May the 4th is a friendly holiday in our household, a reminder of star wars and good times with family. But for 24 million Americans plus, today may also be the day they remember as the moment where their health care started to go away, that is, if the US Senate signs on to this debacle.
Trumpcare 2.0, has dangerous consequences for millions of Americans with pre-existing conditions, including women and children. If you’re in a high risk pool, you’re in trouble.
In an email sent out by the American Medical Association yesterday, Andrew W Gurman, MD, offered this assessment:
The history of high-risk pools demonstrates that Americans with pre-existing conditions will be stuck in second-class health care coverage - if they are able to obtain coverage at all.
And, while “May the 4th be with you”, is designed to bring a bit of good cheer to science fiction fans, this year, the phrase reminds us that there is, in fact, a dark side — and it hasn’t given up. District after District, moderate Republicans — who existed in districts that Hillary Clinton won in 2016, will likely vote in favor of Trumpcare. The reason? They fear Tea Party primaries far more than they fear a Democratic challenger, and in many places they have no challenger.
It’s time to change that.
The tea party and their supporters have become convinced that many of these incumbent elected are untouchable, thanks to their network of money and resources that will keep Republicans in their seats, no matter what. The tea party has managed to prove a point to many: when push comes to shove, the supposed moderate Republican wing has a spine made of jello, unwilling to vote their district because of their fear of fellow Republicans.
The truth is, many moderate Republicans win these districts that would favor Democratic voters by cobbling together a coalition that requires conservative Republicans to vote for the “R” to get leadership votes and Democratic members to cross the isle in hopes of getting more moderate leadership.
Time and time again, the promise goes largely unfulfilled — because while these moderate US Congressional Republicans need Democratic votes, they don’t fear the loss of those votes. They only fear losing the votes of the right wing in a primary.
For too long, we as Democratic party members have sat back and believed that there would be some collective conscious within the Republican party who would decide to do the right thing.
We have proven that is not the case.
If you are looking at this and thinking: I don’t know what to do, I’m telling you, we have an answer:
If you can’t run, find someone who will. For your state. For your local. For your federal. I don’t care how red the district is, there are people in every district who are hurt by these kinds of moves who deserve to have someone stand up and say: I will not stand for this.