I went to a town hall meeting yesterday for local Congressman Tom Reed. The audience was moderately hostile but Reed handled himself well. Some Congressional representatives get rattled by heckling, and if they do, you should heckle. Getting in your opponents’ head is half the battle. For others, like Reed, it’s better to be polite but persistent. You might think a Congressional representative like Reed “wins” in this case, but that’s not necessarily the right way to look at it, because reps who handle town hall crowds well also tend to say the kinds of reasonable, honest things that can be used against their caucus when their caucus is trying to pass truly horrible legislation like TrumpCare. Maybe you could argue that the rep still “wins” this way if the legislation fails, but there’s nothing wrong with that if it’s in the service of killing terrible legislation.
Reed was less than enthusiastic about TrumpCare. He said he wouldn’t vote for it before there was a a CBO score, and that he might conceivably vote against it if he didn’t like the CBO score. He also implied that he didn’t see the current bill as a final product but just a starting point.
In fact, a lot of Republican members of Congress are expressing reservations about TrumpCare at town hall meetings. Dean Heller’s comments were somewhat similar to Reed’s though more pointed and more supportive of ACA.
Yutsano
Dean Heller is a Teapublican in a state that just radically shifted blue. He’d better know what to say here or he’ll be out of a job in 2 years.
Which on the whole might not be bad.
amk
That’s how he will sell it to his voters and sell himself out. I expect all the rethugs to fall in line and vote for it.
polyorchnid octopunch
As a troll, Doug!, this is pretty weak. Can’t see you getting enough traction to get a tbogg unit happening off this post.
Baud
They are lying. But I agree that it’s best to get them on the record.
cynthia ackerman
I’m in Greg Walden’s district and I’m much more dubious of how pressure will apply to him.
Major Major Major Major
@amk: but the current bill is a starting point. They’re going to wreck the place with it and count on the Dems to help them bail themselves out.
Amanda in the South Bay
@cynthia ackerman: He has a very safe district.
jl
From the way Ryan misdirected, lied, BS’d and flimflammed his way through the Sunday talky interviews today, he knows very well for very sure that the bill will strip coverage from millions of people and create steep rises in premiums, especially among sicker older adults, and then they drop out they will have to pay extortion to the insurance companies to get it back when they get really sick and if they can’t afford that, then they will die (that is, it will jackhammer the Trump and GOP base).
Ryan, a fraud and liar, may have fallen for his own con. He thinks repeating ‘well, you were free to buy a policy if you wanted. Looks like you didn’t want one bad enough. Too bad. Isn’t freedom great!!’.
GOPer Congressmen who are still sane understand this is a loser. The more ruthless will be calculating chances voter suppression will save them, but outraged voters will come out of the woodwork (hey, the old woodwork problem again, dang that one is a real pest).
Edit “the woodwork problem” was jargon in the health insurance industry which explained why they feared health care reform. Uninsured people with serious chronic conditions who had been severely undertreaed would ‘come out of the woodwork’ to get coverage and someone would have to take care of them. Remember that the next health insurance industry spot that assures you how very much the do care about your welfare.
Omnes Omnibus
Mötley Crüe? Really? You are better than that.
geg6
Rothfus has been completely absent from the district here. A large number of elderly Medicare and Medicaid recipients of the white persuasion, a population that went over 70% for Dolt 45 here, live and vote here. They are probably the largest voting block in the district. There have been rallies at his offices in lieu of any town halls. He hasn’t had the balls to show his face once.
The only local GOPer to go all out in support of Ryancare has been Tim Murphy of the South Hills suburbs. Not a lot of Medicare or Medicaid dependent recipients in that district. Certainly not enough that vote. Interesting to see how they calculate what they can get away with. Murphy feels fine, despite the title Dr. for which he was previously known by, in knowingly sending innocent people to miserable deaths in order to get tax cuts. Meanwhile, the guy who has spent his career pandering to the elderly about how he was the best choice to save their SS/Medicare from the slavering hordes of browns, single wimmens and other undesirables, is running away and hiding from the very people he swore to protect. I wonder if either of them have made a proper calculation. We shall see, I guess.
p.a.
