For the past several months, Republicans have been trying to push anything they can call the AHCA through Congress in an effort to repeal Obamacare. The entire process has been incredibly slimy. This week, the slimyness reached new depths as Senate Leader Mitch McConnell tried as hard as he could to keep the bill from reaching American ears at all before bringing in to a vote.
Even Trump called the bill “mean,” because that’s exactly what it is. Early reports indicate that it’s going to be even harsher than the House bill, which was horrible, and leave even more people without health insurance by 2024. Current CBO estimates say the bill will cause more people to lose health insurance than the amount of people who gained it under Obamacare. In other words, it’s set to make the national healthcare crisis even worse than it was last time.
And despite all this, Republicans are still trying to sneak it through congress without public opinion. They’re doing this because they know what the public opinion will be. Everyone will be hurt by this bill, but especially the demographic that classically vote right. Medicaid, which funds a vast percentage of the health care in the rural midwest, is going to be drastically cut by Republicans in this bill.
McConnell wants this bill passed before July 4, and what he really wants is for it to be passed before he has to go to his office and hear the phones ringing. He wants it passed before angry constituents can convince the Republican senators that they shouldn’t pass this bill.
McConnell hopes as much as possible that he can shield Republicans from their citizens before the bill leaks. He’s refusing to meet with public health officials and representatives before the bill vote, claiming he’s too busy, and expects the party to be able to pass a bill and put it into law despite national opposition.
On Tuesday, Democrats apparently stormed into the CBO office in an effort to get ahold of the bill. Only the CBO has a full copy of the bill, while Republican senators who weren’t involved in the process have only a vague idea about the contents, and all Democratic senators have none. The effort was unsuccessful, and to this date we still don’t know the contents of the bill.
This is scary. This is unacceptable. There’s no good reason the government should be so fervently hiding the contents of a bill that will affect each and every person in the country on a personal and significant level. Even the car loan industry makes it obvious what you’re paying for using an auto loan calculator. There is simply no acceptable reason for it. Republicans should be ashamed. Trump should be ashamed and McConnell should be absolutely filled with self-loathing over how they are conducting themselves.
What reason, what justification is there to hide this bill from the public before voting on it? In what version of history does McConnell think we can ever look back on this event positively?
Republican leadership is in turmoil. They’re making immoral decisions and they’re ruining our political process. This is a significant political failure. This is a cause for alarm.