The resistance now: putting the Senate health bill on life support | US news
How Guardian readers fought the healthcare bill
When we asked our readers how they were protesting the healthcare bill this week, people from across the country got in touch to tell us about their efforts, many with stories about how the repeal of Obamacare would affect them and their families personally.
Kathleen, from Illinois, said she met a staff member of Darin LaHood, the Republican congressman for the 18th congressional district in Illinois.
[I] brought with me a photo of my daughter in the hospital at the age of three after her open-heart surgery (in 1993). I wanted to show him what a pre-existing condition looked like and to plead with him not to support this appalling legislation.
Cynthia, a 45-year-old from California, summed up the fight well. “This isn’t about ideology, religion, class warfare or politics any more,†she said. “This is about the absence of humanity in our country’s leaders.â€
And the protests worked: ‘huge victory’ for the resistance … but more battles to come
After thousands of people across the country called, emailed and generally harangued their senators over the Republican healthcare bill this week, Mitch McConnell was forced to postpone a vote on the legislation â€" which would strip 22 million people of healthcare coverage over the next 10 years.
Our Revolution, Indivisible, People for Bernie, National Nurses United and more progressive groups hailed the postponement â€" NNU called it a “giant step toward single-payer healthcare†but warned that the fight was not over.
“It is a huge, huge victory,†said Ezra Levin, Indivisible’s executive director. “But it’s not a final victory.
“The challenge now is going to keep the pressure up. We cannot forget what happened on the House side. This is a huge blow against Trumpcare, but in order to actually defeat this, pressure will have to continue.â€
Republicans go into hiding, but here’s how to find them
Only two Republican senators have town hall events scheduled during recess week (traditionally a time for elected officials to meet with us commoners). It’s in keeping with their colleagues in the House, most of whom ducked meetings with constituents while they were considering their own healthcare bill.
As one source pointed out to the Guardian, however, those Republicans won’t be able to hide from everything. Politicians are basically obliged to attend marches or parades on the Fourth of July, lest they be labelled a communist or flag hater. So if you want a word with your senator, your state’s Independence Day celebrations might be a good place to look. There could be ... fireworks.
In other news
Nina Turner has been elected president of Our Revolution, the progressive organization formed in the wake of Bernie Sanders’ campaign. Turner was one of Sanders’ most prominent surrogates during the 2016 primaries.
In a video message announcing the move, Turner promised to “take us to the next level†in pushing for liberal policies in the US. Watch it here.
What we’re reading
• It’s not just Republicans who are split over healthcare, according to NBC News. Democrats are divided as well â€" with some (Chuck Shumer, for one) advocating for discussing “modest changes†to Obamacare, and others (Bernie Sanders, for example) arguing for full resistance ahead of a push for Medicare for all.
•Now’s the time to push for single-payer healthcare, writes Kate Aronoff in the Guardian. “Liberal pundits and elected officials have seemed dead-set on occupying a neoliberal middle ground on healthcare,†Aronoff says, whereas right now “the austerity politics embodied in Trumpcare simply aren’t popular, and expansive social programs areâ€.
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