United States Congress of Fail (Part 3)

[onekidanddone]

On 9/23/2017 at 3:19 PM, GreyhoundFan said:

Since I despise Bitch McTurtle, I wouldn't be sorry to see him deposed. My fear, however, is that he gets forced out by teabaggers, who are even worse.

Either way it sucks big time because Strange is Trump's guy and Moore is Bannon's.  While Moore is a first class psycho, Strange is already holding the seat so nothing would change the make up of the Senate as it now stands. I don't want to see Bannon get any victory EVER, but the only consultation for crazy as a rabid shit weasel Moore winning would be Trump's guy loosing and watching Trump act as if he never supported the guy in the first place. 

[GreyhoundFan]

"GOP health bill in major peril as resistance hardens among key senators"

Spoiler

The floundering Republican attempt to undo the Affordable Care Act met hardening resistance from key GOP senators Sunday that left it on the verge of collapse even as advocates vowed to keep pushing for a vote this week.

With party leaders just one “no” vote away from defeat, Republican senators from across the political spectrum distanced themselves from the plan written by Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.). They voiced opinions ranging from measured skepticism to outright hostility toward a proposal that had already been trending toward failure over the past three days.

The fresh discord over a signature Republican promise added turbulence to the start of a critical week for President Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). In addition to health care, both are watching Tuesday’s special-election primary runoff in Alabama, a high-stakes intraparty fight between establishment Republicans and conservatives that could set the tone for the midterm elections next year. GOP leaders are also expected to unveil their most detailed blueprint yet of tax cuts they hope to pass by the end of the year.

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), a moderate Republican who has opposed previous efforts that cut Medicaid and lifted coverage requirements, said in a TV interview that it was “very difficult” to envision voting for the health-care bill.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.), a conservative who has advocated a more far-reaching repeal of the ACA, commonly called Obamacare, said he and at least one other colleague do not back the measure “right now.”

And Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who has stated definitively that he opposes the current measure, showed no signs of backing down absent dramatic changes to the bill’s core approach that likely would come at the cost of other Republican votes.

Graham and Cassidy pledged to keep trying to pass their bill — but the White House and McConnell gave differing accounts of the path ahead. White House legislative affairs director Marc Short predicted a Wednesday vote, while a McConnell spokesman declined to publicly embrace that timeline.

Speaking on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Collins cited concerns about how the Cassidy-Graham legislation would affect Medicaid recipients and people with preexisting medical conditions, among other things.

“It is very difficult for me to envision a scenario where I would end up voting for this bill,” Collins said. “I have a number of serious reservations about it.”

In July, Collins voted against a repeal bill, and she is a key vote in the current dynamic. She said she chatted at length with Vice President Pence on Saturday, but it wasn’t enough to sway her. She said she wants to see the limited analysis due out this week from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office before making a final decision.

Two Republican senators — Paul and John McCain (Ariz.) — have already said they will vote against Cassidy-Graham. A third would be enough to defeat the bill, since no Democrats are expected to support it. Republicans hold a 52-48 advantage in the Senate and can lose only two of their own and still pass legislation with the help of a tiebreaking vote from Pence.

The bill has been roundly rejected by influential national groups representing physicians, hospitals and insurers. Over the weekend, six such organizations, including the American Medical Association and the American Hospital Association, issued a joint statement urging the Senate to reject the measure.

While the CBO plans to release a “preliminary assessment” early this week, officials there have said they will not be able to provide estimates of how Cassidy-Graham would affect insurance premiums or the number of people with coverage “for at least several weeks.” Trump and McConnell are trying to bring the bill to a vote by the end of this week to take advantage of a procedural rule allowing the plan to pass with just 51 votes.

It remained far from clear Sunday that they could get even close to that number.

Addressing Cassidy-Graham at the Texas Tribune Festival in Austin, Cruz said: “Right now, they don’t have my vote. And I don’t think they have Mike Lee’s either,” referring to one of Utah’s senators, a fellow conservative.

Cruz said that he and Lee met with Graham and Cassidy last week to propose changes to the measure that would get them to yes. Their changes were not included in the latest draft.

Conn Carroll, a Lee spokesman, said Sunday: “We want some technical changes. We are working with Cassidy, but we haven’t committed to anything yet.”

Graham and Cassidy appeared on ABCs “This Week with George Stephanopoulos,” where they defended their plan and vowed to keep up their efforts to shepherd it to passage.

“We’re moving forward. And we’ll see what happens next week. I’m very excited about it,” Graham said.

The South Carolina Republican mentioned Collins and Paul as he made his pitch. “Rand Paul objects to the taxes,” he said. “But when you look at the bill, Rand, we save a lot of money over time for Medicaid. We put a cap on Obamacare growth.”

Paul said in a Sunday interview that he broadly opposes a keystone of the Cassidy-Graham plan: turning funding for the ACA into block grants for states.

“The problem I have with block grants is that looks like I’ve affirmatively said I’m okay with 90 percent of Obamacare as long as we reshuffle it and give it to Republican states,” he said. “That’s a horrible message.”

Paul said he is willing to listen to suggestions about how that element of the bill could be constricted. “Would I talk to them if they said they wanted to make the block grants half as much? I might,” he said.

Paul presents another challenge as well: Winning him over would likely alienate Republican senators who oppose a more aggressive repeal. That left GOP leaders no better off in their quest to secure enough Republican votes to pass Cassidy-Graham.

The proposal, which would also dramatically cut Medicaid spending over time, has drawn concerns from Republicans from states that have expanded Medicaid under the ACA. In an interview on CBS’s “Face The Nation,” Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), whose state expanded Medicaid, said he needs more information before he will take a position.

“I think the CBO will have a role to play in this,” Gardner said. “I believe there’s information that will be coming through a committee hearing on Monday and additional text changes that will add additional information.”

McConnell is also keeping a close eye this week on the Senate race in Alabama, where Republican Sen. Luther Strange is trying to get past insurgent primary challenger Roy Moore, a controversial but popular former judge. Trump and McConnell both back Strange, but supporters and associates of Trump, including former chief strategist Stephen K. Bannon and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, have praised Moore.

A Moore victory would be a blow to both McConnell and Trump, who have put their powerful political operations behind Strange. Some Republicans also believe that outcome would embolden conservative insurgents to challenge other Republican senators in 2018.

Also this week, the “Big Six” negotiators from the White House, Senate and House are expected to unveil more details of their tax overhaul plan, which, like the health-care talks, could spark messy disagreements among Republicans.

Some of the elements of the plan have already started to take shape. Republicans are targeting a corporate rate of 20 percent in their overhaul, according to three people familiar with the emerging blueprint — a number that represents a substantial cut from the current 35 percent rate but falls short of the 15 percent Trump has advocated.

