US Politics: Lock Him Up!

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

TRIPLE POST TIME! 

Has it been discussed much (these threads are moving too fast) that four Republican senators have said they will not support the Republican healthcare overall? That pretty much means it's already DOA since it's unlikely that two Democrats will support it. 

[Manhole Eunuchsbane]

2 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said:

TRIPLE POST TIME! 

Has it been discussed much (these threads are moving too fast) that four Republican senators have said they will not support the Republican healthcare overall? That pretty much means it's already DOA since it's unlikely that two Democrats will support it. 

*Fingers crossed*

 

/Fucking Ryancare. What a joke.

[DMC]

4 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said:

TRIPLE POST TIME! 

Has it been discussed much (these threads are moving too fast) that four Republican senators have said they will not support the Republican healthcare overall? That pretty much means it's already DOA since it's unlikely that two Democrats will support it. 

Yes!  I mentioned it last night on page....14?  Haven't looked at the thread all day and feel your pain.  Anyway - it seems clear at least Portman and Murkowski will have a very hard time voting for the current version due to dropping the Medicaid expansion.  And I don't see Collins voting for this shit either based solely on principle.  It still needs to be marked up in two committees, so we'll see.

[Fragile Bird]

48 minutes ago, Swordfish said:

Do you have links to this?  i haven't seen it.

Sean Spicer for one. He kept saying the other day it's been reported by the media, the Guardian, the BBC, the NYT (wrong there) and 45 brought it up so it would be investigated by the appropriate House and Senate committees.

And Huckabee's daughter, Sarah, was on and on about it on CNN the other night.

[Mexal]

In a rare show of bipartisanship, all 100 Senators signed a letter asking the Trump Administration to reach out to JCC's and offer help. Don't see this too often.

Quote

In a letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly and FBI Director James Comey, the senators note “at least 98 incidents” of bomb threats against JCCs and Jewish schools, as well as reported vandalism of Jewish cemeteries in Missouri and Philadelphia.

“We are concerned that the number of incidents is accelerating and failure to address and deter these threats will place innocent people at risk and threaten the financial viability of JCCs, many of which are institutions in their communities,” wrote the senators, including Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).

In their letter, an advance copy of which was obtained by Politico, the senators urge that the Trump administration reach out to JCCs, schools, temples and other local centers “regarding victim assistance, grant opportunities or other federal assistance that may be available to enhance security measures and improve preparedness.”

 

[Dr. Pepper]

30 minutes ago, denstorebog said:

What's the scuttlebutt on Muslim Ban 2.0? It's kinda interesting that this was *the* centerpiece of the resistance a month ago, but now it doesn't seem to be receiving a lot of attention or, well, resistance. Obviously, avoiding attention was the point of the scaled-back version and the more orderly rollout. I see that ACLU and some attorney generals are signaling an intention to challenge it, but what's your take? Have people moved on to other resistance issues, and if so, will this one pass? Or are they just waiting for someone to take the lead on checking and balancing the Trump administration again?

There are protests planned all across the country this week or early next week.  The resistance isn't going to be as large as it was in the first week or two, but it's still there.  

[Zorral]

7 minutes ago, Fragile Bird said:

Sean Spicer for one. He kept saying the other day it's been reported by the media, the Guardian, the BBC, the NYT (wrong there) and 45 brought it up so it would be investigated by the appropriate House and Senate committees.

And Huckabee's daughter, Sarah, was on and on about it on CNN the other night.

Alex Jones all the time. He has more followers than either Fox or Breitbart.  He's howling howling howling just like Barnwell Rhett did in South Carolina in 1859.  "It's war0" he's screeching, by the media and all the sorts like us in collusion with Russian and China to 'get' himself, Bannon, all the Trumps, etc. etc. etc. and all of YOU little people who love the Constitution like me -- and Obama is orchestrating all of it!"  Soft Coup, Dark Government, etc. etc. etc.  He's a howling howler.

 

[Manhole Eunuchsbane]

4 minutes ago, Zorral said:

Alex Jones all the time. He has more followers than either Fox or Breitbart.  He's howling howling howling just like Barnwell Rhett did in South Carolina in 1859.  "It's war0" he's screeching, by the media and all the sorts like us in collusion with Russian and China to 'get' himself, Bannon, all the Trumps, etc. etc. etc. and all of YOU little people who love the Constitution like me -- and Obama is orchestrating all of it!"  Soft Coup, Dark Government, etc. etc. etc.  He's a howling howler.

