The First 6 Freshmen/The First 7 Freshmen

The first 6 freshmen to sign onto the #GreenNewDeal, which is seeking to establish a new House committee to deal with Climate Change, are Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-NY), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Deb Haaland (D-NM), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Joe Neguse (D-CO) and Ayanna Pressley (D-MA). Hey, California! What's up with that? Signing onto an aggressive initiative like that is a much-welcomed signal about expected congressional activism of the best sort.

The exact opposite are the 7 Democrap freshmen who were inducted into the Blue Dog Caucus, all shitbags we warned you about all cycle: Jeff Van Drew (NJ), Mikie Sherrill (NJ), Anthony Brindisi (NY), Max Rose (NY), Xochitl Small (NM), Ben McAdams (UT) and Abigail Spanberger (VA), most of whom were not just heavily supported by the DCCC, but actively recruited by them to run. Joining the Blue Dogs is also a signal; these will surely be among the worst member of Congress, constantly crossing the aisle to vote with the Republicans and Trump, always working to water down any progressive legislation on anything important to the American people. Just watch.

A new poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation, the week after the midterms, asked voters what they want from the new Congress. Predictably, a majority want the 2 parties to work together "to address the major problems facing the country as well as conduct oversight of the Trump administration’s actions on policies such as health care. Yet, few Americans are “very confident” (6 percent) that Republicans and Democrats in Congress will be able to work on bipartisan legislation to address the health care issues facing the country.

About half of the public (53 percent) say oversight of the Trump administration’s actions on policies such as health care, education, and the environment should be a “top priority” for House Democrats in the coming year. This is similar to the share (55 percent) who say that working to enact new laws to address the major problems facing the country should be a “top priority” for House Democrats in the coming year and substantially larger than the share who say investigating corruption within President Trump’s administration should be a “top priority” (36 percent).

When asked which health care issue they would most like to see the next Congress act on in 2019, more Americans offer issues around health care affordability and cost (19 percent) than other health care issues including the 2010 Affordable Care Act (ACA) (10 percent) or Medicare (6 percent). Health care affordability and cost are also the most frequently mentioned health care issues by Democrats (14 percent), independents (25 percent), and Republicans (17 percent). The ACA is the second most frequently mentioned health care issue among partisans, with Democrats saying they want to see Congress “protecting or improving the ACA” while Republicans say they want to see the next Congress “repealing the ACA.” Independents are divided on this issue, with similar shares saying they want to see Congress repealing and protecting the 2010 health care law.

While there appears to be consensus among the public on what health care issue they want to see Congress work on next year, not quite one-third are confident that Democrats and Republicans in Congress will be able to work together on bipartisan legislation to address the health care issues facing the country. In fact, seven in ten say they are either “not very confident” (34 percent) or “not at all confident” (35 percent) that Congress will be able to work on such bipartisan legislation, while fewer are confident, either “very confident” (six percent) or “somewhat confident” (24 percent), in Congress being able to work together.

...The majority of the public say it is “very important” to them that the ACA’s provisions protecting those with pre-existing conditions remain law even after hearing that these protections may have led to increased insurance costs for some healthy people. Sixty-five percent of the public say it is “very important” to them that the provision that prohibits health insurance companies from denying coverage because of a person’s medical history remains law. An additional fifth (22 percent) say it is “somewhat important” this provision remains law. Similarly, about six in ten say it is “very important” that the provision that prohibits health insurance companies from charging sick people more remains law, while an additional one in five (22 percent) say it is “somewhat important.”

If the judge ruling on Texas v. United States decides the ACA’s protections for people with pre-existing conditions are unconstitutional, a majority of the public-- including 87 percent of Democrats, 67 percent of independents, and about half of Republicans-- say they would want their state to establish protections for people with pre-existing health conditions, even if this means some healthy people may pay more for coverage.

Expect the Blue Dogs to side with the Republicans on any push to expand healthcare in any meaningful way to more Americans. Let's watch... and think about primary opponents for those who betray Democratic values and their constituents.