But for Senate Republicans, the first order of business this week is resolving the health-care push, one way or the other. Even the bill’s champions have started pondering the prospect of failure.

Asked on “This Week” what he will tell people if he comes up short, Graham responded: “That I did everything I could to get money and power out of Washington to give you better health care closer to where you live, and I’m not going to stop fighting.”

He also held up the possibility of using health care as a negotiating tactic in future legislative talks.

“I’m on the Budget Committee,” Graham said, adding, “we’re not going to vote for a budget resolution that doesn’t allow the health-care debate to continue.”

Those last few lines from Lindsey Graham make me furious. So he's going to hold the US hostage if his deathcare plan doesn't pass. Way to go, asshole.

[candygirl200413]

but wait, THERE'S MORE!

Graham, Cassidy revise Obamacare repeal bill

Quote

Senate Republicans have updated their last-ditch Obamacare repeal bill in an effort to win over skeptical party members ahead of a key deadline this week, according to a copy obtained by POLITICO.

Sens. Lindsey Graham, Bill Cassidy and allies in recent days have tried to revise the legislation before their ability to pass repeal with a simple majority expires on Sept. 30. Enough Republican senators have raised opposition to their approach to put the bill's passage in doubt.

Under the revised text, the bill's authors now project increases in federal funding for Arizona (14 percent), Kentucky (4 percent) and Alaska (3 percent), which would have seen declines under the previous version, according to a leaked analysis from President Donald Trump's health department. All three states are home to pivotal GOP swing votes who either have opposed or expressed concerns with the bill — Sens. John McCain, Rand Paul and Lisa Murkowski.

McCain came out against the Graham-Cassidy plan on Friday, and Paul has sharply criticized the plan for preserving too much of Obamacare's taxes and insurance regulations. GOP leaders have aggressively courted Murkowski, who voted against a previous repeal bill in July and has withheld support for Graham-Cassidy. On Sunday, Sen. Ted Cruz said he doesn’t support the plan and suggested fellow conservative Sen. Mike Lee of Utah also opposed it.

After Sept. 30 , Republicans would need 60 votes, rather than 50, to gut the health care law.

Spokespeople for Graham and Cassidy did not immediately respond to requests for comment tonight.

3

So when you can't get what you want, you bribe others to make them say yes. Like fuck both of them.

[fraurosena]

23 minutes ago, candygirl200413 said:

but wait, THERE'S MORE!

Graham, Cassidy revise Obamacare repeal bill

So when you can't get what you want, you bribe others to make them say yes. Like fuck both of them.

Well, it was bribery by their donors that saw them coming up with this zombie no-care bill in the first place, so it's not that surprising they're resorting to it themselves. Ethics, honor, dignity and morals have left American politics long ago. You are being held hostage by the likes of the Mercers, Kochs and Prices, because your system is inherently flawed and essentially is set up so corruption can run rampant. 

[GreyhoundFan]

A good op-ed from E.J. Dionne: "Avoiding a health-care horror'

Spoiler

It is difficult to decide which is the worst aspect of the Republicans’ latest try at repealing Obamacare: the irresponsibility, the cruelty or the lies.

And it is impossible to ignore that the climax of this battle will take place under the shadow of President Trump’s shameful, racially charged attacks on prominent African American athletes. Once again, Trump has demonstrated his lack of seriousness about the responsibilities of his office, his autocratic habit of demonizing dissent, and his willingness to play racial politics to divide and distract.

Trump has reason to distract because the repeal effort he has championed was dealt a near-fatal blow when Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) announced Friday that he would vote against the catastrophically flawed proposal to scrap the Affordable Care Act from Sens. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.). McCain stuck to the principles he outlined when he voted against July’s repeal bill , even though Graham is his best friend in the Senate and despite the pressure from Trump and GOP congressional leaders.

There is only one reason the Senate even considered a vote this week: The GOP base, and particularly the party’s donor class, wants repeal. So never mind what happens to Americans with modest incomes who have cancer, diabetes or heart trouble. Politics matters more than giving serious thought to a bill that would upend one-sixth of our economy.

That’s why this bill was not subjected to any serious analysis or debate. Republicans scheduled a quickie, last-minute hearing this week for show. Because Trump and his party want “a win,” they’re willing to wreak havoc on the insurance markets, state governments and people’s lives to get it.

Any serious deliberative process would have forced the GOP to grapple with a statement from the bipartisan National Association of Medicaid Directors on Cassidy-Graham’s approach of marrying block grants to severe cuts. The association called the bill “the largest intergovernmental transfer of financial risk from the federal government to the states in our country’s history.”

“Any effort of this magnitude,” the Medicaid directors added, “needs thorough discussion, examination and analysis, and should not be rushed through without proper deliberation.” Exactly.

There has always been something deeply wrong about our country’s failure to provide health insurance for all our citizens, which all other wealthy industrialized nations do. It’s not okay for people to face bankruptcy simply because they are doing everything they can to stay alive. Obamacare was a cautious, market-friendly attempt to make the system a bit kinder.

Since the Republicans launched this year’s repeal offensive, many Americans who thought of the Affordable Care Act as a vague sort of failure have heard the compelling stories of those with preexisting conditions and serious illnesses who are far better off today because of the law. A Washington Post-ABC News poll released Friday showed Americans preferred Obamacare to Cassidy-Graham by 56 percent to 33 percent.

Many who believed Trump and other Republicans when they promised to pass something better than Obamacare now know that this pledge was a sham. What the GOP really wants is to spend a lot less government money helping people get health care. But Republicans can’t admit this because it sounds heartless.

So instead, they lie outright about what their bill does. Slate’s Jamelle Bouie provided one of the best compendiums of falsehoods being offered on behalf of this bill. Jimmy Kimmel called out Cassidy for failing to live up to what the senator himself called the “the Jimmy Kimmel test.” Kimmel described this as a pledge that “no family should be denied medical care, emergency or otherwise, because they can’t afford it.” Cassidy, Kimmel charged last week, “lied right to my face.”

Trump insisted in a tweet: “I would not sign Graham-Cassidy if it did not include coverage of pre-existing conditions. It does!” Actually, it lets states undermine this coverage.

And if Obamacare is so bad, why are Republicans reportedly trying to buy the vote of Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) with a special provision that would, in effect, allow Alaska to keep the Affordable Care Act pretty much as is? Why not give every state this option by killing Cassidy-Graham altogether?

One can hope that McCain’s brave decision and the doubts expressed Sunday by other Republican senators have done exactly that. But the GOP repeal effort never seems to die, so this week remains a testing time.

It’s a test of whether the movement that saved the ACA this summer can rally once more. It’s a test for Republicans who claim to take health-care policy seriously. And it’s a test for a president who prefers ripping the country apart to governing.

I know my senators' staffers are tired of hearing from me, but I just called again.

