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[EdibleKnife]

The GOP once again is trying to fast track the AHCA. Of course this is happening post 2 incredible natural disasters that have rightfully soaked up the attention of the general public let alone the many victims of the hurricanes who value their health care. And once again we need to put as much effort as possible into fighting back. Below is a Twitter thread from Ben Wikler of MoveOn.org regarding this matter and ways to fight back:

Alongside this, here is a previous post I made with resources and guides for fighting back thanks to Pod Save America and Ben Wikler once more that I'd made in my general thread regarding activism:

Today's Pod Save America (June 8 2017) discussed (@ ~40:00 Minutes) the dire situation of the reformatted AHCA possibly creeping into a pass. Let's not pussyfoot around: The fate of millions upon millions of Americans rests on the machinations of Mitch McConnell failing to pass this through the senate, particularly by the recess on July 4th. The Pod Save America hosts and their friends at MoveOn.org teamed up to make sure that people know exactly what they can do to try and stop the AHCA from going any further:

• The United States Capitol switchboard number is (202) 224-3121 where the operator will direct you to the senate office you request. Make as many calls to your senator as you are able to every day.
  
• When you reach your senators phone: DO NOT just stop at registering an opinion. ASK for your Health Legislative Assistant/Aide. Link to a list of those assistants by Senator, state and name
  
  
  
  
  
  As well as instructions on what to say once you get through courtesy of Ben Wikler, Washington director of MoveOn.org:
  
  

  Ben Wikler ‏Verified account @benwikler 4h4 hours ago
  When you get through, explain that you're a constituent and you have grave concerns about how the bill will affect you. Then explain WHY 19/
  
  These staffers are human beings. They work on health care because they care about health. Even if their bosses don't. Tell your story. 20/
  
  What you want is for health staffers to be telling their bosses that they've spent all day with the phone from freaked-out constituents 21/
  
  And then you want to ASK FOR A MEETING, before the vote. With state staffers (or in DC, if you can come). Promise to bring a group. 22/
  
  If you get the meeting with your Senator or their staffers, bring a ton of people & make it huge. @MoveOn can help. (DM me.) 23/
  
  If you don't get the meeting, no problem. You should still recruit a group & show up at Senators' offices. Time to break out the signs. 24/
  
  Incidentally, it's also worth EMAILING the legislative assistants w/personal notes. Here's how to figure out Hill staff email addresses 25/
  
  If I, Ben Wikler, worked for Sen. Murkowski, (I don't; Chelsea Holt is her health LA), I'd be ben.wikler@murkowski.senate.gov. Get it? 26/
  
  So: CALL every day. Ask for health staffers. Email them, too. VISIT local offices—for scheduled meetings or to protest. Bring friends. 27/
  
  Find the letters to the editor submission email address for local papers in your state & send them your story, mentioning your Senator. 28/
  
  And mark your calendar for the last week of June, esp Wed-Fri. There should literally be round the clock vigils. You'll be needed then. 29/

• Your friends and family. Use Facebook, Twitter, Phone calls or face to face interactions to convince them to do the same.
  
• Visit your local congressional offices. I've posted several links that outline future boots on the ground protests and demonstrations. But even if there isn't one going on in your area, if you're able, you should be part of the difference. Demand that you be seen at your local office. Show up with signage, ways to video or photograph events. Make yourself heard and be clear about this being about the cruelty of the AHCA and the necessity of your legislators to show that they actually care about the lives of American citizens by not supporting it and openly deriding it all the better.

Do not, do not, do not get stuck in a nihilist loop. Republicans might seem like immense evil giants hellbent on crushing you and every other American. But the absolute worst thing you can do in the middle of this is nothing. Even worse than the slaktavism of a retweet. Even worse than just talking to your parents about it. Do something. Please. Anything related to crushing the AHCA and saving lives is absolutely important to your life and the lives of so many other Americans even those fervently working against you.

More info related to the AHCA:

Indivisible Project offshoot site called TrumpcareTen.org AKA 10 of the key states with senators who could swing towards preserving the ACA. Provides a toolkit for focusing efforts on how to get these Senators to do the right thing. Please try it out particularly those who live in these states and have these senators.

This battle against the AHCA needs, needs, needs to continue. We are not done and probably never will be as long as the GOP and its leadership remains craven about destroying the lives of American citizens.

More links:
Indivisible
Contacting Congress

 

[Slayven]

I always worry about them just burning people out and then sliding something through

 

[EdibleKnife]

I always worry about them just burning people out and then sliding something through

Hell I'm basically burnt out talking about this myself. I just hope there are people who are able to push through the burnout.

