The following article by Tim Marcin of Newsweek was posted on the National Memo website May 5, 2017:
Lots of liberals, and even some conservatives, are upset that House Republicans passed Thursday a health care bill that hadn’t been vetted by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) for its cost or effects, such as the loss of coverage for millions of Americans, as the CBO estimated for a prior version of the legislation. The GOP was apparently ready for it’s Obamacare replacement and ready for it now—but opponents also were ready to fight back.
Causing particular anger is the provision in the American Health Care Act (AHCA)—often dubbed Trumpcare—that undermines protections for Americans with pre-existing conditions. States would be able to apply for waivers to allow insurers to charge higher premiums for those with pre-existing conditions. It has been estimated some 27 percent of people on the individual market suffer from things that could be considered pre-existing conditions—which under Obamacare included having cancer or being the victim of sexual assault.
Liberal political action committee ActBlue launched a tool that allows people to donate to the future opponents of the Republicans responsible for passing the bill, which cleared the House floor just past 2:30 p.m. EST. It originally targeted on-the-fence GOP congressmen who would be up for re-election in 2018 and later shifted to all Republicans who voted yes—all 217 of them.
The tool came together through social media. ActBlue told Newsweek it had seen a tweet from writer and professor Zeynep Tufekci gaining traction that asked for a place to fundraise directly against the Republicans voting Thursday.
“We had tools to help,” said Erin Hill, executive director of ActBlue, in an email to Newsweek. “We set up a form with exactly those parameters and shared it on social media for donors to use.”
It took off.
Unfortunately, this discussion brings out a lot of defensiveness—as if one is belittling movements. Defensiveness is not a path to strength.
My 2¢: You want to spook the R’s voting yes today? Put up a single fundraising page targeting them, raise many millions before the vote.
ActBlue noted on Twitter it had raised more than $53,000 in less than an hour after launch Thursday. By about 2:30 p.m. EST, that figure had passed $100,000. That money will go to Democrats who run against the key GOP House representatives in states such as Florida, California, Ohio, Michigan, Nebraska, Colorado, New Jersey, Alaska, Illinois, Minnesota, Washington, New York, Virginia and Alabama.
ActBlue, which has been around since 2004, said there wasn’t a specific goal in creating the tool outside of giving opponents of the so-called Trumpcare legislation a way to fight against it.
“The AHCA is a monstrosity, and Americans want to make sure Congress knows what they think,” Hill said in an email. “We’re proud to offer a vehicle for Americans to do that.”
View the post here.