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I'm looking forward to the list of real concessions Democrats are willing to make to fix the failed scheme they alone passed.
So far, I haven't heard of a single proposed concession by the Democrats to the Republicans. All I've heard is NO NO NO to any effort at reforming the failed scheme.
Wonderful. Now where is the plan from the Democrats, which includes Collins McCain and Murkowski, to fix the failed scheme the Democrats passed in the dark of night amidst bribes and kickbacks?
All we've seen from Collins and her liberal cohorts is support for the status quo, which means impending collapse of ACA. So, wake me when they have a fix that isn't an insurance company bailout.
What "dark of night" are you talking about?
The Dems held countless meetings in Congress for a year regarding the ACA which Repubs didn't want any part of.
They were intent on being obstructionists from day one regarding any agenda President Obama was offering. The Repubs under McConnell were more interested in making Obama a "one term President" and playing politics than serving the American people.
Now their own party members are crapping on the only thing they thought they could pass after controlling all branches of Government.
Karma is a B**ch!
What "dark of night" are you talking about?
The Dems held countless meetings in Congress for a year regarding the ACA which Repubs didn't want any part of.
They were intent on being obstructionists from day one regarding any agenda President Obama was offering. The Repubs under McConnell were more interested in making Obama a "one term President" and playing politics than serving the American people.
Now their own party members are crapping on the only thing they thought they could pass after controlling all branches of Government.
Karma is a B**ch!
Practically every word you've written is false. First, Olympia Snowe actually voted for the initial bill in Committee. That's when the underhanded dirty tricks by Reid and Company started.
I encourage you to read this Washington Post piece. It sums up the process, although it is far more generous to Senate Democrats than I ever would be:
So consideration of the bill “proceeded on two parallel tracks,” starting when the Senate returned to work on Nov. 30. The first track was public, with the illusion of debate and votes on amendments. The official record shows 506 amendments were offered.
Cannan says this activity suggests “a vigorous effort to alter the bill’s final form on the Senate floor. But this number is deceptive. In actuality, only a tiny fraction of these amendments has any significance” to the bill’s legislative history. Only a handful of amendments covered by a unanimous consent agreement (UCA) reached between the two sides had any relevance, he concluded. Meanwhile, “all of those amendments not covered by UCAs were ordered to lie on the table as soon as they were introduced and had no parliamentary standing at all.”
That’s because the real work was going on behind closed doors, back in Reid’s office, where he negotiated significant changes with a group of moderate Democrats. Eventually, Republicans and Democrats would no longer agree to even keep debating the matter on the floor, and so the public spectacle ended on Dec. 16. The Senate turned to other matters, including passage of a Defense Department appropriations bill, while the private negotiations continued and the Senate remained in session.
During the private talks, Reid agreed to remove a public option in the bill, as well as drop a plan to allow people between the ages of 55 and 65 to buy into Medicare. There was also a significant change in abortion coverage, which The Washington Post reported required hours of Schumer’s and Reid’s shuttling back and forth in Reid’s offices between antiabortion Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) and key supporters of abortion rights, Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.), who never sat in the same room as Nelson. Some lawmakers, like the now-retired Nelson, cut special deals. Nelson negotiated enhanced Medicaid reimbursement for his state.
The takeaway from this is that Republicans were COMPLETELY shut out of participating in the final bill that was voted upon. You can express faux outrage all you want, but the facts are the facts. I'll bet you were one of the hyperpartisans cheering this abuse while it was happening, too.
To summarize:
Quote:
But recalling the second-longest Senate session obscures the fact that the floor debate was mostly for show, an exercise designed to allow the closed-door negotiations that shaped the final bill to take place. Once the deal was struck, Reid pushed the final draft forward with as much speed as possible. That’s what McConnell is doing now, having skipped the preliminaries.
So, your attempts to rewrite history aren't going to work.
I'm looking forward to the list of real concessions Democrats are willing to make to fix the failed scheme they alone passed.
So far, I haven't heard of a single proposed concession by the Democrats to the Republicans. All I've heard is NO NO NO to any effort at reforming the failed scheme.
Look, the Democrats were not the ones pounding their chests for 8 years and promising to repeal it, your side was. So why should WE have to make concessions to anything ? Funny how the Democrats are in the minority and the GOP still can't get this thing passed !
We are the first to admit that Obamacare needed some refinements, everything does. But it was a great step in the right direction and gave millions and millions of people healthcare they never had before. If you care about your fellow Americans, you DO want them to have access to health insurance, don't you ?
What you call a "failed scheme" must not have been too bad, your best people haven't been able to draft anything better. So who are the ones failing here ?
I agree, as so many others have stated, that Obamacare needs to be improved. If the Republicans can put out a plan that is an actual improvement (not just thrown together to keep their stupid promise to kill Obamacare) I will be right out front pounding the table for them.
Time for both sides to put aside the foolishness and get down to real work!!!
I'm looking forward to the list of real concessions Democrats are willing to make to fix the failed scheme they alone passed.
So far, I haven't heard of a single proposed concession by the Democrats to the Republicans. All I've heard is NO NO NO to any effort at reforming the failed scheme.
That's because this effort, like the previous ones, was an all-Republican party. No Ds were invited - by design. It wasn't an oversight, congressional Rs were determined to proceed without any D participation whatever.
Well, they got what they wanted - no D participation.
This is a political win for congressional Ds, no question. Tell me, in which universe does the political winner concede to the political loser? If you really think that should ever be done, why not call on electoral college winner Trump to concede to popular vote winner Clinton? Or offer her a cabinet position?
That makes exactly no sense at all. And neither does your statement.
Rumor has it that the individual mandate is becoming more of a "suggestion" really than a requirement, and that as long as you leave the health insurance spaces blank on your tax return, you will still get your refund and all's well.
Now these "silent returns" have always been processed just like this. This was the first tax season that the IRS was set to sort out and automatically reject the incomplete ones.
Then Trump's signed an EO telling the IRS to continue doing exactly what they were doing all along under the Obama administration.
However, it is worth noting this does not change the law. According to the IRS, the ACA's legislative provisions "are still in force until changed by Congress."
And they seem to be having a time of it.
Nonetheless, "taxpayers remain required to follow the law and pay what they may owe in penalties" for failing to have coverage, according to the agency.
"When the IRS has questions about a tax return, taxpayers may receive follow-up questions and correspondence at a future date, after the filing process is completed," the agency said.
"This is similar to how we handled this in previous years, and this reflects the normal IRS post-filing compliance procedures that we follow."
So nothing has changed. Maybe those "silent returns" will forever remain silent. And maybe they'll be audited. Who knows?
What we do know is that POTUS signed an EO that led people to believe they could cheat on their taxes.
My county offers free tax returns in a few places were people go to get their taxes done for free and they refused to leave the spaces blank and people had to pay fines.
What's the story with Susan Collins? I had only heard her on the radio and was shocked when I saw her on TV. She is so much younger looking than her voice. She sounds like she's in her 80s. I wonder if she has a medical condition. Of course, she has gold standard health insurance so I shouldn't worry.
I agree, as so many others have stated, that Obamacare needs to be improved. If the Republicans can put out a plan that is an actual improvement (not just thrown together to keep their stupid promise to kill Obamacare) I will be right out front pounding the table for them.
Time for both sides to put aside the foolishness and get down to real work!!!
I hate to break it to you, but the people you voted for aren't interested in fixing their failed scheme or working with others to do so. Yes, I'm talking about the Democrats.
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