Republicans Flee In Terror From Their Positions And Records On Healthcare-- Too Late

ObamaCare Repeal by Nancy Ohanian

Republican incumbents who have consistently voted to defund Medicare and Medicaid and cut back on Social Security have found those positions are unpopular. So they're lying about their votes and claiming they're the candidate who will protect, for example, preexisting conditions-- even though they voted to destroy the only bill that protected them without offering an alternative that would. As Paul Krugman mentioned last week Goodbye Political Spin, Hello Blatant Lies... "Black is white and up is down, and Republicans are defenders of Medicare... [R]right now the most intense, coordinated effort at deception involves health care-- an issue where Republicans are lying nonstop about both their own position and that of Democrats.

The true Republican position on health care has been clear and consistent for decades: The party hates, just hates, the idea of government action to make essential health care available to all citizens, regardless of income or medical history.

This hatred very much includes hatred of Medicare. Way back in 1961, Ronald Reagan warned that enacting Medicare would destroy American freedom. Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t think that happened. Newt Gingrich shut down the government in an attempt to force Bill Clinton to slash Medicare funding. Paul Ryan proposed ending Medicare as we know it and replacing it with inadequate vouchers to be applied to the purchase of private insurance.



And the hatred obviously extends to the Affordable Care Act. Republicans don’t just hate the subsidies that help people buy insurance; they also hate the regulations that prevent insurers from discriminating against people with pre-existing conditions. Indeed, 20 Republican state attorneys general filed a lawsuit trying to eliminate protection for pre-existing conditions, and the Trump administration has declined to oppose the suit, in effect endorsing it.

So if you’re a voter who cares about health care, it shouldn’t be hard to figure out where the parties stand. If you believe that Medicare is a bad thing and the government shouldn’t protect people with pre-existing conditions, vote Republican. If you want to defend Medicare and ensure coverage even for those who have health problems, vote Democrat.

But Republicans have a problem here: The policies they hate, and Democrats love, are extremely popular. Medicare has overwhelming support. So does protection for pre-existing conditions, which is even supported by a large majority of Republicans.

Now, you might imagine that Republicans would respond to the manifest unpopularity of their health care position by, you know, actually changing their position. But that would be hopelessly old-fashioned. As I said, what they’ve chosen to do instead is lie, insisting that black is white and up is down.

Thus Josh Hawley, as Missouri’s attorney general, is part of that lawsuit against Obamacare’s regulation of insurers; but in his campaign for the Senate, he’s posing as a defender of Americans with pre-existing conditions. Dean Heller, running for re-election to the Senate in Nevada, voted for a bill that would have destroyed Obamacare, including all protection for pre-existing conditions; but he’s misrepresenting himself just as Hawley is.

And they aren’t just lying about their own position. They’re also lying about their opponents’. Incredibly, Republicans have spent the years since passage of the ACA accusing Democrats of wanting to destroy Medicare.

All of which brings me to a remarkable Op-Ed article on health care in USA Today, which was published under Donald Trump’s name this week. (If he actually wrote it, I’ll eat my hairpiece-- although, to be fair, it was rambling and incoherent, suggesting he may have played some role in its composition.)

Part of the article claimed that the Trump administration is defending health insurance for Americans with pre-existing conditions, when the reality is that it has tried to destroy that coverage. But mostly it was an attack on proposals for “Medicare for all,” a slogan that refers to a variety of proposals, from universal single-payer to some form of public option.

And what did “Trump” say Democrats would do? Why, that they would “eviscerate” the current Medicare program. Oh, and that they would turn America into Venezuela. Because that’s what has happened to countries that really do have single-payer, like Canada and Denmark.

Why do Republicans think they can get away with such blatant lies? Partly it’s because they expect their Fox-watching followers to believe anything they’re told.

But it’s also because they can still count on enablers in the mainstream news media. After all, why did USA Today approve this piece? Letting Trump express his opinion is one thing; giving him a platform for blatant lies is another. And as fact-checker Glenn Kessler of The Washington Post put it, “Almost every sentence contained a misleading statement or a falsehood.” Even the president of the United States isn’t entitled to his own facts.

So will the GOP’s Big Lie on health care work? We’ll find out in a few weeks.

Right now Democratic candidates across the country have been stunned by Republicans falsely claiming their votes to end protections for people with pre-existing conditions were votes for something else instead and that their votes to turn Medicare into a voucher system wouldn't have really done anything to destroy Medicare, etc.

