Speaker of the House Paul Ryan has announced that he will not seek reelection to his seat this fall. It appears Ryan has bought into the narrative that the midterm elections this fall will be a wave for the Democrats, and he should get out while the getting is good. Never mind that, as Speaker, his caucus looks to him for leadership in both good times and bad. Now is a particularly bad time, and he’s hightailing it out of Washington. Continue reading “Cocksuckers Ball: So Long, Jerk”
Tag: Obamacare
Cocksuckers Ball: Graham-Cassidy is Bullshit
Two months. That’s all it took for the Republicans’ efforts to repeal Obamacare to come back from the dead. After a dramatic vote in the Senate that saw John McCain cast the deciding vote to kill a terrible healthcare plan, Senate Republicans are set to try again. Shame on them. Continue reading “Cocksuckers Ball: Graham-Cassidy is Bullshit”
Cocksuckers Ball: Disaster Averted
When I went to bed last night, I was sure that when I awoke, Obamacare repeal would have passed in the Senate. After years of waiting, and months of legislative ineptitude, it looked like the Republicans were finally going to get their signature piece of legislation out the door. And what a piece it was. Continue reading “Cocksuckers Ball: Disaster Averted”
Trumpland Day 189: “Two Fish that Don’t Stink”
Well, Reince Priebus’s days as White House Chief of Staff are numbered. That became clear last week when President Trump hired Anthony Scaramucci to be the White House Communications Director, going around Priebus’s recommendations, and leading White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer to resign. But events last night and this morning have hammered that idea home. Continue reading “Trumpland Day 189: “Two Fish that Don’t Stink””
Cocksuckers Ball: My Experience With Obamacare
The GOP released its long-awaited Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) replacement, and the general consensus is that the new bill stinks. It has been met with such a lack of enthusiasm from the right that there is a very real possibility that the American Health Care Act (AHCA), as it has been named, is dead on arrival. The Democrats will never support this bill, and a large portion of the Republicans in Congress will not do so either, as the bill is currently written. Continue reading “Cocksuckers Ball: My Experience With Obamacare”
Cocksuckers Ball: Constitutional Crisis
They almost did it. The Republicans almost plunged not just the United States, but the world, into economic chaos because they don’t want people to be able to purchase affordable health insurance. The deal announced today in Congress will reopen the shuttered government, and raise the debt ceiling for the next couple of months, without gutting the Affordable Care Act. That’s good, but the crisis in Washington is not over. That’s not just because today’s deal is only a short-term solution, destined to become a fight once more around Christmas. Or because this type of government-by-crisis seems to be the new normal. Rather, it’s because, after over 200 years of Constitutional governance, an extreme minority of one party has found a way to manipulate the lawful actions of Congress to shut down the government and threaten world stability because it disagrees with settled law. This is a big deal, because it means that the way in which we govern has been shown to be fundamentally flawed. That is the very definition of a Constitutional crisis. Continue reading “Cocksuckers Ball: Constitutional Crisis”
Cocksuckers Ball: Crottes D’Éléphants
The House of Representatives voted today, largely along party lines, to repeal the healthcare law passed last year. It was a symbolic gesture, as the Democratic-controlled Senate will not take up the bill, nor would President Obama sign it. The vote today was the culmination of two years of rhetoric and campaign promises, and with any luck, that is as far as things will go. But the GOP does have a strategy beyond meaningless parliamentary showboating. They do genuinely want this bill to disappear, and while repeal is out of the question with the current alignment in Washington, starving the bill to death by denying it funds is not. Continue reading “Cocksuckers Ball: Crottes D’Éléphants”