[onekidanddone]

The hearings on Trump's death care bill are going on now.  I can't look and am getting another panic attack.

[onekidanddone]

@GreyhoundFan!! 

Senate GOP admits defeat on health-care bill as Collins declares opposition

My fear is that this bill is like a vampire.  It keeps rising from the dead.  Were are Buffy, Faith and Kendra when we need them?

Quote

BREAKING: Senate GOP leaders admitted defeat late Monday afternoon in their latest attempt to undo the Affordable Care Act, as a third Republican lawmaker said she would not support the legislation.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah) told reporters that he did not think the measure would come up for a floor vote by the end of the week, after which point Republicans lose the budget authority they need to pass a health-care bill by a simple majority. A short time later, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) announced her opposition.

Collins’s decision followed a preliminary projection from the Congressional Budget Office that said “millions” fewer Americans would have insurance coverage by 2026 under the Cassidy-Graham proposal. In a statement, Collins said the analysis “confirms that this bill will have a substantially negative impact on the number of people covered by insurance.”

Both GOP Sens. Rand Paul (Ky.) and John McCain (Ariz.) also have said they would not vote for the bill.

 

[GreyhoundFan]

@onekidanddone -- Thank you!! I've been slammed all day, so I haven't had time to keep up. Hopefully this zombie will be slayed. Of course, remember that Lindsey Graham said that he's going to keep pushing, even saying that he'll futz with budget negotiations if debate doesn't continue. I just have zero faith that the Repugs won't keep trying to screw over the American people. It seems that the crisis of the moment is over...maybe. CNN has a big debate at 9PM. I'm going to try to watch, but may have to work.

[GreyhoundFan]

Lindsey Graham has said on CNN's debate that they are going to "soldier on", even with Susan Collins' opposition. He's not going to give up. More zombies...

[nvmbr02]

I had a tiny piece of hope at the start of this administration that Lindsey Graham may stand up to Trump and be a voice of reason. I don't know why I thought that, I never liked him before so I don't know why I thought he might pull through. I was obviously very wrong and he is even more vile than I had originally thought. 

[candygirl200413]

@nvmbr02 Maybe because he didn't vote for fuckface? Cause I know a few other people who thought that too.

While I will be extremely happy if it was officially dead, I'm just used to the idea that since they have the power they're just going to keep doing this until they lose the majority.

[GreyhoundFan]

"With lower stakes, Sanders and Klobuchar debate GOP repeal bill’s sponsors on CNN"

Spoiler

Halfway through CNN’s prime-time debate on the Affordable Care Act, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) went in for the kill. Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) had taken his umpteenth swing at “bureaucrats,” telling viewers that “Bernie’s solution is more government, not less,” warning that the Vermont senator would pour millions of people into Medicare when the system could not handle them.

“It is easy to beat up on big, bad federal government,” Sanders said. “Guys, do you know what the most popular health insurance program in America is? It’s not the private insurance industry. It is …”

Graham decided not to dodge.

“Medicare,” he said.

“Medicare, yeah!” Sanders said.

“Which is falling apart,” Graham said.

It was a particularly telling moment in CNN’s 90-minute special, one that pitted Graham and Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), the main sponsors of a faltering Affordable Care Act repeal bill, against Sanders and center-left Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.). When the debate was announced, the Cassidy-Graham bill looked very much alive; some Democratic pundits asked whether Sanders had given the Republicans the black-and-white contrast, “single payer” versus Medicaid reform, that they had craved.

But by 9 p.m. Eastern, when the debate began, Cassidy-Graham was headed for the ash heap. “It’s okay to fall short,” Graham said near the start of the debate, all but conceding defeat. The reality on the Hill had turned the debate into a lower-stakes argument about the best way to deliver health care.

The four senators represented three approaches, with Klobuchar — one of 31 Senate Democrats who declined to co-sponsor Sanders’s health-care bill — arguing for a return to bipartisanship. A Republican mention of Cassidy-Graham support from governors would earn a Klobuchar reference to “the independent governor of Alaska” or “the governor of Ohio,” both opponents of the bill.

“When you hear that there’s only two choices here — that’s not true! There is another choice,” Klobuchar said.

Klobuchar and Sanders stayed united to rip apart Cassidy-Graham, quoting from Congressional Budget Office studies and medical industry statements to portray the Republican bill as radical and unworkable.

“It’s not giving people a choice. It’s cutting Medicare by a trillion dollars,” Sanders said.

Cassidy and Graham, both of whom had defended their bill in the Senate Finance Committee, stuck to their workshopped arguments.

“I want to take care of you and your daughter, but I want to do it in a way not to kick everybody into a situation where insurance really doesn’t mean a lot,” Graham said to one audience member who worried about his family’s care. “The guy in Obamacare who’s deciding adequate and affordable is doing a miserable job, or I wouldn’t be here.”

Cassidy, a medical doctor who repeatedly pointed to his experience in the field, made more specific arguments for the bill. Unbowed by the negative ratings from the CBO — which found that it would cut the deficit at the cost of uninsuring millions — he repeatedly invoked the “long arm of Washington,” warning that any bill that did not devolve power to states would enable extremism.

But it was Graham and Sanders, a combined 50 years on the Hill between them, who bantered the most. At one point, Graham rattled off the growing stock prices of the largest health-care companies. Sanders smiled widely.

“You actually said something that was right! I knew it would happen,” he said. “This system is designed to make money for insurance companies. Our money should be going to doctors, nurses and hospitals.”

I had to turn away from the debate, since Graham and Cassidy were making me ragey.

[GreyhoundFan]

Because, of course: "GOP already eyeing next chance to revive Obamacare repeal"

Spoiler

The supposedly hard deadline at the end of the month to repeal Obamacare might not be so hard after all.

With their latest attempt to dismantle the health law on track to fail this week, GOP senators are already raising the prospect of going after it again with the same powerful tools that currently let them pass legislation with just 50 votes.

There is nothing to suggest Obamacare repeal would get any easier in the coming months and doing so may significantly hobble the Republican majority’s other chief legislative priority: tax reform. But facing a floundering repeal push, wrath from the base and a frustrated President Donald Trump, Republicans may have no other choice but to keep pushing to uproot the law.

“We’ve got to do both,” Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) said of tackling both Obamacare repeal and tax reform next year. "They're complicated by necessity. So I don't think that takes away the complications. But I think we're supposed to be able to handle complications.”

Hatch added, however: "If it's used to screw everything up, I'm not for that."

Here’s how it could be done: While the Senate parliamentarian has ruled that the repeal push under fiscal 2017 must die after Sept. 30, Republicans could provide reconciliation instructions for both health care and tax reform in the fiscal 2018 budget resolution that Congress must pass to again unlock the fast-track procedural powers. That might entail some procedural hurdles, but one GOP aide said Monday that because the Finance Committee has jurisdiction over about 95 percent of health care policy, “it’s not like we couldn’t slip it in anyway.”

