Repeal Replace Becomes ‘Repair’

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The three R’s as Republicans finally get to what they always knew: fighting Obamacare was a bullshit argument that was nothing but campaign propaganda. Covering pre-existing conditions, children, donut holes and the uninsured was a damn good thing. Not perfect, of course. But now the R’s are talking “repair” instead of “repeal.” Which was the Democratic argument. This is what happens when the power to govern replaces rhetoric.

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53 thoughts on “Repeal Replace Becomes ‘Repair’”

  2. ktla5 and motherjones coverage on Washington state judge blocking muslim refugee ban and wh response.

    and from this morning’s wapo:

    A federal judge in Washington state on Friday temporarily blocked enforcement of President Trump’s controversial ban on entry to the United States, and airlines planned to begin allowing passengers from banned countries to board, according to a person familiar with the matter.

    Following the ruling, government authorities immediately began communicating with airlines and taking steps that would allow travel by those previously barred from doing so, according to a U.S. official. At the same time, though, the White House said in a statement that the Justice Department would “at the earliest possible time” file for an emergency stay of the “outrageous” ruling from the judge. Minutes later, it issued a similar statement omitting the word “outrageous.”

    “The president’s order is intended to protect the homeland and he has the constitutional authority and responsibility to protect the American people,” the White House said.

    The federal judge’s ruling, which was broader than similar ones before it, set up a high-stakes legal confrontation between the new president and the judicial branch over his temporary ban on entry by citizens of seven majority-Muslim countries as well as refugees. In his opinion, U.S. District Judge James L. Robart wrote that “fundamental” to the court’s work was “a vigilant recognition that it is but one of three equal branches of our federal government.”

    “The court concludes that the circumstances brought before it today are such that it must intervene to fulfill its constitutional role in our tripart government,” he wrote.

    The ruling is temporary, and the ultimate question of whether Trump’s executive order will pass constitutional muster will fall to higher-level courts. Legal analysts have said the ban could be difficult to permanently undo because the president has broad authority to set immigration policy.

    Robart granted a request from lawyers for the state of Washington who had asked him to stop the government from acting on critical sections of Trump’s order. Justice and State department officials had revealed earlier Friday that about 60,000 — and possibly as many as 100,000 — visas already have been provisionally revoked as a result of Trump’s order. A U.S. official said that because of the court case, officials would examine the revoking of those visas so that people would be allowed to travel.

    Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson hailed the case as “the first of its kind” and declared that it “shuts down the executive order immediately.” Robart, a judge appointed by George W. Bush, said in his written order that U.S. officials should stop enforcing the key aspects of the ban: the halting of entry by refugees and citizens from certain countries. He did not specifically address the matter of those whose visas already had been revoked.

  3. Obamacare was the first swipe at the insurance companies…it is a messed-up hybrid from getting the bill pushed through on Christmas eve many years ago.  It was a mess from the beginning, but a start at chinking away at the insurance tethers.   The pre-existing conditions and the amount of profit were the biggest hits to the insurance companies.   Single payer is the best option, but repugs will fight this forever.  Insurance is for chattel, not humans.  Birth in a hospital?   The most natural event for all our lives?  Controlled by insurance and actuarians.   Every time the dems give a little bit of healthcare to the masses?  Election punishment.  I just do not get it.  greed and stinginess for a little comfort and healing.

  5. Medicare isn’t much better…and now we are promised tax credits and vouchers, the monopoly money of insured healthcare?    We are in a sorry state with the election of trumpence and the undoing of the dems.    

    The election might have been digitally stolen, but new cyber problems for dems. The taking of hardware by IT. Dems needs to push for the popular vote…open all primaries.  Start now and maybe in eight years?  Popular vote will be the only deciding vote.  Local dems will have to fall on their swords for the greater good.   The dems need to become digitally aware of how easy it is to steal a gerrymandered geographic area.  Get rid of the electoral college…vote online.

  6. Will the orange guy spend political capital on fighting for his anti-Muslim EO?  He got all he needed from it, attention, disruption and chaos.  He can just let it fade away now, which I think he will do.  With the attention span of a three year old, that EO is yesterday’s toy, and we know that toy is no longer fun.