 

[Piano]

Call, people. I don't care what state you live in, call your senators. I called yesterday and will call again today.

 

[JCHandsom]

This version of repeal is essentially "Give money directly to states and let them figure out how to use it on their healthcare", right?

Earlier thread about this seemed to suggest that this was dead in the water; McCain wouldn't vote as it would have to be pushed through to meet the Sept. 30 deadline, and even Rand Paul said that this wasn't happening.

Reading the tweets in the OP makes me less sure of that now.

I'm still gonna fight it.

 

[Mass Effect]

I always worry about them just burning people out and then sliding something through

Exactly what I came here to say. It's obvious that's their plan.

 

[Kinsei]

I always worry about them just burning people out and then sliding something through

I feel like it's just a matter of time. It's clear this is what they are trying to do.

 

[gcubed]

sure yes, this is all good, put pressure on, etc. Get out, yell.

But this whole "THEY ARE ALREADY AT 49 VOTES OMG ITS THERE!" is ... i mean... they have been at 49 votes for a few months.

Don't get complacent, i agree... but i guess its Ben Wikler's job to get everyone riled up again, so good on him

 

[IamDodongo]

Okay, I'll call.

Thanks for the info. The GOP should really be ashamed of this

 

[MetatronM]

I feel like it's just a matter of time. It's clear this is what they are trying to do.

The actual deadline to get this done "easily" for the GOP is about to run out. They have until the end of this month.

 

[btrboyev]

Cunts

 

[Zolo]

Benjy Sarlin @BenjySarlin
McCain tells @GarrettHaake he wants bipartisan bill with wks of hearings. BUT may "reluctantly" back Graham-Cassidy if AZ Gov approves
11:50 AM · Sep 18, 2017

.

 

[Shard]

.

Given that the AZ Gov was against previous attempts and Arizona stands to lose with this, it is an ill tiding for this effort.

 

[gcubed]

.

well then...

sound more alarms


Make Arizona freak the fuck out

 

[JCHandsom]

well then...

sound more alarms


Make Arizona freak the fuck out

Arizona will lose out on repeal. They don't want this

Spoiler

nobody really does, but that's neither here nor there

; they might not want Obamacare, but they also don't want something worse.

 

[BertramCooper]

Called Portman's office and they had the voicemail switched on, meaning that they almost certainly expect (or are already getting) a bunch of calls today.

Not that it fucking matters because Rob Portman is a cowardly chode.

 

[gcubed]

Arizona will lose out on repeal. They don't want this

Spoiler

nobody really does, but that's neither here nor there

; they might not want Obamacare, but they also don't want something worse.

i dont trust the Gov

 

[WedgeX]

This version of repeal is essentially "Give money directly to states and let them figure out how to use it on their healthcare", right?

Earlier thread about this seemed to suggest that this was dead in the water; McCain wouldn't vote as it would have to be pushed through to meet the Sept. 30 deadline, and even Rand Paul said that this wasn't happening.

Reading the tweets in the OP makes me less sure of that now.

I'm still gonna fight it.

Well, it's give less money to the states and let them figure it out before we cease funding healthcare forever.


Some think tanks have put out thoughts:

One way to see the absurdity of Cassidy and Graham’s approach is to examine their estimates for California and New York. The Senators have said that one of the core goals of their bill is to redistribute funding from California and New York to the rest of the country.[5] Yet their estimates show that New York’s funding would rise between 2020 and 2026 under the bill, while California’s would stay roughly the same. So, by their metric, New York is a winner and California is held harmless — directly contradicting the Senators’ own statements.

In fact, when measured accurately, New York and California are both losers in 2026, as are most states (as explained below). That’s because showing that funding rises over time is irrelevant to measuring a plan’s impact — as multiple independent fact checkers concluded when President Trump and other Administration officials tried to argue that their budget and earlier congressional ACA repeal bills wouldn’t cut Medicaid.[6] Similar to Cassidy-Graham’s statements, the Trump budget and earlier repeal bills would cut Medicaid and other health care funding deeply compared to what would be spent under current law, but Administration officials claimed that funding wouldn’t be cut because funding levels would still rise over time.

https://www.cbpp.org/research/healt...evant-to-assessing-their-health-bills-effects

 

[G0523]

Well damn. This is getting less traction than the neo-Nazi getting punched in Seattle thread. I hope the word gets out on this more. Can't believe they're trying yet again with this shit. What's probably worse is that this time might work.

 

[Pyrokai]

Welp, Arizona governor just approved of this. Looks like this is going to pass.

 

[Randolph Freelander]

Yeah, it's over. If (when) McCain flips, you know Rand Paul isn't actually going to vote no. That's 50 + Pence.

 

[WedgeX]

.