When they say this the correct response is “you’ve been voting to repeal for 6
fuckingyears, and now you barely even have a first draft?ETA: Saw Get Out tonight; not really a ‘horror/terror’ guy, but I went by the reviews and agree with the positive ones. Quickie description: Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner crossed with Rosemary’s Baby.
Baud
@Omnes Omnibus: I’m looking forward to the Girls, Girls, Girls post.
Omnes Omnibus
@Baud: I am provisionally okay with that.
hovercraft
@jl:
They are all lying, and when confronted they don’t know what to say. Here is long time supply sider Stephen Moore being confronted by a coal miner last night.
They should all be confronted every time they go on TV.
Retired Coal Miner Confronts Former Trump Adviser On His Soon-to-Be Terminated Health Benefits
“We worked in the coal mines producing the fuel that made America the most powerful nation on earth,” Leach continued. “The company I worked for went bankrupt, and now I will lose my heath benefits.”
Leach and his wife’s three children all suffer from a rare and fatal genetic disease known as Friedreich’s Ataxia. The Beaver Dam, Kentucky family worries that without John’s benefits, their financial safety net will collapse.
“The federal government has guaranteed for 70 years coal miners like myself get our benefits, but now for the first time, the government may not live up to that moral commitment,” Leach noted.
“Do you, sir, think that the U.S. government should honor the promises that were made to miners like myself?” he asked Moore.
The Trump adviser appeared flummoxed.
“I don’t know all the facts of-” Moore stammered, before deflecting.
“I would ask you this question, sir. What happened to the money? Because you paid into the system, right? And I wonder what happened to the retirement heath care dollars that were supposed to be there for you when you retired,” he answered. “I don’t know the answer to that.”
“I’ll tell you what happened,” said Van Jones, cutting in. “What happened is, when fracking hit, it made coal more expensive and they were running into bankruptcy courts to discharge those obligations.”
Baud
@Omnes Omnibus: Good job finding the loophole, counselor.
oldster
Hey Doug, did you get inside the Center?
I was one of the 200-300 people outside in the cold.
My one small triumph–when Reed came outside, I started up a chant of “tax returrns!”, and the crowd picked it up. It got to him–he had to recite his b.s. line about how it would be wrong for Congress to subpoena ordinary citizens taxes. As though that applies to presidents.
I agree with your overall take: the best questions are ones that pin him to a definite position. That can be used against him in the future.
Omnes Omnibus
@Baud: That was was more music snob than lawyer.
Ohio Mom
At least you had a town hall meeting to go to. The two (Republican) Representatives from southwest Ohio are in hiding, and Rob Portman is also avoiding us.
Portman of course is pretending to have concerns but he’ll come round and vote for whatever monstrosity is put in front of him.
I’m still doing what I can to raise a ruckus (calls, emails, participating in the local Indivisible group) but whatever optimism I had is fading fast.
I am never, ever, going to let the Republicans in my circles live this down.
amk
@hovercraft: Didn’t the ‘folks’ like him voted year after year to drown the gobinment in a bathtub?
EriktheRed
My rep is Adam Kinzinger. The little weasel hasn’t had one yet and likely won’t at all.
Villago Delenda Est
@cynthia ackerman: He also strategically held his town hall meeting in Ontario.
As far from Blue Western Oregon as you can get…and not be in Idaho.
Ksmiami
won’t be satisfied until all GOP congress critters are up against the wall or tarred and feathered and dragged through public squares. they are hideous people in a death cult
Yarrow
I’m calling my Rep and both Senators every day. I’ve been using the “Age Tax” argument. It’s short and to the point. And Republican voters are generally old, so I think it has resonance with Republican reps.
hovercraft
@amk:
Yes but only to drown the parts of government that help those people. These are the same people who bitch about the government interfering with the state and business, but as soon as something like Deep Horizon happens, they scream for the federal government to do something.
Doug!
@oldster:
I was inside but not in the main area where people could ask questions and be on a mic.
Ohio Mom
@amk: I just looked up the genetic disease his kids have. It sounds horrible. It is one of those progressive conditions affecting your ability to move that shortens your life.
