We can't let this crap become law.
OK, kids, time to work. As President Bartlet would say, "What's Next?" Next is we keep the House's complete abomination of a tax cut for the very wealthy, masquerading as a healthcare bill, from getting anywhere in the Senate. You call both your senators today. And tomorrow. Be a nuisance. Join a march of nuisances. Let them know, in detail, how you and the people you love will be affected if the Affordable Care Act is repealed. Go to town halls. If you're lucky enough to be in a solid blue state, help elect Democrats in red and purple ones, and let your senators and representatives know that it's time for single-payer. Then next week ...
But first, let's start sifting through some of the reactions to the House's vote today to undo Obamacare, the greatest reduction in the uninsured rate in history, all for the sake of winning a great big Fuck You to the black guy who was president. We're just going to go almost at random here, because the internet, as is required after any catastrophe, is blowing up. From Connecticut Democratic Senator Chris Murphy, something we can all agree with:
From an alert HuffPo reporter watching the House vote on CSPAN, a reminder that some members of Congress who should know a lot better are begging to lose in 2018:
Mr. Issa (R-sonist) won reelection to his seat by just over 2,300 votes in November. We have a feeling more people in his district stand to lose or pay a lot more for their health insurance if the Senate passes an ACA repeal, and so it's definitely time for get rid of the California 49th District's preexisting condition and elect a Democrat.
House Republicans couldn't even make it to their Party Bus before a crowd of protesters gathered to remind them we're not going to forget what happened today:
We have a feeling the "GOP Party Bus" and similar gloating celebrations of the prospect that tens of millions of Americans will lose health insurance just might make it into some campaign commercials next year.
Here's a clip that should also be brought back at campaign time: Georgia Republican Doug Collins mocking Texas Democrat Sheila Jackson Lee for "hysterics" after she described the effects of the Republican bill during House debate:
Terrible. @JacksonLeeTX18's give a passionate critique of the ACA repeal bill and is then told she's in "hysterics" by @RepDougCollins pic.twitter.com/T65mgTX1Ex
— Ben D'Avanzo (@BenDAvanzo) May 4, 2017
Lee called the AHCA "the mother of all bombs" being dropped on American healthcare and said that she could be among those affected by the removal of protections for people with preexisting conditions:
God have mercy on your souls [...] I am a person living with a pre-existing disease. I am a breast cancer survivor and this heartless and callous bill with 24 million-plus people being thrown off of their healthcare.
[wonkbar]<a href="https: //wonkette.substack.com/p/alabama-rep-mo-brooks-would-rather-not-pay-for-your-slut-cancer"></a>[/wonkbar]When it was his turn to speak, Collins quipped, "Mr. Speaker, if I had to defend Obamacare, I’d probably go into hysterics, too." Ha! Ha! Stupid Democrats, thinking people with preexisting conditions should get healthcare, even though they have not lived good lives.
Is this going to hurt Republicans in 2018? Let's hope so: looks like ActBlue's fundraising tooppose every single Republican who voted for the AHCA is off to a strong start:
And even as they voted, 2018 appears to have been on the minds of some House Republicans in competitive districts:
Also, while Donald Trump is very happily crowing about how he's kept a key campaign promise, let's remind him and his trolls that he did nothing of the sort:
So it's on to the Senate, where four Republican senators have already said they can't vote for the House bill as is, which was a given. And whatever horror show they come up with in the Senate, Republicans can only lose two votes and still pass. It'll have to be acceptable to Mitch McConnell, Ted Cruz, Susan Collins, and a bunch of Rs who are up for reelection in 2018. Have fun with that, guys. Let's all get started by electing Rob Quist in Montana on May 25, OK?
Finally, reached at the Children's Hospital of Los Angeles for comment on the passage of the House bill, Jimmy Kimmel's newborn baby paused for a moment, then eloquently filled his diapers with shit.
So say we all.
And it's your Open Thread.
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Get Your Hell-Raising Shoes On, People. This Aggression Will Not Stand.
Lol about the tootsie pop.
Well, I kind of am, but I guess when someone punts he just holds it and kicks it, huh? No Lucy to hold the ball "laces out" except for the field goal. My bad.