Democrats Shutting Down Senate Over Trumpcare

LAST WEEK, BEN MANKIEWICZ AND I CALLED ON SENATE DEMOCRATS TO
SHUT DOWN THE SENATE UNTIL THE TRUMPCARE DEBATE BECOMES
MORE TRANSPARENT.
CLEARLY THEY WERE LISTENING, OR THEY DID IT
FOR SOME OTHER REASON, BUT THEY ARE SHUTTING DOWN THE SENATE AND
THAT IS GOOD NEWS --
>>THE SORT OF TYPICAL REGULAR STUFF YOU DO IN THE SENATE THAT
THEY JUST GO ALONG WITH, THEY DON'T FIGHT, THEY WILL START
FIGHTING BECAUSE OF THE SECRECY THAT IS SHROUDED THE AHCA,
WRITING OR CRAFTING, WE DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON, BECAUSE OF
HOW SECRET IT
IS --
>>SO UNTIL THE DISCUSSION OF THE SENATE VERSION OF TRUMPCARE
GETS DISCUSSED AND THERE IS INFORMATION ABOUT IT, THEY WILL
SHUT THINGS DOWN.
THEY ARE ALSO BRINGING THE HOUSE VERSION
BACKUP, THE VERSION WHICH DONALD TRUMP RECENTLY CALLED "MEAN."
>>THIS IS GREAT.
THERE WILL BE ROLLCALL VOTE AFTER ROLL CALL
VOTE.
IF YOU THINK WATCHING THE SENATE IS DULL, AND I TELL YOU I
DO IT ALL THE TIME, NOBODY IS MORE DULL THAN ME -- IT WILL GET
EVEN DULLER.
BY ACCLAMATION THEY DO A LOT OF UNANIMOUS CONSENT
WHERE IT'S JUST ASSUMED, WITHOUT OBJECTION SO ORDERED -- THERE IS
OBJECTION NOW.
IT'S A GREAT DEVICE TO USE.
REPUBLICANS ARE
USING THEIR DEVICE, THE DEVICE OF THE MAJORITY, WHICH THEY ARE
PERFECTLY IN THE RIGHT TO DO, BUT THAT'S WHY THE MINORITY DOES
HAVE SOME POWER, AND CHUCK SCHUMER WILL WIELD IT.
I THINK IT'S GREAT, IT'S GETTING PEOPLE TO PAY ATTENTION TO
SOMETHING THAT WAS GOING TO SNEAK ON BY.
>>THIS LEGISLATING BY COVER OF DARKNESS THEY ARE TRYING TO GET
AWAY WITH, I KNOW YOU HEAR THIS IN SONY SOUNDBITES, IT'S
UN-AMERICAN, BUT IT REALLY IS AGAINST THE AMERICAN PROCESS,
AND THERE HAS TO BE SOME KIND OF TRANSPARENT DEBATE, EVEN AS
POLITICIZED AS THE SYSTEM IS.
>>WE ARE DIVIDED SO MUCH OVER THIS.
I WAS TRYING TO THINK OF
WHEN THERE WAS SOMETHING LIKE THIS BEFORE, BECAUSE THEY DON'T
USUALLY TRY TO RAM SOMETHING THROUGH, GET A VOTE --
>>THE PATRIOT ACT.
>>THAT WAS LIKE THAT, THE CREATION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF
HOMELAND SECURITY WAS A LITTLE LIKE THAT.
THE PATRIOT ACT IS
RIGHT, TO ME THAT WAS ONE OF THE ONES.
BUT YOU HAD MORE PEOPLE AT
A TIME WHEN THE ATMOSPHERE AFTER 9/11 WAS, WE WILL DO ANYTHING --
PEOPLE WERE NOT THINKING IN THE SAME WAY THEY ARE NOW, AND IT'S
NOT AS EVENLY, OR UNEVENLY, FRANKLY, DIVIDED.
>>WE HAVE TO KNOWLEDGE THAT THIS IS ABOUT AS UNPOPULAR A BILL AS
IS EVER DISCUSSED IN THE SENATE.
RECENT FOX NEWS POLL PUT IT AT 17% APPROVAL, THAT'S FOX NEWS.
YOU DON'T HAVE BILLS WITH 17% APPROVAL IN THE SENATE
BECAUSE THEY WOULDN'T HAVE MADE IT THIS FAR.
>>YOU HAVE WARS THAT ARE NOT UNPOPULAR, LIKE IRAQ, BUT THAT'S
TRUE.
IT'S REMARKABLE THAT THEY WILL PUSH THIS THROUGH, OR TRY
TO, JUST BY FORCE OF POLITICAL POWER.
>>WHAT WAS THE LEAST POPULAR BILL?
>>EVER?
>>BILL LAIMBEER, THAT THE ANSWER.
IT'S A SPORTS JOKE,
MARGARET GET IT, YOU WOULDN'T, EVEN IF YOU LIVED IN DETROIT YOU
WOULDN'T GET IT.