Let's take Mimi Walters from Orange County (CA-45). On February 3, 2015 she voted for H.R. 596, a bill entitled To repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and health care-related provisions in the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010. Every Democrat voted NO but only e Republicans joined them in actually trying to protect people with preexisting conditions.Mimi Walters was not one of them. Among the other Republicans lying about their records now but who voted for this bill include Don Bacon (NE-02), Duncan Hunter (CA-50), Steve King (IA-04), David McKinley (WV-01), Michael McCaul (TX-10), Chris Collins (NY-27), Brian Babin (TX-36), Doug Lamborn (CO-05). Why mention those? Their opponents, Katie Porter, Kara Eastman, Ammar Campa-Najjar, J.D. Scholten, Kendra Fershee, Mike Siegel, Nate McMurray, Dayna Steele and Stephany Rose Spaulding are all campaigning on platforms that include Medicare-For-All.

Mike Siegel, who just got the Houston Chronicle endorsement today, told us that "McCaul is so far removed from the people of this District that he still promotes his vote to repeal Obamacare and remove protections for pre-existing conditions. He essentially voted to kill his own constituents. McCaul’s only chance to win re-election is the ‘straight ticket’ option here in Texas. Very few voters recognize him as a true representative of their interests."

Stephany Spaulding is a pastor running in the evangelical center of Colorado, Colorado Springs. But... she a progressive, African-American woman pastor who is not running on a Republican-lite platform. The DCCC is ignoring her district entirely, but there's something stirring there. Her opponent, Doug Lamborn is one of the most extreme members of Congress. He has no influence, no impact and does not for the district at all. "The record," Stephany told us, "is consistently clear. GOP incumbents have lacked the political courage to stand with the majority of Americans who not only desire, but deserve affordable and accessible healthcare for all. Instead they have put party over people, leaving their constituents to suffer with the rising costs and diminishing coverage. I choose to stand with my constituents and the 70% of Americans who desire Medicare for All."

Texas Democrat Dayna Steele (TX-36) is making headway in a very red district east of Houston against an anti-healthcare dentist, Brian Babin, who fumbled his way into Congress and sits on the backbenches doing nothing at all except voting for whatever Trump wants. Today she told me that Babin "has voted every single time to repeal the ACA and has NO plan in place for healthcare if there is a repeal. He is literally leaving people to die. Any bill he co-sponsors to do otherwise in these last few weeks before the election is nothing more than a smokescreen for what they really intend to do."

She was referring to the newest Republican trick in which they are writing a bunch of fake bills that will never be voted on but that are supposedly going to protect people with preexisting conditions. Of the 49 Republican incumbents in the most competitive races 32 rushed to sign on as co-sponsors in the last few weeks, even though their actual voting records tell a very different story. "[F]acing the threat of a 'blue wave' and an onslaught of health-care attacks from Democratic candidates, vulnerable Republicans are running ads on pre-existing conditions and co-sponsoring measures that critics deride as meaningless.

The congressional resolutions are “a quick Hail Mary for a list of endangered incumbents,” said Thomas Miller, a resident fellow at the right-leaning American Enterprise Institute, and co-author of “Why ObamaCare is Wrong for America.”

“They’re intended to provide at least some legislative cover in the event that they can read the polls and know there’s been a stampede of support for the broad-brushed pre-existing conditions protections similar to those in the ACA,” he said.

A Kaiser Family Foundation poll in August found that more than 72 percent of Americans think the protections-- prohibiting insurers from denying coverage to people with pre-existing conditions or charging them more for coverage-- should remain law.

Democrats in June seized on the Trump administration’s announcement in court that it would not defend ObamaCare’s protections for people with pre-existing conditions. The Department of Justice sided in large part with the 20 Republican state attorneys general who filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn ObamaCare.

Now Democrats, who are looking to flip both the House and Senate, are tying Republicans to that decision, while highlighting the GOP’s ObamaCare repeal-and-replace efforts, which they say would have diminished pre-existing conditions protections for people in the individual market.

Tyler Law, the national press secretary for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), said the “overwhelming majority” of campaign ads from the DCCC and Democrats have focused on health care, with pre-existing conditions as the central theme.

"Republicans are stuck on defense, forced to respond to devastatingly effective ads on their record on pre-existing conditions, and touting nonbinding resolutions as they panic because they see the political fallout,” Law said.

"Republicans clearly recognize how politically disastrous their policies are in regards to pre-existing conditions,” he added. “They are now just making up an alternative record on which all of a sudden they seem to care about pre-existing conditions.”

Reps. David Young (IA) and Pete Sessions (TX)-- two Republicans running in competitive races this year-- introduced separate resolutions in September supporting pre-existing conditions protections. Later that month, Rep. Steve Knight (R-CA), who is locked in a toss-up race, introduced a similar bill.

