Archives for May 2017

Harry Enten: “President Trump stormed into the White House thanks, in part, to working-class voters. Well, that was the conventional wisdom, in any case (there’s some debate over how big a factor economic anxiety actually was). But whatever working-class support Trump has, the Republican push to overhaul U.S. health care is putting it in peril.”

“The American Health Care Act, which may come up for a vote in the House this week (or not), appears to divide the Republican base along income lines. More specifically, Trump’s backing of the AHCA — and the renewed GOP effort to pass the bill — could eat away at the president’s support among lower-income Americans who otherwise like the job Trump is doing.”

For members: The Worst Thing the GOP Can Do for 2018

“In a heart-wrenching 13-minute monologue, Jimmy Kimmel opened up about his son’s heart condition, which was discovered just hours after his birth 10 days ago. With tears in his eyes, the host described the harrowing ordeal, which started with a nurse noticing baby William John Kimmel’s color was off and ended with him being rushed into open-heart surgery,” New York Magazine reports.

“We were brought up to believe that we live in the greatest country in the world, but until a few years ago, millions and millions of us had no access to health insurance at all. You know, before 2014, if you were born with congenital heart disease, like my son was, there’s a good chance you’d never be able to get health insurance, because you had a pre-existing condition. You were born with a preexisting condition. And if your parents didn’t have insurance, you may not even live long enough to get denied because of a preexisting condition.”

“If your baby is going to die and it doesn’t have to, it shouldn’t matter how much money you make. I think that’s something that whether you’re a Republican or a Democrat or something else, we all agree on that, right?”.

“Around 2 million people watch Kimmel’s show each night… Kimmel succinctly explained what tinkering with protections for preexisting conditions could do to an innocent baby, and pointed out that’s what the GOP is trying to do this week. What wavering House Republican is going to decide now is the time to come out in favor of the bill?”

David Nather: “If they had the votes to pass it, they would have scheduled the vote by now.”

“The Wednesday vote Republicans had wanted is looking less likely, purely because time is running out, so keep your calendar open on Thursday too. After that, they leave for another recess.”

“Realistically, we may not know until the night before the vote, because Republican leaders won’t call it until they’re pretty sure it will pass. One top GOP aide says the most likely scenario is a Rules Committee meeting that would be called on short notice to prepare the latest amendments, followed by a House vote the next day.”

Playbook: “It feels like we’re at a tipping point. Because if you are publicly against the bill, that probably means you believe your constituents think it’s bad policy. And flipping last minute under pressure from the White House or Republican leaders is a risky move, politically. Just ask any of the Democrats who were the ‘deciding vote’ on Obamacare. REMEMBER: This bill, in its current form, will not go anywhere in the Senate. It will be massively overhauled at best, or pushed aside, at worst.”