like the ethics of it.
NeumanCare reminder, as in Alfred E.
Relax bigly. Must laugh because that is blatantly scary. C'mon people now.
http://www.madmagazine.com/blog/2012/12/19/totally-mad-excerpt-who-is-alfred-e-neuman
Thanks
Let me borrow Lindsay Graham's fainting couch for a minute:
"But what about those poor, poor insurance executives? They suffer from affluenza and NEEEEED those private jets, helicopters and $20 million dollar salaries! How will they survive if they can't delay and deny legitimate claims? Oh the humanity!"
The real SparkyGump has passed. It was an honor being your human.