***Official Political Discussion Thread***

[everysingletime]

 

Republicans, including two from New Jersey, just voted to throw roughly 24 million Americans 
out in the cold with no health coverage. With the savings, they are offering a fresh round of enormous tax breaks for the very rich. And for added insult, they voted to exempt themselves from any of the pain.



One of the two from New Jersey is Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen, product of a line of American aristocrats extending to days of British rule, and a man whose arrogance knows no match.



He still won't hold a town hall meeting on this, despite a flood of protests, all of them respectful and polite. Yesterday, many of them said they were blocked from leaving messages at his offices. If Sir Rodney survives the 2018 election, it is because of gerrymandering alone.



The other was Rep. Tom MacArthur, who played an even more important role. He is the man who resurrected this repeal from the dead by drafting a compromise designed to entice the hard-right Freedom Caucus. The changes made the bill even more brutal, putting those with pre-existing conditions at risk.



In the spirit of full disclosure, I confess to feeling a profound personal bond with MacArthur (R-3rd
).



He started out as a hero
 in this fight, one of just nine Republicans to defy party leaders in January by voting against a plan to fast-track the Obamacare repeal. It was a big moment, so I hopped on a train to Washington to talk it over with him.



"No American should lack insurance," he told me. "And I'm not talking about access - I'm talking about insurance."



Then he got personal. He told me about losing his daughter at age 11, with her medical bills reaching $1 million, a sum he knows an uninsured family could never handle.



The interview stopped there, on a dime. I lost a son to cancer, and as anyone in this circle of hell knows, it is a brotherhood that goes far deeper than politics. MacArthur told his staffers to leave us, and we talked alone about the horror of it.



Later, he told me his mother died of cancer when he was four, and his father had no insurance. His dad worked three jobs for two decades trying to pay those bills, and still, needed help in the end.



This is a man, I thought, who would never be caught in the stale ideological debate about health care. Republican or not, I felt certain he would be no part of a plan to strip coverage from millions of families.



And then he voted for the first repeal.




And when that flopped, he did something worse: He saved it by making it more harsh, allowing states to opt out of the key protections for those with pre-existing conditions. He was the supposed moderate leader, reaching out to the right.



With this move, MacArthur loses any claim to being a moderate. But he has new status in the party, new friends on the right. He swears that's not why he did this. But the puny concessions he won do little to mitigate the damage of this bill.

Party > people

That's probably the biggest definition of a scumbag ever. To know exactly the implications of taking away someone's Healthcare and then to do it anyway.

 

[everysingletime]

So do you guys think this ahca is enough for Republicans to lose big in 2018?

You gotta think that Republicans just handed their opponents the noose from which to hang them from

 

[ninjahood]

Post your sources. 

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...s-in-trouble-as-insurers-tire-of-losing-money

among mannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnny articles.

NJ is about to only have 1 provider because most have pulled out.

http://archive.northjersey.com/news...obamacare-health-providers-for-2017-1.1659229

thats when they were down to 2.

what's da point of coverage if its unaffordable?

should've just raised medicaid expansion on its own, and have a mucccch easier time politically in Obama's first term.

 

[seandon23]

So do you guys think this ahca is enough for Republicans to lose big in 2018?

You gotta think that Republicans just handed their opponents the noose from which to hang them from

It's hard to say imo. If Dems really push that message along with other screw ups by the GOP but even then it comes down to how motivated people are to either vote Dems or stop supporting the GOP. And many people who vote for GOP are gonna vote GOP no matter what. The best thing that Dems can do is show how the GOP are inept and show how they have a better plan in governing. But they are still at a big disadvantage in certain areas where district lines are heavily against them.

 

[Mr.Guy]

HBCU presidents played themselves just like the other Black folks that had a meeting photo op with the WOAT POTUS.

Kanye played himself too.

 

[Mark Antony]

They all did. Nothing will come of their meetings but embarrassment and loss of their footing in the community. Thing is most of them didn't even come out of there saying they were trying something to benefit the community, they lead with we need to work with him. Welp.

 

[IATT]

"Give him a chance"

 

[dragicon]

So do you guys think this ahca is enough for Republicans to lose big in 2018?

