Every day Trump says or does something that gives Democrats a talking point along the lines of ‘Imagine how the GOP would react if Biden/Harris/Obama did THAT?’ If not Trump then one of his top minions. That’s another topic for another time. Right now we’re mired in a government shutdown and the Senate held another late afternoon procedural vote that failed. We will I’m certain be treated to the same old bland back and forth and it’s long past time for Democrats to give Thune, Johnson and Trump a political punch in the face. As in call them out on their bullsh*t ‘We can talk about healthcare AFTER Democrats vote to reopen the government.
You can read about today’s Senatorial waste of time in this article from CBS News. What I want to focus on is its ending because we all know that unless/until Trump tells Thune and Johnson it’s time to rework the BBB we’ll remain stalemated. All along Democrats have been willing to work something out, to sit down at the WH with Trump, Thune and Johnson and work out something that allows Americans to keep their healthcare. As a condition for reopening the government. The GOP on the other hand says vote to reopen and THEN we’ll talk. Only Trump will be able to break the stalemate and we all know it:
The president said he would meet with the Democratic leaders, but only after Senate Democrats vote to reopen the government. House Speaker Mike Johnson reiterated that position in a post on X: “Leader Thune and I visited with President Trump this afternoon and he confirmed he is ready and willing for the three of us to meet with Leader Jeffries and Senator Schumer as soon as Schumer reopens the government.”
Again I ask you to keep a couple of things in mind. The BBB is going to, like predecessors explode both the budget and the national debt as written. It gutted healthcare spending to at least partially pay for the tax cuts for the wealthy. Restoring health care plan subsidies and at least a big chunk of the Medicaid cuts would mean having to roll back some of the tax cuts. Who thinks Trump, or almost every Republican on Capitol Hill will seriously consider, much less actually do such a thing?
That’s why Schumer and Jeffries have worked so hard to keep their respective caucuses united. Keeping the government shut down, at least a while longer is the only leverage they have and they know it. From where I sit their rhetoric is WAY to polite. Be a modern Diogenes with his lamp and find a single GOP politician who is willing to challenge Trump by saying ‘we can’t afford your latest tax cut.’
No one and I mean NO ONE thinks for a second that if tomorrow Democrats said ok and allowed the government to reopen that Republicans would sit down an actually negotiate the kind of changes to the BBB that need to happen. Anyone who thinks there’d be an ounce of good faith from Republicans needs their head examined! It’s not that Republicans on the Hill aren’t worried. Even though their belief that this time the public would blame Democrats for a shutdown have proven wrong they’ve stood firm. What scares them is what will happen when Americans, and not just those getting Obamacare get notices starting next month showing how much their premiums will go up.
Yes, it won’t be limited to those who depend on the ACA. Insurers will have to jack up the rates on more traditional plans. Hospital closures in rural/small town America have already started and will accelerate at an alarming rate in the months ahead. This is largely MAGA country and GOP Congress Critters have already been getting an earful from folks back home, even in heavily Red states and districts. Like SCOTUS with the Dobbs decision they probably assumed after an initial outburst of anger folks would ‘get over it.’ That didn’t work out at all well, and neither will exploding health care premiums and hospital closures!
That’s why Democrats need to stand firm. It won’t be fully apparent until well into December if not early January but come November notices will be going out to tens of millions of individuals and/or households. More importantly Democrats need to go past pointing this out because it’s not fully getting through. They need to HAMMER Republicans daily with the message that despite mealy-mouthed ‘we’ll talk about healthcare’ there is NOTHING to suggest they will negotiate in good faith.’ It’s all a monstrous LIE Republicans are parroting and Democrats need to call it out as exactly that. Make it simple. Say ‘Republicans claim if we reopen the government they will work with us to restore cuts to healthcare. THEIR HISTORY SAYS THEY CAN’T BE TRUSTED!’ In other words Democrats need to bluntly call them out as the liars they are.
I’d also ad that Democrats should take care not to exaggerate how much health care premiums will go up. They’ve got sources at insurers that can give them accurate figures and that will be plenty bad enough. In the same vein they should be cautious about the number of hospital closings. If it turns out worse than they predict it will make things that much more difficult on the GOP heading into the midterms. My point is that we have a simple message we SHOULD have been hammering every day of the shutdown. It’s that Trump and the GOP will never negotiate in good faith. When they react with outrage hit them even harder and flat-out call them the LIARS they actually are.
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Good article, Denis! Why can’t the leaders of the Democratic Party just have one, simple, unified message: Republicans and their leadership are lying through their teeth when they say the will sit down and negotiate AFTER the government is reopened. It’s now or never! Claw back whatever we can get in health care for the poor and underinsured. It’s what the citizens want and it’s the right thing to do!
My disabled daughter is lying in a hospital in Minneapolis with brain cancer fighting for her life. She is on both Medicaid AND Medicare. She will loose the majority of her health care if the Big Bullshit Bill is allowed to stay in place. My daughter may not make it till she loses her coverage but there are plenty of people who WILL die if the bill is allowed to stand as is.