The worst bill in modern history -- Jennifer Rubin

[erronis]

https://contrarian.substack.com/p/the-worst-bill-in-modern-history

Democrats must make it a career-ender for Republicans.

Senate Republicans over the weekend decided to move forward on the big, ugly bill to rip healthcare coverage from 17 million people, deprive millions of food assistance, and use that money to pay (only partially!) for gigantic tax cuts for the super-rich. Their version is far worse than the House’s handiwork; Senate Republicans want to cut more than $1 trillion from Medicaid. Apparently, they concluded the House’s $700 billion cut did not throw a sufficient number of people off their healthcare coverage. An estimated 17 million (including those priced out of the Affordable Care Act exchanges) would lose healthcare coverage

Even those who mouthed concerns about the draconian cuts, including Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) fell into line, voting to move the bill forward. They are daring voters not to hold them accountable for their monstrous hypocrisy.

Lawmakers are not in the dark. Their constituents, rural hospitals, state and local officials, the Congressional Budget Office, conservative think tanks, the Wall Street Journal, and their Democratic colleagues have explained the bill’s horrid consequences. Republicans might parrot MAGA talking points, but when Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) distributes materials to fellow Republicans highlighting the devastation the bill will cause, only the truly deluded can imagine this is anything but horrid policy. (The Hill quoted a source familiar with the scene at Tuesday’s Senate Republican lunch: “Thom Tillis got up and he had a chart on what the Senate’s provider tax structure will cost different states, including his. His will lose almost $40 billion. He walked through that and said, ‘this will be devastating to my state.’”

. . .

The Democratic base, rightfully underwhelmed by elected Democrats’ efforts earlier this year, should acknowledge Senate Democrats left nothing on the field in their battle to delay and upset the worst piece of legislation in history. The task for organizers, activists, and ordinary Democratic voters between now and 2026 is to make sure every voter knows who is responsible for this shambolic legislation and which party fought tooth and nail to stop it.

Elections have consequences, and the passage of a bill as damaging as this following Democrats’ 2024 defeat should remind every Democratic, independent, and disgusted Republican voter that the only way to halt and reverse the assault on America is to start defeating MAGA’s assault on average Americans.

[dalton99a]

1. No worries

[PatSeg]

13. In a sense, he is right

There really has never been anything quite like this before, as there has never been a president like him before.

History certainly will remember Donald Trump and it won't be kindly.

[AZ8theist]

16. Yes, Dotard said egg prices were down 92%.....

We all bought a dozen eggs for $0.05 last week, didn't we??

[Kid Berwyn]

2. Matches MAGA

Worst undesirables.
Worst administration.
Worst Congress.
Worst SCROTUS.
Worst pee-rezi-dunce EVER.

[sop]

3. Forgive me for being conspiratorial, but I suspect Republicans are no longer concerned about the next election.

[dalton99a]

4. ICE will be massively deployed to inhibit turnout and will be deputized as 'poll watchers'

[markodochartaigh]

9. It is out in the open how

Republicans in various states are going into hyperdrive to disenfranchise and gerrymander (between censuses now) in order to "secure" results in the next election.

In a culture in which businesses are only concerned about the profits in the next quarter, and in which public political memory is half the memory of a gnat, Republican election planning stands out.

[DENVERPOPS]

17. I think that they weren't

concerned about the 2024 election to be honest. A month before the election the Republicans were saying crap, like they had already won the election, and were confident their FIX was in...........and now they are Ruling as if their FIX will be in place for ALL future elections......

[Dave says]

23. I fear this is very true

[SARose]

5. Voters already know who's responsible

The task for organizers, activists, and ordinary Democratic voters between now and 2026 is to make sure every voter knows who is responsible for this shambolic legislation and which party fought tooth and nail to stop it.

No no no. The Democratic Party along with Independents and RINOS need to give Americans an alternative to this poorly thought out Heritage Foundation conservative wet dream.

How will Democrats lower the debt?

How will Democrats enforce existing immigration laws while overhauling the immigration system?

How will Democrats address illegal drugs flowing into our country?

But the most important (to me) item Democrats must address is how we will “keep America safe?”

We can’t keep nagging and scolding because actions talk and bullshit walks.