    Wither the anti-LGBT EO?  Noises are that his daughter had a big hand in delaying or killing that effort.  Again, it is yesterday’s toy.  The packaging is still  on it, it has not been played with so it could come out again, probably in June.  There is the possibility that the guy may have gay tendencies, and for men like that he will want to create some line to not cross.  And, then he will cross it because staying in the closet is very difficult.  So, I expect him to play the hate card sometime.

  7. In this country?  Workman’s comp and Medicaid are possibly the best delivery systems for healthcare.   The stress of payment while you are sick is ridiculous and counterproductive to health.   Both WC and Medicaid reduce that stress.  Of course, WC is the cadillac of insurance.   Top notch care and follow-up.    We have a large enough population to support a single payer system, but not enough sanity of the repug party.  The financial stress of sickness in this country is causing health problems.

  8. I just have to remember Sean doing shots while he was dying and worrying about his IRA being decimated.  I remember Patsi finally getting on Medicare….possibly too late for her.  Real humans in the healthcare grinder. $$$$

  9. Turns out, the trump family is just tower trash after all.  No new agenda for DC, just the same old GOP in your face denying you freedoms.

  11. “at the earliest possible time” file for an emergency stay of the “outrageous” ruling from the judge. Minutes later, it issued a similar statement omitting the word “outrageous.”

    Have to love that virtually every statement either by Drumpf, Spicer or Kelly Focus Group has to be corrected for “misstatement” (i.e. “lying”) or ignorance.  I’m getting to Bill Maher’s point from last night.  It doesn’t matter what they or any of the spokesclowns say about anything, my immediate reaction is F. U.  It is awful to feel that way about a President even one whose basic tenets aren’t mine.

     

  12. good for them.  a huzzah or two for the good docs

    palm beach post: Doctors want galas moved from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago

    Doctors are calling for their charitable galas in Palm Beach to be moved from President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate — which is also serving as the winter White House presently.

    The news comes on a planned protest at Mar-a-Lago on Saturday when Trump attends the International Red Cross 2017 ball.

    It is the height of the ball season on the tony island where the rich and philanthropic don their finery and attend charitable events. And since location is everything, these galas are often either held at Mar-a-Lago or The Breakers resort.

    The historic Mar-a-Lago Club boasts an 800-seat ballroom and ocean views.

    But now throngs of medical professionals are calling on Cleveland Clinic hospitals to cut their ties to Trump in light of the president’s executive order temporarily banning people from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S.

    In a story in The Washington Post today, doctors, nurses and students have signed an open letter pleading with the clinic to condemn the Trump policy and to cancel a fundraiser set for this month at the resort.

    More than 1,000 people have also signed a petition demanding a change of venue for the Massachusetts-based Dana-Farber Cancer Institute to cancel or relocate another lavish fundraiser planned for later this month.

    [….]

    A permit for the Red Cross’s 2016 gala, obtained by The Associated Press, says 500 people were expected to attend. Red Cross estimated the event would raise $925,000 and cost about $400,000 to put on.

    The permit also noted a $20,000 in-kind donation — meaning that is what Mar-a-Lago would have charged the Red Cross.

    In 2015, according to the same permit, the gala and another Palm Beach event together raised $1.75 million and cost $800,000.

    If events are canceled at Mar-a-Lago that would impact Trump’s pocketbook.

  13. sfgate:

    SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Leaders of New Mexico’s 23 Native American nations and pueblos expressing solidarity with opponents of the Dakota Access oil pipeline project in a letter to President Donald Trump.

    Tribal governors signed the letter Friday in the central rotunda of the state Capitol in a ceremony attended by Standing Rock Sioux tribal council member Robert Taken Alive.

    Members of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe fear that an oil leak could contaminate its drinking water if plans move forward to lay a pipeline under a Missouri River reservoir in North Dakota. Trump has arranged a review of an earlier federal decision to block the project.

    Acoma Pueblo Gov. Kurt Riley says Trump is new to governing and still needs to assess the federal government’s relationship with Native Americans.

  14. drumpf better look at the fine point in that tribal document… orders deportation of pale faces and all their descendants from across the big water.

  16. Last night on CNN  Martin Savidge interviewed 4 women who he has been interviewing throughout the campaign and election.   They are from AZ and Trump supporters.  They might be the worst people on the face of the earth.  They are in the cult of Trump.”the media is lying, he’s wonderful and I’ve never felt so safe.”  They will never change their minds.

