They don't care about the R next to his name at all. Pence can easily and more effectively help their agenda. Trump actively hurts what they want to get done by being a childish moron.

They are terrified his base would primary the fuck out of all of them if they cross him. Nothing more. It's all about preserving their power.

[Edited on July 26, 2017 at 6:28 AM. Reason : ]

7/26/2017 6:27:34 AM

McCain deserves to be called more than he has been, he gives a speech saying we need more bipartisanship and criticizing the current healthcare bill but he voted for the motion to proceed. Fuck this guy, he is not a maverick he is a coward.

And fuck democrats who cheered for him

7/26/2017 9:38:17 AM

^^your second paragraph completely argued against your first. Your second paragraph is correct.

^i have no problem with Dems being happy to see someone who is likely a friend return from sickness. However, he absolutely should be called out for being a coward.

7/26/2017 9:54:42 AM

Quote :

"Do you understand the need to compromise sometimes?"

Of course, but when I think of a compromise, depriving tens of millions of people of healthcare is not something that comes to mind. That is not something I would compromise. Probably kind of like how you wouldn't negotiate with terrorists and let them blow up 3 buildings instead of the 7 they wanted to blow up (oh wait...).

7/27/2017 12:39:00 AM

^ So what's your solution, keeping in mind Republicans control over half of Congress?

You won't compromise, so what WOULD you do?

7/27/2017 12:17:54 PM

Compromise with the left

7/27/2017 3:18:58 PM

NOT CREDIBLE

7/27/2017 3:39:29 PM

Gotta admit the gasp when McCain said no was hilarious! +1

[Edited on July 28, 2017 at 10:44 AM. Reason : .]

7/28/2017 10:43:47 AM

I hope this serves as a cautionary tale to the left that pushing out skilled and experienced legislators for no other reason than "we need a change" is maybe not the best idea. What Pelosi and Reid did to get the ACA through Congress was nothing short of a miracle. Winning elections doesn't mean dick if you can't actually pass laws.

7/28/2017 2:22:34 PM

Exactly, if MConnell, Cornyn, Ryan and McCarthy just had a few more years of experience, they coulda ushered this turd right through congress easy-peasy.

[Edited on July 28, 2017 at 3:24 PM. Reason : That's ~50 years of congressional experience combined. The bill was garbage, thats why it failed ]

7/28/2017 3:20:33 PM

The only thing McConnell is experienced at is saying "no" and Paul Ryan is just an idiot who's never written a passable law in his life. Yeah, the bill was shit, but it's leadership's job to get members to vote for things they might not like. There were plenty of Democrat caucus members who were either in bed with Big Pharma/insurance industry or didn't think the ACA went far enough, but Pelosi/Reid got their votes anyway.

7/28/2017 3:37:15 PM

They were one vote away from passing the biggest turd in healthcare legislation history. A bill that literally polled at 17% approval. It still almost made it over the finish line. I'd say their arm-twisting game is pretty solid.

7/28/2017 4:29:20 PM

Part of me feels like maybe they arranged for the bill to fail. Who better to take the fall than john mccain? Just a theory. They fulfil their promise through votes without having to live with the consequences.

Quote :

"There were plenty of Democrat caucus members who were either in bed with Big Pharma/insurance industry"

Lets not act like ACA wasn't designed in part by big pharma/insurance industry. The democrats you're referring to are the ones that killed any chance of single payer.

7/28/2017 6:26:07 PM

democrats gave us the ACA with no public option, and republicans were a vote away from removing it

but yeah let's pretend like liberals shouldn't rock the boat

fucking moron, go choke on a cock



[Edited on July 28, 2017 at 6:45 PM. Reason : a gender neutral cock, i didn't assume your gender]

7/28/2017 6:43:57 PM

^^ it was designed to fail, but not in the sense you're describing.

It was never intended to become law; it was intended to garner enough votes to keep the process alive and serve as a vehicle for negotiations with the house (which itself would be a formidable hurdle). The only way it even got 49 votes was assurance from Congressional leadership that it would never become law, and would only serve as a stepping stone to further negotiation.

7/28/2017 6:46:20 PM

Public option/single payer was killed by one Joe Lieberman, not a Democrat, but hey let's continue playing revisionist history because you're still butthurt over Bernie.

It's even more nonsensical that the biggest target of "liberal" ire is Nancy Pelosi, the representative from San Francisco with literally the most liberal voting record in the entire House. I wonder why.....

[Edited on July 28, 2017 at 7:05 PM. Reason : house]

7/28/2017 6:51:34 PM

Quote :

"I hope this serves as a cautionary tale to the left that pushing out skilled and experienced legislators for no other reason than "we need a change" is maybe not the best idea. What Pelosi and Reid did to get the ACA through Congress was nothing short of a miracle. Winning elections doesn't mean dick if you can't actually pass laws."

Oh fuck off with your self congratulatory bullshit. This bill failed because of the thousands of activists who protested, got arrested, called their senators day and night, and exercised their right to dissent by demanding their representatives do the right thing.

