Senator Pat “Tumor” Toomey (R-PA) has long been know as the coward who hasn’t held an in-person town hall in the largest city in the state he represents, Philadelphia, in the over 6 years he has represented the Commonwealth. He’s just too busy to talk to voters, especially if they are not a friendly audience like conservative talk radio hosts or republican fundraisers. He certainly couldn’t meet with the Tuesdays With Toomey crew that have been out in force across the state since January to try to persuade him on a myriad of issues (DeVos and Gorsuch nominations for example).
Well, today the Philadelphia Magazine has the scoop of Senator Tumor’s next evasion of the public eye, and it is none other than the Republican health insurance “reform” bill that was crafted in secret and just released yesterday… without a SINGLE… PUBLIC… HEARING.
Here they are with the scoop:
As the chairman of the Subcommittee on Health Care, Toomey spearheaded the bill’s drafting process and the push for deep Medicaid cuts, which Democrats and some Republicans fear will force states to either eliminate coverage for many needy patients or assume a much more sizable chunk of the cost.
Toomey defended the bill in an interview with Bloomberg today, calling the Medicaid cuts “necessary to make [Medicaid] a sustainable program.” He said the bill had “gotten lots of outside input” during the draft process—but it was drafted without a single public hearing.
It’s pretty tragic this clown won another 6 year term by barely 1% just last year. He feels immune from all pressure and he’s going to represent only his corporate overlords. He clearly is not representing the upwards of 1 million Pennsylvanians who will lose coverage if Trumpcare passes.
Pennsylvania’s other Senator, Bob Casey, has been an immediate and outspoken critic of the Republican Death Panel Bill. His takedown of the bill, in the form of a Tweet storm, went viral. Senator middle-of-the-road, moderate Catholic has turned into an all-out champion for actual christian values, you know, taking care of the poor, sick, and elderly.
Senator Tumor, you have a lot to learn from your colleague.