Week One Of The New Congress And The GOP And Their ConservaDem Allies Have Already Passed A Bill To Kill Healthcare For Millions Of Working Families

Gwen Graham had an exciting first week in Congress-- thanks, EMILY's List

Just a few days into the new Congress and we're starting to get a clearer picture of which Democrats are delighted to sell out Democratic values and principles... and the interests of their own constituents for their own personal agendas. The first corrupt reactionary to show his colors was NJ Machine boss George Norcross' slimy little brother Donald, who had been sworn in to fill the unexpired term of Robert Andrews. Norcross' first substantive vote was to cross the aisle and back the Keystone XL Pipeline. He liked the feeling and just kept crossing that aisle until in just a few short weeks he was the third worst-voting Democrat in the House, just behind Blue Dogs Colin Peterson and Kyrsten Sinema.

Florida careerist Blue Dog Gwen Graham, spawn of Bob, is doing backflips to catch up with Norcross in terms of horribleness. On her first day in the House, she was the only freshman-- and one of only 4 Democrats, to vote against Nancy Pelosi to read the party. Her first substantive vote was to join the Republicans to try to ram through a package of 11 toxic bills to undo the Dodd-Frank Wall Street reforms. Why does Gwen Graham want the men and women who voted for her in November to be on the hook for bailouts when Wall Street banksters take unreasonable risks with money insured by the taxpayers?

Thursday Graham went a step further when she signed as a cosponsored to a bill that, were it to be passed by the Senate (likely) and signed by the President (unlikely), raises the number of hours from 30 to 40 that an employee must work per week to be eligible for health care coverage under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). Only the dozen worst Democrats in the House crossed the aisle and voted for the GOP/Gwen Graham bill. The culprits:

• Brad Ashford (Blue Dog-NE)
• Ami Bera (New Dem-CA)
• Jim Costa (Blue Dog-CA)
• Henry Cuellar (Blue Dog-TX)
• John Delaney (New Dem-MD)
• Gwen Graham (Blue Dog-FL)
• Dan Lipinski (Blue Dog-IL)
• Patrick Murphy (New Dem-FL)
• Scott Peters (New Dem-CA)
• Colin Peterson (Blue Dog-MN)
• Kurt Schrader (Blue Dog-OR)
• Kyrsten Sinema (Blue Dog-AZ)

In November Bera, Costa, Delaney and Peters nearly lost their seats. Had Peters' Republican opponent not got caught up in a gay sex scandal, Peters would certainly have lost. All 4 of these reactionaries did so poorly because Democratic voters just refused to turn out for them. The vote Thursday is a good example of why.

Like all progressives and almost all Democrats, Donna Edwards (D-MD) voted against the Republican onslaught this week. "Despite their rhetoric," she said after Thursday's vote, "Republicans begin the 114th Congress right where they left off, with yet another effort to undermine the Affordable Care Act (ACA). By increasing the definition of full-time work from 30 hours to 40 hours per week, the so-called Save American Workers Act would instead give license to employers to cut workers’ hours, hurting workers by reducing the number with employer-based health care coverage. This legislation would continue GOP irresponsibility by increasing the deficit by nearly $46 billion over 10 years. Democrats are focused on growing jobs and growing paychecks for America’s working families. It’s past time to create high-paying jobs, invest in our nation’s infrastructure, and ensure the affordability of higher education. It’s time for Republicans to put aside their partisanship and join us in these efforts."