Tag: GOP congress

Republicans Are Making False Claims About Medicare for All Ahead of the Midterms

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) speaks with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) about Medicare for All legislation on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., September 2017. Credit: Getty/Jim Watson/AFP

The Trump administration and Republicans in Congress have an undeniably poor record on health care. In addition to repeatedly threatening to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and pushing for devastating cuts to programs such as Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), majority leaders have increased costs for consumers and undermined critical protections for all individuals who need comprehensive health care coverage. Recognizing that Medicare funding and health care more broadly are top priorities for voters, however, Republicans are deploying last-minute scare tactics to manipulate voters ahead of the upcoming midterm elections. Congressional Democrats, they claim, are looking to gut Medicare in order to pay for Medicare for All.

In August, Rep. Bruce Poliquin (R-ME) began running an ad campaign that calls his Democratic challenger, Jared Golden, a “radical liberal politician [whose] risky scheme will end Medicare as we know it.” Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY) has been running similar ads, which portray her opponent’s support for Medicare for All as a dangerous “scheme that could bankrupt Medicare.” On September 6, 2018, former Governor of Florida and current senatorial candidate Rick Scott (R) tweeted, “If you want to protect Medicare, vote Republican. If you want a socialist experiment with Medicare, by all means vote Democrat.”

Even President Donald Trump has adopted this messaging. In August, the president threatened that Democrats are seeking to “raid Medicare to pay for socialism.” At a September rally in Montana, he claimed that Democrats are “going to hurt your Social Security so badly, and they’re killing you on Medicare.”

View the complete October 1 article by Madeline Twomey on the Center for American Progress website here.

Sheldon Adelson Sees a Lot to Like in Trump’s Washington

Sheldon Adelson and wife, Miriam, attended a presidential debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y., in 2016. Credit: Damon Winter, The New York Times

WASHINGTON — The return on investment for many of the Republican Party’s biggest political patrons has been less than impressive this year. But not for Sheldon Adelson.

Mr. Adelson, the billionaire casino magnate, and his wife, Miriam, a physician, have emerged as the biggest and potentially most influential contributors to Republicans in the midterm season. Despite initially harboring qualms about President Trump’s leadership, the Adelsons have found much to like in a Republican-controlled government that has aligned with their most cherished priorities: unflinchingly pro-Israel, unaccommodating to Middle Eastern adversaries and dedicated to deregulation and lower taxes.

Mr. Adelson in particular enjoys a direct line to the president. In private in-person meetings and phone conversations, which occur between the two men about once a month, he has used his access to push the president to move the United States embassy in Israel to Jerusalem and, more recently, cut aid to the Palestinians, according to people familiar with their discussions, who spoke anonymously to discuss private matters. Mr. Trump has done both, triggering a backlash from some American allies.

View the complete September 22 article by Jeremy W. Peters on the New York Times website here.

Voters Know Republicans Won’t Fight For Them On Health Care Or Tax Cuts

Voters know that Republicans don’t have their backs on health care or tax cuts. While Republicans only want to sabotage the Affordable Care Act, Democrats are fighting to increase access and affordability of care. The Trump tax law has not raisd workers’ wages as Republicans promised, but Democratic-led efforts to raise the minimum wage have increased wages for workers in states across the country.

Voters have switched parties for the midterm elections because they know that Democrats will fight for them on health care.

CNN: “The issue of health care has made Hansen a Democratic voter in the upcoming midterm elections. And in this ruby red area of Kentucky, it seems he is not the only one. Indeed, there are some signs of a blue wave in a corner of the Bluegrass State.” Continue reading “Voters Know Republicans Won’t Fight For Them On Health Care Or Tax Cuts”

New Poll: Voters Trust Democrats More Than Republicans On Health Care, By 15 Points

Health care is a top issue for voters and it’s clear why they trust Democrats more than Republicans to better handle the issue: Democrats want to expand access to care while Republicans only want to continue their health care sabotage.