Alternatively, Republicans could reserve the fiscal 2018 budget for tax reform as planned, but then take up a budget for fiscal 2019 early next year and write reconciliation instructions that address Obamacare repeal in that resolution, according to GOP sources. Doing so would put the contentious issue of health care back in the spotlight during the 2018 midterm elections.

Republicans are expected to pass their next budget in the coming weeks. Even so, no decision needs to be made immediately. The reconciliation instructions will require the Senate Finance Committee to come up with savings. The committee, because it oversees both tax and health, will be able tap into policy from both areas, according to GOP sources.

“The issue’s not going away. We’ll be revisiting this issue at some point,” said South Dakota Sen. John Thune, the third-ranking Senate Republican. “If we can’t do it in a reconciliation vehicle this year, then maybe it’s the 2019 [budget]. I don’t know. We’ll see.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), the namesake of the GOP’s latest repeal effort which is now opposed by at least three Republican senators, has already vowed to vote against a budget resolution that doesn’t allow for the health care battle to go on. So has Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), another lead backer of the Graham-Cassidy bill. With just 52 GOP senators, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) can only afford two defections on a budget measure.

The more acute problem for Senate GOP leadership is that both Graham and Johnson sit on the Senate Budget Committee, where Republicans hold just a one-seat majority. If Graham and Johnson both follow through on their threat, they would tank next year’s budget measure — and tax reform — even before it hits the Senate floor.

“My preference obviously would be to pass [Obamacare repeal] this week,” Johnson said. “But if that’s not the case, I agree with Sen. Graham. We’re both on the Budget Committee and we’ll insist on passing a budget that would have reconciliation instructions for both tax reform and health care reform.”

However, Republicans are far from certain to try this maneuver.

McConnell is skeptical of the plan to combine Obamacare repeal and tax reform in next year’s budget, according to two GOP senators and another senior Republican source.

Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn said it was premature to discuss a combo package while the Senate is still working on repeal, but said "no decision's been made yet" on whether Republicans will try it.

The Senate GOP has already proven unable to find the votes to repeal Obamacare, at least for now. Adding health care into the mix could end up sinking the Republicans' tax bill.

The Senate Budget Committee’s chairman, Mike Enzi of Wyoming, declined to say whether he’s considering the idea.

Other Senate Republicans won’t go as far as Graham and Johnson by threatening opposition to the budget resolution, but say they are definitely open to taking another stab at Obamacare repeal in future reconciliation attempts.

“I think you can’t not have the health care debate go on because we have to get a resolution on this,” said Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.). “Whatever we can use to be able to help resolve this for the people of my state, I want to be able to do that.”

“Absolutely. We need to get the job done. We need to keep working at it until we accomplish the task,” said Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas). “We need to use whatever procedural tools are necessary to honor the promise we made to the American people to repeal Obamacare.”

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) also indicated Monday that he was open to the idea, saying “there’s no reason why” the Senate couldn’t tackle both policy issues in a budget measure.

But the rising demand from some GOP senators to keep pressing on health care is throwing yet another roadblock into the leadership’s plan to tackle tax reform. That effort is set for a major week, with the so-called “Big Six” tax negotiators releasing a blueprint Wednesday, the same day Trump travels to Indiana to sell the plan.

Senate Republicans had already been making progress toward next year’s budget to lay the groundwork for tax reform. GOP Sens. Bob Corker of Tennessee and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania struck a deal last week on the scope of tax breaks in the budget measure which had been one of the final sticking points of a fiscal 2018 resolution.

Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.), another member of the Budget Committee, said if the GOP's health care push fails on party lines this week and that Democrats won’t make major concessions to the GOP in bipartisan talks, it’s not clear how combining Obamacare repeal and tax cuts would help.

“I don’t want to jeopardize tax. We’ve done this for eight months, it’s got to get fixed, let the committee keep working on it,” Perdue said. “So I really believe we’ve got to get to tax, that’s my top priority right now before we run out of time,” he said.

Other Republicans were more blunt.

“I think we need to move onto tax reform,” Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) said. “I think this bill’s dead.”

Anyone want to place bets on how long before they bring this piece of crap "legislation" back to life?

[GreyhoundFan]

"‘Reasonable’ Republicans are betraying us, too"

Spoiler

President Trump clearly has no clue what’s happening on health care, taxes or really any other major policy front. He has also made abundantly clear that he has no interest in getting up to speed.

Unfortunately, Trump’s unseriousness has become so grotesque, so all-consuming, that it has distracted us from dozens of other dilettantes and demagogues in Washington — far too many of them other members of Trump’s own political party.

Trump may be a toddler, we keep telling ourselves, but at least some (comparative) grown-ups on Capitol Hill are thinking things through. Maybe we don’t agree with them all the time; maybe they have a different vision for the role of government than many of us do. Still, at least a few thoughtful, moderate, principled, solutions-oriented people in the legislature are working to offset the White House’s abdication of policy leadership. 

The flaming turd that is Cassidy-Graham should disabuse us all of that notion.

What’s been threatening the health-care coverage of tens of millions of Americans isn’t Trump. It’s the entire Republican Party.

This garbage bill, currently looking dead but with a few days left to revive itself, should teach us two things: Republicans don’t care about process, and they don’t care about policy. You could be forgiven for also concluding, as they’ve increasingly suggested this week, that they don’t care about regular Americans, either.

For years we’ve been told that the original sin of the Affordable Care Act was that it was procedurally flawed. It was passed in the dead of night, constructed in smoke-filled backrooms and only passed thanks to partisan budget gimmicks.

These critiques were mostly nonsense, of course.

Obamacare went through a painfully slow, year-long process. It was considered at lots and lots of hearings. It received multiple assessments from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office and attracted a supermajority of Senate votes.

Contrary to popular misconception, the bill was not even passed using the budget reconciliation process.

All of these attacks may not be true of Obamacare’s passage — but they do apply to Republicans’ attempts to repeal it.

Republican senators gave themselves a few days, and just one cobbled-together finance committee hearing, to pass a bill along party lines with no full CBO budget score. In the absence of any independent assessment of what their proposal does, they made up numbers that ignore big chunks of the bill.

The proposal is opposed by nearly every conceivable stakeholder, from doctors to insurers to pharmaceutical companies to patient advocates. Not only because the process is being rushed, but also because what’s actually in the bill is so terrible.

On major questions of policy, legislators punted to the states, giving them two years to build new health-care systems from scratch — even though state legislators have little expertise in the matter and few of the resources available to Congress.

