The Great Smoky Mountain Journal

Staff Reports

Posted: Monday, January 01, 2018 12:54 PM

OUR VIEW: UPDATED: Friday: Republican Efforts To Rid Nation Of Obama Care Fail In Shameful Defeat Late Thursday Night But Democrats Not Off The Hook!

Senate Republicans failed to pass Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s proposed “skinny repeal” amendment in a vote Friday morning, signaling what could be the end to any hopes of repealing and replacing Obama Care and the end of the Republican Party as we know it.

As the clock neared 2 a.m. ET, the amendment proposal failed, 51-49, with Republican Sens. John McCain of Arizona, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska joining Democrats in voting no.

“It is time to move on,” McConnell said after the vote.

Added Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.: "We are not celebrating. We are relieved."

Tell that to Elizabeth Warren, Chucky, who was seen outside Congress taking selfies with her supporters and high-fiving all around the fact that Republicans had failed again to rid the nation of Obama Care.

Shortly after, President Trump took to Twitter to express his disappointment in the three Republicans who voted against the amendment, saying they "let the American people down."

"3 Republicans and 48 Democrats let the American people down. As I said from the beginning, let Obama Care implode, then deal. Watch!" Trump tweeted.

To be brutally honest, it's time GOP either step up and get the job done or get out of Washington!

What happened this week is nothing short of an epic failure of the Senate GOP! Their thrown together plan to repeal and replace Obama Care has now failed four times in separate futile attempts since Monday. This has not been the Republicans most bright shining moment without a doubt.

More importantly, the failed effort has made it seem the Republicans are not planning on keeping their promises to the American people they have been making since 2010  when this bill first became law. In 2010 not on Republican voted for it, not one Democrat voted against it. 

To use a little South Georgia talk, that's seven years of nothing but cow manure coming out of the mouths of these pathetic leaders in Washington D.C. Where is Anthony Scaramucci when you need him to add his colorful New York language when you need it.

After three failed attempts, Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell proposed this "skinny" version of Obama Care repeal late Thursday which went down in flames as well thanks to three grandstanding GOP Senators. These three are GOP in name only and need to change the letter on their affiliation. In doing so, the nation would respect them more.

Here's a clear message to the GOP that is not a skinny version of the truth! We the people, including myself, have run out of patience with you. You are the biggest group of do-nothing GOP lawmakers in the history of Congress.

While the Democrats are not without blame, they didn't promise for seven years there would be relief from Obama Care. We at least know where the Democrats stand. Republicans made people believe if they got elected things would be different.

It's growing apparently clear that some Republicans are just as invested in keeping Obama Care the law of the land as the Democrats are. And that is disturbing on so many levels!

All that seems to be left now are broken promises and more excuses. Mitch McConnell is not the only one disappointed today - the entire nation is mad as hell at the arrogance of Washington D.C. jamming their control of our health care system down our throats!

Let's regress a little and go back to 2010. Remember this from many in the GOP seeking election?

"Vote for us, give us the House. We'll get rid of Obama Care." Well, the American people did. You got the House in 2010 and did nothing.

Then in 2014, you said, "Give us the House and the Senate." Again, the people delivered, you did not.

And then in 2016, you said, "Give us the House and Senate and the White House, and then once and for all, we'll repeal Obama Care." Again the people delivered, and you still have not!

We found these quotes from Republican leaders dating back to 2012 as to their intentions about Obama Care while seeking re-election and pushing for Republican control of government.

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL, R-KY., JUNE 28, 2012: "There's only one way to truly fix Obama Care, only one way, and that's a full repeal, a full repeal. That's been our goal from the start. That's our goal now. And we plan to achieve it." Mitch is all in on doing this but he lacks the leadership to get this done. He needs to go!

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, R-ARIZ., DEC. 3, 2015: "It's clear that any serious attempt to improve our health care system must begin with full repeal and replacement of Obama Care, a mission I remain fully committed to fighting on behalf of the people of Arizona."

McCain voted against a complete repeal attempt on Wednesday that went down to defeat 57-43. Then last night McCain cast what was probably the key vote against the skinny repeal in the 51-49 defeat showing McCain is no more dedicated to seeing this law go than Nancy Pelosi.

SEN. SUSAN COLLINS, R-MAINE, NOV. 14, 2013: "Repealing Obama Care's poorly crafted and misguided mandates and replacing the law with a fiscally responsible reform bill that contains cuts and provides more choices is the best path forward."

