No matter what criticism you may have towards Missouri's only Democratic Senator, Claire McCaskill, there's no denying that we've got to hand it to her for her impassioned efforts to combat the nonsensical, hateful passage of Trump-'care.' Her exchange with Utah Republican, Sen. Orrin Hatch makes him look more out of touch than the monocle-wearing Monopoly man. In a sea of Red, McCaskill faces a tough election in 2018, and we desperately need to keep this Senator working for the American people.
AM Joy shows the exchange with the very poorly prepared Utah Senator.
MCCASKILL: Will we have a hearing on the health care proposal?
HATCH Will we?
MCCASKILL: Yes.
HATCH: We've already had one, but --
MCCASKILL: No! I mean on the proposal you're planning to bring to the floor of the Senate for a vote. Will there be a hearing?
AIDE WHISPERS IN HATCH'S Ear (audibly): Been invited to participate in this process and we are open to ideas and suggestions.
HATCH: Well, I don't know that there's going to be another hearing, but we've invited you to participate with your ideas --
MCCASKILL: That's not true, Mr. Chairman.
JOY REID: While all eyes were on former FBI Director James Comey on Thursday, Senator Claire McCaskill was down the hall giving her colleague, Orrin Hatch, the business for trying to sneak their Obamacare repeal bill through the Senate with no approval from Democrats or the public.MCCASKILL: When you're saying you invited us, and I heard you, Mr. Secretary, just say 'we would love your support,' for what? We don't even know? We have no idea what's being proposed? There is a group of guys in a back room somewhere. We're not even going to have a hearing on a bill that impacts one-sixth of our economy. We're not going to have an opportunity to offer a single amendment!
He doesn't provide an explanation, because like the June 7th Rogers, Rosenstein, McCabe and Coats Senate Hearing on Wednesday, Republicans seem to have the option of simply refusing to give an answer, just because they have seized control of all three branches of our government. Their spokesmen are no better, as evidenced by former SC GOP Chair Katon Dawson.
REID: Why, oh why, Katon Dawson, having seen with your own two eyes, the problem of trying to give people health care, the effect it had on Democrats, that you guys benefitted from, having seen that happen to Democrats; why is your party trying to take 23 million people's health care away? Why do they think that's good politics?
Dawson proceeds to twist himself up into a large pretzel of denial.
DAWSON: I'm not sure they think it's good politics.
REID: Why are they doing it?
DAWSON: History seems to repeat itself. I've said, and Joy, we're going to own this policy of health care, we're going to own the defeats that come with it. here are several things that happen. people want cheap health care. they want the ability to pick their own doctor. they want all the sound bites there. This is a big, big problem for the political party who is going to own it. And the Democrats handed it right to us. Nancy Pelosi, right to us, Harry Reid. We didn't get to read that one, either. so the consequences are we promised in the election --
REID: But you did Katon! You almost made it, Katon. There were months of hearings, months of hearings, all Summer were hearings. Remember the Summer? Remember the Obamacare Summer? Katon, come back with me.
DAWSON: I wasn't paying attention (no kidding).
REID: We watched the Senate Committees commit political suicide on TV and they were trying to give people health care. Literally, when Democrats were trying to give health care and they were self-immolating on television for the entire summer. Katon, Dawson, please explain.
DAWSON: It's going to be a long Summer this time, too.
That's the first honest statement he's made so far, as per usual for a GOP defender of lies. Panelist and Washington Post writer, Jennifer Rubin excoriates the bill for being just plain STUPID.
In fact, it could be a helluva lot worse than Republicans could imagine based on their own CBO estimate, as evidenced by Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy's Twitter posts.
The GOP should have the worst summer ever, since this is absolutely true:
This dire healthcare matter can't be ignored. The GOP, who seem to be rather complicit with handing our elections to a hostile, albeit majority-white nation like Russia (as long as the victor is not a woman, a black man or a Democrat) still have a cruel, pro-wealthy agenda that will literally injure or kill innocent Americans. Sadly, that is not even a reason for those in the party of government-annihilation to lose a wink of sleep.
The Republican Party must be driven in disgrace from political power or America will be damaged irreparably before you know it.