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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM
In the local end of this:
Idaho congressman Simpson says a single-payer system could replace Obamacare
http://www.idahostatesman.com/news/business/article150691392.html
“There are some problems with it,” the Idaho Republican told the Idaho Healthcare Summit, organized by the Post Register newspaper in Idaho Falls.
The House voted 217-213 on May 4 to pass the GOP replacement for the Affordable Care Act. Simpson said he voted for it knowing the bill would not become law without significant changes.
While Simpson spoke, a small crowd gathered outside the Boise Centre to protest the Republican effort to repeal or change the Affordable Care Act. Protesters, including a health care provider and an organ donor, said Idahoans would lose coverage without the ACA.
Simpson’s remarks came about a week after Rep. Raul Labrador, Idaho’s other House member, caused a national uproar by saying, “Nobody dies because they don’t have access to health care.”
Labrador later said his comment referred to a law that requires hospital emergency rooms to take all patients in medical emergencies. That law does not require hospitals to offer early interventions that prevent death, such as cancer treatment, or to treat chronic diseases such as diabetes that can quickly become life-threatening.
Simpson, who represents the 2nd Congressional District, including most of Boise and everything in Idaho to the east, said “there are no tweaks out there” to make the Affordable Care Act work. He predicted the law will be replaced either by a system that relies less on the federal government or by a single-payer system like Medicare.
“It’s been surprising to me how many people I’ve heard who, five years ago, wouldn’t have said something like that,” he said. “Business people. Who said, ‘Just go to a one-payer system. It’s the simplest thing to do.’ But is it the best thing to do?”
edited 15th May '17 10:41:25 PM by sgamer82
“It’s been surprising to me how many people I’ve heard who, five years ago, wouldn’t have said something like that,” he said. “Business people. Who said, ‘Just go to a one-payer system. It’s the simplest thing to do.’ But is it the best thing to do?”
Gee, it's amazing how after you get a foot in the door and past the initial resistance, all sorts of new possibilities for change can open up. Almost like something can evolve from how it starts, even if it isn't revolutionary at the very beginning.
I'm not looking in the direction of anyone who might post in this thread, and if you think I am, you're imagining it.
edited 15th May '17 10:48:47 PM by TheWanderer
| Wandering, but not lost. | If people bring so much courage to this world...◊ |Republican writes letter to constituent's employer complaining about her activism
The employee — Saily Avelenda of West Caldwell, who’s active in the progressive NJ 11th for Change group — ended up resigning from her job as senior vice president and assistant general counsel at Lakeland Bank, according to a report from WYNC.
Frelinghuysen’s campaign sent WYNC a statement saying that the Congressman “wrote a brief and innocuous note at the bottom of a personal letter in regard to information that had been reported in the media. He was in no way involved in any of the bank’s business and is unaware of any of the particulars about this employee’s status with the bank.”
Lakeland Bank isn’t commenting, according to WYNC. Frelinghuysen’s decision to call out a constituent for her progressive political activism comes while Trump and other House Republicans repeatedly complain, without evidence, about “paid protesters” who are publicly resisting their agenda.
Pettiness on the level of Trump.
New Survey coming this weekend!And perhaps send a messsage to everyone else.
BTW, the news about Trump sharing secret intel with the Russian ambassador left me torn between shock at his new level of incomptence and wooting at how he's doing the anti-Trump camp's job for them.
edited 16th May '17 4:19:51 AM by MarqFJA
Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus.Of course, it's okay, because Russia is our pal.
And it was entirely predictable too.
edited 16th May '17 5:36:20 AM by Eschaton
Things are changing fast, mostly in a good direction, but challenges remain.
GOP Senators: It's Time for Facts on Comey, Tapes, Russia
: "...Republican senators, reacting initially to Trump’s mention of “tapes” in relation to Comey, and later to Monday’s reports about the president’s conversations with Russian officials, predicted any tapes or digital recordings, if they exist, are unlikely to be kept away from public scrutiny."
This could get real interesting, if there really are tapes and the Congress can get them.