Quote :

"Public option/single payer was killed by one Joe Lieberman, not a Democrat"

Just gonna go ahead and forget that he was the Democratic VP nomination with Gore, huh? Hmmmm, you sure did seem to have a habit of pushing Democrats to the side (Lieberman, Bernie, Donna Brazile, Debbie Wasserman Shaltz, etc.) when they no longer fit into your mystical definition of Democratic thought.

Quote :

"It's even more nonsensical that the biggest target of "liberal" ire is Nancy Pelosi, the representative from San Francisco with literally the most liberal voting record in the entire House. I wonder why....."

Pfffffffff......get the fuck outta here with your sexist dog whistle card. The entire Bay Area is filled with two types of people. Conservative neo-liberal Democrats like yourself, and proud progressives with a long tradition of antagonistic views of capital. Guess which group Pelosi falls under

[Edited on July 28, 2017 at 7:31 PM. Reason : ]

7/28/2017 7:22:32 PM

All RNC staff at the WH are out now.

7/28/2017 8:17:14 PM

Quote :

"Public option/single payer was killed by one Joe Lieberman, not a Democrat, but hey let's continue playing revisionist history because you're still butthurt over Bernie."

Reconciliation?

7/30/2017 11:11:53 PM

https://www.facebook.com/senatorsanders/videos/10156209998362908/



American "democracy" has reached disgustingly low levels for years now. A sham of a democracy.

8/6/2017 9:34:34 PM

^lol using a bernie sanders video and quote to get angry at the Right for being in bed with billionaires

pull your head out, both sides do it, and both sides have billionaires funding their campaigns

8/7/2017 3:27:44 PM

except that progressives aren't okay with either side doing it

8/7/2017 3:39:44 PM

The majority of republicans are okay with Trump's response to Charlottesville

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/americans-divided-over-trumps-response-to-charlottesville-cbs-news-poll/?linkId=41076262

Tell me again about how nazis don't represent your party

8/18/2017 9:04:20 AM

McConnell says there is zero chance congress will fail to raise debt ceiling

but i thought the debt ceiling was a serious thing that we need to shutdown the government to fight

8/22/2017 8:08:20 AM

Back when the GOP was just trying to throw wrenches into everything, it made sense for them to make these threats to try to extract things and their base loved it.

Now they are in a position to govern and they are still using it, but this time against each other. The goal is still to extract concessions from the other side tho. I can't tell if it's just meat being thrown to the base (especially from Trump, again, lots of them love this shit) or if it really is an indication of how far the bar has been lowered for "governing." For Trump and some of his "friends" in the freedumb caucus, I really do get the sense that whenever brinkmanship political stunts are discussed behind closed doors it's a bunch of serious tuff guy talk followed by "durrr, good idear."

SMDH

[Edited on August 24, 2017 at 5:57 PM. Reason : Trump most likely is just trying to spite McConnell]

[Edited on August 24, 2017 at 6:00 PM. Reason : It also could create volatility in the stock market, an opportunity for bankers]

8/24/2017 5:54:50 PM

https://www.dallasnews.com/news/weather/2017/08/25/texas-lawmakers-now-bracing-harvey-voted-sandy-spending

Oh yea, I remember this. 8 Texas congress people voted against hurricane sandy relief. Austerity is the path to prosperity after all.

8/25/2017 9:17:23 PM

Texas sucks for a ton of reasons.

But those elected pieces of shit shouldn't condemn millions of people to suffering.

[Edited on August 25, 2017 at 9:36 PM. Reason : 10 actually if you county cornyn and shitty ted cruz ]

8/25/2017 9:35:18 PM

What if the people being condemned quite literally put these asshats in power, repeatedly. Should a vote have consequences?

I really don't want to see these people suffer, but in the same way you can't teach a stupid dog to listen until you beat the shit out of it with a newspaper, well maybe these folk need to be convinced.

8/26/2017 3:42:43 PM

Kidrocracy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OY3zFblpM5s

9/10/2017 7:55:54 AM

I'm so fucking scared for this country.


Kid rock: "don't forget this is one nation under God!!!"

*throws middle fingers up, crowd goes wild*


Me: what in the ever loving fuck is wrong with these people?

9/10/2017 9:46:45 AM

Ted Cruz

https://youtu.be/Hzm2MCg5HfU?t=1m46s

9/12/2017 3:15:31 AM

http://www.avclub.com/good-morning-ted-cruz-liked-a-porn-tweet-1803775744

9/12/2017 9:37:46 AM

^ I was just about to post that

https://www.indy100.com/article/ted-cruz-nsfw-tweet-porn-senator-texas-twitter-reaction-7941816

Hypocrites, all of them.

Quote :

"It's a big deal because Mr Cruz once waged a legal campaign against dildos and sex toys, arguing that members of the public have no right... ...to stimulate one’s genitals for non-medical purposes unrelated to procreation or outside of an interpersonal relationship..."

