Last Chance to Save Healthcare and Your Own Life

Got an extra $26,000 a year to spend on health insurance?  I don't. Even though that is how much more I will have to pay every year because of my pre-existing condition that Trumpcare will now allow.

And that's nothing compared to how Trumpcare will literally rip healthcare away from 23 million people, including those of us with employer plans.

It's not just no more Obamacare protections.  It's actually worse than the horrific system we had before 2010.

From Democracy for America:

The Senate could vote anytime on Trumpcare -- and they may not give us any time at all to see what the bill looks like. Mitch McConnell is trying to find ways to pass Trumpcare just a few hours after publishing the bill. As DFA's Karli Thompson explains below, the bill would lead to 50 million people uninsured. We also know it would restore insurers' ability to limit how much they can pay to cover your bills each year and over the course of your life -- making health care even more expensive. We have to stop this right now by flooding Senate Republican offices with calls. 

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The New York Times has been reporting that Senate Republicans have nearly finished their Trumpcare legislation, and could vote on it very soon -- but they still have no intention of showing the public the details. 

When asked why the Senate GOP won't release the bill, a GOP staffer responded, "we aren't stupid."
It's extremely telling that Republicans are putting so much effort into keeping this bill a secret. They know that the only way this disastrous legislation can pass is if they can sneak it through before the public has the chance to respond.

We need to make it crystal clear to Senate Republicans that we are watching every single move they make -- and they aren't going to get away with attacking our health care without a fight.

Can you call your Senators and tell them to vote NO on the super-shady Senate Trumpcare bill today?

We may not have seen the exact text, but we already know that the Senate Trumpcare bill will have much in common with the trainwreck that passed the House last month. The GOP goal on health care remains the same: They want to slash access in order to maximize corporate profits and hand a fat tax cut to the rich.

There's one important issue that we know will be in a final Trumpcare bill: a major attack on birth control, abortion access, and women's health. Republicans and Trump are determined to defund Planned Parenthood. They will eliminate free birth control. Their attack on Medicaid will mean millions of women lose health care access.

The Senate vote might be our last opportunity to stop Trumpcare. We only need THREE Republicans to defect in order to kill this bill and protect the health care of millions of Americans.

Numbers here.

Forget the ACA; If Obama Doesn't Fill the Courts With Lefties, He'll Have No Legacy At All

Don't be fooled by the recent decisions by federal district judges to make states stop discriminating: the federal judiciary is infested with reich-wing corporatists hell-bent on reversing a century of economic and social progress.

Fortunately, there are hundreds of vacancies in the federal court system, all of them begging for far, far, FAR left judges to counteract the anti-democratic drag of Smirky-Darth appointees.

Unfortunately, President Obama has no interest in correcting the right-wing judicial threat to the Constitution.

Digby:

I wrote about the Michael Boggs nomination to the Federal bench earlier, but it's worth revisiting today as it seems likely to go forward. Remember, it isn't just him, it's three more totally unacceptable neanderthal wingnuts on the federal courts in exchange for a couple of moderates. This is a result of a "painstaking process of negotiations" --- which the president obviously lost.

The White House has not backed down from the nominations, arguing that the deal was part of a long, painstaking process of negotiations that they don’t want to toss out the window. According to The Hill, White House adviser Valerie Jarrett told the Congressional Black Caucus at a meeting in early February that the administration wouldn’t be withdrawing the nominations. The Obama administration is also frustrated with what they see as inadequate recognition of the fact that the administration has nominated the most diverse slate of candidates for the federal bench in history — including one who would be the first openly gay black nominee —and that the Georgia delegation failed to weigh in on the process before the deal over the Georgia nominees was cut.

Just a reminder: Clarence Thomas is black. (Also, apropos of nothing, from Georgia.) Choosing more racial minorities, women and gays alone, while a worthy goal, is not enough for a Democratic president. This is especially true of one who has inexplicably failed to even nominate  enough judges to fill the available vacancies. It's just inexplicable that he would agree to "deals" in which Republicans get to put more far right ideologues on the court after the previous president already packed it with them to the fullest extent he possibly could. If there is one area in which ideology, temperament and political philosophy simply must be taken seriously, it's this one. If he can't do any better than this, he should leave the seats unfilled and hope his successor is a Democrat who has better negotiating skills.

Now it must be recognized that the Senate, especially judiciary chairman Patrick Leahy, are clinging to their Senatorial prerogatives and that's a problem. They don't get a pass. But the administration should recognize that a major component of any president's legacy is his federal court appointments and should not be so cavalier as to allow such far right ideologues to obtain lifetime appointment under his auspices.

Why should repugs get all the obstruction fun? I'd like to see Senator Bernie Sanders block any judicial nominee to the right of  Elizabeth Warren.

Join the Ditch Mitch Bandwagon Today!

Hate the republicans in the Senate? Think Minority Leader Mitch McConnell should be tarred and feathered? Afraid Kentucky just doesn't have what it takes to get rid of him when he runs for re-election next year?

Never fear - Ditch Mitch is here!

Via the indispensable Bluegrass Report, here's the press release:

Good Morning:

Team Ditch Mitch KY is proud to announce the official launch of its blog at:http://www.DitchMitchKY.com/

Over the next 20 months, we'll center our efforts there on holding MitchMcConnell accountable for his legislative and political record, one we believehas made Americans less secure in nearly every aspect of their lives: in their finances, retirement, health, on the job, and from threats of terrorism at home and abroad.

Twenty months is certainly an eternity in politics, but as things stand now, we see McConnell as very vulnerable. He's framed himself as President Bush's biggest enabler in the U.S. Senate and as the chief obstructionist of a progressive Democratic agenda that majorities of Americans and Kentuckians support. Moreover, the Kentucky GOP -- the house that Mitch built -- is showing major cracks in its foundation. Mitch was right, it takes "money, money, money" to build a political party, but we're learning by example that it takes a different kind of competence and character to maintain and nurture it.
From our perspective, a perfect storm in November 2008 would find Kentucky Democrats energized by a dynamic presidential candidate and anticipating a landslide victory, and would see turnout among Kentucky Republicans depressed because of problems and divisions in the GOP nationally and at the state level.

We know this fight will be a tough one, as these entrenched incumbents rarely fall outside of narrow margins, but we believe that our cause is right for the future of Kentucky and the nation.

We've brought onto our team blogging veterans from the highly successful efforts in '06 to defeat Conrad Burns and George Allen; these people will be contributing on both the tech and content sides of the operation.

I would appreciate any "heads up" you're able to give concerning McConnell-related content you might be featuring on your own sites. If you have any questions about Ditch Mitch KY, please direct them to me, and I welcome any feedback.

Kindest regards,

Matt Gunterman

Now, we don't actually, technically, have a candidate to challenge Mitch yet. But with seven Democrats vying for just one spot in the gubernatorial primary in May, there'll be at least six losers licking their wounds and eyeing Mitch's seat.

And who knows? There are two leading Democrats who passed on the governor's race - Auditor Crit Luallen and Sixth District Congressman Ben Chandler - plus Louisville businessman and Chandler's 2003 Lite Guv running mate Charlie Owen who might jump in, depending how things look come next January (filing deadline is the 30th.)

Owen, by the way, has been faithfully sending Christmas cards every year to everyone who contributed to the Chandler-Owen campaign in 2003. He's definitely running for something.