Preview 2018 Senate Results With RCP's Interactive Tool
: The tool is kinda fun, but the important bit is this: "...We note that as Trump’s job approval rises, things shift rapidly for the GOP: At 45 percent, Republicans are expected to win 54 or 55 seats. At 50 percent approval, Republicans are expected to win around 57 seats, and at 55 percent approval, a filibuster-proof majority is within reach. On the other hand, we see just how difficult it is for Democrats to take control of the Senate; even at 35 percent job approval, Republicans only lose control of the chamber one time in five."
It's just an estimate, but still...
Then there's this: Donald Trump's poll numbers should terrify Republicans
- "...The new Gallup tracking poll released Monday afternoon put Trump's job approval rating at just 38%, the lowest mark he has reached since April 1. That jibes with a new NBC-Wall Street Journal poll released Sunday that pegged Trump's job performance at 39% approval. A Quinnipiac University poll conducted before Trump fired FBI director James Comey last Tuesday showed Trump's approval at a meager 36%."
He may fall below 35% before this is over.
However, something to bear in mind when reviewing Trump's poll results: Why Polls Differ On Trump’s Popularity
: "...Trump’s approval ratings are systematically higher in polls of voters — either registered voters or likely voters — than they are in polls of all adults. And they’re systematically higher in polls conducted online or by automated script than they are in polls conducted by live-telephone interviewers."
Remember the election. My theory is that many people are ashamed of their support for Trump, and won't admit it until election day. So while trends are favorable, they are not in the bag.
And just to emphasize why this is important- If the Dems can take the House in 2018, they gain control over the House's investigative powers. That can only be good for 2020. So the '18 elections are high stakes. Our chances of taking the House actually do seem pretty good
.
And just to remind everyone- The problem with Trump is not just his support for extreme conservative policies, and not just because he lacks the competence to fulfill the responsibilities of the President, it's because of his support for authoritarianism and his open contempt for democracy and the rule of law.
We do not merely have to defeat Trump, or even the Republicans, we have to de-legitimize Trumpism. We are not just running against a certain set of people, or even a certain set of policies. We are running against the idea that the US needs a "strong leader" (ie, an alpha male) to make us "great again."
To do that, we need candidates who emphasize ideas, and in particular ideas that would benefit everyone, including both marginalized communities and the white working class. Reducing wealth disparity by raising up the bottom half of our society is probably the main one. After that, it's important to run on personal integrity, by making a connection to voters, and speaking to them with respect, regardless of whether we agree with their political beliefs or not.
We can do this, but it's going to take a new approach, one the party leadership seems uncomfortable with. 2018 is the Democrats to lose, lets see if they can avoid losing it.
edited 16th May '17 6:38:58 AM by DeMarquis
I'm done trying to sound smart. "Clear" is the new smart.The Democrats will lose down the line anyway if these ideas can't be made reality. See "hope" and "change" and 2010. And "fiscal responsibility".
edited 16th May '17 6:38:58 AM by Krieger22
I have disagreed with her a lot, but comparing her to republicans and propagandists of dictatorships is really low. - An idiotShort of hiring Krugman and Piketty for everything, there really isn't much of a way to sell actual pump priming in the current American economic climate to people who aren't possessed of a basic understanding of economics.
I have disagreed with her a lot, but comparing her to republicans and propagandists of dictatorships is really low. - An idiotAlthough this veers into an economics argument rather than a political one, Krugman's column from this week
makes the observation that we are no longer under the conditions where "reckless fiscal expenditures" are needed to restore the economy. So, it's not just that Trump's "prime the pump" metaphor is stolen — it's actively wrong.
This is not to say that the distribution of income is in any way equitable, but that's not what Trump is interested in, anyway.
edited 16th May '17 7:10:39 AM by Fighteer
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"And mine is that one's ideal policy/goal doesn't have to spring forth fully formed due to a revolution of true believers miraculously rising up from near extinction and washing away the broken old system entirely, it can come about through an evolutionary process. Such as overcoming the initial resistance to having general government subsidized/provided healthcare to get a kinda, sorta version in, and then when people have experience with it, turning it into the real thing, whether by continual building on the original policy or by throwing it away in favor of something that will work much better.
Glad we understand each other.
edited 16th May '17 7:30:12 AM by TheWanderer
| Wandering, but not lost. | If people bring so much courage to this world...◊ |

Ted Cruz thinks things are going well? That's not a good sign.
Disgusted, but not surprised