On Monday, Senators Bernie Sanders (D-VT), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA) participated in a debate over the Graham-Cassidy repeal and destroy healthcare “fix.” This is the zombified attempt by Republicans to get a “win” they need to pretend they’re not a dysfunctional group of useless con men. It’s a tall order since the Republican Party is actually a dysfunctional group of useless con men. A very simple breakdown of the debate would go like this: Sens. Sanders and Klobuchar point out that every report, every economic study, every healthcare organization thinks that this bill is godawful. Sen. Graham smiles and says Obamacare is broken and Sen. Cassidy says the two word phrase “block grants,” over and over. Some highlight moments included Sen. Sanders repeatedly reading the initial CBO reporting, and cataloguing every health group condemning this legislation. And while Sen. Sanders messaged the big picture, Sen. Amy Klobuchar pounded out what we can do now in the short term, something that the Republican Party has been pretending will be ameliorated by their death bill. Answering questions from the audience Klobuchar spoke to rural citizens being hit with high premiums.
Especially in the rural areas I've heard that too about the premiums and there's a reason. We passed a bill—as Bernie explained—it did some good things, but you don't pass a big bill like that and never be able to improve it or change it. What Senator Cassidy just told you, I think that's a false choice. It's not just between one or the other. There is a middle ground of things we can do to fix it. Taking that issue on, it's nearly 20% when you count hospital pharmaceuticals of the health care cost. We need to take that on. We can't just let it sit. The ideas I brought up that are actually on the table now, texture was almost there and it was stymied because this bill took up all the oxygen this week. They're ready to go back and pass something. Democrats and Republicans want to make these changes and help the state. I've heard a lot from small business people, there's more we can do there too. There's a tax credit you can take for two years, let's make it permanent.
And after Sens. Graham and Cassidy had spent yet another couple of minutes reiterating that they were going to make America great again by doing something that everyone with half a brain says is going to make America terrible, Sen. Sanders got up and explained it straight—once again.
Let's reiterate what the CBO just said. Trillion dollars in cuts —let me finish. A trillion dollars in cuts to medicaid. Now, this is preliminary because you keep changing the plan every day, and CBO has not had the time to do the kind of thorough study that the American people want us to do. But there have been numerous, numerous studies out there that suggest that your plan will throw over 30 million people off of the health insurance they currently have. And, let's once again from a human point of view—we've heard some of that discussion tonight—understand what it means when people who are struggling with cancer, heart disease, diabetes suddenly get the word that your legislation passed and they lose the health insurance they have. That is their lifeline for literally staying alive. Our job as a humane society is to do a couple of things. It's not to throw 30 million people off of health.
And like a bunch if little sociopaths, the Republican Party continues distressing millions of Americans while they decide, in secret, whether or not to bring this abomination to the floor for a vote.
You can watch a highlight reel from the debate below.