[dalton99a]

6. +1. Republicans/FOX News will guide their thinking unless there is a messaging campaign by Democrats

[SARose]

7. Absolutely!

Nt

[AZProgressive]

8. I'll tackle those one by one

Lowering the debt we should avoid even addressing the issue because it usually leads to austerity which ends up costing center-left candidates votes especially if they enact austerity. The reason it doesn't work is because voters prefer the original to the copy and they would rather vote for the issue owner which are conservatives obsessed with the deficit. Starmer is probably going to lose the next election with cuts aimed at the poor to increase defense spending.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/jan/10/adopting-rightwing-policies-does-not-help-centre-left-win-votes

Obama had the right policies. He probably deported too many people but he prioritized those with criminal records, a DACA program, and he supported comprehensive immigration reform with the first step being increasing border security. I don't support blocking asylum seekers or treating those that are even following the legal process as worse than criminals which is what Trump is doing. Biden & the Democrats made a hard right shift from the Obama years but that wasn't enough to win the election. Also there is a massive amount of misinformation, much of it coming from Trump himself, that leads people into believing false narratives.

Fighting the drug war has been a losing battle. We need to address the demand on our side of the border or otherwise the drugs will continue to flow like they have under every President in at least the last 100 years and they will continue under Trump. A lot of tough on the border types like to control the flow of people but not the flow of business which can be used as smuggling opportunities. Did you know that most voters actually believed according to polls that Kamala Harris' most popular proposal which was better technology to detect fentanyl at the border was actually a Trump idea?

The politicians I trust the least are the ones promising to keep people safe. To better increase public safety would have been to elect a Democratic President which would have allowed the trials to continue and Trump would have got a guilty verdict and that would have decreased a lot of crime. Seriously, Trump's rhetoric leads to a lot of violence like it did on January 6th.

[SARose]

20. This is exactly what I mean

I’ll support you for any office you choose!👍

I’m serious. I want to see the DNC, state and local Dems hammer your points home.

[markodochartaigh]

10. How will Democratic politicians lower the debt?

If it wasn't for Republican tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires and unnecessary and ill-advised wars in the Middle East, the US would have very little debt. The best thing which could be done to reduce the debt is to keep Republicans out of office.

How to "keep America safe"? By not having a president who negotiates based on what he personally can get out of a deal, rather than what is best for the US. By not appointing a Secretary of Defense that may fall off the wagon at any time. By not keeping that astoundingly unqualified Secretary of Defense when he leaks battle plans. By not appointing as the Department of Homeland Security terrorism prevention lead a 22 year old straight out of college with no experience in anything relevant other than kissing up to Trump. And, most importantly to keep America safe, by not further destabilizing the US with a tax plan which sucks trillions of dollars from the 95% of working Americans to pump into the bank accounts of 5% of Americans.

[SARose]

21. You nailed it, too

These should be talking points for every Dem!

I also believe we should endorse raising taxes. The reason we have a deficit is because we aren’t bringing in enough money.

Going back to Reagan, we have unfunded tax cuts that are supposed to stimulate the economy and trickle down to the peasants. We all know how that turned out.

With W we had unfunded tax cuts AND two unfunded wars.

With carrot man we will have two unfunded tax cuts that benefit HIM and his family. Pfffttt

Not one dime should be cut from the social network until

DOD and Homeland Security budgets are cut by 25%; and,

Jeff Bezos et al pay at LEAST 10% personal income tax each year; and

Raise the SS maximum taxable earning from $176,000+ to $400,000.

My two cents…👍

[greblach]

14. and bullshit walked to victory for the repubs. NT

[krkaufman]

18. Love how all the bullets are "Republican" issues

100% GOP framing

[IbogaProject]

11. We shouls be running against the GOP tax cuts & hikes

We need to do attack ads showing Reagan, Bush, W & T saying lies about how their tax boondoggles would pay for themselves or increase prosperity. The wealthy don't spend much on mainstreet they spend slowly and within their ilk.

[Farmer-Rick]

12. I'm sure the MAGAts out there will love

Taking care of their elderly parents and grandparents that are returning from the nursing homes.

Because the majority of people who receive Medicaid are Nazis' favorite color......white. And here's a kicker, red states like Alabama and Kentucky have 60 to 80%, Medicaid reciepients as white.

They should start watching YouTubes about changing adult diapers, even Trump wears them, so they shouldn't mind. I saw Trumper wearing diapers with Trump's face on them.

Maybe a new Nazi YouTuber influencer can teach how to change a bedpan, how to do injections, how to plan medication schedules, how to put on full support stockings, what to feed a sickly person, how to lift someone out of bed, when to turn your grandmother so she doesn't get bedsores.

Those will be very useful skills for MAGAts to have so their elderly parents and grandparents can enjoy their last year's.

[erronis]

15. Merrily humming "Arbeit machts frei" while cleaning up the messes they made.

[republianmushroom]

19. But, but this governing republican style, best get use to it.

[SARose]

22. 😂

Nt