Today’s Theme:
Thank/Rebuke Senators and Drive Wedges on the House about ACA
The Senate voted very early this morning on the first step in the process to repeal the ACA. A few Republicans withdrew their amendment to extend the time after assurances that the date of Jan 27 for the repeal vote wasn’t a hard date but more of an advisory date.
The Democrats stood united against this, and offered amendment after amendment that got the Republicans on record as voting against the most popular aspects of the ACA: ban on pre-existing conditions clauses, ability to keep children on parents’ health care until age 26, etc.
No need to panic yet about these amendments
They are all symbolic votes intended to put Trump/GOP voters on notice that their Senators have voted to yank their health care, even if it means their deaths.
Many of these provisions are not even allowable in a budget resolution, which is why “repeal-and-delay” or “repeal without replace” will cause the health insurance markets to collapse across the board: these popular parts of the ACA only work if the other parts are there, too. If Medicaid expansion, subsidies and mandates go away but not the requirements to offer expanded coverage, the market will enter a death spiral so fast it will look like a reverse tornado.
This is why the Republicans are learning that health care is hard.
Meanwhile Trump is Throwing Anvils
At Trump’s press conference yesterday, he reiterated his desire for an immediate replacement plan to be voted on simultaneously. We can set aside for a moment the fact that this is impossible given how Congress works.
The real news here is that Trump is making promises that Congress can’t keep without just rebranding the ACA. There is no magic button Trump can push to cover 30 million (and more if the remaining states expand Medicaid) including many chronically ill and/or disabled at a price working families can afford without money from healthier and wealthier people.
Trump’s not an ideological conservative. He’s not going to fight against so-called “redistribution” or for so-called “personal responsibility” on principle if it means that he’ll lose the adoration of his fan base, which is already small. Some of those voters have already woken up to realize that they do, indeed, get their health coverage through Obamacare although it may be called KyNect or something else. It’s one thing to shout slogans at a rally and quite another to realize you can’t afford your diabetes supplies if the subsidies go away that keep you covered.
Our Task: Express Gratitude and Rebukes Where Needed
The House is expected to vote on Friday, and they may or may not have the votes for even this first step. Ryan is facing challenges from moderate Republicans and from the Freedom Caucus, both of whom want to see the replacement plans first.
Meanwhile, in the Senate, things go quiet for a bit while they figure out what to do next. The “repeal-and-delay” strategy is almost certainly dead - Trump’s signaled that it’s not what he wants and McConnell probably doesn’t have the votes for that, either. So that means they’re going to actually have to come up with a replacement now.
So let’s thank the Democratic Senators and urge them to stay strong, and rebuke the Republican Senators and let them know we’re watching closely. Then let’s see if we can open those divisions in the house a little wider.
Here are the actions for Wednesday, January 12 - 8 days before Trump’s Inauguration.
Key Actions Today:
These are the actions that I’m personally committed to accomplishing today:
- Call your senator. If you’ve been calling the local office, try the state or national office. Or vice versa. If they are Dems, thank them and urge them to stay strong. If they are Repubs, express your disappointment and let them know you’ll be working to make sure they don’t get away with it.
- Then call your 2nd Senator.
- Then call your representative. Since they’re voting tomorrow, the message here is “No repeal unless there’s a plan to replace.” This is what’s making the Republicans nervous so let’s use it against them.
- Donate to an organization that's working hard to fight this. The link goes to Charles Gaba’s site ACASignups.net. There are many others, too that are working to make the Republicans’ jobs harder by making the consequences more visible.
It’s important to me that I don’t ask you to do things that I don’t intend to do myself — which is why there was no diary yesterday. We had a major snow storm in the Portland area that forced us to close our office, so I wasn’t sure what, if anything, I could do.
Key Messages Today:
- Senate Republicans showed that they are quite willing to go on record as the destroyers of America’s health care system, especially for the most vulnerable among us.
- Trump has promised that the ACA replacement will not take coverage away from anyone and that it will be better coverage.
- They may have been able to use false information to get working class Republicans to support the ACA repeal, but they will remember the lies the first time they can’t afford a prescription or a doctor visit.
Developments in the Past 24 Hours:
Tweet of the Day:
Resources to Bookmark:
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If you’re new to this, it’s the last in a series of diaries with action items specific to addressing the threat of Russian interference in our election. Here is the first diary in the series: A Ten Point Action Plan for Resisting Putin’s Takeover of America
- Bonus #2: If you are dedicated to this fight, please consider following the Kos Group “Sons and Daughters of Liberty.” I’ll post these Action Lists there, as well as other diaries that offer concrete opportunities to take action. That way, you’ll be able to read them even if they don’t make the Rec List. If you’d like to play a more active role, send me a Kosmail and I’ll add you to the group.
- Bonus #3: Sign up for Twitter and let us know you’re there. If you’re not on Twitter already, consider signing up with your DailyKos handle. My handle is @Kascade_Kat - share yours in the comments so that we can amplify each others’ messages.
- Bonus #4: Share your plans for Inauguration Day and the day after. If you’re going to the protest in DC and want to meet up with other Kossacks, post something in the comments thread. I’m going to DC and I’m bringing two people with me. Parallel marches are happening on other major cities.
Remember - history has its eyes on us this time.