From Politico:

Moderates, more than any other members of the House GOP conference, will pay the price if the politics of health care reform efforts shifts in Democrats’ favor.

“I think anytime you’re dealing with something that touches upon the human being’s family and their health needs,” said Rep. Ryan Costello of Pennsylvania, it “can create political vulnerabilities.”

Maybe he’s thinking of changing his vote on the full bill, despite his vote for repeal in committee. It’s not outside the realm of possibility. However, in certain ways, it’s better in the long run if he votes the GOP line.

Think about it, the House bill is DOA in the Senate. Marco Rubio and Rand Paul are firm “no’s” from the right. Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins, Tom Cotton, Mike Lee, Corey Gardener and Rob Portman have expressed grave reservations from the right. And so, next year, whoever runs against Ryan will be able to create a decisive line in the sand about his/her refusal to deny medical care to poor people, especially children and the elderly. And people will not forget. WE will not let them.

I’m not surprised by the #NotmyCheeto budget proposal. It is exactly what he promised the idiots who voted for him. And it is they who will suffer the most. Joe Manchin pointed out that most people in his state who are on the Medicaid expansion or the ACA don’t know that’s because of the ACA, and he’s right. (Mark your calendars, I very rarely agree with Joe, and if you don’t know, his daughter owns the firm that upped the price of Epi-Pens.) But they will know who took it away, and it won’t be a single Democrat. Remember, they’re trying to pass the repeal as part of the reconciliation process, which makes it a budget item, and Senators aren’t that stupid.

If you look at the budget cuts, you’ll notice that if Melania and Barron Trump moved to the White House, EVERY SINGLE CUT could be paid for. What we’re paying for them to live away from DC not only could kill Big Bird, but more importantly deny school lunches, SNAP dollars, welfare-to-work programs and all the rest.

Make no mistake, these cuts, especially those to anything involving the arts, are a Bannon thing. It’s what fascist governments in an attempt to deny information to the populace. It’s important to realize the WHY. They want to destroy the institution of the Federal government. But remember, it only takes 3.5% of the population in the form of citizen action to stop it. It looks bleak now, but we will triumph in the end.

So those are my thoughts for today. What are yours? Do you know we have forums set up on different topics? Get the conversation started on your personal favourite issues. These forums are a great place to exchange information, and since they’re organized by topic, easier to follow then posts on Facebook. Forums are here.