To get it, both parents need to be carriers. I’m guessing they didn’t know they passed on the condition until one by one, their kids started showing symptoms.
amk
@hovercraft: Yup, KILL THE OBAMACARE but leave my medicare/medicaid/ss/all other white entitlement programs alone.
efgoldman
@jl:
All seven of them?
Aleta
@Ksmiami: drawn and quartered is another option
efgoldman
@Aleta:
Not enough horses any more.
Villago Delenda Est
@efgoldman: The demise of the domestic tumbrel manufacturing base is another concern.
hovercraft
@efgoldman:
Seven, what seven, the supposedly “moderate” ones just bleat ineffectually and the fall in live with the rest of the party. Posturing for the media and then behaving just as insane and depraved as the rest of the party is the equivalent of a functional alcoholic, they hide it well, but they are still an alcoholic.
frosty
Wouldn’t pickup trucks work just as well?
Bruuuuce
@efgoldman:
NASCAR cars have got plenty of horses for the job.
magurakurin
@Villago Delenda Est:
so far that it is actual in the Mountain Time Zone not Pacific.
Another Scott
@Major Major Major Major: The problem, of course, with the SuperGenius™ plan to wreck it and bet that the Democrats will have to help them fix it, is that the market (and the people) may not accept a promise to “fix it” later while they’re busy destroying it now.
The health insurance lobby (AHIP) has a 2 page .pdf of “requirements during the transition”. It reads like they wrote parts of the Ryan “plan”, but without their number one item:
The numbers I’ve seen for Ryan’s tax credits are a tiny fraction of the subsidies that people on the ACA get now. So I guess that means AHIP is going to demand the Ryan “plan” be defeated, right??
Yeah, I’m not holding my breath either. :-/
This Ryan “plan” continues to look like little more than a tax cut for the wealthy with the obvious side effect of breaking Obamacare. Once they really do succeed in breaking it, then they’ll present their “actual plan” to cut the carcass – if we give them the chance.
We must fight them every single day…
Cheers,
Scott.
efgoldman
@frosty:
Occurred to me after the edit window closed. But yeah, with trailer hitches
Westyny
@efgoldman: Hell, we can use cars.
Villago Delenda Est
@Another Scott:
This is precisely what it is. They don’t give a rat’s ass about anyone’s health. What they do care about is giving the parasite overclass a tax cut.
efgoldman
@Westyny:
Maybe I spent too much time with the historically informed, original instruments early music crowd, but I’d like to do it the traditional way.
randy khan
@Ohio Mom:
Keep the ruckus up. While you can’t trust Portman, the chances he’ll do the right thing improve if he’s scared about the impact of doing the wrong thing.
efgoldman
@randy khan:
Ruckus is old enough to keep himself up.
Sab
@Ohio Mom: We are all angry and won’t forget. Rob Portman got reelected with huge margins because he has no opinions on anything, and he let Americans for Prosperity (Koch Bros money and organizations subverting an actual if unpleasant grass roots outfit) slander Ted Strickland all spring and summer. Where the fuck was the Democratic party in Ohio. Strickland was a very decent guy who couldn’t raise huge sums of money because he is actually from Appalachia, and the fucking Ohio or National Democratic party would do nothing to defend him although they forced him down our throats in the primary because of name recognition. Now Rob Portman the vacuous sponge has name recognition and will be our senator for the rest of my lifetime. I could scream.
Maybe we can give him name recognition if he votes for this THING that destroys medicaid, doubles seniors premiums, and gives tax cuts to billionaires and hugely recompensed health insurance executives
Mike J
Quitting? Bannon named überführer?
efgoldman
@Sab:
Sometimes I almost feel guilty that I live in a reliably blue state, with two Dem senators and a Dem congressman that we can trust to do the right thing.
Almost.
Lizzy L
@Mike J: He’s appointing himself President for Life.
efgoldman
@Mike J:
What do you want to bet that 90% of it is either unconstitutional or requires legislation?
Villago Delenda Est
@efgoldman: Moi Aussi. Wyden, Merkley, DeFazio. Only have to cheer them on.
Bruuuuce
@efgoldman: With Schumer finally growing a (very small) pair, and a decent if not great Congressman (Joe Crowley), I know how you feel. Including the “almost”
MomSense
@Villago Delenda Est:
It’s a tax cut for the rich with bonus sabotage of Medicare and Medicaid.