Collins has voted against every effort to repeal Obama Care because she wants to protect her liberal friends at Planned Parenthood that promote unfettered abortions without shame. Collins should change the letter on her political affiliation to "D" because she does nothing to help Republicans anyway. Maine voters - vote her out!

Then there is the Senator from South Carolina:

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM, R-S.C., MARCH 31, 2014, ON FOX NEWS' "HAPPENING NOW": "You can't repair this monstrosity. You got to tear it down and start all over again."
JENNA LEE, CO-HOST, "HAPPENING NOW": How to get to that point, though?
GRAHAM: "When they lose elections."
LEE: And do you think that's the key, that the Republicans have to take the Senate, and from that point, you can have a different strategy?
GRAHAM: "Yes, the ones who survive in 2016, are up in 2016, are going to have a different attitude."

I guess the rest of the Republican party forgot to get Graham's memo about the different attitude.

By the way, the way Graham and McCain both fight the current President you'd think they were Democrats. They never fought President Obama in this manner on anything he did. Both are pathetic excuses for leaders and need to be put out to pasture in the next election!

Since 2011 the Republican controlled House has voted a whopping 68 times to repeal, Defund, and delay parts of Obama Care. Guess what? Its becoming evident these were all phony show votes because Republicans never used the power of the purse or any other of a number of measures they could have to really stop this law!

The Republicans betrayed the American people, not once, but four times, rejecting four separate proposals that would either fully repeal Obama Care or put something in place to repair the law through committee work in the House.

On Tuesday night, the Senate rejected a key proposal repealing and replacing Obama Care by a vote of 57-43 on a procedural hurdle for the measure that included the GOP's repeal and a replace bill, the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA), as well as proposals from Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio).

GOP Sens. Susan Collins (Maine), Bob Corker (Tenn.), Tom Cotton (Ark.), Lindsey Graham (S.C.), Dean Heller (Nev.), Mike Lee (Utah), Jerry Moran (Kan.), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Rand Paul (Ky.) voted against the repeal-and-replace proposal on the procedural hurdle. No Democrats voted for it.

Then Wednesday, seven Republicans joined all Democrats in rejecting an amendment by Rand Paul of Kentucky that would have repealed most of former President Obama’s health care law, with a two-year delay but no replacement. Congress passed nearly identical legislation in 2015 and sent it to Obama, who unsurprisingly vetoed it.

One of those Republicans who voted against the "repeal-only" plan was Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who the president later accused on Twitter of disappointing the country by opposing the effort. Murkowski is another Republican who'd deserve more respect if she just changed her affiliation to Democrat. She does more to hurt Republicans at every turn and it's a shame the people of Alaska sent her to D.C. to see her betray her state and her nation.

I personally was extremely disappointed to read that our own Tennessee Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) was one of the seven Republican senators who voted against the repeal bill on Tuesday.

Alexander said after the vote, "I agree with President Trump that we should replace and repeal major parts of Obamacare at the same time. In 2015, we could have waited two years for relief, but we cannot now, when Tennessee insurance commissioner Julie McPeak says the state's individual insurance market is 'very near collapse.' We have 350,000 Tennesseans who buy insurance in the individual market—those are songwriters, small businessmen and women, farmers—who are worried today that they may have zero options for insurance in just six months.”

"In addition, I don't think Tennesseans would be comfortable canceling insurance for 22 million Americans and trusting Congress to find a replacement in two years. Pilots like to know where they're going to land when they take off, and we should too. My main concern is doing all I can to help the 350,000 Tennesseans and 18 million Americans in the individual market who may literally have no options to purchase health insurance in 2018 and 2019. However the votes come out on the health care bill, the Senate health committee has a responsibility during the next few weeks to hold hearings to continue exploring how to stabilize the individual market. I will consult with Senate leadership and then I will set those hearings after the Senate votes on the health care bill."

That's really rich Lamar. What the hell have the Republicans been doing the past seven years telling the American people how bad this bill was and knowing these things!?? For you and your colleagues to all of a sudden realize the market is unstable and in need of help is beyond stupid - it's close to being criminal.

While it sounds real noble to worry about 22 million Americans losing insurance now,  where the hell has your worry been for the untold millions of others have suffered under the effects of this law. To be frank Obama Care has never been insurance!!!!! It's nothing but a socialist pyramid scheme to shake down American business and commerce!

Millions have lost their health care plans. They lost their doctors. They're paying on average $6,000 to $8,000 more a year because of Obama Care. That's not insurance - that's an insurance scam and an epic shake down of businesses and the American public. It's an epic failure!

Alexander, like his colleagues, doesn’t deserve your vote in 2018 if this effort goes down.