Young, Sessions and Knight have taken every single opportunity offered by Paul Ryan to gut Medicare and to end protections for people with preexisting conditions. They are counting on their constituents not knowing and not checking.

Jared Golden, a former frontline marine who served several tours of duty in Afghanistan and Iraq knows just how to respond to his Republican opponent's bullshit. Note the e-mail his campaign sent out this week to Mainers:

Congressman Poliquin started running an ad calling Jared his "young opponent."

Let’s clear up some facts: When Rep. Poliquin was living it up in his mansion on the coast-- and using it to get a tax break-- Jared was under hostile fire leading Marines against our nation's enemies in Iraq and Afghanistan.

While Poliquin was hiding from constituents and reporters in a bathroom because he voted to strip health care from thousands of Mainers, Jared was leading the charge to expand Medicaid in Maine.

Rep. Poliquin might try to portray Jared as too young, but we think it’s all about maturity and honesty-- and that’s why we’ve got to get Jared to our nation’s capital.

Forget The Damn Women Who Were Molested-- We Know Who The Real Victim Was

Did Judge Kavanaugh take out his dick and wiggle it in Lindsey Graham's face? Or is Lindsey auditioning for the Attorney General job when Trump fires Jeff Sessions after the midterms? Raise your hand if you can't envision Lindsey derailing the Mueller investigation. Considering that his colleague, Joe Donnelly is up for reelection in an extremely red state-- PVI is R+9, same as Mississippi-- Donnelly, a long-time Blue Dog, was pretty brave yesterday issuing this statement and announcing he will be voting against confirming Kavanaugh.

I have deep reservations about Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination to this lifetime position and, as I stated, we have been unable to get all the information necessary regarding this nomination, despite my best efforts. Only 113 people have ever served on the Supreme Court, and I believe that we must do our level best to protect its sanctity.

While I would gladly welcome the opportunity to work with President Trump on a new nominee for this critically important position, if Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination comes before the full Senate for a vote under these circumstances, I will oppose it.

Stephany Rose Spaulding is a progressive Democrat and a pastor running for Congress in Colorado Springs, one of the capital cities of American evangelicalism. "I am overwhelmed by the bravery Dr. Christine Blasey Ford displayed in reliving the horrific details of the sexual assault that occurred when she was just 15-years old," Rev. Spaulding said on Thursday. "She said that her most vivid recollection was of the laughter of her attacker and his friend, and that the trauma lives on today in the form of PTSD, anxiety and claustrophobia. Tragically, her story is a common one in America, with 1 in 2 women and 1 in 5 men experiencing sexual violence. Her testimony also reminds us how difficult it is for survivors to share their stories, even with loved ones. Hopefully Dr. Ford’s bravery will inspire millions of survivors-- whether the assault occurred today or 40 years ago-- to begin the healing process by reaching out to loved ones and healthcare professionals. The Administration sends the wrong message to generations of sexual assault survivors by not asking the FBI to investigate the claims of Dr. Ford and the other accusers. I'm calling on Congress and the President to take action today."

Dayna Steele is the Democratic candidates a tough district east of Houston. She wasn't buying into the Kavanaugh-as-victim narrative either. She was struck by Vermont Democrat Patrick Leahy's question to Dr. Ford on Thursday: "What is the strongest memory you have from that event?" Dayna:

Ask any woman you know-- mom, sister, grandmother, daughter, aunt, or friend that same question. The majority will have a memory and will have an answer. I am 59. My memory was 47 years ago. I still remember that moment as clear as anything.

I was 12. He was in his mid 20’s and worked for my dad who trusted him.  He was supposed to be taking me to lunch and said he needed to stop by his apartment to pick up something.  My memory? It is opening his front door and walking out of his cold, dark apartment into the warm daylight just as he came up behind me and tried to put his arms around me. The feeling I will never forget is that I escaped something dangerous, something bad that day.

We need women and men in positions of leadership who know this reality and will work to stop it by first acknowledging it happens and people need to be held accountable. It is why we need a government that reflects our society, our people, our decency, our integrity, and our majority belief that sexual assault is not “horse play,” sexual harassment is not “locker room talk,” and young men laughing at a frightened girl is not “boys being boys.”

I want to be one of these leaders. 