You gotta think that Republicans just handed their opponents the noose from which to hang them from

Nah. We are still in 2017. If this happened just before the election, then maybe. However, the same talking points will be brought up before the election (terrorism, gay marriage, gun control, immigration, Christian values), and they won't lose more than a couple seats.

 

[aepps20]

"Give him a chance"

That's what I've been doing B.

 

[Mr.Guy]

Any updates on the Russia investigation?

 

[RustyShackleford]

Post your sources. 

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...s-in-trouble-as-insurers-tire-of-losing-money

among mannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnny articles.

NJ is about to only have 1 provider because most have pulled out.

http://archive.northjersey.com/news...obamacare-health-providers-for-2017-1.1659229

thats when they were down to 2.

what's da point of coverage if its unaffordable?

should've just raised medicaid expansion on its own, and have a mucccch easier time politically in Obama's first term.

That last line is some revisionist history bull ****.

 

[ninjahood]

politically tinkering with what's already there >>> starting from scratch.

 

[Mark Antony]

Like improving the parts of the ACA that don't work instead of scrapping it?

 

[Belgium]

So do you guys think this ahca is enough for Republicans to lose big in 2018?

You gotta think that Republicans just handed their opponents the noose from which to hang them from

Well for the senate, 34 seats are up for election and the vast majority of those are democrats. 23 democrats, 2 independents and 8 republicans.

And the house still has the problem of significant gerrymandering in the GOP's favor. 

 

[Belgium]

Like improving the parts of the ACA that don't work instead of scrapping it?

 

[wavycrocket]

 

[RustyShackleford]

politically tinkering with what's already there >>> starting from scratch.

Spoken like someone that has no idea about policy and the political climate at the time.

 

[RustyShackleford]

I love this quote, but I hate how cornballs use this speech to argue that black people should vote GOP

And fake woke dudes use it to argue you should not vote.

This speech needs to be put in proper historical context

 

[Mark Antony]

Them fake woke dudes about to lose their Alma maters and safe educational congregation grounds due to lack of funding because they were too woke to make a logical decision.

 

[boris]

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...s-in-trouble-as-insurers-tire-of-losing-money

among mannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnny articles.

NJ is about to only have 1 provider because most have pulled out.

http://archive.northjersey.com/news...obamacare-health-providers-for-2017-1.1659229

thats when they were down to 2.

what's da point of coverage if its unaffordable?

should've just raised medicaid expansion on its own, and have a mucccch easier time politically in Obama's first term.

This reminds me of when you were repeating the automobile industry's talking point that small cars weren't profitable. You just repeat talking points that you don't understand because they confirm your bias.

Take a look at the earnings of the companies listed in your first article and see how much money they made over the last few years. Revenue grew. They still made a profit. 

Then, you take a look at some of these CEO's salaries. Yeah man, they're really hurting.

 

[ninjahood]

Like improving the parts of the ACA that don't work instead of scrapping it?

Obamacare shouldn't of been done in da first place.

 

[ninjahood]

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...s-in-trouble-as-insurers-tire-of-losing-money


among mannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnny articles.


NJ is about to only have 1 provider because most have pulled out.

http://archive.northjersey.com/news...obamacare-health-providers-for-2017-1.1659229


thats when they were down to 2.


what's da point of coverage if its unaffordable?


should've just raised medicaid expansion on its own, and have a mucccch easier time politically in Obama's first term.

This reminds me of when you were repeating the automobile industry's talking point that small cars weren't profitable. You just repeat talking points that you don't understand because they confirm your bias.

spoke like someone who doesn't know what's happening to da sedan market in America

 

[Mark Antony]

Like improving the parts of the ACA that don't work instead of scrapping it?

Obamacare shouldn't of been done in da first place.

Yeah they were wild stupid for pursuing AFFORDABLE CARE.

 

[blackdynamite]

Can someone give me a quick rundown of Obamacare bersus this new healthcare act?

 

[ninjahood]

politically tinkering with what's already there >>> starting from scratch.

Spoken like someone that has no idea about policy and the political climate at the time.

Obama passed a huge stimulus package..he had da juice to tinker with Medicaid...da fact that hr passed that Obamacare monstrosity is facts enough