Last updated on 2017-06-23
So here are today’s non-headlines:
- Donald Trump has no tapes.
- Mike Huether has no House campaign.
- Senate Republicans have no healthcare plan.
O.K., o.k., the Senate Republicans have a bill… or at least a “discussion draft.” But cutting more from Medicaid than the House bill (Senator John Thune is on Fox news saying major reductions in federal spending on Medicaid are really increases), blocking Medicaid patients from using Planned Parenthood, reducing premium subsidies, letting states waive essential health benefits and leave pre-existing conditions* out of insurance policies—none of that gives anyone better or cheaper health care. Making poor people pay more to get less while giving tax breaks to the rich isn’t a healthcare plan. It’s a wealthcare plan.
Barack Obama agrees:
The Senate bill, unveiled today, is not a health care bill. It’s a massive transfer of wealth from middle-class and poor families to the richest people in America. It hands enormous tax cuts to the rich and to the drug and insurance industries, paid for by cutting health care for everybody else. Those with private insurance will experience higher premiums and higher deductibles, with lower tax credits to help working families cover the costs, even as their plans might no longer cover pregnancy, mental health care, or expensive prescriptions. Discrimination based on pre-existing conditions could become the norm again. Millions of families will lose coverage entirely.
Simply put, if there’s a chance you might get sick, get old, or start a family – this bill will do you harm. And small tweaks over the course of the next couple weeks, under the guise of making these bills easier to stomach, cannot change the fundamental meanness at the core of this legislation [Barack Obama, Facebook post, 2017.06.22].
Thune and friends don’t have a healthcare bill… but whatever it is, they don’t have the votes to pass it. Ready to give up yet, John?
Negatively Related: Oh, one more non-headline: after flogging his patron Dan Lederman’s expensive intervention on Steve Thorson’s behalf in the Watertown mayoral race for days, Pat Powers has no headlines about or analysis of Lederman’s failure and Thorson’s defeat.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYPWoNfyW04
Update 17:55 CDT: The Senate bill keeps the ACA prohibition on insurers’ excluding people with pre-existing conditions or charging them higher premiums; however, by allowing states to eliminate essential benefits, the Senate plan may allow insurers to impose lifetime caps on services folks with pre-existing conditions need.
Update 2017.06.23 06:58 CDT: Huffington Post compares the major provisions of the ACA, the House bill, and the Senate bill:
Thune lives up to the name of Coyote (Murdo). Like a coyote, Thune would steal the last chicken out of a poor mans coop. Thune’s proposals show how out of touch he is to South Dakota values.
“We’ve had seven years of Obamacare now, we’ve had plenty of time to examine the failures of Obamacare and they are very clear.”
Thus sayeth Mr Thune ………
What he really means is: “We’ve tried everything possible to get rid of it. We’ve starved it, crippled it, lied about it and it’s still here. Well, we’ve finally come up with a plan to hurt more people than even the ACA helped. This is what we mean by winning. We’re well on our way to achieving third world status.”
We can have nice things. Or we can have republicans.
It is a continuing phase in wingnut war against women. Only takes 50 votes to pass this contract on America part duh.
What do these bastard wingnuts have to do to Americans to finally get their fannies kicked out of power for good? It will be too late if the right wing base ever figures out they have been had like the rest of us.
Here is a pretty good breakdown of Republicans tax cut (not a healthcare bill). Thune, Rounds and Noem must be proud of themselves.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/6/22/1674202/-Here-s-the-simplest-takedown-of-the-Republican-scheme-to-take-away-health-care-from-millions#read-more
Mitch McConnell was smiling broadly as he others in the GOP announced their Death Panel.
Trump said he didn’t record the Comey conversations, however, he didn’t say if anyone else had, leaving the door open for further inquiry.
Mr. Obama is to blame for foisting Mr. Trump on all of us because of his Obamacare failures. This new law bill is just another distraction.
This new law bill is just another distraction
Is King Kong just another primate? No Grudz, this cluster of a death penalty for the elderly, disabled and poor is not just a distraction. It is an abomination in the eyes of yer lord and saviour except wingnut kristians don’t know shot about the teachings of their lord and saviour. If they did they’d be liberals.
