Slate - Republicans Have Absolutely No Idea How to Handle This Awful CBO Report

[TomCADem]

Wow. Ted Cruz at a loss of words.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2017/03/13/republicans_on_cbo_s_awful_health_care_score_we_ve_got_nothing.html

Sen. Orrin Hatch had not had a chance to look at it. When I relayed the 24 million figure to him, he simply offered, “That’s what it says.” In his flattest voice, Sen. Ted Cruz repeated several times, to several different questions, that he was still “reviewing the report.” Sen. Chuck Grassley hadn’t looked. Sen. Jeff Flake hadn’t looked. Sen. Roger Wicker hadn’t looked. Sen. Tom Cotton, asked if he’d had a chance to read it, replied, “It’s long!”

# # #

It comes as little surprise that Senate Democrats did find the time to either read or brief themselves on CBO’s findings. It struck me that there was no variation in their disgust across the spectrum. Sens. Bernie Sanders and Joe Manchin—whom we might call the left and right poles of the Senate Democratic caucus—each spoke with a voice full of loathing.

“Legislation that would throw 24 million people off of health insurance, raise premiums for older, low-income Americans, while at the same time [providing] $285 billion in tax breaks for the top 2 percent, is a disgusting and immoral piece of legislation that should not go forward,” Sanders—who in fact rarely speaks to reporters in the Capitol—said, before walking into the Senate. “If this legislation is passed, there is no question: Thousands of Americans will die—will die—because they will not be able to go to the doctor when they need to.”

“If you’re older, you get murdered. If you’re on the Medicaid expansion, it’s unfair,” Manchin said. “And then they put on top of that tax cuts … I’ve said this: You’ve got to have a moral compass inside of you, and that’s just not right. You can’t do that.” President Trump’s plan to fly into red states to pressure vulnerable Democrats into supporting the legislation may not bear much fruit if this is what the conservative West Virginia Democrat is saying.

[roscoeroscoe]

1. Right on

Stand united 💪

[DFW]

2. The Republicans will never find the time to look at the report, only the time to deny it

They can hardly say they looked at its findings and then voted for them. Not every Republican voter is a zillionaire HMO executive.

[wishstar]

3. Ironically they are saying Obamacare CBO greatly overestimated number who would get insured under AC

When we all know that the CBO estimate on Obamacare was using the expectation of full Medicaid expansion in most states plus states helping promote state insurance exchanges, but instead Repub states obstructed full rollout of ACA as initially planned

[ChoppinBroccoli]

4. In Fact, They're Saying It Says Exactly The OPPOSITE Of What It Says

Paul Ryan's been running around crowing about how the CBO report shows that Trumpcare will save everyone a bunch of money, costs will come down, everyone will get a free puppy, etc. These guys are delusional.

[spanone]

5. yes they do, they're SELLING it.

that's how shitty their constituents are treated.