Health care is a top issue for voters. They trust Democrats more than Republicans to better handle health care issues.

  • Voters believe Democrats can better handle health care issues by a 15-point margin.

  • 55 percent of Americans say a congressional candidates positions on health care will be extremely important to their vote.

Continue reading “New Poll: Voters Trust Democrats More Than Republicans On Health Care, By 15 Points”

Want to Know More About: Status of Coverage for Pre-Existing Conditions

CNN Reality On Sen. Ted Cruz’s Comment “Everyone Agrees We’re Going To Protect Pre-Existing Conditions:” “Not So Much. This Casual Comment From Senator Cruz Does Not Track With Reality.” CRUZ CLIP: “We can protect pre-existing conditions. You need to understand, everyone agrees we’re going to protect pre-existing conditions.” AVLON: “Not so much. This casual comment from senator Cruz does not track with reality. After all, right now, Texas attorney general is leading a legal charge with 19 other states to overturn Obamacare, including its massively popular protections for people with pre-existing conditions.” [New Day, CNN, 9/24/18; VIDEO]

John Avlon: “Senator Republicans Have Floated A Bill That Would Keep The Protections But There’s One Big Problem. It Doesn’t Limit What Insurance Companies Can Charge To Cover The Pre-Existing Conditions Like Obamacare Does.” AVLON: “Senator Republicans have floated a bill that would keep the protections but there’s one big problem. It doesn’t limit what insurance companies can charge to cover the pre-existing conditions like Obamacare does and critics say that loophole allows conservatives to act like they’re protecting.” [New Day, CNN, 9/24/18; VIDEO]

John Avlon: “Facts Matter. Telling Folks You Support A Popular Provision That Goes To The Heart Of Their Health And Wallet While Also Supporting Legislation That Would Do The Opposite That’s A Special Kind Of Hypocrisy.” AVLON: “In the 11 states that has the most people with pre-existing conditions, Trump crushed Hillary Clinton with an average of 26 points. No wonder trump told a crowd in Las Vegas this.” TRUMP CLIP: “Donald Trump and Republicans will protect patients with pre-existing conditions.”AVLON: “Facts matter. Telling folks you support a popular provision that goes to the heart of their health and wallet while also supporting legislation that would do the opposite that’s a special kind of hypocrisy.” [New Day, CNN, 9/24/18; VIDEO]

Echoes of Anita Hill, but in a Different Era for Women

Anita Hill arriving in 1991 in Washington to testify against Clarence Thomas. Credit: Doug Mills, Associated Press

WASHINGTON — She went public just days before a critical vote and took a polygraph test to bolster her credibility. He unequivocally denied her years-old charges of sexual misconduct. Calls mounted to delay the vote and investigate. It was late September, and a Supreme Court seat hung in the balance.

For those of a certain age in Washington, the past few days have felt like an eerie echo of the confirmation battle that consumed the capital in 1991 when Anita F. Hill accused Clarence Thomas of sexually harassing her. Now it is Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh who faces a hearing on Monday to address explosive accusations by Christine Blasey Ford that he sexually assaulted her when they were teenagers.

While not a perfect parallel, the case has quickly polarized Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation process, once again drawing in all three branches of government for a showdown over sex, truth and politics. Justice Thomas ultimately prevailed, and has been on the Supreme Court for more than a quarter of a century. But this time the battle takes place in a different era, at a moment when the #MeToo movement has brought down many powerful men over accusations of sexual misconduct that were once swept under the rug.

View the complete September 17 article by Peter Baker and Carl Hulse on the Washington Post website here.

The Tax Bill That Would Launch More Than 13,000 Yachts

Credit: Xeromatic via Lifeofpix.com

The current congressional majority has made its priorities painfully clear. In 2017, the legislative calendar was dominated by an attempt to strip health care from millions of people in order to provide significant tax cuts to the wealthy. When that failed, Congress turned to a tax bill known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA), which was essentially a corrupt giveaway that provided massive windfalls to wealthy donors, special interests, and members of Congress themselves. The law will provide more than $84.7 billion in tax cuts to the top 1 percent of Americans in 2019, while increasing health insurance premiums for millions of people and resulting in nearly 9 million fewer people with coverage.