[Edited on September 12, 2017 at 11:43 AM. Reason : ]

9/12/2017 11:42:45 AM

So is McCain going to go down in history with a spine or the ultimate hypocrite after voting for this piece of shit bill after giving multiple speeches about how bills shouldn't be passed in this manner?

9/19/2017 4:31:24 PM

So here's a serious question: If Trump/admin associates come out guilty in all of this, will this anger Trump supporters and other Republicans?

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/09/19/trump-using-campaign-rnc-funds-to-pay-russia-probe-legal-bills-reuters-citing-sources.html

Quote :

"Trump using campaign, RNC funds to pay Russia probe legal bills: Reuters, citing sources"

Bear in mind, I have no clue if this has happened with previous Presidents, for instance in Bill Clinton's case.

[Edited on September 19, 2017 at 4:57 PM. Reason : a]

9/19/2017 4:56:01 PM

https://amp.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jun/26/koch-network-piggy-banks-closed-republicans-healthcare-tax-reform

Quote :

"Koch network 'piggy banks' closed until Republicans pass health and tax reform"

Ohhhhhhh. Now the lemming like effort to jump off the healthcare cliff makes more sense. Gotta have that sweet Koch cheddar no matter the personal cost to your constituents.

9/20/2017 7:43:01 AM

Rand Paul is seeming like he may be caving. I suspect this is the bill that eventually passes

I’m sure the Democrats are looking for new ways to fuck it up and given their track record I’m sure they’ll find them, but surely this passing and the resulting CBO score that comes AFTER the vote should flip the house...

[Edited on September 20, 2017 at 9:19 AM. Reason : Also still think this passing is the straightest line to Medicare for all or single payer]

[Edited on September 20, 2017 at 9:22 AM. Reason : SO if Collins/Murkowski stay no who else does? Anyone out there?]

9/20/2017 9:18:57 AM

Rand Paul isn't caving, he was never actually going to be "no" on this. He's a grandstander for a full repeal, but in no way is he ever going to actually vote against the only way to repeal a piece of this, especially not that now is their last shot

McCain is probably the only possible no, but I'd put money on him helping it pass. What's great is that in some ways this bill is worse than a bunch of iterations that got less votes last time we went through this, but now that it's do or die they'll all fall in line.

When does the parliamentary rule on what parts of this are ineligible for reconciliation?

[Edited on September 20, 2017 at 9:30 AM. Reason : asdf]

9/20/2017 9:26:32 AM

I'm not counting on procedural rules saving us from this or any bill. Bottom line is Obamacare will never be safe as long as the GOP controls Congress and the WH. It only had to be passed once but it needed to be defended forever. That was why electing Hillary was so important, as a bulwark against GOP attempts to destroy healthcare, Wall Street reform, DACA, environmental reforms, etc..... But, you know, emails, and speeches, and pay-for-play HIV and tuberculosis medication.

[Edited on September 20, 2017 at 12:00 PM. Reason : .]

9/20/2017 11:59:31 AM

God, the only thing worse than this shit bill is trying to imagine what the NCGOP would develop with its block-granted money, it sends shivers down the spine.

9/20/2017 12:42:18 PM

Guards at bathroom stalls to check genitals?

9/20/2017 1:07:23 PM

Quote :

"It only had to be passed once but it needed to be defended forever. That was why electing Hillary was so important, as a bulwark against GOP attempts to destroy healthcare, Wall Street reform, DACA, environmental reforms, etc"

these and the supreme court justice nomination are all the reasons why Trump was elected.

9/20/2017 1:10:28 PM

We're all well aware that poor people voting for republicans have a long history of voting against their own interests

9/20/2017 1:28:47 PM

more to do with Hillary being a shit candidate

9/20/2017 1:59:08 PM

Another wrinkle I thought was significant:

How many GOP-controlled states refused to expand Medicaid because they thought it would later become an unfunded liability they couldn't roll back (I think everyone except KY, AK, and NV?).

Graham-Cassidy is a literal cliff-hanger after 2026 with no funding or program after. Why would any state set-up a meaningful healthcare system that could just evaporate in 10 years?

Fuck the GOP and especially that bitch-ass lyndsay Graham.

9/20/2017 2:43:54 PM

This is just something else,



These people are all sub-human garbage.

9/20/2017 2:44:55 PM

^yes


And another thing: what happened to allowing insurers to sell products across state lines? That was supposed to save us $texas on premiums (allegedly, at least in GOP lalaland). Now they want to permanently lock in our 50 state, compliance nightmare.

It's like they are tossing every conservative idea in the trash can so they can just throw cash at the states and say "here figure this out for us."

9/20/2017 2:52:10 PM

^ at least if they leave that out it closes the loophole that every insurance company would just run to the first state to allow pre-existing condition waivers and sell from that state only

9/20/2017 2:59:02 PM

Good point. It could be a blessing in disguise.

9/20/2017 3:17:53 PM

Quote :

"These people are all sub-human garbage."

9/20/2017 4:07:17 PM