>>WHICH I DID NOT.
I WANT TO GIVE COMMENTS FROM A COUPLE
DEMOCRATS, CHUCK SCHUMER SAID --
>>THAT IS ALSO MY BELIEF.
WAS ALSO GO TO SENATOR BERNIE
SANDERS ABOUT HIS CONCERNS ABOUT THE SECRECY OVER THE AHCA.
>>HERE'S THE SITUATION, WE KNOW THE LEGISLATION THAT PASSED THE
HOUSE.
IT WAS THE WORST PIECE OF LEGISLATION, FRANKLY, AGAINST
WORKING-CLASS PEOPLE THAT I CAN REMEMBER IN MY POLITICAL LIFE IN
THE CONGRESS.
THROWING 23 MILLION PEOPLE OF HEALTH
INSURANCE IS BEYOND BELIEF.
IN THE SENATE, WHAT YOU HAVE IS I
BELIEVE 10 REPUBLICANS WORKING BEHIND CLOSED DOORS TO ADDRESS
ONE SIXTH OF THE AMERICAN ECONOMY, THAT'S WHAT HEALTHCARE
IS.
THE AVERAGE REPUBLICAN DOESN'T EVEN KNOW WHAT IS IN
THAT LEGISLATION.
MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT IT WILL BE
BROUGHT FORTH IMMEDIATELY BEFORE WE HAVE TO VOTE ON IT.
THIS IS COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE.
>>I THINK THEIR STRATEGY IS GREAT ON TWO LEVELS.
ON THE
FIRST LEVEL, IF THEY CAN GET PEOPLE TO STOP AND SLOW THE
PROCESS DOWN, GET THE MEDIA TO FOCUS ON IT, GET PEOPLE TO THINK
ABOUT IT, IT MIGHT HURT THE CHANCES THAT THE BILL GOES
FORWARD, THAT IT BECOMES LAW.
THAT WOULD BE GREAT.
BUT ALSO
THEY NEED, THE SENATE, THE HOUSE, THE DEMOCRATS, NEED TO
SHOW THE PEOPLE THAT THEY ARE NOT GOING TO SIMPLY SIT BY AND
ALLOW TRUMP AND THE REPUBLICANS TO DESTROY WORKING FAMILIES, TO
THROW TENS OF MILLIONS OF PEOPLE OFF HEALTH INSURANCE, TO CAUSE
BUSINESSES TO GO BANKRUPT, CAUSE PEOPLE TO DIE, THAT THEY WILL
FIGHT.
BECAUSE IF THEY DON'T FIGHT ON THIS, WHAT ARE THEY
FIGHTING FOR?
THEY DIDN'T PUT UP MUCH OF A FIGHT FOR THE SUPREME
COURT SEAT, A LITTLE BIT BUT NOT MUCH, AND THIS IS ABOUT AS HIGH
TIER AS LEGISLATION IN THE NEXT FOUR YEARS AS YOU WILL SEE.
THEY NEED TO FIGHT NOW, HOPEFULLY THEY ARE STARTING.
>>AND ONCE HEALTHCARE IS DONE, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF WHAT THE
REPUBLICANS HAVE DONE TO THE ACA, USUALLY THEY WALK AWAY AND
MOVE ON TO THE BIG SOCIAL ISSUE, THE NEXT ONE.
THAT'S WHY THIS IS
EVEN MORE DIFFERENT, AND THIS IS THERE ONE CHANCE TO DEFEND IT IN
THIS WAY, AND I THINK IT'S GOOD THAT THEY ARE DOING IT.
I ALSO
THINK IT'S GOING TO CHANGE SOME REPUBLICAN MINDS, ONCE
REPUBLICANS START HEARING WITHIN IT.
BERNIE SANDERS SAID NOT EVEN
REPUBLICANS KNOW WHAT'S IN IT, IT'S NOT JUST VOTERS, IT'S OTHER
SENATORS WHO DON'T KNOW WHAT IS IN THIS BILL.
THEY CAN'T LIKE
THAT, AND THEY CAN'T ANSWER FOR IT.
THESE ARE PEOPLE WHO RUN FOR
THEIR JOBS, AND VOTERS WILL SAY YOU VOTED FOR THIS WITHOUT
KNOWING WHAT WAS IN IT, HOW COULD YOU DO THAT?
>>AND SANDERS DOES SOMETHING SO WELL, HE DID IT THROUGHOUT THE
PRESIDENT OF CAMPAIGN -- HE SORT OF DISTILLED THE PROBLEMS WITH
THE SITUATION SO EFFECTIVELY.
THE DEMOCRATS WILL HAVE TO FIND
OTHER PEOPLE BESIDES BERNIE SANDERS TO COMMUNICATE THAT SAME
THING IN ORDER TO, AS JOHN SAYS, BUILD THEIR BRAND AROUND
DEFENDING THE PEOPLE AND A LARGE PART OF THE POPULATION THAT WILL
BE SCREWED OVER IF THIS LEGISLATION GOES THROUGH.