This alone would be sure to destabilize insurance markets. Now layer on severe funding cuts, ultimately punishing every state; the removal of the individual mandate, which makes sure risk pools aren’t dominated by the most expensive patients; and the unwinding of federal regulations designed to protect those with preexisting conditions and to make sure the insurance plans that consumers buy actually cover anything.

Chaos, premium spikes for the sick and the poor, and the hemorrhaging of tens of millions of Americans from insurance rolls are all foreseeable consequences. In other words: It’s what happens when an entire party decides to abandon policy experts.

Note that it’s not just the usual tea party crazies pushing for this monstrosity. It’s many supposedly reasonable Republicans, too. These include Republicans such as Sens. Jeff Flake (Ariz.) and Ben Sasse (Neb.), upon whom we’ve heaped loads of praise for their principles and backbone.

Even Sen . Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), who helped kill the Senate bill the last go-around, has at this point said merely that she has reservations about the legislation. Given how this bill was constructed and what it contains, anything other than a flat-out rejection gives the lie to her “reasonableness.” 

If even late-night TV host Jimmy Kimmel, who has made a career out of playing an average Joe, can figure out how vulnerable this legislation leaves millions of unlucky Americans, surely senators can spot the problems, too. 

We knew we can’t trust Trump to craft careful policy that puts regular Americans’ needs above his own. Judging from this debacle, it looks like we can’t trust the rest of his party to do so, either. 

"flaming turd", yeah, that pretty much describes each of the Repug deathcare plans.

[AnywhereButHere]

https://www.nytimes.com/elections/results/senate-special-election-primary-runoff-alabama

so, Roy Moore took the runoff. This could make things interesting for the democratic candidate who may actually have a chance. Then again, it is Alabama...

Spoiler

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Roy S. Moore, a firebrand former chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, overcame efforts by top Republicans to rescue his rival, Senator Luther Strange, defeating him on Tuesday in a special primary runoff, according to The Associated Press.

The outcome in the closely watched Senate race dealt a humbling blow to President Trump and other party leaders days after the president pleaded with voters in the state to back Mr. Strange.

Propelled by the stalwart support of his fellow evangelical Christians, Mr. Moore survived a multimillion-dollar advertising onslaught, in the eight figures, financed by allies of Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader. His victory demonstrated in stark terms the limits of Mr. Trump’s clout.

In a race that began as something of a political afterthought and ended up showcasing the right’s enduring divisions, the victory by Mr. Moore, one of the most tenacious figures in Alabama politics, will likely embolden other anti-establishment conservatives to challenge incumbent Republicans in next year’s midterm elections.

And more immediately, the party will be forced to grapple with how to prop up an often-inflammatory candidate given to provocative remarks on same-sex marriage and race — all to protect a seat in a deep-red state. Mr. Moore’s incendiary rhetoric will also oblige others in the party to answer for his comments, perhaps for years to come, at a time when many Republicans would just as soon move on from the debate over gay rights.

On Dec. 12, Mr. Moore will face Doug Jones, a former federal prosecutor and the Democratic nominee, in a race that will test the party loyalties of center-right voters who may be uneasy about their nominee. It may also reveal just how reliably Republican the state has become in the quarter-century since a Democrat last won a Senate election here.

 

[GreyhoundFan]

Hoo-boy: "Moore wins Republican Senate primary, dealing blow to GOP establishment"

Spoiler

A former state judge who believes Christian biblical morality should invalidate federal court decisions won the Alabama Republican primary Tuesday night, according to a projection by the Associated Press, sending a clear warning signal to President Trump and GOP leaders that conservative, grass-roots anger will continue to roil the party into the 2018 midterm elections.

Roy Moore, who was twice suspended from his job as the chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, defeated incumbent Sen. Luther Strange, who was appointed to the seat vacated by Attorney General Jeff Sessions and was backed by both Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).

Moore is now the front-runner to win the seat in a Dec. 12 general election. He will face Democratic candidate Doug Jones, a former U.S. attorney in Alabama.

For conservative opponents of the current Republican leadership, the victory was a godsend — literally, for many — and a validation of the larger effort to replace the current leadership of the Republican Party with a more populist crowd.

And for McConnell, whose allies committed vast resources to defeat Moore, the loss was the third blow in a matter of hours Tuesday to a man once seen as an implacable political chess master.

Earlier in the day, McConnell was forced to call off a vote on the latest effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, his third failed attempt to muster 51 votes in the Senate.

Hours later, Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), a McConnell ally, announced he would not seek reelection in 2018, creating another contested seat that anti-establishment conservatives will try to win.

Former White House strategist Stephen K. Bannon, who supported Moore’s campaign, predicted that the victory would show that the “populist national conservative movement is on the rise.”

Bannon and other insurgent activists are now likely to turn their attention to unseating Republican incumbents in Arizona, Nevada and Mississippi.

The defeat of Strange, a six-foot, nine-inch former prosecutor and lobbyist, could also put pressure on Republican Party fundraisers, who are counting on high-dollar donors to help beat back anti-establishment largesse. With his victory, Moore became the first Republican Senate candidate since the 2014 cycle to overcome a full-scale attack during a primary from allies of Republican leadership and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. He also won despite a last minute push by Trump for Strange, including a barrage of late tweets and a rally Friday in Alabama.

The effect the Strange loss will have on Trump is not yet clear, as both candidates in the race draped themselves in the “Make America Great Again” slogans of the president. At a rally on Friday to support Strange, Trump told the crowd, which included many Moore supporters, that he “might have made a mistake” in endorsing Strange. If Moore won the primary, Trump said at the rally, “I’m going to be here campaigning like hell for him” — prompting applause from the crowd.

In the final weeks of the campaign, Moore faced more than $5 million in spending from the chamber and the Senate Leadership Fund, a political committee aligned with McConnell. Republican voters in the state complained of daily direct mail pieces attacking Moore, and one voter outside Birmingham said Tuesday that he had disconnected his home phone in the final days to block a barrage of recorded phone calls about the race.

The local business community, organized by the U.S. Chamber, also launched a get-out-the-vote effort among the employees of large companies, including the state’s significant federal contracting workforce. Strange, the employers argued, was the best person to bring more jobs to the state.

Moore was defended by a loose grouping of anti-establishment conservative activists, including Bannon, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, “Duck Dynasty” star Phil Robertson, and a group of conservative talk radio broadcasters, including Laura Ingraham. But in significant ways, his campaign differed from any other Senate campaign in recent memory. On the stump, Moore, who made the supremacy of a Christian God over the U.S. Constitution the central rallying point of his campaign.

Moore believes that the Founding Fathers made clear in the Declaration of Independence that the U.S. was founded as a Christian nation, which requires the Constitution to be interpreted as adhering to the “laws of nature and nature’s God.”