    They were middle-aged women made ugly by the hate in their hearts.  They scared me. It was like a panel of Jan Brewers except one of them one a giant heifer I guess she doesn’t know how Trump treats fat people.

  17. Potential side effects of the drug Trump reportedly takes for hair loss

    President Trump’s personal physician recently revealed that the president takes finasteride, a drug used to combat male-pattern baldness. The medication has potential side effects.

    In fact, approximately 1,370 lawsuits have been filed against Merck, which markets finasteride. [….]

    The constellation of potential symptoms, sometimes referred to as post-finasteride syndrome, may include sexual, physical and psychological changes.

    [….]

    ….a recent study demonstrated changes in the levels of certain steroids in cerebrospinal fluid of men taking finasteride for hair loss. These steroids have been shown to influence brain function, and their presence may help explain the profound psychological changes such as depression and suicidality that have been associated with finasteride use.

     

    so wonder if it’s  just ‘roid rage causing all this bullying and bombast?

     

  20. The Dems need to show up for the special elections for the House to fill the seats of Pussy Grabber appointees..even though they are mostly safe seats  – it is still a good opportunity to make sure the Liar in Chief and his lying trolls are exposed as much as possible

    Kansas District 4

    Come on Women of Kansas …you can do this!

     

  22. Wichita  is the largest city in the District….0ver 2000 women turned out for a march when they thought there would only be a few hundred.
    Make them spend money and work for the this seat. Let them know whoever gets elected that being a lying sack of shit is not acceptable

  23. Let’s continue to turn Georgia Blue

    Make them work to keep Price’s seat – what a jerk he is…talk about death penalities – he does not believe in preventive care – a total piece of shit
    Republicans are favored to hold the seat, but Democrats vow to field a promising recruit. Several high-profile Democrats live in the district, including state Rep. Scott Holcomb, a U.S. Army veteran and attorney, and state Rep. Taylor Bennett, a one-time Georgia Tech quarterback who narrowly lost a reelection bid this month.
    The election will likely be held in several months. State law requires the governor to call for a special vote at least 30 days after the opening. And Price is not likely to resign until he’s confirmed by the U.S. Senate, a vote expected early next year.
    Ladies of Georgia ..you have a great opportunity
     

  24. We haven’t even gotten started yet – so everyone should take a breath!

    Trump is going to have to break some serious s$#% before he get’s thrown out of office.  The only thing that scares me is the body count that will most likely take place before Congress grows a pair and does it’s job.  I think the ideal, is that he breaks enough so that Congress turns blue in 2018 and can begin “undoing” the “undoing”.

    This won’t be pretty – but hopefully we will survive.

  26. DV300 – you are right about the body count.  Unless he does something stunning, maybe invade Iran, he will survive.  It will be when a seat is going to be lost that it will change, most likely as mid-terms come into focus.  The little r’s will let the courts nullify his excesses until time to get him out of office.  A political betting site has the orange rug at 2/1 impeached first term; 7/1 impeached first six months, a change from 4/1 a week ago. 6/4 not complete first term.  Those odds do not look like the r’s are holding him to a very loose leash. But if it looks like the House will flip you can bet he will be gone.

  27. There isn’t much happening electorally in 2017   so it is a good to get organized for campaigning and find good candidates and get them out there speaking.

    The goopers here always have a local spokesperson available plus they cultivate local media.  Dems have to get their message and candidates out there.

    Only 2 govs (NJ andVa and of all the state legislature seats not many are up )

    So it means working on the special elections doesn’t deprive a more important race of money and media

  28. the guardian: Travel ban: US temporarily suspends order as Trump derides ‘so-called’ judge

    Federal agencies say they will comply with order and restore visas
    President says ruling ‘ridiculous’ and promises it will be overturned. In a series of tweets early in the morning after Friday’s ruling by the Seattle judge James Robart, the president wrote: “The opinion of this so-called judge, which essentially takes law enforcement away from our country, is ridiculous and will be overturned!”

    Trump also wrote: “When a country is no longer able to say who can, and who cannot , come in & out, especially for reasons of safety &.security – big trouble!”