IT
SEEMS TO ME THEY WILL HAVE TO FIND THE RIGHT WAY TO
COMMUNICATE.
BERNIE SANDERS HAS FOUND IT, THEY WILL HAVE TO FIND
OTHERS WHO CAN BANG
>>TODAY BERNIE SANDERS AND ELIZABETH WARREN HELD A LIVE
THING WHERE THEY WERE TAKING QUESTIONS FROM PEOPLE AND
ANSWERING ABOUT THIS TOPIC.
I SAID ON TWITTER, THEY SHOULD
MAKE THIS A FREQUENT THING.
IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE JUST HEALTH
INSURANCE.
HAVE THIS ACCOUNTABILITY, GET PEOPLE MORE
INVOLVED IN THE SYSTEM, AND ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU ARE PUTTING
SUCH POPULAR POLITICIANS FORWARD.
THERE IS ONE OTHER
ASPECT, THE AHCA, TRUMPCARE, WHATEVER YOU CALL IT, IS
INCREDIBLY UNPOPULAR, AND WE'VE BROKEN DOWN GOOD REASONS FOR
THAT, BUT WE'VE GOT A NEW ONE.
IT COMES ABOUT AS A RESULT OF A
STUDY BY THE COMMONWEALTH FUND, WHICH HAD SOME GOOD NEWS FOR
PEOPLE WHO LIKE TRUMPCARE AND WANT TO GET IT PASSED, THEY SAID
IF THIS PAST YOU WOULD SEE NEW JOBS CREATED, BECAUSE THEY WOULD
GET RID OF SOME TAXES, THEORETICALLY THAT WOULD LEAD TO
MORE HIRING -- WE CAN DISAGREE WITH WHETHER THAT WOULD HAPPEN,
I'M JUST TELLING YOU THAT THAT'S WHAT THEY SAY WHAT HAPPENED, BUT
IT WILL BE SHORT-LIVED.
IF YOU LOOK FURTHER OUT THIS BILL WILL
BE DEVASTATING FOR JOBS --
>>OF THOSE NEARLY 1 MILLION JOBS, ABOUT THREE QUARTERS OF A
MILLION WILL BE LOST FROM THE HEALTHCARE FIELD, ONE OF THE
FASTEST-GROWING SECTORS OF THE AMERICAN ECONOMY.
THIS IS NOW
OUT THERE, ON TOP OF ALL THOSE OTHER DEVASTATING NUMBERS --
PEOPLE WHO WILL LOSE THEIR INSURANCE, PEOPLE WHO WILL DIE
PREMATURELY -- IT ALSO WILL KILL POSSIBLY A MILLION JOBS BY 2026.
IF IT STAYS LAW FOR LONGER, GOT ONLY KNOWS.
>>AND THIS IS FROM THE JOBS, JOBS, JOBS PRESIDENT.
AND IT'S
UNCLEAR, IF ANYONE DOESN'T KNOW WHAT IS IN THIS BILL IT'S DONALD
TRUMP.
>>I ALSO THINKS IT'S UNFAIR TO CALL HIM THE JOBS, JOBS, JOBS
PRESIDENT.
HE HAS SAID THAT -- HE'S NOT THE ANYTHING PRESIDENT.
THAT WAS A MANTRA OF HIS BUT IT WAS A THROW AWAY, THERE'S
NOTHING THAT HAS DEFINED HIS PRESIDENCY BECAUSE HE SO
HAPHAZARD.
I DON'T WANT TO HONOR HIM BY SAYING HE'S THE ANYTHING
PRESIDENT.
>>I'M NOT HONORING HIM BUT I THINK SUBSTANTIVELY THAT IS
SOMETHING.
PLEASE DON'T MISS UNDERSTANDING, I'M NOT SAYING
THAT HE IS PASSIONATELY DEFENDING THE WORKER OR
ENTERPRISING NEW JOBS FOR AMERICA, HE'S CLEARLY DOING
NEITHER.
WHAT I'M SAYING IS THAT HE WANTS TO REP HIMSELF THAT
WAY, AND AT SOME POINT THE REALITY WILL CATCH UP WITH HIS
REP, AND IT'S THE REALITY YOU JUST HEARD JOHN DESCRIBE.
>>IT MIGHT NOT CATCH UP FOR HIM IN HIS OWN HEAD, BUT FOR SOME OF
HIS SUPPORTERS IT WILL.
FOR THE RECORD, I THINK HE'S THE SCREEN
AT THE TELEVISION WHILE EATING A HOT POCKET PRESIDENT,
PERSONALLY.
HE'S BEEN CONSISTENT ONLY ON THAT SO FAR.

Democrats Shutting Down Senate Over Trumpcare

Latest Posts