Sab
@efgoldman: Hey, we also have Sherrod Brown. Ohis voters are reliably red unless they trust someone of a different persuasion. Basically, their default trust is red, but they believe believable other points of view. How could the same state elect Sherrod Brown and Rob Portman? But we still keep doing it.
El Caganer
@Mike J: I thought he was bucking for reichskanzler.
efgoldman
@Sab:
Long, long Republiklown tradition going back to McKinley. Sherrod Brown is the anomaly, I think
Another Scott
@Sab: Incumbency is a huge advantage…
Cheers,
Scott.
Brachiator
I love how the Trump administration is advancing the idea that the CBO is a fake organization, and that only Trump can be trusted to tell the citizens the truth about the costs of the Republican bill. Trump may be incompetent, but he’s got hucksterism down pat, the the Congressional Republicans know how to follow Trump’s lead in throwing bullshit.
Sab
@efgoldman: In my youth we had John Glenn and Howard Metzenbaum. Howard fought for Ohio, John fought for America, both Dems.
Another Scott
Kinda interesting that Dick_Nixon says he’ll save us.
;-)
Cheers,
Scott.
efgoldman
@Sab:
I had forgotten that.
Sab
@Another Scott: Yeah, I know. It’s why I am so pissed at the Ohio Dems that let this happen. We didn’t just lose. We rolled over with our paws in the air. I once had an eighty pound basset hound get seriously injured by a five pound jack russell exhibiting the same behavior. Fuck! All fights are local.!
Sab
@Another Scott: Yeah, I know. It’s why I am so pissed at the Ohio Dems that let this happen. We didn’t just lose. W
Another Scott
@Sab: If people think that the vitriol that Hillary got was something unique or created just for her, they should review the fierce attacks that Metzenbaum endured for a very long time. His religion was a convenient “othering” knob for the RWNJs, but his fierce defense of liberalism made him a lightning rod for all kinds of attacks. Unfortunately, he didn’t leave a strong bench behind him (his hand-picked candidate – his son-in-law – lost), and was replaced by Mike DeWine. :-(
There’s a lesson there – we need a deeper bench – and I hope that we’re learning that (especially after Hillary’s loss and the aging of our leadership in the House and Senate)…
Cheers,
Scott.
Smiling Mortician
@efgoldman:
I’m in the same situation. I don’t feel guilty. But I do feel fortunate.
Sab
@Sab: I am inept at editing
efgoldman
@Another Scott:
The problem with popular, good (or bad) people who serve a long time is they tend to make a roadblock for those in lower offices behind them.
We saw this with Kennedy and Kerry in MA, and Tip O’Neill, Silvio Conte, and Barney Frank in the house. Great people all, but they blocked those offices for decades.
Sab
@Another Scott: I had a friend who worked on his first campaign and the big issue was was he Catholic. He couldn’t say no I am Jewish to those bigots. Weird. But he managed.
Sab
He being Metzenbaum.
Lizzy L
@efgoldman: Yes. I love Nancy Pelosi but it’s time for her to identify and support her successor. Same with DiFi, who’s in her 80s. We need new faces and new talents.
tofubo
Speak of the devil…
https://twitter.com/pwnallthethings/status/841115229048229888
Another Scott
@Sab: I lived in Cobb Co. GA before moving to Ohio in the early-mid ’70s. I was a kid when Howard was first elected to the Senate and didn’t pay all that much attention to state politics initially, but I couldn’t help notice the way the GOP tried to turn him into the Devil. It made me appreciate how difficult it was to be a strong liberal and to be treated reasonably fairly by the media and the political opposition.
Politics was usually very hard-fought in Ohio when I was there. Jim Rhodes was seemingly GOP governor for life (though Ohio law was that he couldn’t serve more than 2 consecutive terms), even with the seemingly never ending court cases about his actions while governor during the Kent State massacre. Cities were strongly Democratic (when I was there). It was an interesting dynamic – and having two reasonably strong parties that actually tried to win on the merits of their policies helped keep the parties honest and vibrant. Now, the GOP controls most of the state and is doing its best to make sure Democrats never have a fair chance ever again… Grr…
Cheers,
Scott.