    He added: “Interesting that certain Middle-Eastern countries agree with the ban. They know if certain people are allowed in it’s death & destruction!”

    But on Saturday morning the state department said it had reversed visa revocations, meaning that tens of thousands of people whose visas were not physically canceled after the issuing of the executive order last week may now travel freely. On Friday a justice department official said 100,000 visas had been revoked under the ban. State department figures put the number at 60,000.

    On Saturday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said it would comply with Robart’s order.

    “In accordance with the judge’s ruling, DHS has suspended any and all actions implementing the affected sections of the executive order,” said acting press secretary Gillian Christensen. “DHS personnel will resume inspection of travelers in accordance with standard policy and procedure.”

    Christensen also said the justice department intended to counter by filing an emergency stay of Trump’s order, calling it “lawful and appropriate”.

    [….]in Seattle, the attorney general of Washington state, Bob Ferguson, told reporters outside the courtroom: “We are a nation of laws. Not even the president can violate the constitution. No one is above the law, not even the president.
    “This decision shuts down the executive order immediately – shuts it down. That relief is immediate, happens right now. That’s the bottom line.”

  29. bbc: US reverses travel ban over court ruling as Trump fumes

    Judge James Robart ruled there were legal grounds to challenge the ban.

    Mr Trump reacted furiously, calling Mr Robart’s ruling “ridiculous” and vowing to restore his ban.

    [….] “The opinion of this so-called judge, which essentially takes law-enforcement away from our country, is ridiculous and will be overturned!” Mr Trump said on Twitter.

  30. and on another front

    wapo:

    Before taking office, President Trump promised to place his assets in a trust designed to erect a wall between him and the businesses that made him wealthy.

    But newly released documents show that Trump himself is the sole beneficiary of the trust and that it is legally controlled by his oldest son and a longtime employee.

    The documents, obtained through a public records request by the investigative news service ProPublica and first reported by the New York Times, also show that Trump retains the legal power to revoke the trust at any time.

    The documents were filed to the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board in Washington to alert the board that oversees liquor licenses at Trump’s D.C. hotel of the change in the business.

    The documents show that Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest son, and Allen Weisselberg, the Trump Organization’s chief financial officer, were placed in legal control of the trust on Jan. 19, one day before Trump took office.

    But they outline that the trust’s purpose is “to hold assets for the exclusive benefit of Donald J. Trump,” who “has the power to revoke the Trust.”

    The records provide documentary evidence of what ethics experts have been warning about since before Trump took office. [….]

    The question of Trump’s continued ownership stake has been particularly nettlesome at his Washington hotel, which is located in the Old Post Office building and is owned by the federal government. The terms of the 2013 lease agreement with the General Services Administration prohibit any elected official from benefiting from the property.

    It is not yet clear whether placing his shares in the hotel under the control of the trust will provide sufficient legal separation to satisfy the terms of the lease. The GSA, which controls the lease, indicated on Jan. 27 that it had received new information from the Trump Organization and was “reviewing and evaluating this information to assess its compliance with the terms and conditions of the Old Post Office lease.”

  31. Where is Mr. Khan and his copy of the constitution.  Apparently  Presidential Pretender Pussy Grabber needs a refresher course

  32. excerpt from wapo’s Meet the Bush-nominated federal judge who halted Trump’s executive order:

    [….]

    Robart listened for nearly an hour to arguments of the federal government and to those who oppose its travel ban, then thanked everyone for their “thoughtful” remarks.

    He tried to tramp down any anticipation. A judge’s job, Robart said, “is not to judge the wisdom of any policy,” but only whether it was legal.

    He would not even do that at the moment, he said, but merely consider whether Trump’s order should be blocked temporarily to prevent “immediate and irreparable injury” to the people it affects.

    Robert looked down at his papers and issued his order.

    The travel ban must be halted not just in Washington, he said, but for all “federal defendants and all their respective officers, agents, servants, employees, attorneys and persons acting in concert … at all U.S. borders and port of entry, pending further order from this court.”

    No one said a word. In his manner, Robart recessed and walked away.

