GOP Wants Health Vote ASAP

Senate Republicans face key week as more lawmakers waver in support for health-care bill. WaPo: “At least five Republicans have already come out against their party’s bill — which can only afford to lose two votes — and over the weekend, more began expressing serious reservations and skepticism about the proposal. The mounting dissatisfaction leaves Senate Republican leaders and the White House in a difficult position. In the coming days, moves to narrow the scope of the overhaul could appeal to moderates but anger conservatives, who believe the legislation does not go far enough to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.”

Budget office score will confirm deep cuts to health care. Politico: The CBO is poised to tell Senate Republicans this week that their health plan will leave millions more uninsured than Obamacare — with the losses estimated from 15 million to 22 million over a decade, according to a half dozen budget analysts polled by POLITICO. ‘What I can say with confidence is that the Senate bill will lead to very large coverage losses,” predicted Matt Fiedler of the Brookings Institution, which had previewed the CBO score of the House bill in March but declined to do so for the Senate. “The only question is how large.'”

Pride and Protest

Protestors mobilize in key states to stop GOP health care repeal. Common Dreams: “As people mobilize nationwide under the #ProtectOurCare banner in a collective bid to defeat the Republican Party’s plan to strip healthcare coverage from millions in order to give the nation’s wealthiest a massive tax break, Sen. Bernie Sanders was helping lead the charge over the weekend as he joined MoveOn.org and others on a rapid-response bus tour designed to galvanize opposition in key states. ‘This is not a drill,’ said MoveOn.org’s Ben Wikler on Sunday morning in Columbus, Ohio as he called the current moment a ‘code red’ situation for the resistance movement aimed at stopping President Trump and his Republican allies. With stops in three states on Saturday and Sunday – the tour is aimed at key Republican Senators identified as targets: Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio, and Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia.”

Disability rights activists stage ‘die in” at Sen. McConnell’s office. Quartz: “The next few days in Washington, and around the country, are likely to be marked with protests, rallies, and demonstrations as citizens try to convince their local senators to vote it down. Some of the most provocative may have been the ones already held in the nation’s capitol, after dozens of disabled Americans, including those on ventilators and in wheelchairs, held a “die in” on the floor in front of Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell’s office on Thursday. “No cuts to Medicaid!” they chanted, refusing to leave. The Capitol Police answered by physically removing demonstrators, and arresting 43 of them for ‘crowding, obstructing, or incommoding’ (which means inconveniencing). Some were dragged from their wheelchairs, others handcuffed in them.”

LGBTQ Pride marchers target Trump in NY. Reuters: “Large crowds turned out for Pride marches on Sunday in New York City and San Francisco, the two U.S. places most associated with the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights movement, with the East Coast city bringing a more political flavor to the event sparked by events there almost 50 years ago. Participants included Chelsea Manning, the transgender U.S. Army soldier who served seven years in prison for leaking classified data before former President Barack Obama granted her clemency.”

WH Cancels Muslim Celebration

Breaking 200 Year Tradition, Trump Skips WH Ramadan Celebration. Crooks and Liars: “Way back in 1805, Thomas Jefferson hosted the first official White House iftar dinner, recognizing the holy celebration of Ramadan. Between the third president and today, celebrations have been admittedly varied. But since 1996, when Bill Clinton held an official iftar dinner, modern presidents have always held a dinner out of respect for the Muslim American community. Breaking with that 20 year tradition, Trump declined to hold an iftar dinner or invite any Muslims to the White House during Ramadan.”

More from OurFuture.org:

WV Voters in DC Ask Senators to Save Health Care. Valerie Woody: “It was dawn in Charleston as sleepy but excited voters got on a bus to ride six hours over the Allegheny Mountains to Washington, DC so they could ask their senators to save health care for West Virginians before it’s too late.”

Charter Schools Do Bad Stuff Because They Can. Jeff Bryant: “Local news reports from all across the country drip, drip a constant stream of stories of charter schools doing bad stuff that our tax dollars fund. Why do both Democrats and Republicans still fetishize them?”