Leahy had his own thoughts worth pondering on the matter: "This Judiciary Committee is no longer an independent branch of government. And we’re supposed to be. The Senate is supposed to be an independent, equal branch of government. We’re no longer that. We are an arm-- and a very weak arm-- of the Trump White House. Every semblance of independence has just disappeared. It’s gone." Lindsey? How about Jeff Flake? Monday he'll be in New Hampshire pretending he's not campaigning for president, giving a speech entitled "After the Deluge: A Rejection of Destructive Politics and a Return to Principle." Wait, wait; don't tell me-- Flake and Murkowski announced they won't vote to confirm Kavanaugh until after the FBI investigates the charges against him. Looks good for a rejection of his nomination for the first time! I bet this video from early Friday had something to do with Flake's decision.

Yes, There Is A Progressive Candidate In Colorado's Reddest District-- Meet Stephany Rose Spaulding

by Bob Lynch

Having meaningless conversations with boring politicians is something you get used to in my line of work. However, some phone calls are impossible to forget. My phone call with Stephany Rose Spaulding, the Democratic candidate for the House of Representatives in Colorado’s 5th congressional district, was one of those. She is amazing. Colorado Springs is an Evangelical hotbed and Stephany is a Baptist pastor. Oh yeah, she is also a Black Woman with a PhD from the South Side of Chicago...

Stephany Spaulding sits at the confluence of many different concepts that the Democratic Party is currently struggling with. The Cook Report has labeled her district as an R+14 (the reddest in the state) so the DCCC decided it isn’t in play and won’t dedicate any of their resources to helping her give current Representative, Doug Lamborn, the ass kicking he deserves.

She is also not “progressive” enough for certain wings of the Democratic Party. Why doesn’t the media push that story??

Apparently running on a platform of abolishing ICE may work in Queens and The Bronx, but the things that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ran on won’t necessarily always work in Colorado Springs.

The GOP and the Evangelical institutions that have ruled Colorado Springs have led to a situation where El Paso County is ranked 2nd in the entire nation for suicides, which has been almost entirely driven by the skyrocketing rate of suicides by their young people. According to 2015 UCCCS Economic Forum data, the county had a suicide rate of 21.4 people per 100,000, which is almost double the rate in the state (12.7) and almost four times the national average (5.9).

The institutions have failed the American people-- and the Democratic Party is one of them. The reason that the GOP has a 51-49 majority in the Senate and not a 52-48 one is because of black women in Alabama. Everyone knows this. They are the most reliable base of the Democratic Party, have been for a long time, and need to be listened to. Not just to access a specific demographic.

So we are all just ok with black women being leaders only when they can lead us to black women voters and not white people???

Something Stephany told me really resonated amidst all of the vanilla nonsense we normally hear candidates say.

“In essence my candidacy is a culmination of having persevered throughout my life being told what tables, rooms, and experiences were not for me. Others have tried to tell me when and where I don't belong because of race, class, sex, whatever. This race reflects that we all belong. We all sing America and our nation is made better, stronger, and greater when we inclusively embrace our full diversity and complexity. Our District deserves this level of representation as does our country.“

Many people keep holding out hope that fellow Chicago legends Michelle Obama or Oprah will get involved in politics yet they ignore the fact that Stephany Rose Spaulding IS involved. Steve Bannon and Stephen Miller love it when Dems play identity politics because they know that Dems don’t know how to give a woman an actual political identity. My head is literally about to explode just writing this. Listen to HER!

Maybe the “failing” New York Times should save some money on the complete hoax of a journalist, Jeremy Peters, writing 15 pieces about the left alienating Trump voters and flying all the way to Martha’s Vineyard to have a cup of coffee with the disgraceful Alan Dershowitz and not even bother to ask him about the underage girls on Epstein’s plane. The media is another important institution and they should do their job. Why is nobody writing about someone who has a workable blueprint for 2020?

The die has been cast and it is probably too late for Stephany to win the race for Colorado’s 5th district (although she has collected $187,487, a good start in raising the kind of money she'll need for a grassroots field operation that will get her message out). Going up against every institution possible in one race is a tough task. The Democratic Party has already decided not to listen to her and abandoned a district of the country that has a lot more in common with the Millennials, who got priced out of Manhattan that voted for Ocasio-Cortez, and are experiencing the same exact thing in Denver which is why they are moving to Colorado Springs. In a perfect world some of the $3 million dollars spent on Joe Crowley being sent out to pasture could have been spent on Stephany flipping a seat from Red to Blue. It would only take a fraction of that amount.

The extremely questionable retirement of Justice Kennedy and his son's Deutsche Bank ties to Donald Trump has largely boiled this election down to a referendum on Women’s Rights. Shouldn’t we start listening to them?

She can still win. Let’s help her.