If we were counting on McCain and the AZ governor...well...goodbye ACA

https://mobile.twitter.com/dougducey/status/909833548986687489

 

[balladofwindfishes]

The AZ governor approved the last bill, which failed...

What happened to "never stop fighting?" It's like you guys want this to pass to fulfill your weird self defeating fantasies of the world being terrible.

 

[Makonero]

If we were counting on McCain and the AZ governor...well...goodbye ACA

https://mobile.twitter.com/dougducey/status/909833548986687489

Yep. We're fucked.

 

[DietRob]

God damn it. While everyone is distracted with Spicer going to the emmy's, Trump wheeling and dealing with Dems, ect, ect... They slip this shit burger through.

UGGGHHH...

 

[PhoenixDawn]

Welp RIP healthcare in the US. I hope people keep fighting it until the very end, and if it does end up getting through I hope the GOP are forced to have all of that blood/blame on their hands when tens of millions lose healthcare and many die or suffer severely as a result. If they somehow squirm their way out of being blamed for this shitshow and try pinning it on Obamacare still then fuck them forever and ever.

 

[JCHandsom]

If we were counting on McCain and the AZ governor...well...goodbye ACA

https://mobile.twitter.com/dougducey/status/909833548986687489

 

[UberTag]

God damn it. While everyone is distracted with Spicer going to the emmy's, Trump wheeling and dealing with Dems, ect, ect... They slip this shit burger through.

UGGGHHH...

Never doubt the persistence of evil. Especially in an instance like this where they can fail infinity times but only need to win once in order to get their way and free up all of those government funds for the rich.

Incidentally, if you lose this vote and you aren't actively shutting down every main thoroughfare, government building and effectively civilization as you know it via 24/7 protesting (THIS will be your new job) then you will have already lost your country. There will be no coming back from this.

 

[Cesare Borgia]

God damn it. While everyone is distracted with Spicer going to the emmy's, Trump wheeling and dealing with Dems, ect, ect... They slip this shit burger through.

UGGGHHH...

Do people realize how stupid this framing is? Why people immediately want to find some convoluted way to blame people on their own fucking side is beyond me. Stop it. Healthcare activists have been banging the drum on Cassidy's bill for weeks now. This is not something that slipped out of nowhere and caught people off guard, nor is it something that Trump/republicans managed to hide by "distracting" us with whatever. That's not how this fucking works. Stop saying it, it's bullshit.

 

[PepsimanVsJoe]

So that's it then? The 49 was guaranteed since the word go, and McCain will most assuredly flip.

Might as well just lie in a bed and wait for death then.

 

[Shard]

So that's it then? The 49 was guaranteed since the word go, and McCain will most assuredly flip.

Might as well just lie in a bed and wait for death then.

No, that is not it, not until the vote has actually been cast.

 

[PumpkinSpice]

Cassidy-Graham is a different bill and is not the AHCA.

 

[JCHandsom]

Cassidy-Graham is a different bill and is not the AHCA.

It's not a bill, it's an amendment to the bill the House voted on.

No, that is not it, not until the vote has actually been cast.

If they have 50 votes before Sept. 30 (and by the looks of it they have it), then all they need to do is vote. No debate necessary, since there was already been a period of debate on "amending the House bill" back in summer. That means that it passes through the Senate without any chance for Democrat obstruction, it goes back to the House where they will assuredly pass it, and then it's off to Trump's desk to become law.

Do not pass go, do not collect $200

 

[BertramCooper]

So that's it then? The 49 was guaranteed since the word go, and McCain will most assuredly flip.

Might as well just lie in a bed and wait for death then.

I wouldn't rely on him for second, but Rand Paul is still on the record as a no on Cassidy-Graham.

 

[Scirrocco]

I wouldn't rely on him for second, but Rand Paul is still on the record as a no on Cassidy-Graham.

He was no om Aca until it came time to vote. Don't trust him. He doesn't have the spine to do this alone, and take all the heat for not killing Obamacare.

 

[cbrun44]

I know this sounds terrible, but maybe people need to actually feel the consequences. Until then we're just going to be going in a loop over and over again. Every other month the Republicans are going to come out with another shit plan with a shit CBO score.

Let the consequences be felt and when the Dems take back power a better solution can be implemented.

 

[Joe Shlabotnik]

Ducey also ultimately endorsed the skinny repeal bill McCain torpedoed, though less publicly and enthusiastically than this, I'd say.

Also stop with the "STOP BEING DISTRACTED" shit

 

[Chained Prometheus]

The AZ governor approved the last bill, which failed...

What happened to "never stop fighting?" It's like you guys want this to pass to fulfill your weird self defeating fantasies of the world being terrible.

