Showing posts with label repeal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label repeal. Show all posts

Thursday, June 25, 2015

Supreme Court Upholds Obamacare in King vs. Burwell 6-3 Decision

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The Supreme Court upheld the law about Obamacare subsidies in the states!!! This is a huge victory for the Obama Administration and for the country as a whole.



In a strong 6-3 decision, Chief Justice Roberts (surprisingly) wrote the the majority opinion in favor of Obamacare, and was joined by Justices Kennedy, Breyer, Sotomayor, Ginsberg, and Kagan. Justice Scalia wrote the conservative dissent, joined (not surprisingly) by Alito and Thomas.



From Huffington Post
The stakes of the case, King v. Burwell, were enormous. Had the plaintiffs prevailed, millions of people who depend upon the Affordable Care Act for insurance would have lost financial assistance from the federal government. Without that money, most of them would have had to give up coverage altogether. And the loss of so many customers would have forced insurers to raise premiums, seriously disrupting state insurance markets.
But two of the court’s conservatives, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Anthony Kennedy, joined the court’s four liberals in rejecting the lawsuit in a 6-3 decision. Roberts delivered the opinion for the majority. And the decision was a concise, stinging rebuke of the plaintiffs, who contended that Congress intended to write a law that would leave so many people without coverage, and cause such disarray.
"Congress passed the Affordable Care Act to improve health insurance markets, not destroy them," Roberts wrote.














Scalia was scathing in his dissent. He clearly wanted to give the GOP a victory, so slammed his colleagues for giving the President a huge victory instead.

From Huffington Post
"Words no longer have meaning," Scalia wrote in the dissent he read from the bench.
. . . "Today's interpretation is not merely unnatural; it is unheard of," he wrote. That is, strictly speaking, true, since this was a new case.
"We should start calling this law SCOTUScare."
"This case requires us to decide whether someone who buys insurance on an Exchange established by the Secretary gets tax credits. You would think the answer would be obvious -- so obvious there would hardly be a need for the Supreme Court to hear a case about it," Scalia wrote, again accurately, though not in the way he meant.
"The Court's next bit of interpretive jiggery-pokery..."
"Pure applesauce," he insisted.











Call a Waaahmbulance for Scalia!

Meanwhile, President Obama called for the GOP to move forward and stop trying to repeal Obamacare for the 60th time.
















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Wednesday, April 2, 2014

The Fools of April: Obamacare Success Makes GOP Heads Explode

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President Obama took a victory lap today on the success of Obamacare/ACA enrollment, and why not? It's the crowning achievement of his Presidency, and he has faced down critics from both Right and Left, but mostly Right, as well as a critical media for YEARS now. But the Tea Party and their minions on Fox News and elsewhere won't ever admit defeat. They merely come up with new talking points and go on a rampage of taunts and accusations - they have become the "Obamacare Truthers" just as they were the "IRS Truthers" and the "Benghazi Truthers" before that. Anything accomplished by President Obama has to be debunked as a fake feckless false flag.

Will history remember the names of Obamacare's detractors? Not in a good way, as the President says in the transcript below.

Transcript Excerpt: Remarks by the President on the Affordable Care Act
Rose Garden of the White House
April 1, 2014

THE PRESIDENT: . . . Six months ago today, a big part of the Affordable Care Act kicked in as healthcare.gov and state insurance marketplaces went live. And millions of Americans finally had the same chance to buy quality, affordable health care -- and the peace of mind that comes with it -- as everybody else.

Last night, the first open-enrollment period under this law came to an end. And despite several lost weeks out of the gate because of problems with the website, 7.1 million Americans have now signed up for private insurance plans through these marketplaces -- 7.1. (Applause.)

. . . And, yes, at times this reform has been contentious and confusing and obviously it's had a share of critics. That's part of what change looks like in a democracy. change is hard. Fixing what is broken is hard, overcoming skepticism and fear of something new is hard.