As a judge, Moore refused to obey a federal court order to remove a monument to the Ten Commandments from his courthouse, and he was removed from his job as a result. In a 2002 legal opinion, he described homosexual conduct as “an inherent evil,” and he said during the campaign that he does not believe in the scientific theory of evolution. He argued that the 2005 Supreme Court decision that legalized same-sex marriage should not be considered the “rule of law.”

In the Senate, Moore has promised to be a similarly disruptive force who will directly challenge the leadership of McConnell. Moore plans to crusade against the Senate practice of requiring 60 votes to move most legislation on the Senate floor, which he does not consider constitutional, and has said he will seek the impeachment of federal judges who defy his view of God’s supremacy over the U.S. Constitution. He has also called for military deployment to the Mexican border, and said he would have opposed Cassidy-Graham, the most recent effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act, because it was not conservative enough.

Jones and Moore will face off in the Dec. 12 general election, though it is not clear whether Jones will make it a competitive race. Alabama last sent a Democrat to the Senate in 1992, when Shelby won on the Democratic ticket.

The final day of campaigning was filled with colorful campaign displays across the state. At a Monday event in Fairhope, Moore, wearing a cowboy hat and leather vest, pulled a handgun from his pocket onstage. He pointed it to the ceiling and declared, “I believe in the Second Amendment.”

Bannon also appeared at the event, along with Robertson, Fox News host Sean Hannity and the British politician Nigel Farage. Bannon attacked Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and other Republican establishment leaders, whom he called “the most corrupt and incompetent group of individuals in this country.”

“Your day of reckoning is coming,” he promised.

In the same speech, Bannon dismissed Trump’s endorsement of Strange as immaterial. “A vote for Judge Roy Moore is a vote for Donald J. Trump,” Bannon said. “We did not come here to defy Donald Trump.”

Although Moore led all public polls in the weeks leading up to the election, turnout was expected to be low, creating the potential for a surprise outcome. In a first round of Republican primary voting Aug. 15, only 425,379 people cast ballots, or less than one-third of the number of Alabamians who voted for Trump in the 2016 election.

Moore won the earlier contest, but because he earned less than 50 percent of the vote, he faced Strange in a runoff. Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) was the third-place finisher in the first round.

Political consultants on both sides expected the turnout Tuesday to be only slightly higher. At one polling place in downtown Montgomery, the state capital, only eight voters appeared over the course of an hour. One of them, Mable Greenwood, 58, said she had voted for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election but was now supporting Moore. “The world, I don’t think it’s going to be here too much longer,” she said, explaining her attraction to Moore’s religious message. “Everything that the Bible said is going to happen, it is happening.”

Bannon, Robertson, Hannity, and Farage -- sounds like a horror show.

[onekidanddone]

How is he going to take the oath of office if he holds the Bible above the Constitution. He will have to swear to defend the  Constitution, and since he has let it be known he puts the Christian Bible first can he be removed from office if he lies under oath?

[candygirl200413]

Glad this fight is almost done with healthcare ( I refuse to say yay until September 30th at 11:59pm) but it's basically a little mini vacation (healthcare wise) until they stir this pot again.

[GreyhoundFan]

Great editorial. Sadly, it won't happen: "Time for Republicans to accept reality"

Spoiler

WITH ONE more repeal-and-replace effort in flames, Republicans face a choice. They can continue to live in a fantasy world in which it is possible simultaneously to uproot Obamacare, slash federal spending on health care and widen health-care coverage. Or they can finally accept reality and strike a deal with Democrats to improve the Affordable Care Act.

Democrats, contrary to GOP rhetoric of recent weeks, are ready and willing. It was Republicans who shut down bipartisan negotiations this month in an attempt to push a repeal-and-replace bill through Congress. The bipartisan process could restart quickly.

Senate leaders decided Tuesday not to hold a vote on their most recent health-care bill, Cassidy-Graham, once it became clear that they lacked enough votes to pass it. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) struck a blow against it last week by sticking to his principled stand in favor of a fair, bipartisan process — the opposite of what has taken place here. Then on Monday the Congressional Budget Office reported that the bill would result in “millions” losing coverage. Congress’s official scorekeeper has found the same about every major repeal-and-replace bill.

So now what? Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and lead committee Democrat Patty Murray (Wash.) have held hearings on stabilizing Obamacare insurance marketplaces, gathered input from colleagues and bargained over the outlines of a deal. The emerging framework would satisfy neither Republicans calling for drastic reductions in government spending and regulation nor Democrats seeking a public-option health-care plan. But it is the obvious first step that an ideologically diverse yet functional Congress would take to stabilize the health-care system.

Under such a compromise, Republicans would agree to fund subsidies that help poor people with out-of-pocket expenses. Obamacare funding was intended to be permanent, but Republicans have threatened to eliminate it. More money might also go into programs to encourage insurance enrollment and to establish “reinsurance” programs, which help insurers cover high-cost enrollees. Reinsurance has driven down premiums in high-cost states such as Alaska.

Democrats, meanwhile, would allow states more room to experiment. For example, instead of forcing every state that wants to change rules within the Obamacare system to get a complex waiver, federal authorities could offer a pre-vetted “menu” of options. If a state did not like the menu, the waiver process itself would also get less onerous. These sorts of reforms could do a lot toward what Republicans insist their current health-care bill is meant to do — allow states freedom to design new health-care systems — while preserving the basic Obamacare guarantee of coverage for all.

Democrats might also allow Americans to buy into “copper” health-insurance plans, designed to cover fewer costs, but at lower premiums, than current Obamacare offerings. This would address another Republican complaint — that Obamacare is too prescriptive in the sort of coverage it forces Americans to buy.

If Republicans really want a solution, and not just someone to blame, a bipartisan deal is at hand.

 

[AnywhereButHere]

9 hours ago, candygirl200413 said:

Glad this fight is almost done with healthcare ( I refuse to say yay until September 30th at 11:59pm) but it's basically a little mini vacation (healthcare wise) until they stir this pot again.

Oh, just wait. Next up is tax reform. YAY! GOODY! (sarcasm...)  They were talking about it on MSNBC this morning, and the republican talking head was telling us to wait for the details. It's all in the details. Yeah, no. It's the details that kill us, and they're also what people don't listen to because details are hard and boring. It's the nice, catchy headlines of LOW TAXES that grab us in the Twitter world.

To be fair, if they do manage to come up with something that helps, I'll be all for it no matter which party initiates the change. I just don't have much hope.

[GreyhoundFan]

Jennifer Rubin had this take on the impact of Corker's retirement: "The most interesting part of Corker’s retirement isn’t what you think it is"

Spoiler

The Post reports:

Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) has announced he will not seek reelection this year, another blow to the Republican establishment wing that comes on the same day the latest Republican effort to revamp the Affordable Care Act failed.

Corker and other establishment Republicans have come under fire from President Trump and his supporters for not delivering in the early days of the new administration.