Another Scott
@tofubo: I don’t think a reorganization of the White House on changing parties is all that unusual. The Devil’s in the details, of course, and it would be amazing if Donnie’s Band of Bunglers managed to put forward a sensible plan on the topic…
Cheers,
Scott.
Yarrow
@Lizzy L: Speaking of DiFi, there was a rumor that Schwarzenegger was going to run for her seat but I guess he shot it down via a post on Facebook. He said he was going to work on redistricting reform like they passed in California. He says that gerrymandering has broken our political system and he wants to work on all states having an independent redistricting commissions.
I would be all for that and a high profile supporter like Schwarzenegger might give it a boost. I can’t imagine Republicans would like it because in a lot of states they’d lose a lot of seats.
Mnemosyne
Sitting in a wheelchair at LAX and waiting for someone from Delta to take me up to security and to the gate. Stupid knee.
efgoldman
@Mnemosyne:
Remember you can rent a scooter at the park – and go to the front of the lines.
MomSense
@Mnemosyne:
Wait what happened?? Sorry about your knee.
Another Scott
@Mnemosyne: Make them put you on a golf cart if time gets short.
Have a great time, and don’t be bummed about your knee. It sounds like you’re doing all the right things so maybe it’ll give you a pleasant surprise tomorrow.
Have fun!
Cheers,
Scott.
Lizzy L
@Yarrow: DiFi’s a Democrat; he’s a Republican. Her successor needs to be a Democrat. That said, if he wants to oppose gerrymandering, I applaud. Also, it’ll piss Trump off, and I applaud that bigtime.
Mnemosyne
@MomSense:
I did a Cole yesterday and tripped going to the front door. Fell right on my bad knee.
@efgoldman:
The scooters tend to get rented fast but, if necessary, I have child labor available.
Yarrow
@Lizzy L: He said he’s NOT running for Senate. INSTEAD he’s going to focus on redistricting reform.
efgoldman
@Mnemosyne:
Are they big enough to carry you?
Oh, to push a wheelchair.
Yarrow
@Mnemosyne: How is your knee doing today? Is the wheelchair more of a precaution or can you not put weight on it?
SFAW
@efgoldman:
Might need your eyeglass prescription checked — you’re seeing double (within a reasonable approximation).
BlueDWarrior
@Lizzy L: problem is that, like Reid, Pelosi will leave only when she and she alone feels like it. Which is the drawback to have strong institutional control, it means power, whenever it changes hands, happens at the behest of the holder and no one else.
Republicans have benefitted from their institutional chaos and the dark money being willing to support literally any crank who would take the label.
Mnemosyne
@Yarrow:
I can put weight on it for a while, but I had to wheel my bag the length of two terminals and my knee was hurting like hell by the time I got to the check-in counter, so I decided to be a wimp. Hopefully they can give me some ice on the plane.
BlueDWarrior
@Another Scott: yeah, the problem is that we are being monetarily strangled to death in the middle if the country. It’s hard to develop a wide breadth bench when we keep losing away from heavily populated areas.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
also the state-by-state nature of politics makes things difficult. Jason Kander and Jamie Harrison should be rising stars, I think they are, but it’s going to be hard for them to build national profiles from MO or SC. That said, I’ll surprised if Kander doesn’t run in 2020, even if it’s a play for Veep
I don’t know much about Beto O’Rourke, other than the fact the his name is splendid, but people seem to be taking his (rumored) run against Ted Cruz seriously. I guess the Castro brothers could never figure out who was gonna take heads or tails in that coin toss
MomSense
@Mnemosyne:
Oh no!
I hope this doesn’t mean the Cole clumsiness really is contagious.
efgoldman
@BlueDWarrior:
There’s also a real institutional advantage, to the individual and their state, to seniority on Capitol Hill.
Mnemosyne
@MomSense:
I was wearing clogs, which is always a dumb move when you’re in a hurry.
chopper
@Ohio Mom:
depends, the story isn’t super well written. where it says
it could mean (leach and his wife)’s 3 kids, or leach, and his wife’s 3 kids.
in the latter, assuming his wife is a carrier (which must be true if any kids are affected), the chance of the three kids being affected is what, 1/8? if the former (they’re both just carriers) then the chance is 1/64.
efgoldman
@Mnemosyne:
First class, right? Unlimited wine, no extra charge.
