Well, it seems that U.S. Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-LA.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) have learned well from the lobbyists who crawl about Capitol Hill like so many fire ants on a hot August day in Louisiana: Throw money at the holdouts in the hopes that they will come around to your way of thinking.
Except it didn’t work.
The two senators were so blatantly obvious in their attempts to bribe their Senate contemporaries from Alaska and Maine by revamping their health care proposal so that those states—represented by two senators who say they will not support the Cassidy-Graham abomination—would get a larger share of money to finance the proposed plan for their respective states.
But, to repeat myself (because I enjoy saying it so much), it didn’t work.
And now their grand scheme appears to be dead in the water the way I personally hope Cassidy’s re-election bid will be in 2020.
Another failed attempt by the Republicans who just don’t get it. They keep thinking they can roll out these transparent plans that hurt people who could not otherwise afford health insurance. It’s the same line of thinking that makes them support lower corporate taxes while forcing the middle class, whose income hasn’t increased appreciably in two decades, to bear the load. Meanwhile corporate CEOs continue to enjoy their private jets, chauffeured limos, spas, country club memberships, two or three homes large enough to house a small village and when they finally retire, it’s with the proverbial golden parachute worth tens of millions of dollars.
While one loyal supporter of LouisianaVoice says he wants the government out of his health care, he might well be taking a different position if he happened to be a low-income person with a pre-existing condition and unable to obtain health insurance.
It’s those people who need the government in their health care—not unlike the child laborers of the late 1800s and early 1900s needed government to intervene on their behalf; not unlike the government intervening to pass the eight-hour work day, or social security or Medicare or civil rights legislation or meat inspections or mine safety. When those in a position to do so won’t, the powerless and the voiceless need an advocate and sometimes only the government can be that advocate. That’s what Republicans don’t seem to get.
The most heart-warming thing I witnessed Monday was these senators who would not hold town hall meetings back home during the recent recess witnessing the town hall meetings come to them in the Senate committee hearing room. The lame, the halt and the blind (well, maybe not the blind, but I did see some in wheelchairs) invaded the committee room as we finally saw democracy work for real. Bigly. No lobbyists here, just a bunch of mad-as-hell-and-not-going-to-take-it-anymore citizens.
That, folks, was as real as it gets and THAT’S what it’s going to take to make America great again, not some stuffed-shirt billionaire presidential imposter playing up to his base (and ironically, base is a terrific one-word description of Trump’s supporters) with a lot of hot air rhetoric. (And please, don’t even try to make this about Hillary. I don’t like her any more than I do Trump and she has her own problems trying to blame her loss on everyone but Hillary. So let’s just not go there.)
I felt a wonder pang of envy watching Capitol police dragging out limp protestors. I would so have loved to have been one of those protestors. One woman interviewed on network television news was asked what she wanted the senators to do and she replied in plain, easy-to-understand language: “Do the right thing. Act like a human being.”
Act like a human being indeed. Not like some demagogue who feels he is above the people, but like someone who has a conscience and who can look himself in the mirror at night and ask, “Did I do all I could to help my fellow man today?” If that’s too much like a wild-eyed liberal tree-hugger for you, so be it. I’d rather be that person than Bobby Jindal or Ted Cruz or Mitch McConnell or Donald Trump or Rush Limbaugh.
And certainly not like evil-eye Cassidy who tried to flim-flam us by saying the extra money was not for Maine Sen. Susan Collins but rather “It’s for the Mainers.”
What a stinking crock from the stinking mouth of a stinking liar. He lied to Jimmy Kimmel and now he’s lying about this.
At least he was honest when he said, “I’m hoping those extra dollars going to her state…would make a difference to her.” Did he really mean to say that aloud?
If he’d just gone a little further and admitted that the extra money for Maine was an attempted bribe of Sen. Collins, I could have a little more respect for him. I’d at least give him points for candor.
But now, I rate him on a par with our former governor—but not quite as low as our POTUS.
