It is disheartening that social issues do not seem to motivate Republicans. It does not matter if their candidate says or does homophobic, racist or ridiculous things. Many will overlook all character flaws and vote with “their party.”
Well, there is no hope for that voter but….but…the young, the independent, the unsure or non committed voter, the traditional “non-voter”—WE WANT YOU! You can make a difference.
Getting the vote out, getting those “non-voters” to the polls, getting our message out, that is what we can do. That is how we must move forward.
Georgia was a WIN. Handel won by a very small margin. A much smaller margin than anyone could imagine when Price vacated that seat. In what should have been an easy hand off, people came out in full force to support Jon Ossoff. The tides are turning and for Republicans who feel vindicated today–let them. Let them pontificate. Let them offer smug smiles. Let them gloat. That person, that voter is lost. While they push hate and inequitable agendas, WE WILL BE COMING.
Coming for your neighbors, your friends, your enemies, your colleagues, your community–we will embrace those who care, who want to make a difference in this world, who care about social issues, who want equality, who will fight for the environment, who will stand up for others–and we will WIN!
Last night on Saturday Night Live, Lewis CK performed the following skit, called, “Thank you, Scott.”
The skit hit close to home for many liberals today, myself included. After the election, an election where the majority of Americans did NOT vote for Trump, many liberals were left dumbfounded. How did Trump get elected? Was it the “forgotten” men and women in rural central America that elected him and why did they feel “forgotten”? Was the Democratic party out of touch with America? Was social liberalism declining in the face of nationalism? —–Nope, not really. Those things may have been variables, but they were not reason enough for an electoral win. I believe the real reason Hillary lost is that liberals became complacent. We had a lovely 8 years with a President who was educated, intelligent, who understood social service and foreign policy and we thought the 8 years with Bush were long behind us. We never thought it possible that a schmuck like Trump could be elected…and then the unthinkable happened.
We had grown complacent. I mean after all, we had seen the acceptance of gay marriage, “Don’t Ask/Don’t Tell” was repealed, affordable healthcare for all, economic growth at an all time high and unemployment at an all time low (especially significant post Bush administration), Osama bin laden was killed, Sonya Sotomayer was confirmed to the Supreme Court and countless other accomplishments. All of these accomplished without the assistance and support of the Republican Congress, who bad-mouthed and fought Obama tooth and nail. For many of us liberals, the hatred towards Obama felt racist which only further divided us from our right-leaning friends. We lived through an era where SCIENCE WAS REAL, facts mattered, black lives mattered, police mattered, climate mattered—-so this, this $hit show we now find ourselves in was unimaginable and most of us would gladly welcome Bush back into office. Well, if it meant we could get rid of Trump.
The majority of Americans, including Trump, thought his Presidential bid would never amount to a win. Everyday on the campaign trail as Trump displayed his severe character flaws for all the world to see, we became more secure with the idea that this buffoon could never be elected. A pussy grabbing, misogynistic, racist, incompetent businessman, adulterer, and narcissistic liar could never be President. We were firm in our belief that no one was dumb enough to vote for this shyster.
—Boy were we, was I, wrong. I actually had champagne chilling election night. I went to work that day early to vote. I left my house high on emotions, wearing my pantsuit, screaming, “I am off to vote for the FIRST female President” to my family as I headed out the door. I was excited and could not wait to watch the results. That night I must have asked my husband a hundred times as we started watching the results roll in, “There is no way, right, no way he can win.” As the night wore on, it became obvious that many Americans did not feel the same way I did. I went to bed early, champagne undrunk, only to wake at 2:30 am to check my phone. I remember waking my husband saying, “She conceded, she conceded; it is over.” He moaned and cried out in frustration and then rolled over and went to sleep. I did not sleep.
I know my conservative “friends” joke about us snowflakes crying about how Trump won, but I am not ashamed to admit it. I cried, I sobbed. I honestly don’t know how I made it through work the next day. I just wanted to go home and drink that champagne and get bloto. I am in the service industry, I am a nurse and my career is based on helping and supporting others, but my actions felt superficial, mundane and surreal that day. I found solace on Pantsuit Nation on Facebook. I had only found that group a few days before the election and I wish I had found it sooner. The day of election the posts from Americans going off to vote with their children, mothers, grandmothers, families—-made me “happy cry”. I was moved to tears by the thought of our older generation being able to vote for the first female President. I kept thinking about how much this must have meant to them. The photos and posts were my therapy after the election. Living in a Republican strong-hold in Monmouth County, NJ, I felt like I had no one to talk to, other than my husband. My husband is a banker and identified as a soft Republican when I met him but twenty years together has changed this man. His perspectives have changed. He always jokes that I would have divorced him if he voted for George W. Bush but thankfully we never had to test his theory out. As his views broadened, his empathy and willingness to fight for others grew. The narrow paradigm he grew up in changed; we changed together. He switched his affiliation from Independent to Democrat to vote in the 2008 Democratic Primary, as did I. I was always registered as an Independent prior to 2008, even though my policies and beliefs lean far left, as a young adult and even now, I believed I would always vote for the best, most qualified applicant. I guess in this election I was hoping others felt that way too regardless of their political affiliation but alas the most qualified, experienced candidate did not win.
