The egregious Republican chorus

It is abundantly clear that Trump and his party possess a deep disdain for sick people, the poor and other vulnerable members of American society and wish to do them harm.

 

[…]

 

Today’s version of American conservatism is also a celebration of selfishness — and a belief that true freedom and liberty are based on a perverse individualism with little sense of common decency or linked fate with someone’s fellow citizens. Today’s American conservatism also embraces an extreme form of neoliberalism whereby human worth and dignity are determined by profit-and-loss statements and capitalism and democracy are confused with one another. Ultimately, American conservatism is a value system that is antisocial, anti-democratic and anti-freedom.

 

There is a moral obligation to speak plainly and directly in a time of crisis. To wit: The Republican Party’s so-called health care reform is designed to kill, injure and bankrupt the poor, the sick and the weak, in order to line the pockets of the 1 percent. As Republicans have repeatedly shown, the supposed “party of life” is actually the “party of death.”

 

The “pro-life” party has become the party of death:
New research on why Republicans
hate poor and sick people

Salon

 

The egregious Republican chorus
holds ethical standards so porous
they’ll prop up an ass
in order to pass
legislation that proves they abhor us.

Mary Boren, 5/31/17

 

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

 

Aiming to Blame

“Unlike his personal hero, Vladimir Putin, President Trump can’t have his political opponents thrown into prison, shot dead in the street or flung off fourth-floor balconies. In Moscow, Russian soldiers could have herded those women in stupid pink hats into stockades like cows. If a few opinionated heifers got roughed up, well, they asked for it, didn’t they?

 

Instead, Trump was reduced to making excuses for the failure of his farcical Obamacare ‘reform’ by launching impotent attacks against just about everybody in Washington.”

Trump’s desperate quest for someone to blame
Gene Lyons, Opinion, Chicago Sun Times

 

 


 
So the POTUS has steadied his aim
at the culprits he’s sure are to blame
for the health bill’s demise;
yeah, they better get wise,
‘cause his shit-list includes every name.

© 2017 Susan E. Eckenrode


 

Forty-five tried his art of the deal (2-link)

“Forget about the little shit,” Trump said, according to multiple sources in the room. “Let’s focus on the big picture here.”

The group of roughly 30 House conservatives, gathered around a mammoth, oval-shaped conference table in the Cabinet Room of the White House, exchanged disapproving looks. Trump wanted to emphasize the political ramifications of the bill’s defeat; specifically, he said, it would derail his first-term agenda and imperil his prospects for reelection in 2020. The lawmakers nodded and said they understood. And yet they were disturbed by his dismissiveness. For many of the members, the “little shit” meant the policy details that could make or break their support for the bill—and have far-reaching implications for their constituents and the country.”

Inside the GOP’s Health Care Debacle
Politico Magazine

 


 

Forty-five tried his art of the deal
but Republicans finally got real:
No way to hold ’em,
know when to fold ’em.
Then rename ACA, snag a steal.

© 2017 Lily Beth Baker

Just rename ACA, snag a steal.
While pretending you aimed to repeal
and replace was a lie
that you knew would’t fly,
there’s no shaming of souls that can’t feel.

© Susan E. Eckenrode

 


 

Polls plunge, his balloon of good luck pops

“The healthcare failure called into question not only Trump’s ability to get other key parts of his agenda, including tax cuts and a boost in infrastructure spending, through Congress, but the Republican Party’s capacity to govern effectively.”

Trump tastes failure as U.S. House healthcare bill collapses
Reuters


 

Polls plunge, his balloon of good luck pops,
And they’re grumbling in diners and truck stops.
Sure looks like old Drumpfy
Is not very comfy
Behind the big desk where the buck stops.

© 2017 Colleen Anderson

 


 

Trump Dump

JUST HOURS BEFORE House Speaker Paul Ryan held a press conference to sell his health care overhaul legislation — using a PowerPoint presentation mocked for misrepresenting basic facts  — he was doing something he’s much better at: fundraising.

The two things were related. The Thursday morning breakfast fundraiser he attended was hosted by a lobbying firm working to unwind the Affordable Care Act on behalf of health insurance company Blue Cross Blue Shield, one of the big winners of Ryan’s proposed legislation.”

Paul Ryan Fundraised With Health Insurance Lobbying Firm Just Before His PowerPoint
The Intercept


Now he claims it’s the Democrats’ fault
that the Paul Ryan plan came to naught.
Of course that’s not so,
some Republicans know
what a goat-rope their ignorance has wrought.

© 2017 Lily Beth Baker

The goat-rope their ignorance wrought
is exposed as a devious plot.
The corporate buy-in
of Speaker Paul Ryan
reveals what a lemon they got.

© 2017 Mary Boren

So TrumpCare’s in trouble, we see

“AARP opposes this legislation, as introduced, that would weaken Medicare, leaving the door open to a voucher program that shifts costs and risks to seniors.

“Before people even reach retirement age, big insurance companies could be allowed to charge them an age tax that adds up to thousands of dollars more per year. Older Americans need affordable health care services and prescriptions. This plan goes in the opposite direction, increasing insurance premiums for older Americans and not doing anything to lower drug costs.

AARP Opposes Health Care Bill
AARP


So TrumpCare’s in trouble, we see—
Not surprising to Grandad and me,
For chances are high
That your project won’t fly
When you piss off the AARP.

© Colleen Anderson, 2017