Louisiana Voice 
Senator Kennedy (R-LA) posted on Facebook that if Alaska got extra money for voting for this bill, they he would have to take a second look to see if Louisiana was being short changed…or something to that effect. So, there you have it. Sen. Kennedy, they did, Louisiana would lose even more…now what say you?
I don’t like Cassidy either. And thanks for the shout out in the article. Despite what the extorted John Roberts ruled by changing the law, I still believe it’s Unconstitutional. (And before you try to argue that I’m nuts, check out the lawsuit in Florida by the former FBI agent that’s suing James Comey for illegal wiretapping on numerous individuals, including the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court).
http://mobile.wnd.com/2017/06/now-james-comey-fbi-sued-for-obstruction-of-justice/
No one, least of all me, is calling you nuts. I am a staunch supporter of anyone’s right to say and think as he feels—even if he disagrees with me. Otherwise, how could I ever say I support a free press? We’ve had this discussion before and I believe we both are mature enough to agree to disagree and not let our feelings get bruised.
Cassidy is a disgrace. He has a medical education and a license, but he is not a healer or physician. He knows exactly what he is attempting to do, all the more shameful since, of all people, cassidy should know how desperately our less fortunate need health care after working for many years for LSUHSC at a charity hospital. Back then, I hear, he was a Democrat. Now as a republican, cassidy appears to subscribe to his cabal’s well-known attitude “if you don’t have insurance or money to pay for health care, you can just die.”
The first time someone said that to me I thought it was just one misanthropic, disagreeable person; now I know that is the conservative mantra. Like many of his repub cohorts, cassidy claims to be a Christian.
Two edicts and oaths he has dishonored: Jesus told us (Matthew 25:35-40) to care for the least among us. Then there’s the Hippocratic Oath: first do no harm. In cassidy’s case, the word is hypocrite. He should be ashamed, but those who have no heart and who have sold their soul to the dark side have no conscience or sense of shame. At the very least, the AMA should send cassidy a strong message and jerk his license. He’s not using it, anyway.
If ever there was a perfect oxymoron it is “Republican Christian.”
There is great news out of Washington this evening. Sen. Collins from Maine has stated she will vote no for Graham Cassidy, effectively killing the bill. I believe there will be more nays than that and it’s never over until it’s over, but I will rest better tonight.
I’m still concerned that (Ayn) Rand Paul will flip – he did the last time.
As I listen to Dr. Bill and his faith in State government, I couldn’t stop thinking of former Gov., l’il Bobby and how the Republican politicians have showed their incompetency with the State budget and their support of corporate welfare. Just think of the repercussions if someone like the AG becomes Governor. I generally like Dr. Bill but I’m Saddened to see he him become just another D.C. clone.
I’m going to have to give up my health insurance for 2018. I’ve been paying for individual, private health insurance every year since 1991. I don’t qualify for a subsidy and really don’t want one.
Between 2016 and 2017, my premium increased 56%. There is only one health insurer in my area to “choose” from. They cancelled the plan I had in 2016 and offered a new plan. The lowest priced choice was 56% higher. The deductible was slightly lower but still high. Who knows how much the rates will increase for 2018.
I’m still about 6 years from being eligible for Medicare.
The entire “healthcare” system is a clusterf@#K. A working individual should be able to buy at least catastrophic health insurance coverage at an affordable rate.
I want to keep doing the responsible thing by buying health insurance, but with these skyrocketing prices, I don’t see that as possible in the future.
Adam, the thing is, there’s a bi-partisan group working on trying to fix issues with the A.C.A. One of the things I’ve read they are trying to work on is the issue of “reinsurance” for the ins.companies.
If “Grassidy” dies the death it deserves perhaps McTurtle will let this effort move along and it may help you.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/senate-panel-begins-bipartisan-hearings-to-try-to-improve-affordable-care-act/2017/09/05/8e0306d4-924f-11e7-aace-04b862b2b3f3_story.html?utm_term=.931323cd2157
Shoulda voted for Bernie. Single Payer Universal healthcare.
Regarding Frankencassidy. I had in my mind a story he loved to tell when running for the Senate and thank goodness for Lamar White’s old blog still being available.
