Karma comes to Trumptown

[hurtinbuckaroo]

I'm sure he showed none, but I wonder how much personal satisfaction McCain took in putting the dagger in SCROTUS's promise to repeal the ACA:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/powe...-banner:homepage/story&utm_term=.7f8a2a449fc7

Pence was probably poised to place the historic tie-breaking vote; fuck you too, Mike.

I guess this means the USA is going to declare war against Arizona.

 

[Elixir]

I'm sure he showed none, but I wonder how much personal satisfaction McCain took in putting the dagger in SCROTUS's promise to repeal the ACA:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/powe...-banner:homepage/story&utm_term=.7f8a2a449fc7

Pence was probably poised to place the historic tie-breaking vote; fuck you too, Mike.

I guess this means the USA is going to declare war against Arizona.

Grumpy's imaginary wall just moved north a little...

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

I didn't suffer for years in a POW camp to vote for poorly written legislation. Sure, I'll vote for a bill that will cost millions their health care coverage, reduce nursing home coverage, and reduce special education programming, but a bill that is a shell of legislation, no, I didn't suffer for that.


Don't get me wrong, I'll take what we can get, but this whole, holier than thou thing is a bit silly.

Video from CNN of the moment. It looked as if McConnell already knew. His turtle head shirked back into his turtle shell.

 

[Sarpedon]

Yeah, I bet McCain and his buddies who didn't want to vote against it but didn't want it to succeed talked it over, and McCain agreed to be the one to do it. What the hell, right? He's got a Senate seat for 6 years and probably won't live to see the end of it. Plus he gets some personal revenge on Trump, which is nice.

Even if he isn't being noble about this, the republicans being paralyzed by infighting is exactly what I want to see.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

So let's walk through yesterday.

1) Debate

2) Republicans in Senate actually start wondering if desperate Paul Ryan has House vote on this shit bill and it becomes law. Sen. Graham says he'll only vote for this bill if it doesn't become law.

3) Paul Ryan says, well, probably go to conference. Says he wants Senate's bloated Republican ass on the line first though as a concession for guaranteeing this goes to conference (WTF?!).

“Senators have made clear that this is an effort to keep the process alive, not to make law,” Ryan said in a statement. “If moving forward requires a conference committee, that is something the House is willing to do.”

Ryan also said he wanted assurances that the Senate would vote first on a conference report. This would ensure the Senate would have to take a potentially tough vote before the House.

4) This shit appeases Sen. Perdue of Georgia.

I am taking a chance on this skinny bill. I would not want the skinny bill to become law. . . I think the reassurance from Paul Ryan tonight is good enough for me.

5) Shit does not appease Sen. McCain.

Two hours later, Ryan issued a statement signaling he would launch negotiations, and Graham and Johnson announced their support. But not McCain. Reporters spotted him around 11 p.m. “Have you decided how you’ll vote?” they asked. “Yes,” McCain replied. “How?” “Wait for the show,” he said.

6) Shit doesn't look good for Republicans. (ibid)

As the first vote began, McCain took his seat next to Graham, his closest friend in the Senate. The South Carolinian mostly nodded as McCain gesticulated, and signaled — through his body language — that he was likely to vote no. When Murkowski walked over to join the conversation, McCain winked and gave her a thumbs down — signaling his intentions.

7) It is clear in the Senate something is up and VP Pence is now unleashed to get McCain on board

8) McCain walks back into the Senate, looks at the front, waits to make eye contact, gives a thumbs down. Before McCain walks in, McConnell can be seen upset. It was over, he knew it. And in large part, because of Trump.

Granted, Trump called McCain a hero not just a couple days ago, but, he also was pretty angry at McCain and suggested McCain was a loser for being a POW... also the timing of the transgender "ban" was ill timed.

I think Trump has no allies in DC now.

But it must be remembered that the Senate wasn't even passing a bill. They were passing a shell of a bill. I find it incredible that the Republican platform is apparently so toxic, while they will shout out about it on the campaign trail and get people to vote for them over it, the Republicans can't vote for it.

 

[iolo]

The basic lesson, obvious from the start, is that businessmen are utterly useless at anything but making money for themselves and utterly incompetent at running countries.

 

[Tom Sawyer]

Shouldn't the conference committee to work out the details of the legislation come before the vote and not after it? It just seems weird to me that it happens the other way around.

But anyways, congratulations to Trump on using his superbly awesome deal making skills (seriously, they're just great) to get 49 of the 52 GOP Senators to vote on this bill. That is, like, at least 70% of these Senators and it's a huge win by Trump to get such a massive level of support for his policies.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Maybe McCain is waiting for Trump to come up with a plan.

 

[Opoponax]

The basic lesson, obvious from the start, is that businessmen are utterly useless at anything but making money for themselves and utterly incompetent at running countries.