Preach.

Guys, this isn't over yet. We still have time to fight. Maybe it will get through, maybe it won't. But just moping here and saying we're all going to die does nothing to actually help our chances of fighting back and stopping them from getting this through.

Spread the word. Inform people about this and what the GOP are trying to do. Call your senators, even if you know they won't vote the way you want them to.

Every little bit helps.

 

[pigeon]

Cassidy-Graham is a different bill and is not the AHCA.

It's actually worse.

 

[PepsimanVsJoe]

I know this sounds terrible, but maybe people need to actually feel the consequences. Until then we're just going to be going in a loop over and over again. Every other month the Republicans are going to come out with another shit plan with a shit CBO score.

Let the consequences be felt and when the Dems take back power a better solution can be implemented.

Proving a point isn't worth the massive number of lives that this plan would ruin.

 

[DietRob]

Do people realize how stupid this framing is? Why people immediately want to find some convoluted way to blame people on their own fucking side is beyond me. Stop it. Healthcare activists have been banging the drum on Cassidy's bill for weeks now. This is not something that slipped out of nowhere and caught people off guard, nor is it something that Trump/republicans managed to hide by "distracting" us with whatever. That's not how this fucking works. Stop saying it, it's bullshit.

Uhm, I'm not trying to blame my own side. I'm highlighting the fact that we can never take for granted the GOP's desire to fuck us. I've gotta disagree that this is something that kinda slipped out of nowhere. A lot of us thought that this fight was dead and that we won. Some of us moved on to advocating for DACA. Perhaps 'distracted' was the wrong word.

I guess my point is we have to be ready and willing to fight multiple fronts at once. It sure is tiring and I really hope the momentum on the left carries through to November 2018 so maybe we can get a Dem majority in congress to help us.

 

[IamDodongo]

What happened to "never stop fighting?" It's like you guys want this to pass to fulfill your weird self defeating fantasies of the world being terrible.

Who stopped fighting?

 

[super-heated plasma]

But what about McCains grandiose speech about needing to be Bipartisan again, and doing things the old fashioned way, etc.? If he votes for this he is once again going to be seen as the biggest hypocrite in the senate.

 

[JCHandsom]

I guess my point is we have to be ready and willing to fight multiple fronts at once. It sure is tiring and I really hope the momentum on the left carries through to November 2018 so maybe we can get a Dem majority in congress to help us.

That's not likely, as there are 8 Republican Senate seats up for re-election, and only one of them are from a state Hillary won in the GE, and 25 Democratic Senate seats up, many of which are in states that voted for Trump in the GE.

Current split is 48-52 in favor of Republicans, meaning we would need to gain at least 3 seats and not lose a single race. Given the results of the special election litmus tests we've seen this year, it's a feat that is, again, not likely.

And that's not even touching the House.

 

[balladofwindfishes]

Who stopped fighting?

Really?

So that's it then? The 49 was guaranteed since the word go, and McCain will most assuredly flip.

Might as well just lie in a bed and wait for death then.

Yep. We're fucked.

Yeah, it's over. If (when) McCain flips, you know Rand Paul isn't actually going to vote no. That's 50 + Pence.

Welp, Arizona governor just approved of this. Looks like this is going to pass.

Half this thread

 

[CrocMother]

But what about McCains grandiose speech about needing to be Bipartisan again, and doing things the old fashioned way, etc.? If he votes for this he is once again going to be seen as the biggest hypocrite in the senate.

Well he very well might be.

 

[Makonero]

Really?









Half this thread

We're not giving up. We're being realistic. If we lose this fight, we're not picking up our shit and going home. We'll keep fighting. But until 2018, we have no real power.

 

[Maxim726X]

Welp, Arizona governor just approved of this. Looks like this is going to pass.

Shit.

Expecting him to do the right thing twice is unrealistic, unfortunately.

We're not giving up. We're being realistic. If we lose this fight, we're not picking up our shit and going home. We'll keep fighting. But until 2018, we have no real power.

Again, the age old question: How do you get Democrats to vote in the midterms? I'm not feeling very optimistic right now, unfortunately.

 

[Bam Bam Baklava]

We're not giving up. We're being realistic. If we lose this fight, we're not picking up our shit and going home. We'll keep fighting. But until 2018, we have no real power.

You could show up to a bunch of Democrat's town halls and make unrealistic demands of the out party though.

 

[Makonero]

Shit.

Expecting him to do the right thing twice is unrealistic, unfortunately.



Again, the age old question: How do you get Democrats to vote in the midterms? I'm not feeling very optimistic right now, unfortunately.

I dunno, maybe take away their healthcare?