Once considered an ally of Trump’s national security team, Corker and Trump traded insults during the August break amid chatter that staunch conservatives would mount a primary challenge to the Foreign Relations chairman.

Corker’s retirement will create what is likely to be a highly contested, ideologically driven Republican primary. It also creates a vacuum among Senate Republicans for leaders on national security issues.

As to the Tennessee seat, there are a batch of well-known Republicans who may seek the seat, including Rep. Marsha Blackburn, Rep. Diane Black and Gov. Bill Haslam. The Democratic bench in a state that has trended deep red for several campaign cycles is not deep. The names most frequently mentioned are either old (e.g. former governor Phil Bredesen, Blue Dog Democratic Rep. Jim Cooper) or lesser-known non-politicians (e.g. James Mackler). Republicans are still highly favored to retain the seat, but if they nominate a wacky extremist or someone who can be painted as a card-carrying member of the Beltway crowd, Democrats may have an opening. Indeed, their best bet might be an outsider who can run against professional politicians and promise to deliver on items the GOP has failed to pass.

The more interesting aspect of Corker’s retirement has to do with who will succeed him as chairman of the critical Foreign Relations Committee. Corker was a true moderate, often not as aggressive as Republican hawks would have liked but well within the traditional GOP mainstream on foreign policy. He has been critical of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s slow pace in filling political slots and Tillerson’s support for an absurd budget that would have devastated his department. Corker was not so much a creator of policy or high-profile foreign policy voice internationally, as Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) has been, but he has earned his colleagues’ respect and kept a fractious committee — which includes diverse members such as Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) — functioning.

Ranking member Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin (D-Md.) issued an effusive statement. “Bob Corker is a consummate statesman and a thoughtful policymaker who has always served his constituents and his nation admirably,” he said. “Personally, I am saddened by this news because over our years of service together on the Foreign Relations Committee, first as members but since 2015, as chair and ranking member, Bob and I have forged a genuine partnership and friendship. It has been a privilege to lead the Committee with Bob as Chairman. Our work has been steeped in a love of country and the enduring belief that the foreign policy of the United States should always be conducted in a bipartisan, sober, values-based manner.”

So who will succeed Corker as chairman if the GOP keeps the majority? The member next in seniority is Sen. James E. Risch (R-Idaho), one of the lowest-profile Republicans and a staunch defender of President Trump. He served up softball questions when Attorney General Jeff Sessions appeared and acted as the president’s defense counsel when former FBI director James Comey testified. That has earned him a reputation as a White House patsy with Democrats:

It’s an approach that has given Risch a reputation as one of the most ardent defenders of the president and has frustrated some Democrats.

“It’s pretty clear to us that Risch doesn’t have much interest in investigating Russian interference in the 2016 investigation,” said Shelby Scott, spokeswoman for the Idaho Democratic Party, who called his approach to the hearings “shocking.”

A senior Democratic Senate aide called Risch “one of the biggest shills for the administration.”

“Many other Republicans have played this much more down the middle and made clear they’re interested in finding the truth. Senator Risch isn’t one of them,” the aide said. … And, as he has made clear during public hearings, Risch believes there is likely to be zero evidence of collusion between Trump’s campaign and Russia, despite anonymously sourced media reports that hint the evidence is there.

When the president and his Cabinet misstep or misspeak (which is often) or seem asleep at the wheel, Risch is less likely to provide exacting oversight. He is not known as a motivated defender of human rights.

Senate committee chairmanships don’t always go strictly by seniority, and sometimes a senator less well-regarded on one committee can be diplomatically handed another chairmanship. In this case, there may be considerable support for going outside seniority to back the next man in line, Rubio, who has focused much of his time in the Senate on foreign relations, taken up the cause of human rights, urged a tough line on U.S. enemies including Russia and been more critical of Trump (although not consistently enough for #NeverTrumpers’ tastes) than some Republicans. Given truth serum, most Democrats and Republicans on the committee would say Rubio would be a more qualified, sharper, focused, energetic and knowledgeable chairman. Rubio’s office did not respond to a request for comment on his possible interest in the chairmanship.

In sum, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which plays a critical role in everything from confirmation of foreign policy nominees to Russia oversight to treaty ratification, may wind up less effective and less willing to check Trump under Risch. If, however, Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) recalls he persuaded Rubio to stay in the Senate in 2016 and owes him one, he may find a way to slip Rubio into the chairmanship. That would be bad news for Trump, Russia and international dictators but good news for those who want the most proactive Senate possible during the Trump presidency. Then again, if the GOP falters, Cardin — a forceful defender of human rights and critic of Trump’s Russia moves — may find himself in charge of arguably the most important committee in the Senate.

 

[GreyhoundFan]

Another good one from Jennifer Rubin: "The worst day of the worst week for the GOP"

Spoiler

President Trump wants to talk about the NFL because other than that, there’s virtually no topic he can address without reminding his followers of the most dreadful week of his presidency. On Tuesday, Trump-backed Sen. Luther Strange (R-Ala.) lost the GOP Senate primary to a full-blown birther crackpot, former judge Roy Moore, who has been removed from the bench twice for disregarding the law. Moore was backed by fired Trump aide Stephen K. Bannon. The race was a runaway, suggesting that neither Trump’s (or Vice President Mike Pence’s) presence nor gobs of money can prop up normal Republicans in the maelstrom unleashed by the Trumpkins. The GOP is being entirely subsumed to the nationalist/nativist/protectionist shock troops whom Trump and Bannon have unleashed.

The party that once defended the rule of law now defends those who defy court rulings (Moore and Joe Arpaio, for example). You’ll likely see a slew of Bannon-backed GOP primary challengers who will dislodge or bruise Senate and House GOP incumbents. One can now envision circumstances in which the Democrats win majorities in both houses. Even if the Senate remains nominally in GOP hands, it seems that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s days as leader are numbered.

That was only the tip of an iceberg threatening to sink Trump’s presidency. Consider what popped up this week for Trump:

• The Obamacare repeal-and-replace effort failed again.
• Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price has rung up a tab of hundreds of thousands of dollars on charter planes.
• Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency chief is constructing a soundproof booth for himself for $25,000. Oh, and he has a massive security detail one would expect to go with a defense secretary instead.
• Then we learn: “The acting head of the Drug Enforcement Administration is planning to leave his post later this month after losing confidence in President Donald Trump’s respect for the law, a source familiar with the decision said Tuesday.”
• Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) announced his retirement, creating an opportunity for another Bannon-backed Republican or a Democratic takeaway. If Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) replaces Corker as the Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman, Trump will face a thorn in his side on Russia, human rights and more.
• Trump ally Roger Stone was invited to testify before the House Intelligence Committee to deny colluding with Russia. Some were not impressed with his convoluted explanation for his tweet anticipating the WikiLeaks disclosures.
• Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) is reportedly agreeable to legislation to protect the special counsel.
• Speaking of which, special counsel Robert S. Mueller III reportedly will interview White House aides soon. Mueller also has enlisted the cooperation of the IRS with regard to former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and former national security adviser Michael T. Flynn.
• The situation in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands is desperate. Trump seems disengaged and overly sanguine about the situation. Katrina comparisons abound.