The question must be asked, "was this all a big game, a giant fraud perpetrated on the American people?"

I am beginning to believe it all was, as are many other Americans as well.

Here's a memo to Congress:

You serve the American people not your political buddies you smoke cigars with and drink high priced bourbon with behind closed doors laughing at the fact you basically just stuck your middle finger up to Middle America this week not getting done what you promised for seven years! Democrats that includes you too! You stuck your middle finger up to the American people in 2010 passing this nightmare without one Republican vote and you have never taken it down. Warren laughing and celebrating last night shows you the real feeling of the Democratic Party.

They are not relieved. They want a single payer system where the government controls the entire insurance market. If people like Warren and Bernie Sanders get their way, that will become a nightmarish reality in America.

What took place in Great Britain in the tragic case of baby Charlie Gard was the direct result of socialized health care and medicine when a nation made the decision on whether it would finance the care of an innocent infant. TAKE HEED America as to what happened to that child!

Back to Congress: If you can't get this repeal and replace deal done, then new leaders need to be elected who can do your job!

To Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell:  if you can't get the job done, step aside and let's put somebody in your place who can!

House Speaker Paul Ryan did get a bill passed, which even though not perfect, was a start to the process to get this right! Ryan is an honorable man and promised the Senate last night that the House would have taken the "skinny" version of the repeal bill had it been passed, into committee to fix the issues most were worried about. Even that promise was not enough for McCain, Murkowski and Collins.

This is the deeper salt in the wound of what took place this week over healthcare.

You in Congress are pampered like spoiled rotten brats. You are overpaid. You are spoiled. Even with all the perks, Senators get to break their promises and many times without retribution.

At $174,000 a year, most Senator's salaries are three times higher than the median household income.

Most have two homes if not more.

They get free parking at work. They get free parking at airports. They are in recess or basically a vacation for 77 weekdays per year! They get an average allowance of $3.3 million to maintain your offices and hire assistants. They also get taxpayer-subsidized haircuts. Really?

I mean why do we the American people have to pay for  haircuts at the Senate barbershop?

Well, guess what Republican led Congress? Until you can keep your word, do your job, all these benefits need to go away. And I'm not just laying this on the Republicans!! The Democrats did NOTHING to assist in fixing this broken law and have not in seven years!! They want it to stay so it can suck the life out of the American business community and drive their socialist agendas back home in their liberal districts.

Yet these people in Washington D.C. play with the lives of normal citizens like its a game. But neighbor, this isn't a game. We're not playing Monopoly where you pass "GO" and collect $200.00. We're talking about 1/6th of the American economy and something that affects each and every one of us!

Yet, that's exactly how these jerks we call Senators are dealing with people’s lives in the way they are making decisions that affect millions of people and its disgraceful and pathetic.

Congress, this is why your approval rating is in the gutter. Latest Gallup poll, you're at 20 percent. Congratulations. You earned it.

The cure to all of this would be if Congress would be required to be under the same Obama Care mandates as the American public, maybe things would change and change QUICK! President Trump could sign an executive order doing just that and I would applaud him for doing so and doing it quickly!

The fact that Congress is not held to the same standard ad burdens of Obama Care as the American public are is again disgraceful and pathetic.

A Wichita, Kansas doctor named Josh Umbehr was interviewed back in 2012 by a well known nationally syndicated television host and offered a simple solution to the entire health care mess. He runs a cost-effective health cooperative, concierge care for anybody that can pay $50 a month, on call 24/7 and -- 50 bucks a month, 10 bucks a month for kids.

Here he is explaining his solution:

DR. JOSH UMBEHR: "The idea is direct primary care, which is the new model going forward where we don't take insurance because we don't need insurance for the common things. Our care is $10 a month for kids, $50 a month for most adults for unlimited visits, no co-pays, free office procedures and up to 95 percent savings on medications, labs, imaging, et cetera by going wholesale. We're able to take that full value, go back to an employer, decrease their insurance premiums by 30 to 60 percent in the first year. These are things that could dramatically change the scope of medicine in this country."

Wow! What a simple no non-sense concept. That is why I wouldn't hold my breath on any Democrat or Republican contacting Dr. Umbehr for his input.

I remember Peter Finch during a famous scene in the movie "Network," so long ago,  tell the people to stick their heads out the windows and scream "We're mad as hell and we're not going to take it anymore."

I can hear that sentiment across America today. Congress we're fed up! And when the ballot box comes around in 2018 we will remember those who betrayed the people and those who didn't! It's time for a housecleaning.
 

Christopher McDonald, Publisher, Editor in Charge

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