Passing Trumpcare is becoming a puzzle Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell might not be able to solve. Which is as it should be, because taking health insurance away from 23 million people should not be easy. To make it even harder, hundreds of thousands of people are committed to fighting back. Here’s a round-up of actions happening around the country while senators are home this week.
- Activists are publicizing at least 5 progressive healthcare rallies in Alaska to pressure Lisa Murkowski, 5 in Jeff Flake's Arizona, 8 in Cory Gardner's Colorado, 7 in Bill Cassidy's Louisiana, 9 in Susan Collins' Maine, 3 in Dean Heller's Nevada, 3 in Rob Portman's Ohio, 1 in Pat Toomey's Pennsylvania, and 3 in Shelley Moore Capito's West Virginia.
- Liberal groups mobilizing include Planned Parenthood, Indivisible, Moveon.org, OFA, Families USA, Save My Care, AFSCME, SEIU, Center for American Progress and many others.
- Activists are also populating online geographical hubs, like "Resistance Near Me," to direct progressives to protest their Republican House member or senator.
- The healthcare consumers' group, Families USA, has released an "action toolkit" for activists to "make the Senate feel the heat" over the recess.
- Moveon.org has published high-quality downloadable images of health care signs that protesters can print off easily and bring to July Fourth parades and other rallies.
No Republican senator should be immune from our pressure. Every one of them needs to hear from us, to be embarrassed in the local media if they refuse to show up publicly, to be held accountable for what they want to do. Keep those calls, letters, and public actions coming!
We delayed Trumpcare—for now. But the GOP leadership is hell-bent on denying health insurance, and is working hard to coerce Republican senators. We need three Republicans to stand firm. Call your senator at (202) 224-3121 and tell them “NO DEAL.” Then, tell us how it went.