The frat boys are throwing a party

“Never confuse motion for action, Republicans. And your “famous” victory may be Pyrrhic. Fortunately, this horrible health care legislation has a long way to go through the Senate before Donald Trump gets the chance to affix his EKG-like signature. As South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham tweeted yesterday, ‘A bill — finalized yesterday, has not been scored, amendments not allowed, and 3 hours final debate — should be viewed with caution.'”

 

America’s Health Is in the Hands of GOP Frat Boys

 


 

The frat boys are throwing a party
today in their cocky upstarty
afterglow of the game,
but in time’s Hall of Shame
they’ll go down as the height of foolhardy.

Mary Boren, 5/4/2017

 

The GOP plots without cease

“Democrats quickly jumped on the development, arguing that Republicans are willing to take away protections for the general public, but not themselves. ‘The best evidence yet that the new GOP repeal plan is a disaster for people’s health care is that the GOP exempted Members of Congress from living under it,’ said Leslie Dach, director of the Protect Our Care Campaign, one of the main groups fighting repeal.”

 

House GOP health bill changes exempt members of Congress
The Hill

 


 

The GOP plots without cease
to gut ACA piece by piece,
but provisions it shelves
won’t apply to themselves.
No, it’s only the public they’ll fleece.

© 2017 Mary Boren

“Repeal and replace” hit a glitch (5-link limerick chain)

 

 

 

“Anti-poverty advocates insist there is evidence that not helping the poor will hurt in the long run. Olivia Golden, executive director of CLASP, the Center for Law and Social Policy, notes that the Trump administration wants to shift money from low-income Americans to spend more in areas such as defense, security and law enforcement.”

Advocates Say Trump Budget Cuts Will Hurt the Country’s Most Vulnerable
NPR

 

Graphic by Rafael Barker


“Repeal and replace” hit a glitch,
So it’s on to the next scheming pitch.
Keep an eye on the facts:
TrumpCare or TrumpTax,
His deals always favor the rich.

© 2017 Colleen Anderson

Though his deals always favor the rich
and he savors the ole bait and switch,
he’s no longer in Oz;
so this wizard that was
looks for help from a turtle named Mitch.

© 2017 Susan E. Eckenrode

With help from a turtle named Mitch
and a cabinet itching to ditch
every benefit gained
for the poor and untrained,
our democracy’s coming unstitched.

© 2017 Mary Boren

With democracy coming unstitched
and America seeming bewitched,
we hope that soon reason
will rout out the treason
so we’re no longer trapped in betwixt.

© 2017 Lily Beth Baker

When we’re no longer trapped in betwixt,
Perhaps we can get some things fixed:
the roads and the bridges,
The ACA glitches,
And Citizen’s United licked.

© 2017 Lynn Degen

 


 

Making America Sick (4-link limerick chain)




We don’t know yet what the CBO will say, but it seems fairly clear that their forecast will show a significant drop in the number of people with insurance coverage if Obamacare is repealed and/or the Republican American Health Care Act were to become law.

How many people would lose health-care coverage under the new House bill? Depends who you ask.
The Washington Post

 


 

Obamacare wasn’t his pick,
So he’s slapped something up, on the quick,
That gives the rich more
By neglecting the poor.
He is Making America Sick.

© Colleen Anderson, 2017

Yes, he’s making America sick.
How much does he care? Not a lick!
He just follows the lead
of Republicans’ need
to crush ACA like a tick.

© Susan E. Eckenrode, 2017

To crush ACA like a tick–
a nearly impossible trick.
Why not make a cause
of fixing the flaws
and give it a boost not a kick.

© Lily Beth Baker, 2017

Give it a boost, not a kick:
In the challenging, vast bailiwick
of the legal affair
for our medical care,
find compassion, and spread it on thick.


© Mary Boren, 2017