Many of the staffers who were most involved in the TCJA’s passage have left the Hillfor lucrative jobs as lobbyists for the special interests to whom they provided special tax breaks. Rep. Pat Tiberi (R-OH), who helped draft the TCJA, left shortly after its passage to become the head of the Ohio Business Roundtable—many of whose members benefited substantially from the bill.

Perhaps the most ostentatious example of this corruption came from Florida Rep. Vern Buchanan (R). Rep. Buchanan sits on the House committee that was charged with drafting the TCJA—a bill that gave him millions of dollars in special tax breaks. On the same day that he voted to pass the bill, Rep. Buchanan purchased a brand new 73-foot yacht with a base price of nearly $3 million.

View more of the article by Sam Berger and Galen Hendrickson on the Center for American Progress website.

Republican Sabotage Leads To Higher Premiums & Fewer Americans Getting The Care They Need

Trump and Republicans are continuing their health care sabotage that has already led to higher premiums and fewer Americans with access to the care they need. This November, Democrats are holding them accountable. Here’s the latest:

Democrats are holding Republicans accountable for trying to take away protections for people with pre-existing conditions.

Washington Post’s Daily 202: “Democrats are pummeling Republican candidates for governor and Senate over a pending lawsuit by 20 GOP-led states that could allow insurance companies to stop covering people with preexisting medical conditions. Underscoring how the politics of Obamacare have changed — even in red states — this issue is being highlighted more than any other right now in Democratic television commercials. Public and private polling validates that it’s an effective line of attack.” Continue reading “Republican Sabotage Leads To Higher Premiums & Fewer Americans Getting The Care They Need”

ICYMI: Number of Minnesotans without health insurance grows by 18,000 | Star Tribune

“Make no mistake, Reps. Erik Paulsen and Jason Lewis have put special interests ahead of their constituents by voting to sabotage affordable healthcare at every turn,”said DCCC Spokeswoman Rachel Irwin. “Paulsen and Lewis can’t run from their constant attacks on affordable healthcare and their votes to gut protections for those with pre-existing conditions like asthma, cancer and diabetes. Every single Minnesota Republican, including Pete Stauber and Jim Hagedorn, who have fully embraced the GOP agenda on raising healthcare costs, will be held accountable this November.”

Number of Minnesotans without health insurance grows by 18,000 | Star Tribune

The number of Minnesotans without health insurance rose last year for the first time since 2013, when the Affordable Care Act took full effect, according to a U.S. Census report that was closely watched because of the continuing battle over the law’s legacy.

Some 243,000 Minnesotans lacked health insurance last year, an increase of 18,000 people from 2016, the bureau said in a report released Wednesday morning.

Still, at just 4.5 percent, Minnesota has one of the lowest uninsured rates in the country. Nationwide, the uninsured rate leveled off at 8.8 percent, or 28.5 million people.

View the complete article by Glenn Howatt on the StarTribune website here.

 

Health Care Is On The Ballot & Voters Trust Democrats Over Republicans

Today House Republicans are meeting to prepare a bill that would delay or repeal parts of the Affordable Care Act, and House Republican leadership said health care repeal will be a priority if they keep the majority.

Health care is on the ballot in the midterm elections. While Republicans will continue their sabotage, Democrats are fighting to increase access and affordability. That is why voters trust Democrats over Republicans on health care.

House Republicans are preparing legislation to further dismantle the ACA. That bill would cost more than $50 billion over the next decade.

The Hill: “House GOP legislation that would delay or repeal certain parts of ObamaCare will cost $51.6 billion over the next decade, according to a new government analysis.” Continue reading “Health Care Is On The Ballot & Voters Trust Democrats Over Republicans”