That guy is in serious need of medication. Fucking rabid dog.

[denstorebog]

8 minutes ago, Manhole Eunuchsbane said:

Alex Jones all the time. He has more followers than either Fox or Breitbart.

Are you shitting me? I always thought Infowars was fringe stuff, and now you're telling me it's a fucking mainstream voice of the right? Well, there goes my sleep for tonight, along with any hope for reconciliation between the political wings.

[maarsen]

Read anywhere about Trump's convictions and financial skullduggery.  This stuff is not hard to find.  He was convicted of fraudulently accepting money from his pater in an attempt to not have his casino go bankrupt.       

[Manhole Eunuchsbane]

15 minutes ago, denstorebog said:

Are you shitting me? I always thought Infowars was fringe stuff, and now you're telling me it's a fucking mainstream voice of the right? Well, there goes my sleep for tonight, along with any hope for reconciliation between the political wings.

It is fringe stuff, but it has a seemingly larger and larger audience. I can't imagine that too many folks take it seriously though. I think it's one of those things you turn on for entertainment value mostly.

[Swordfish]

5 minutes ago, maarsen said:

Read anywhere about Trump's convictions and financial skullduggery.  This stuff is not hard to find.  He was convicted of fraudulently accepting money from his pater in an attempt to not have his casino go bankrupt.       

A quick google search turned up nothing about any criminal  convictions for fraud.  That's about as much energy as I'm willing to put into it.

[Fez]

1 hour ago, Tywin et al. said:

TRIPLE POST TIME! 

Has it been discussed much (these threads are moving too fast) that four Republican senators have said they will not support the Republican healthcare overall? That pretty much means it's already DOA since it's unlikely that two Democrats will support it. 

By my count its at least 7 GOP Senators that are currently opposed (4 from the left, 3 from the right), plus another 5 that have expressed concerns about one or more elements of the bill. That's over 20% of the caucus. I could also see other senators, like McCain, not necessarily opposed to the bill; but completely opposed to having their egos bruised by not being allowed to debate and amend the way McConnell is currently planning.

 

59 minutes ago, denstorebog said:

The Freedom Caucus plus a few others held a press conference a couple of hours ago, stating their opposition to anything but a full repeal. Also, Drudge and Breitbart are going full retard against RyanCare. Interesting times ahead.

Americans for Prosperity, Heritage Action, and Cato have all come out strongly against the bill as well. From the non-partisan side, the American Hospital Association also officially stated that it opposes the bill.

ETA: Forgot about the Club for Growth; they also came out against it.

The US Chamber of Commerce and the National Retail Federation are the only two big organizations I've seen come out in support of the bill. And I don't think either has that much sway anymore compared to the movement-conservative orgs and places like Breitbart.

Also, I assume even if he officially has no connections anymore, Breitbart isn't going to run something contra to Bannon's views; and if Bannon opposes the bill, I think he'll get Trump to stop saying anything supportive about it either.

[Inigima]

17 minutes ago, denstorebog said:

Are you shitting me? I always thought Infowars was fringe stuff, and now you're telling me it's a fucking mainstream voice of the right? Well, there goes my sleep for tonight, along with any hope for reconciliation between the political wings.

It always was. Trump has mainstreamed it. 

[Martell Spy]

Quote

 And so Republicans have found themselves frantically scrawling out a hopelessly inadequate solution in order to meet a self-imposed deadline driven by their overarching desire to cut taxes for the rich. “Expanding subsidies for high earners, and cutting health coverage off from the working poor: it sounds like a left-wing caricature of mustache-twirling, top-hatted Republican fat cats,” writes the Republican health-care adviser Avik Roy. The caricature is true.

Trumpcare Is the Culmination of All the GOP’s Health-Care Lies

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/03/trumpcare-the-culmination-of-all-the-gops-health-care-lies.html

[Commodore]

1 hour ago, denstorebog said:

Are you shitting me? I always thought Infowars was fringe stuff, and now you're telling me it's a fucking mainstream voice of the right? Well, there goes my sleep for tonight, along with any hope for reconciliation between the political wings.

excuse me, I'm sorry

Jones' talent as a performance artist/broadcaster is without peer

[Manhole Eunuchsbane]

3 minutes ago, Commodore said:

excuse me, I'm sorry

Yeah that guy has legit mental issues. No two ways about it.I don't know if any of you caught the Joe Rogan podcast with him, but it was absolutely batshit. 