He (apparently quite frequently) told a story about (gosh!) doing a liver biopsy in B.R. (OMG – Scary!!) and then rushing to the airport to catch a flight to DC.
https://cenlamar.com/2014/11/27/double-bill-cassidys-double-talk/
Oh Bill, Bill. Needle biopsy is the most frequent type performed for liver biopsies. Takes about 15 minutes or so normally. I told that story to a retired nurse at the time who just did a “tee-hee”. I repeated it recently to a N.P. whose only response was “so did he fck up medicine the way he’s trying to fck up healthcare and health insurance?”. Back then he was trying to impress by telling a story where there really wasn’t much “there” there. Now, he’s trying to mess with 1/6th of the economy of the country.
It is hard for me to imagine anybody watching the healthcare debate on CNN last night could not have seen Bernie and Senator Amy Klobuchar (Minn.) as the clear winners.
Lindsey Graham came across as the arrogant buffoon he is. Our Senator Cassidy came across as Doctor Victor Frankenstein, relentlessly pursuing his goal in willful neglect of humanity. Bernie (who should have been the Democratic candidate for POTUS) spoke plain truths any imbecile should be able to understand and Senator Klobuchar (who I had never see before) was the voice of calm, intelligent reason (and wouldn’t we all love to see these qualities in our President).
Of all the crises we face in our country and the world today, including this one, our own Nero fiddles around with the NFL – Saints preserve us!!!! Please……
REPEAL ObamaCare. That is where you start.
Yes indeed, repeal it and force both parties to work together to fix the problem. This 20,000+ page political leviathan has nothing to do with an individuals health care it has everything to do health coverage. The ACA will fail and then we’ll be forced into something worse. Since it’s inception we have fewer choices, fewer providers and substantially higher premiums. Cassidy is a joke, I don’t believe anything that comes out of Graham’s mouth, and Bernie Sanders would bankrupt the country in one term. There are viable solutions to the problem that do not involve a massive government takeover of the healthcare industry.
Many of us would like to see viable alternatives to both the current system and a single payer system entirely funded by the government – perhaps you can enlighten us as to what they are. It seems to me we don’t need to reinvent the wheel since many first world countries already have them and they are NOT what has been proposed by anybody up to now to my knowledge. So, by all means, inform us.
@Sidwit: then we’ll be forced into something worse.
The Republicans had a plan (actually 3) that was worse.
There are viable solutions to the problem that do not involve a massive government takeover of the healthcare industry.
Please give us some examples.
Ideas for healthcare reform:
1. Allow health care providers to cross state lines
2. Allow small businesses to form co-ops and pool together to get better rates & coverage
3. So not allow insurance companies to disallow coverage for pre-existing conditions
4. Address the cost of illegal aliens on our health care system – stop paying for illegals
5. Serious tort reform in regards to frivolous lawsuits – time to get the greedy lawyers out
6. Serious policing against waste and fraud in Medicare with serious consequences
7. Get back to strong charity/teaching hospitals, rural health care facilities, and remove social mandates on Catholic hospitals. Help them without mandating what they can and cannot do
8. Stop paying for gender reassignment procedures.
9. Make Congress live under the rules they force on us. Make them pay for their insurance without a “subsidy” to lower their costs.
I can go on if you want, but the fact remains, ACA has increased costs, reduced choices, and it will bankrupt us. Why do people from all over the world go to MD Anderson and many other hospital’s across the land when they could go get their “free” socialized care?
8.
For anybody actually interested in the health policy discussion, I recommend:
http://johnhcochrane.blogspot.com/2017/09/health-care-policy-isnt-so-hard.html
As for Graham-Cassidy, unfortunately it is dead. It was a good start to unwind the ACA. What many people do not realize (including many readers in this blog, apparently) is that Medicare and Medicaid are on a quick path to insolvency. And this not including the unfunded liabilities attached to these programs. Those programs (and many more) cannot keep the promises they make, on their current path of expenditure. It is simply not possible to finance them.
Many people forget this.