Yarrow
@Mnemosyne: It sounds like you made a smart decision.
I got ice from a McDonald’s at an airport when I needed to keep a medication cool. I had a cool bag with me but the ice I was using had somewhat melted during the long flight and I had a drive ahead of me. So I asked nicely at the McDonald’s next to the gate and they gave me a big cup of ice. It might be easier to do it that way before you get on the plane.
tofubo
@Another Scott:
amazing isn’t the word it may be, I’m leaning towards atrocious, we shall see
Another Scott
@efgoldman: I’m sure we agree, but just to state the obvious…
Yes, having long service in the House and Senate is important (institutional and procedural knowledge, seniority on committees, etc.), but it’s also important to be a mentor to people back home so that you leave a legacy in people and not just in legislation.
More than just anointing someone to take the seat after they retire, we need our leaders to support and mentor people to run for all sorts of offices. It looks really bad when a long-serving Senator (and his party) anoints his son-in-law to succeed him and it’s an obvious point of attack. Political offices shouldn’t be hereditary, and they shouldn’t be given out like chits. We we want the best possible people to run, and that means finding them and supporting them at a young age.
There’s going to be a loss of seniority when Nancy retires. We can accept that and work to have the strongest possible successor, or we can just wait around until the day comes and be caught flat-footed.
DiFi is the oldest currently serving Senator…
Cheers,
Scott.
MomSense
@Mnemosyne:
Shoot. Sorry about that. If you have a crutch, scooter or wheel chair you will definitely get to cut all the lines at Disney. I speak from experience.
J R in WV
@hovercraft:
When people who ahve worked their whole working life for a single company, have “vested” pension “rights” with that company, were promised health care in signed contracts, how is it legal for those obligations, made usually decades ago to be written off in bankruptcy proceedings before any other obligations are even considered?
Congress did the bankruptcy laws, and revise them periodically. To no one’s benefit but corporations. Pensions should all be funded by employers depositing the needed funds directly into a government fund. Like Social Security, somewhat, just as guaranteed, just as protected.
The companies and local governments funding the pensions should have no access to those funds whatsoever. They belong to employees and the families of those employees. They never belong to the creditors of the employer, the coal company that goes bankrupt, the oil company that goes bankrupt. Which will happen when solar panels and batteries hit the right price point.
That money no longer belongs to the employer at all, and creditors should have no access to it at all in any legal proceeding at all. Unless they can prove that a given employee never worked for them, I guess. Hard to do in the face of IRS documents and Social Security payments, I would think.
J R in WV
@Another Scott:
Scott, I don’t think the White House is what he has in mind. It’s all the Departments of the Executive Branch, From EPA and HHS to Defense and NASA and the FDA. He plans to lay off 80% of the federal employees starting immediately. That will eliminate a whole bunch of intelligent Democratic voters right away.
Not to mention stop the pesky Climate Change stuff. And then we won’t know when a blizzard is coming next week any more, nor when to look out for a hurricane. Or when the Russians are coming. Or why people are getting sick after eating improperly handled foodstuff. Because the Free Market will work better with the only lubricant being our blood, rather than having any brakes on the corporations.
Ohio Mom
@chopper: No, the way the genetics work, you need two carrier parents. It is a rare condition so probably not too many carriers in the world (which makes you wonder about the further and older branches of this couple’s family tree, and how related they might ultimately be).
Of course, it is possible to have two carrier parents and not have any children who are affected, or are even carriers themselves, but luck was not on this family’s side.
And theoretically, the kids could all be from a former marriage of either him or his wife — though it’s hard for me to imagine someone with three disabled children having time or energy for dating, or the prospect of taking on three disabled children being attractive to potential suitors.
The condition starts presenting pretty early in life. It’s a very disabling condition, physically, and you have a good chance of developing heart problems and diabetes.
It really is a story about why health coverage and a social safety net are necessities: you can never know what could happen, there are many things that can neither be foreseen or prevented (or, in this case, even treated).
I’d bet this fellow and his wife understand all that, even as most of his neighbors do not.