  33. After accusing the Dems of delay -now the gooper are delaying Noregard because they need the vote for Miss Betsy.

    Diane Feinstein is asking for EMAILS to be sent to her office requesting that JEFF SESSIONS NOT TO BE CONFIRMED.She is hoping to have a large count to bring to the hearings which she’s managed to postpone for a week – and she plans to read from some of them.They should be not more than 2-4 lines long. Here are the staffers you should email:Sean_Elsbernd@feinstein.senate.govCaitlin_Meyer@feinstein.senate.gov

     

  34. bbc: Der Spiegel: Trump beheading cover sparks criticism
    Germany’s influential weekly news magazine Der Spiegel has come under fire for a cover image showing US President Donald Trump beheading the Statue of Liberty.
    Some German newspapers criticised the cartoon, while the German vice-president of the European Parliament called it “tasteless”.

    The cartoonist, Edel Rodriguez, said the image represented “the beheading of democracy”.

    US-German relations have deteriorated under President Trump, who has criticised the policies of German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

    He said last month that her policy of welcoming masses of migrants who arrived in Germany had been a “catastrophic mistake”. His trade adviser also recently attacked Germany for gaining unfair trade advantages from a “grossly undervalued” euro.

    The front cover image is similar to one that appeared on the front page of the New York Daily News in December 2015, also showing Mr Trump beheading the Statue of Liberty but in a less gory fashion.

     

    there’s more to read…. including some interesting pics from many other international publications

  35. I’m all for obstructing GOP noms, in perpetuity, but won’t they just nominate some other water-carrier as bad, or worse?  There’s no shortage of unfeeling monsters looking for some work in the Grand Ol’ Party.

  36. Bink

    Yes but.  In some cases it is impossible to find someone who would be worse although I can think of a few  he could bring back Bill Bennett or how about Michael Milken he is making money off the charter school movement he’s right up Trump’s ally although too smart for Trump

  37. My guess is that the GOP started seeing too many bumper stickers that read

    I have Obamacare and I vote!

    eighteen million people can’t be wrong.

  38. I have to say that as a resident of Washington for less than a year, that I am pretty proud of our AG and the judge.Judge Robert may be a Bush appointee but he is spot on in this case. Good on them both.

  39. I liked the Der Spiegel cover. That’s the way Trump should be covered here.

    That won’t happen so we will have to leave it to other countries. Now if they all simply declare him persona non grata we’d be off to a good start.

  40. jace, didn’t Scotland try that persona non grata thingy on him?

    here’s a reminder of why he made at least one of them mad (a former bff)…. just a year ago

  43. Now if they all simply declare him persona non grata we’d be off to a good start. – Jace @ 3:55 PM

    Unfortunately, the soviet reich will be happy to welcome him.

  44. I am sorry to say that after a second week of observing the doings of the bannona republicans, I must vehemently disagree with Governor Inslee (D-WA).

    The tootle junta can’t manage a one car funeral.

  45. carl Hiaasen: Rick Scott figures some dictators aren’t so bad — if they’ve got money

    [….]

    The same sort of human-rights crimes that occur in Cuba are happening throughout China and other countries with which we freely do business. For American politicians, lambasting Chinese leaders is risky, because China has lots of money, and manufactures lots of stuff we want: computers, clothes, sneakers.

    It’s much easier to act indignant about the Cuban government, because Cuba is poor and doesn’t have much to sell us.

    Thus appears Rick Scott, intrepid crusader for human rights.

    <

  47. Only a republican would happily do business with a government that arrests and murders people, including Christians, and consumes the victims’ organs or sells them for profit.

    The campaign to destroy rick scott’s career should include the joy he takes in befriending those who murder and cannibalize Christians.

  50. Ooo-wee! the cover of Der Spiegel with Trump on the cover!

     

    Jace – Let’s hope all media, here and abroad, dogpile on Trumpco.

    The Newsweek story about BananaNazi is scary. He is an enemy of the people.

  51. KGC – I carry a miniature copy of the Constitution and Amendments with me at all times.  Something nice to pull out when waiting for an appointment or on the Metro.

    There should be a nice blast of stories coming from the gold house south.  Fish mouth should be a treasure trove of stuff.

  53. I suppose all you trail hands noticed in the 1st 2 weeks of our bannonovRepublican Junta that all the bannonov republicans have shed their American Flag lapel pins. Or, didn’t you ?

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