I don’t believe in the gods, Mr. Mike from Iowa.
mfi
What do these bastard wingnuts have to do to Americans to finally get their fannies kicked out of power for good?
After watching the redmeat fest in Cedar Rapids yesterday I doubt that there is anything that will make trump supporters face reality. One has to wonder just what percentage of the human race has a death wish.
Pretty obvious why wingnuts want to abolish abortion. They need a steady supply of new victims to kill off with their lack of humanity and death penalty/taxcuts for the wealthy Swiss army knife of killer legislation.
Someone corraled iowa wingnut Grassley in the Ronnie Raygun airport and Grassley walked away pissed off. Several senators were serenaded by sign holders as they slunk out of the den if iniquity.
Mr. grudznic is scared and I don’t blame him. Cult republicans have been at this for some time. In 2005 there was big changes in Medicaid coverage (George W. Bush, R) that had a huge impact right here in South Dakota. Whenever you see an R in the White House, count on them taking a shot at Social Security it is in their genes.
“Findings from Interviews with State Medicaid and Rural Respondents
We found that state Medicaid agencies were both expanding and cutting their programs
during the 2002-2004 time period (Figure 1). Of the 28 state Medicaid agencies with
which we completed interviews, a majority had cut or eliminated covered services (93%),
cut or frozen provider payments (96%), cut or restricted eligibility (61%) and/or increased
the cost sharing (54%), although some of the cuts in covered services or eligibility were
later restored by the state. At the same time, a majority of respondents also reported
increased eligibility (68%), increased provider reimbursement or inflationary increases
(86%), and expanded services or restoration of prior cuts (68%).” http://www.shepscenter.unc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/WP82.pdf South Dakota is one of the states that are covered in this report. Kind of long, but you can see how it follows the same kind of path to rid us of our basic human rights passed so long ago.
Turns out this was just a precursor for what we are now seeing which is the total destruction of Social Security itself. https://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/ssact/title19/1900.htm
Mr. grudznick as well as the rest of us that are not Thune, Rounds and NOem, need to understand the implications of this and how it will affect each of us other than them. Our standard of living is about to diminish greatly with this passage.
Lying POTUS Lovers, Why aren’t Democrats holding signs that read “Death Panels”.
Where is the health care for all and Free ? It’s all lies people and lying must be the new normal.Does any body think the 3 stooges have any Christian morals ?
In the meantime, Russian interference in our election is still the reason for this season. How money much does Thune get for his “work” on this grand theft? How about NOem? Will she get Russian help in her primary against Jackboot? What about Rounds, how will he feather his nest? A new boat ramp at the villa on the Missouri to put that 70 footer? South Dakota is just like Czechoslovakia when the Bear moved in, look familiar? “The Communist Coup in Czechoslovakia. On February 25, 1948 Czechoslovakia, until then the last democracy in Eastern Europe, became a Communist country, triggering more than 40 long years of totalitarian rule. In effect, the Czechoslovak Communists did not take control.”
Want to know how to help gum up the cult republican works? Submit an amendment that will have to be read. Here is how to do that https://www.ouramendments.org/ Tell you friends about resisting.
Transfer that wealth to the rich, Coyote. As in ‘Coyote Ugly’.
The senate bill throws 2 million veterans under the bus.
http://www.tennessean.com/story/news/politics/2017/06/22/veterans-speak-out-health-care-bill-say-could-hurt-2-million-medicaid/417693001/
http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/healthcare/338863-medicaid-is-a-lifeline-for-1-in-10-veterans-will-the-senate
The dems need to forget Russia and Focus on solutions to health car for. They have a gift horsendo not keep kicking the horse in the head
The Dems can win big in 18 they offer a plan. B
Obama Care has imploded.
They should bring Australia plan to America. Way better than ours
Need to get the insurance companies out
If you forget Russia then you forget how we got to where we are today. trump would never ever be in office if not for Russian hacking and voter machine manipulation in 38 of our states. That is the target.
To add to Cory’s non-headlines news today, the White House has conceded that Russia did meddle in our elections.