[OldGimletEye]

Just now, Martell Spy said:

Trumpcare Is the Culmination of All the GOP’s Health-Care Lies

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/03/trumpcare-the-culmination-of-all-the-gops-health-care-lies.html

 

Quote

The Republican Party in its modern incarnation is incapable of writing a decent health-care bill, if we define “decent” to mean both some level of technical competence as well as morally decent.

And man, I thought it was the Democratic Party that couldn't organize a piss up in a brewery.

Republican Party: 

Quote

That inability has been clear to the party’s outside critics for many years. Republicans have fervently denied this, and probably believed their own denials. As a result they locked themselves into a course of action that forced them to propose a bill on a deadline. They seem to have realized the impossibility of the task midway through, but, unable to retreat on their commitment, they instead rushed out a plan that is shambolic and cruel.

All we got to do man is stick to our "conservative principles" and it will all work out just fine.

Quote

The best indication of the quality of the plan is that it has drawn almost universal scorn from the health-care-policy community. It’s predictable that experts on the left would dislike Trumpcare. But the right seems barely any more favorable. Conservatives like Peter Suderman, Philip Klein, Bob Laszewski, and Avik Roy, who have spent years savaging Obamacare, are united in their disdain for its replacement.

But, but, but, the dog ate our first healthcare plan. What were we so supposed to do man!!

Quote

When Republicans quickly discovered repealing Obamacare without a replacement was wildly unpopular — polling under 20 percent — they had to change strategies. The new approach would force them to pass a repeal-and-replace all at once, so Republicans in Congress could reassure voters they had something in place after taking away Obamacare. But now they had a vastly more complicated task. They had to do something very hard on a schedule that was designed to do something relatively easy. 

Republicans were kind of like Varro here. Rushing into battle and all, without covering their flanks. And now, its up to the Democrats and liberals to play the role of Hannibal here and maul them badly. Couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of guys.

Quote

Not only would this be a political catastrophe — millions and millions of Americans who were covered through their work and considered themselves safe would suddenly be tossed off their plans — it was a fiscal disaster as well. These newly uninsured people would now be eligible for the tax credits Republicans were trying to provide for the people already getting insurance through Obamacare. Jacobs likened the problem to quicksand. “The more they thrashed to get out of the quicksand — by increasing the subsidies or adjusting the cap on the employer exclusion, or both — the deeper they sank,” he reported, “by increasing the erosion of employer-sponsored insurance.”

Republicans responded to this trap by giving up on their plan to cap the tax break for employer-sponsored insurance. That rescued them from their quicksand trap. But it also left them without their favorite financing mechanism. Now they had to find a way to pay for tax credits for the people they were throwing off Obamacare’s markets.

At this point, I think this where we make an orange haired baboon doll. When you squeeze it says "Healtcare reform is hard!"

Quote

How to do that? This is where they landed, by financing Trumpcare with the one source of fiscal savings Republicans inevitably fall back upon when their fiscal plans don’t add up: poor people. Trumpcare now finances the tax credits for the uninsured primarily by cutting Medicaid. We don’t yet know whether this will add up. The Congressional Budget Office will score the bill only after it has started to move through committees in the House. If it does, it means that the Republicans will have done an astonishing thing, by financing the cost of replacing Obamacare entirely out of the budget that already financed health care for the desperately poor and sick.

Yes, yes, kick the poor and the sick. That would be the (Ayn Rand) Christian thing to do.

Quote

n fact, House Republicans have been running a television ad assuring the public they already “have a plan” with wonderful features: “Health insurance that provides more choices and better care, at lower costs. Provides peace of mind to people with preexisting conditions … without disrupting existing coverage.”

I swear baby, I had a healthcare plan. I was going to bring the plan to ya. It wasn't my fault! I ran out of gas! Uh, er, I had a flat tire! I didn't have enough money for cab fare. My tux didn't come back from the cleaners! An old friend came from out of town! My car got stolen! There was an earthquake! A terrible flood! Locust! It wasn't my fault!!!!!

[Fragile Bird]

1 hour ago, maarsen said:

Read anywhere about Trump's convictions and financial skullduggery.  This stuff is not hard to find.  He was convicted of fraudulently accepting money from his pater in an attempt to not have his casino go bankrupt.       

Sorry, I see no such story come up. Link?

[Kalbear]

16 minutes ago, Fragile Bird said:

Sorry, I see no such story come up. Link?

Here ya go