After the election, I got more vocal. I realized in my own complacency that I had not stood up for Hillary. Sure, I voted for her but I did not scream it from the roof top. I did not talk about why I supported her or why I thought she was the better candidate? I did not want to discuss with the crazy person or my father (love ya, Dad, but not your politics) that Hillary did nothing illegal and we did not have to worry about “locking her up”? I did not want to confront my ignorant friend who believes climate change is a hoax, or that person I went to high school with that posted offensive memes that included things like, “Trump that Bitch” or rants that made no logical sense? I did not want to debate anyone and in the same sense, I did not want to offend anyone. I kept quite about my politics. When did talking politics become rude?
It was not like after the election, “the gloves came off” and I was willing to bring everyone to the mats. I would like to believe the awakening was more organic and less retaliatory. I knew that becoming vocal was not going to change the outcome of the election, but I was not willing to stay silent anymore. Silence is why I think Trump was elected, silence and complacency.
After the election I warned my Facebook friends that I was going to speak my mind, I would call out injustices, I would share stories I felt relevant, I would call out Trump on his bad behavior but I also protested, marched in DC and started making phone calls and sending postcards to my congressional representatives and Trump. I got active but as I hold the mirror up to myself, as Lewis CK suggested in his skit, I could do more—and I will continue to #RESIST.
Yesterday in an interview with “CBS This Morning” Paul Ryan threatens the Freedom Caucus and other Republicans with the following statement. “If we don’t do this–he’ll [Trump] just go to work with the Democrats, to try and change Obamacare, and that’s not gonna…that is hardly a conservative thing.”
There are 2 interesting things going on here:
Ryan threatening the Freedom Caucus with the idea that if they cannot compromise and repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and pass Trumpcare/Ryancare, then Trump will have no choice but to work with the Democrats…..GASP–which will result in a more moderate (aka liberal) bill. It is no secret the Freedom Caucus thought Ryan’s original bill was “too generous.” Yes, I know this is hard to believe since the bill seemed to be laced with cruelty and the “rob from the poor, give to the rich” type of mentality. When the majority of American’s, Democrats and moderate Republicans (who had constituents writing, calling and screaming at them at Town Hall meeting) were all still reeling over the slashes, increased costs, reduced coverage and the fact that 24 MILLION would be uninsured, instead of trying to compromise, in the last hours before the vote was scheduled Ryan was pandering to the small minority of the EXTREME right (Freedom Caucus) to make the bill even worse for Americans. Disgusting but true. Ryan is a D-bag and I am coming to realize, he will never “do the right thing.” He is driven by tax cuts for rich, big business and no government spending–at ALL costs. He is incapable of recognizing the long term economic ramifications of his cuts or proposals. He is a short term self-gain guy.
The second and more significant thing happening here is that Ryan cannot begin to fathom working with the Democrats. You can see it in his face. His politics are “Us vs Them”. This was his modus operandi for the last 8 years and it is hard to switch gears but….GEEZ, can you think about what is best for the MAJORITY of Americans. The backlash from this type of thinking will be further divide amongst the Democrats, the moderate Republicans, and the Republicans who live in states where their constituents will be most affected by the repeal of the Affordable Care Act. This could get interesting. Is this the beginning of the end for the Republican party. I alway believed the Tea Party/Freedom Caucus/extreme right would be it’s demise.
I think Senator Bob Corker says it best (by the way he is a Republican Senator from TN).
WASHINGTON U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan, the top Republican in Congress, said he does not want President Donald Trump to work with Democrats on new legislation for revamping the country’s health insurance system, commonly called Obamacare.
This is probably a good time to remind everyone that I am no expert on politics. Is anyone really? I do have a double major in Economics and International Relations but at this point in my life I would call myself a concerned citizen. I truly believe that the passing of the ACA was the best thing that happened for Americans and the healthcare system in the last decade. You could say that universal, quality healthcare is a passion of mine.