There are three major political dynamics at work here — the failure of the Trump and GOP agenda; the descent into paralyzing scandal for the administration; and the replacement of a normal GOP by a fully activated Trump-Breitbart machine that resembles the thuggish right-wing parties in Europe. Throughout it all, Trump divides and deceives, creating false controversy and phony culture wars. Attack the NFL, attack the press, feed the racism.

For all the difficulties Democrats may have, they do not have all that to worry about. If they compete far and wide with quality candidates and articulate a sane agenda that is neither identity-driven nor economically implausible, they may stage a remarkable comeback by 2020.

And what of the remnants of the GOP — its moderates and conservatives, its principles and its sensibilities? Perhaps a new center-right party can emerge. Maybe such a group can find common cause with center-left Democrats if their party goes over the edge as well. Increasingly, however, it seems hard to imagine that the GOP will rid itself anytime soon of Trump and the stench of Trumpism. More likely, Trump will rid himself of the GOP as we have known it, leaving the party of Lincoln in ruins.

 

[hoipolloi]

Probably one of the better commentaries on Roy Moore that you'll read --  by the excellent Charles Pierce:

Quote

If you think that Roy Moore belongs in the Senate, then you are a half-bright goober whose understanding of American government and basic civics probably stops at the left side of your AM radio dial. You have no concept of the national interest and very little concept of your own, unless, as I suspect, you’ve made your own fears, and hating people and hawking loogies in all directions, the sum total of your involvement in self-government. You are killing democracy and you don’t know it or care. If you had any real Christian charity in your hearts, you’d keep Roy Moore in the locked ward of your local politics and not loose him on a nation that deserves so much better than him.

 

[RosyDaisy]

On Dec. 12, Mr. Moore will face Doug Jones, a former federal prosecutor and the Democratic nominee, in a race that will test the party loyalties of center-right voters who may be uneasy about their nominee. It may also reveal just how reliably Republican the state has become in the quarter-century since a Democrat last won a Senate election here.

Bullshit! There will be no testing of loyalties. People here in Alabama will chose the vilest Republican over a Democrat. Democrats and liberals are very much hated here. Seriously, I cannot express how strong the hatred is. Please pray for Alabama (don't care to which deity), that they wake up and send Roy Moore packing. Alabama is a beautiful place that has been overtaken by lunatics.

[GreyhoundFan]

"Watch out, Republicans. Tax reform could be just as hard as health care."

Spoiler

Republicans have admitted defeat (for now) in their seven-year war to repeal the Affordable Care Act. House and Senate Republicans could exploit budget rules to take another stab at repeal later this year or next. But for now, Republicans seem poised to move on to taxes.

Many think that tax reform will be easier for Republicans than health care. True, taxes offer much more familiar ground for Republicans. But these four key causes of GOP failure on health care could infect their tax campaign as well.

1. Congressional Republicans still have a small, overreaching majority

For seven years, Republicans promised a wholesale repeal of Obamacare. Unexpectedly in control of Congress and the White House — and facing Democrats who have no interest in repealing Obama’s signature achievement — a slim Republican majority this year overreached.

This is not the first small majority to overestimate its power: George W. Bush and his Republican majorities in 2001 and 2005 also pursued an aggressive agenda that catered to a conservative base. They cut taxes, but failed to deliver education vouchers, faith-based initiatives, and privatization of social security, to name a few top priorities.

Senate Republicans seem poised to overreach again on taxes, especially given opinion surveys that register little public support for cutting corporate and other taxes. House and Senate Republicans disagree with each other and among themselves on the key parameters of a tax deal — including the size and scope of cuts, whether or how to pay for them, and how fast and loose to play with budget rules for estimating costs. The political urge to get something done before they face voters in 2018 may yet compel compromise. But it’s just as likely that in overreaching, this small majority will end up tied in knots.

2. Reconciliation remains a double-edged sword

Republicans seem intent on legislating by simple majority, avoiding the need to court Democratic votes. To do so, House and Senate GOP must first agree on a budget blueprint. This is the necessary first step to unlock “reconciliation”– the same type of filibuster-proof bill Republicans deployed to try to repeal Obamacare. But bicameral agreement on a budget is not yet in hand. Some members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus have even refused to back a budget without first seeing the details of the tax bill. That puts the cart before the horse, and no one has yet built the cart.

Even with a budget in hand, budget laws will again limit Republicans’ degrees of freedom in crafting a tax bill. If they can’t agree on how to pay for the tax cuts, the rules for scoring costs must be stretched far beyond the norm. Otherwise, to comply with the requirement that reconciliation bills not add to deficits in the long term, Republicans will have to settle for temporary tax cuts — undercutting the value of lowering corporate taxes in the first place.

3. It’s still irregular order

After helping to block the GOP health-care bill, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) signaled that he would again demand “regular order” on taxes. Senators disagree about the meaning of regular order (if it means anything at all). But most have in mind some outdated notion of a more collegial Senate — a body in which senators incubate policy in committee, and bipartisan coalitions amend and adopt measures on the floor.

For now, congressional leaders seem committed to their irregular ways. First, the bill has thus far been devised by a cabal of congressional and White House leaders, keeping rank-and-file GOP members somewhat in the dark. Second, even if and when bill-writing is turned over to the committees, use of reconciliation precludes regular order: Senators have no incentive to pursue bipartisan solutions, since the other party’s votes are not needed.

Moreover, with the spotlight harshly focused on Republicans, the majority will lose its ability to blame Democrats for any legislative impasse. Instead, one could imagine House and Senate leaders deciding again to go behind closed doors in the search for a deal, should Republican cleavages threaten to force a tax deal off the rails.

4. Trump is still the president.

A deeply divided party needs a way to resolve differences within their ranks. Unfortunately for Republicans, a distracted and undisciplined President Trump has so far been unable to take the lead on legislative matters. Even this week, with a final push for health care and a promised rollout of the framework for a tax bill, Trump commandeered the agenda by going to war against African American athletes and the NFL. Republicans can hardly count on this president to pave the way forward when legislative differences arise.

Unified party control rarely lasts long in American politics. The window is closing for the president and Republicans to fulfill promises to their base and prove to the electorate that they can be trusted to govern. For a divided GOP, the stakes couldn’t be higher.

Time to start calling my senators again -- we don't need them to pass tax cuts for the extremely wealthy on the backs of the rest of us.