Our voting machines are so simple to hack that it is destroying democracy. Our nation is not a nation without the honesty of its people’s will in the voting booth. We have been through this since 2000 or before, why not paper ballots to stop the Russians from the coup they are working on. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQsrUjZotBU
Indivisible Rapid City is having a coordinated calls event tomorrow (6/23/17). Starting at 12 PM (Mountain Time) we will be calling Thune’s offices in South Dakota and in Washington D.C. The calls do have some impact. Our democracy may be slow but it won’t work if we don’t all participate in anyway we can. Click here to participate!
Lori Miller- no offense but you need to download Tiny URL app (free). Here is your link after Tiny URL worked it over – http://tinyurl.com/ycfhoggr
Your original was 348 characters. This is not a commercial. I am not a paid spokesperson.
http://www.salon.com/2017/06/22/the-face-of-republican-evil-its-not-donald-trump/?google_editors_picks=true
This helps answer the immortal question I asked earlier. Good read.
Roger, Trump is like Huether in constantly teasing the media to keep himself in the headlines. But the tapes tease now backfires, looking now like a failed attempt at witness intimidation.
Grudz, it’s hard to claim that the ACA has failed when it has increased the number of Americans with health insurance by 20 million. The claim also does nothing to justify the Senate GOP bill that will take insurance away from millions of people and cause many more Americans to pay more money for less comprehensive coverage.
More briefly, Barack Obama gives a damn about regular Americans. John Thune, Donald Trump, and the Republicans pushing to dismantle the ACA do not.
Keep sharing those links to summaries of the bill! We all need good information about this bill so we know what to say about it when we call and write our Senators… and when we run for office next year to blow Republicans out of the water.
Vance, I will maintain my faith in the demos and in the notion that Trump can’t fool all of the people all of the time. He couldn’t even persuade a majority last time. But given the size of his reality-denying crowd, it does behoove us to augment our faith in reason and democracy with some serious efforts to persuade the persuadable to get out and vote in 2018. Reminding them of the bad health care policy Trump and Republicans have tried to foist upon us, driven by their personal animus toward Barack Obama rather than any genuine concern for the common good, will be one key part of that GOTV persuasion.
Scott sees part of the necessary strategy for Democrats. We need signs with pix of Thune, Noem, Rounds, and Trump that say, “Now that’s a death panel!”
Where are all the Pubs like Coyote and Troy Jones? Come out of hiding and try to defend this healthcare bill
Mike, I have condensed Lori’s useful link for better viewing. Thank you, Lori, for organizing that action!
Sam2, I like to think we Democrats are capable of tackling multiple public policy problems (and as the greatest force for good in the world, the United States must do so). We need to fight for good health care policy. We also need to defend the integrity of our elections from a proven hostile foreign power. The real distraction is my yahoo neighbors who think Muslims are out to get us. No Muslim has tried to take away my health insurance. No Muslim has mobilized a nation’s intelligence agency to launch widespread hacking of my state’s election computers. And no Muslim has 7,000 nuclear warheads.
Thanks, Master, but I beat you to it. :)
Cory, I just heard that our wonderful Senator Thune received $123,400
from the Health and Pharma institutions. So, I ask how much help will he be voting against this bill. Vote all three out.
Lost in the discussion of how the AHCA is bad is the huge tax cuts that Rounds and Thune are giving themselves, their donors and the wealthy.
There is even a retroactive tax cut on investment income! What the hell does that have to do with healthcare?
Let’s be honest and just call it WealthCare.
Retroactive tax cut? Good grief, tell me Thune and Rounds aren’ also going to vote for a retroactive clawback of premium tax credits or expanded Medicaid benefits. Next they’ll want to send the repo man out after prosthetic limbs….
People need to realize this system is corrupted and pretty badly corrupted. Campaign finance reform is desperately needed. In a way I don’t blame Thune for taking dirty money because campaigning is so expensive.
The only politicans that I knew that never took Corporate money was Mark Dayton (he was already rich so he put his own money in it) and Paul Wellstone, who liked to say that the Corporations don’t like him because he doesn’t grab their money. Dayton also worked without pay in Congress, how many rich politicians do that? MN knows how to elect the good guys. :)
Cory, WaPo sez Putin ordered cyber attack to damage Clinton. U got mail.