Yes, there is room to improve the ACA but not in the way Ryan, the Freedom Caucus or Trump wants. Ryan’s entire identity in the House is based on his opposition to the ACA. What became entirely clear was HIS plan was simply a masquerade for tax breaks for the rich, basically everyone else could go F’ themselves. Here is a clip from March 18, 2017 where he talks about dreaming of the Medicaid cuts he would make since his keg drinking days. Yup…dreams about sticking it to the poor disenfranchised—that about sums his character up.
Trumpcare Timeline (as best as I can put it together):
The ACA was passed and the Republicans spend the next 7 years trying to repeal it but never manage to positively contribute to changing it or to come up with a better plan.
Trump runs on campaign platform that promises repeal with replacement of “better healthcare” at lower costs for ALL (yup, that was a big fat alternative truth). ‘“My first day in office, I am going to ask Congress to put a bill on my desk getting rid of this disastrous law and replacing it with reforms that expand choice, freedom, affordability,” said Trump on Oct. 25, a day after he St. Augustine speech, in Sanford, Florida. “You’re going to have such great health care at a tiny fraction of the cost. And it’s going to be so easy.”‘
The America Health Care Act is introduced but Trump does not want to call it Trumpcare (he distances himself from the get go), so from henceforth we shall refer to it as Trumpcare.
The bill begins to be known as the “Repeal and go F’ yourself” plan, as the general public starts to catch wind on actually how bad the plan is.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO), aka nonpartisan scorekeepers, releases their analysis of the proposed plan and it is not good. To sum up the highlights: 14 million Americans would lose coverage in the first year, eventually 24 million would be uninsured, and premiums would rise as much as 20% (they would eventually fall over time as more and more Americans were priced out of the market or died [a little nursing humor there]).
Proposed Federal budget that further promotes the “go F’ yourself” mentality with cuts to crucial social services and other supportive services—with only increases in defense spending, border patrol and immigration services. Many begin to catch on that Trump truly does not care about his fanbase which would be the most hurt by the healthcare repeal and the budget cuts.
EVERY healthcare agency speaks out against Trumpcare.
The House does not have the votes and they know it. Thank you, to all the town hall attendees, protesters and citizens for reaching out to your Congressional representatives in support of the ACA. Your contributions are the reason some Republicans broke rank and voted in support of their constituents.
Despite the fact that the bill was not ready and did not have the votes needed, Ryan, Trump and Republicans push for Thursday vote–the anniversary of the ACA, a final F’ You to Obama and Trump’s “many enemies” aka those who oppose and did not vote for him.
Instead of making positive changes to improve care for everyone and obtain more support, Ryan doubles down and makes the plan worse for Americans by trying to appeal to the far right Freedom Caucus. There would be no analysis of these proposed changes by the Congressional Budget Office before the vote.Will the moderate Republicans and the Freedom Caucus split? At this point unless the Republicans can separate themselves from the Tea Party, Freedom Caucus, Koch bros, I only see further divide in America. The majority of Americans oppose Trump and definitely oppose the Freedom Caucus (this sounds like another post is needed; I thought the Tea Party would destroy the Republican party long ago).
Ryan runs to WH to let Trump know they don’t have the votes (first of all, how did he not already know, the writing was on the wall the moment that Trumpcare was introduced).
Rumor has it Trump wanted to push it to a vote anyway–why? I imagine his vindictive nature wanted a public record of those who opposed—so he could brand them as his enemies. That seems to be a go-to move of his.
In the end someone must have reasoned with him and explained the bigger picture of the more public loss and the bill was pulled.
Trump gives press conference and declares the loss “very close” (very close??? What planet is he on?).
He then goes on to blame the loss on the Democrats saying they had no Democratic support—–uhmmmmm, doesn’t the Republican party control the House and Senate. This is where the discussion about incompetence of the Trump admin typically takes place.
He then goes on to say, “the best thing we can do politically speaking is to let Obamacare explode”. Yup, there you have it folks–his next move. Do you think he will make necessary changes to the ACA. Do you think he will improve the healthcare system? NOPE, remember narcissists are driven by their vindictive nature….he will let it explode, then he will claim “I told you so.”
I am not gonna lie, yesterday felt like a victory over evil but there is no time to gloat or relax, we must continue to #RESIST.
After the election I warned my Facebook friends that I was going to speak my mind, I would call out injustices, I would share stories I felt relevant, I would call out Trump on his bad behavior but I also protested, marched in DC and started making phone calls and sending postcards to my congressional representatives and Trump. I got active but as I hold the mirror up to myself, as Lewis CK suggested in his skit, I could do more—and I will continue to #RESIST.