Yes, but also no.

Someone with great business skills could be a successful POTUS, provided that person didn't attempt to run the government like a business. There is some cross-over in that negotiating and coming up with win-win results are applicable to both business and government. You have to work with people whose interests are adverse to your own and vice-versa and still come out with a positive result, etc.

I have to state the obvious though: Trump is not that kind of person. Moreover, it should be clear to anyone ("should" being the key word here) that Trump's vaunted "deal making" skills are nothing more than what results when you have enough money to push other people around, or get other people to do things for you.

The concept that you have to work with people shouldn't have to be mentioned because it's like saying that you have to have legs to be able to walk. But Trump doesn't seem to grasp this. His blundering philosophy seems to be "I have more, so I win." That is, his party has more votes in the Senate, therefore victory.

I could bitch about this orange asshole all day, so I'll just shut up now.

 

[Keith&Co.]

Maybe McCain is waiting for Trump to come up with a plan.

Who, Trump? The 'only man who can fix' healthcare?
What can he do?

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Maybe McCain is waiting for Trump to come up with a plan.

Who, Trump? The 'only man who can fix' healthcare?
What can he do?

He can use his mastery of the business world to develop a comprehensive plan.

---the government's gonna pay for it. But we're going to save so much money on the other side. But for the most it's going to be a private plan and people are going to be able to go out and negotiate great plans with lots of different competition with lots of competitors with great companies and they can have their doctors, they can have plans, they can have everything.

See, the Government is going to pay for it and it'll be mostly private plans. I have no idea why that can't work! He promised everything!

 

[Tom Sawyer]

Maybe McCain is waiting for Trump to come up with a plan.

Who, Trump? The 'only man who can fix' healthcare?
What can he do?

It's a secret plan and he's not going to give away the details. He can tell you, however, that it is, without a doubt, the best healthcare plan that anyone's ever thought of.

 

[Nice Squirrel]

And for less than $12/yr!

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

And for less than $12/yr!

A month, just $12 a month. He apparently thinks Congress is balking at national health care because it would cost $12 a month or roughly $14 billion a year ($12 /mth /family * 12 mths * 100 million families)

What a business genius for him to understand that such a price is affordable!

 

[Ford]

Even if he isn't being noble about this, the republicans being paralyzed by infighting is exactly what I want to see.

And you'll continue to see it.

One of the reasons given by Trump voters is that he would "run the government like a business." As anyone who works in corporate America can tell you, the leadership at the top sets the tone. The company is a reflection of the values and behavior of the person or people who run the company, and it filters down to the lowest level.

Trump's White House - the corporate office - is a dumpster fire of epic proportions. Sycophants and useful idiots infighting over who gets to polish the CEO's shoes and then watching in horrified glee as the winner gets stabbed in the back by the boss. And Trump isn't just CEO of America, Inc. He's head of GOP Holdings Incorporated, and his toxic management style is going to spread beyond the Executive Branch and seep into the lowest level of his party. I can't wait to see how awful it gets.

 

[hurtinbuckaroo]

And for less than $12/yr!

But wait! There's more!

 

[hurtinbuckaroo]

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

Maybe McCain is waiting for Trump to come up with a plan.

Il Douchebag doesn't even know what healthcare is. He thinks it's the same thing as life insurance. He's an idiot.

 

[iolo]

The basic lesson, obvious from the start, is that businessmen are utterly useless at anything but making money for themselves and utterly incompetent at running countries.

Yes, but also no.

Someone with great business skills could be a successful POTUS, provided that person didn't attempt to run the government like a business. There is some cross-over in that negotiating and coming up with win-win results are applicable to both business and government. You have to work with people whose interests are adverse to your own and vice-versa and still come out with a positive result, etc.

I have to state the obvious though: Trump is not that kind of person. Moreover, it should be clear to anyone ("should" being the key word here) that Trump's vaunted "deal making" skills are nothing more than what results when you have enough money to push other people around, or get other people to do things for you.

The concept that you have to work with people shouldn't have to be mentioned because it's like saying that you have to have legs to be able to walk. But Trump doesn't seem to grasp this. His blundering philosophy seems to be "I have more, so I win." That is, his party has more votes in the Senate, therefore victory.

I could bitch about this orange asshole all day, so I'll just shut up now.

I think he will drive me to philosophy in the finish! Or us all to death, of course!

 

[Harry Bosch]

The basic lesson, obvious from the start, is that businessmen are utterly useless at anything but making money for themselves and utterly incompetent at running countries.

You're going to judge businessmen based on Trump?!! Having declared bankruptcy many times and failed at most going concerns, he's at the bottom of the pile in terms of "businessmen". He inherited a lot of money and ran a successful real estate company. Big woop. Real estate companies are probably the easiest companies to not fail at! He has failed all his companies that required leadership and innovative thinking.