@Jenny: “Dayton also worked without pay in Congress, how many rich politicians do that?”
Trump.
If that’s true then that’s good, Don. He certainly doesn’t need the money and now he should release his tax returns just like Dayton has.
Under The Radar … Pre-existing condition guarantees are worthless when states can opt out.
The Senate Healthcare Bill allows states to drop almost every major Obamacare insurance regulation as long as it doesn’t increase the federal deficit—with almost zero oversight from the federal government. Everything from the requirement that insurers cover maternity care to protections for people with pre-existing conditions could be at stake.
http://www.politico.com/agenda/story/2017/06/22/the-backdoor-way-the-senate-health-care-bill-rolls-back-obamacare-000465
Given Trump’s history of lying, I’d have to see some real documentation of the recipients of Trump’s salary donations.
Speaking of lies, NYT provides this list of Trump’s public lies since Inauguration. It should be sufficient to cast Trump as an unreliable witness in any formal discussion. We are stuck with a President who cannot inspire any action with his words, since his words clearly mean nothing. Even the bully pulpit is reduced to bullying, as his words cannot communicate any reliable belief or principle.
Trump told us the House bill was great. Then he said it was mean. Now he tells us the Senate bill “[i]s going to be very good.” Who knows what he’ll say tomorrow when he gets tired of begging Republican Senators who don’t cower before him to change their votes.
Mitch got FDR government care when he had polio. How quickly they forget. https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/6/23/1674486/-Govt-Healthcare-Saved-Mitch-McConnell-s-Life
@Jenny: “If that’s true then that’s good, Don”
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/apr/3/trump-donates-first-check-national-park-service/
Trump is nothing but a Rockefeller Republican. Right up you Libs alley.
#standwithpaulcruzlee
When NOem/Thunecare passes http://www.cetusnews.com/views/ByxaYTpc7Z?cat=life&title=Opinion-%7C-Give-the-Senate-health-care-bill-a-chance.-It-gives-vital-succor-to-so-many!
Darn, Cory. A list that long? They can add 12 new lies he told in Iowa. Confirmed lies.
Cory’s podcast said Friday night is party night. I can see Red Rocks from the balcony of the photo studio and Widespread is playing their annual three shows this weekend. If Cory says party, who am I to disagree? 😂 LOL
BTW … Everyone on DWC that hides and bullies behind the name ANONYMOUS, including Duggar, Springer and Grudzie now have a brand new movie star name. They will forever be known as TASER FACE. LOL 🤖
Republican Senator David Heller, (Nev.) says he will vote no on Wealthcare.
trumps appointee Ryan Zinke says he got a check, but no one knows for sure. The second one, gone..the third, who knows http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/03/donald-trump-salary-donation Dude is lying….again..
NOem/Thune/Rounds wealthcare are going after the elderly in a big way in South Dakota. This group of folks over 60 are going to suffer the most from double-cross. According to the demographics of a total population of 814,180, 322,282 citizens 60 and over, live in a home. Almost half will be devastated by this. Not right away though, so these crooks and liars will have a few years and an election cycle before the hammer falls. As our median age right now is 38 years of age, the younger crowd will be there soon enough to further add to those age numbers. https://suburbanstats.org/population/how-many-people-live-in-south-dakota
AARP has called on all the senators to reject this elderly killer https://press.aarp.org/2017-06-22-AARP-Calls-on-Senate-to-Reject-Health-Bill#.WUw_GtZbPPg.twitter
Thune is either a dumb senator or thinks everyone else is.
“Watching from the sidelines as Obamacare continues to fail is simply not an option.”
June 22, 2017
WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) issued the following statement regarding the health care discussion draft released today:
“Under Obamacare, Americans are facing higher premiums, higher deductibles, and fewer choices. That’s why watching from the sidelines as Obamacare continues to fail is simply not an option. The draft health care bill released today will help stabilize markets that are already collapsing, improve the affordability of health care, preserve access to care for those with pre-existing conditions, and sustain Medicaid while also ensuring that those who rely on the program do not have the rug pulled out from under them. This legislation also includes a more generous tax credit that is targeted toward those who need it the most, especially low-income seniors. It’s time to rescue Americans from the mess that Obamacare created.”
