Progressive Breakfast

Activists Unite To Stop Health Care Repeal

Left on ‘full war footing’ to stop Obamacare repeal. Politico: “The liberal activists roused into the streets by President Donald Trump are revving up for one last campaign to save Obamacare. The sudden resurgence of Republicans’ repeal push appeared to catch Democrats and their base by surprise. But ahead of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s plans to vote next week on a new bill to dismantle the health law, the Democratic grass roots is on what one leading activist called ‘full war footing. From a new six-figure advertising campaign by the pro-Obamacare group Save My Care to a flurry of rallies planned on the ground, the left is throwing everything it can at the new repeal bill from Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). ‘The reality is that the progressive coalition has never been more unified or determined than they are right now,’ Organizing for Action spokesman Jesse Lehrich said in an interview.”

31 States to Lose Money for Health Care Under Cassidy-Graham

Federal estimate shows big win-loss gap among states under Cassidy-Graham bill. WaPo: “An internal analysis by the Trump administration concludes that 31 states would lose federal money for health coverage under Senate Republicans’ latest effort to abolish much of the Affordable Care Act, with the politically critical state of Alaska facing a 38 percent cut in 2026. The report, produced by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, focuses on the final year of a block grant that states would receive under the Cassidy-Graham legislation. It shows that government funding for such health insurance would be 9 percent lower overall in 2026 under the plan than under current law.”

AARP Slams GOP Health Repeal Bid

AARP releases devastating analysis of the GOP’s latest repeal and replace plan. ThinkProgress: “A new report from the AARP indicates some seniors could pay up to $31,790 more to keep their current coverage. The latest effort by Republicans in Congress to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act threatens to make health care unaffordable and inaccessible for millions of older Americans, according to a report from the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) released Wednesday evening. The bill, spearheaded by Sens. Lindsay Graham (R-SC) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA), would block grant health care funding to the states. Those grants would steadily decline over time, resulting in a $239 billion federal funding decrease over the next decade. The plan would also repeal a number of taxes mandates that are in place under Obamacare. States would be able to create high risk pools or eliminate protections for pre-existing conditions, which could result in skyrocketing costs.”

Trump Orders New Sanctions On North Korea; Rhetoric Escalates

Trump imposes new sanctions on North Korea; Kim says he will ‘tame the mentally deranged U.S. dotard with fire’. WaPo: “Trump on Thursday announced new financial sanctions targeting North Korea as his administration seeks to build international support for more aggressively confronting the rogue nation, whose escalating nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities have reached what U.S. officials consider a crisis point. The new penalties seek to leverage the dominance of the U.S. financial system by forcing nations, foreign companies and individuals to choose whether to do business with the United States or the comparatively tiny economy of North Korea. U.S. officials acknowledged that like other sanctions, these may not deter North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s drive to threaten the United States with a nuclear weapon, but is aimed at slowing him down. Kim on Thursday reacted angrily to Trump’s remarks and actions this week, calling the president a ‘mentally deranged U.S. dotard’ and Trump’s earlier speech at the U.N. ‘unprecedented rude nonsense.’ Kim said that he was now thinking hard about how to respond.”

ICE Continues Racial Profiling in Courthouse Sweeps

Video captures ICE agents harassing U.S. citizens. AlterNet: “The Oregonian reports that Isidro Andrade-Tafolla and his wife were leaving the Washington County Courthouse when they were approached by a man and a woman who emerged from a nearby van and asked him for his identification. ‘They never identified themselves even when my wife and I kept asking who they were and why they wanted my information,’ Andrade-Tafolla explained to The Oregonian. Andrade-Tafolla refused to give the agents his ID, but he did tell them his name. They then took out a photo of a man who was allegedly an undocumented immigrant, and told Andrade-Tafolla they believed he was the man in the photo. The couple tried to explain to the agent that Andrade-Tafolla was not the man in the photo, but they insisted that he was. At this time, multiple cars swarmed around the couple and eight other people emerged from them, including one man wearing an ICE vest.”

GOP Opens ‘Fake News’ Websites

GOP rolls out propaganda websites in Virginia and nationwide. DailyKOS: “The Republican Governors Association — the GOP’s official campaign arm dedicated to electing Republican governors nationwide — is connected to two websites that purport to be independent news sources but are, in reality, propaganda platforms that support GOP candidates.
The first, launched in Virginia as a way to boost Ed Gillespie’s flaccid campaign, is the at-least-mildly-obvious Republican Standard, which describes itself as ‘a new media journal delivering clear, factual and smartly-balanced information to Virginia’s public square.’ The Republican Standard, which is run by GOP operatives tied to Gillespie and “to a firm that has been paid by the RGA,” devotes most of its space to pro-Gillespie items and pieces that shed an unfavorable light on Democratic gubernatorial nominee Ralph Northam… The RGA’s broad-spectrum propaganda endeavor is far more insidious. The Free Telegraph is a site that trumpets the supposed accomplishments of Republican governors and gubernatorial candidates and blasts the alleged shortcomings of their Democratic counterparts. An Associated Press inquiry revealed that the RGA sought to conceal its involvement in the creation and administration of the site; it launched in July with no indication that it was the product of an official Republican Party committee.”

HHS Secretary Price Charters Jets With Public Funds

How Tom Price decided chartered, private jets were a good use of taxpayer money. WaPo: “Price’s office this week has sought to justify his use of chartered jets, first reported Wednesday by Politico, saying that the secretary’s office has routinely evaluated the most effective way for him to travel and has turned to chartered flights when necessary for Price to manage one of the largest executive branch agencies while also staying grounded with voters… Revelations of Price’s luxury travel, however, have drawn swift criticism from Democratic members of Congress. Late Wednesday, the ranking members of the House committees on energy and commerce and ways and means wrote to the inspector general of Price’s agency saying the reported flights appear to violate federal rules and policies, and they demanded an immediate investigation.”

More from OurFuture.org:

Hillary Clinton Tries to Explain ‘What Happened’. Robert Borosage: “We should be unafraid to kick the tires on transformative ideas,” says Hillary Clinton in her new political memoir. That’s good advice. If only she had embraced it when she was a presidential candidate.”

If Republicans Repeal Obamacare, Will Medicare For All Come Sooner? Miles Mogulescu: “Lindsey Graham and other GOP leaders say a repeal of Obamacare will kill Medicare for All forever. Yet others believe this last-ditch bid to tear apart our health system, even if it passes, may bring Medicare For All closer to reality. Be careful, Senator Graham, what you wish for.”