Thune will not run again for Senate. We know that for a fact with this bull poo. His term will be over and he can then spend his ill gotten gains from screwing grandma and gramps out of their homes and dignity. What a fraud.
Thune can only watch because he and his fellow Republican “healthcare assassins” have had both their hands around the throat of the young program, choking it to where it’s become what he’s describing.
PS … You’ll never repeal it. You’ll only tweak it and rename it. We’ll be back to fix it soon enough!!
True that Porter, true that. The cult republicans will have left us with decades of judges that we will find hard to remove, it will happen if we work together to rid ourselves of this betrayal.
Haven’t seen anyone marching in the streets protesting Obamacare, Sen. Thune … even after you and L’il Marco piecemealed it and made it raise premiums and limit coverage. You Republicans can’t even kill a law properly let alone write new legislation. “Move over and let Nancy take over.”
I have missed any rural hospitals disputing Thune or NOem or the other guy about what they are gonna do to keep the doors open. The glowing reports from these three seem kind of like a lie, or is it just me. How is it that I can read what is written but the written word does not mean anything to what these birds say out loud. How did they get so trustworthy when the same people who are listening to them all say they don’t.
I am wondering that if you live in some place other than Sioux Falls or Rapid City where your ambulance service is gonna come from and where the hell they are gonna take you without insurance. Not a peep. Of course these rural hospitals are smack dab in the middle of can’t change their minds republican areas. Wonder how that is all gonna work out.
Maybe Amazon will start an ambulance service with drones or maybe stream procedures (need to buy Prime) on what ails you. Got a pesky gallbladder, check out this version of how to remove it with a new or used surgical knife and a new or used anesthesia kit. Pain killers, no problem, opioids by the jarful. Pay by paypal and you do it yourself as soon as the drugs kick in. Side note, if it all fails, here is the link for caskets and do it yourself embalming.
We spent 6 years building and repairing Obamacare. They broke it. They own it. It’s become the turd 💩 that can’t be flushed. 😂
The question to Thune and Rounds should be this, In 4 years, where do you see Medicaid? In 4 years, where do you see rural nursing homes? The lie being perpetuated by these Senators is they are speaking of today and how today will have little effect on Medicaid and rural hospitals and nursing homes, they need to answer the direction in 4 years time. The Black guy did, yup, President Obama told us exactly how this would play out in the later years.
Trump still thinks he’s a game show host, and everyone else are the contestants.
Hear, hear, Jerry …..
The income tax rate on a sole proprietorship went up by 12% to help pay for the ACA.
We’ll see if that gets repealed, or gets redirected to: “Friends of Politicians who don’t need a few thousand dollars, but want it anyway, because they pay ALL the taxes”
Pat Powers has no headlines? Powers is missing a lot of things. Missing are comments from many that disagree with the right wing theme of his blog. It seems ….. if you have a blog where the people who get criticized on FreePress (Miranda Gohn, Troy Jones, Grudznik, Deutsch, Happy Camper, Sibson, Lynn, SDOutlaw, DuggarSD, The Hoffman Clan, and every TazerFace that calls themselves anonymous) can go to vent their anger with Cory and not get rebuttals, isn’t that a SAFE ZONE? And isn’t a Safe Zone something that these extremists accuse liberals of needing? And, doesn’t needing a Safe Zone blog as a place to feel secure make you a SNOWFLAKE? Don’t these things label DWC as the SAFE ZONE SNOWFLAKE BLOG? Just sayin’ ….. S.Z.S.B?
Here is Thune’s healthplan https://www.scribd.com/document/353689447/Better-Care-Reconciliation-Act?irgwc=1&content=10079&campaign=Skimbit%2C%20Ltd.&ad_group=38395X1559799Xd11780b84d4188353b6e98ed61270514&keyword=ft750noi&source=impactradius&medium=affiliate#from_embed
Thune is the man in the empty suit like Rounds and Dusty not a clue except to grt richer.