A lot of times folks would prefer the devil they know to the devil they don't, but this law is doing what it is supposed to do. it's working. It's helping people from coast-to-coast. All of which makes the lengths to which people have gone to scare people or undermine the law without offering any plausible understandable makes it hard to understand.

I've got to admit it, I don't get it. why are folks working so hard for people not to have health insurance? Why are they so mad about the idea of folks having health insurance?

 Many of the tall tales have been debunked, there are still no death panels, Armageddon has not arrived. Instead, this law is helping millions of Americans and it will help many more. I said before I will always work with anyone who is willing to make this law work even better. but the debate over repealing this law is over. The Affordable Care Act is here to stay.

. . . In the end, history is not kind to those who would deny Americans their basic economic security. Nobody remembers well those who stand in the way of America's progress or our people. that's what the Affordable Care Act represents



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Transcript of Fox and Friends via Raw Story, April 1, 2014
Senator Ted Cruz, R-Texas: . . . At this point you can't fiddle around the edges. It is the essence of pragmatism to recognize this thing isn't working. Let's start over. Let's repeal every word of it.
Host Steve Doocy: You know, you’re kind of in a minority when it comes to that. You look at the polling, Senator, and a lot of Americans like parts of it, would like to see parts of it continue. So, to blow the whole thing up, I don’t know if people are behind that.

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I think they're cooking the books on this.
~ Senator John Barasso, R-Wyoming

This is a phony number, and it’s wonderfully precise. These guys go six months without any idea what the numbers are, and all of a sudden, it’s to a decimal point. But of course it’s meaningless because…we don’t know how many of them have paid…and how many were previously uninsured.
~ Charles Krauthammer on Fox News

It is an all-out Regime and media swarm on Obamacare. We are being pummeled. We are being beat upside the head. We're being beat on top of the head. They're hitting above the belt and below the belt. They're creaming us out there. 'Cause guess what? They hit their seven million. Overnight they got something like five million people to sign up. They got their seven million. The media's so excited.
. . . To you and me, these numbers are obviously not believable. They're obviously cooked. There's no question. But to the low-information crowd that believes that anything coming from government is gospel, the real numbers are now the subject of Obama's version of "don't ask, don't tell." We're not supposed to ask and we're not supposed to tell. The numbers are what they are and we're supposed to live with it.
~ Rush Limbaugh Transcript, April 1, 2014

Graphic from Rush Limbaugh Website:
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Saturday, September 21, 2013

"Dysfunctional" Tea Party Cuts Food Stamps, Repeals Obamacare (Again)

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Related Posts:
Life in the Snark Lane: The Stupid Legacy of a Lazy Heartless Congress
Ted Cruz and Teapulicans Trapped in Box Canyon
GOP Releases Creepy Uncle Sam Obamacare Ads

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Unfortunately right now, the debate going on in Congress is not meeting the test of helping middle class families. They’re not focused on you. They’re focused on politics.
They’re focused on trying to mess with me. They’re not focused on you.
~ President Obama

Nobody's in charge right now. This is a state of anarchy in the House of Representatives.
~ Dana Milbank on Martin Bashir MSNBC

There are so many movie references - This all sounds like "Game of Thrones." Maybe John Boehner will end up with his head on a pike? I'm reminded of "Apocalypse Now," that great scene of chaos when Martin Sheen comes upon a firefight and he says to someone 'who's in charge?' and the guy says 'I thought you were!'
~ David Corn of Mother Jones on Martin Bashir





Veteran Representative Pete Sessions was swarmed by reporters as he left a closed-door meeting of his fellow Republicans.
Asked what would be attached to a debt limit bill that is supposed to come to the House floor next week, Sessions said: "What we're trying to do is come together as a team to understand what all might be in that. When we do that, we'll have an idea what we're going to do. There are options and ideas and potentials."
Sessions declined to elaborate.
~ Reuters

You know what that's about? That's simply about putting their friends, the insurance companies back in charge of medical decisions for your families.
~ House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi

Remember on in to the 1950s when they'd go into the jungles of the Phillipines and they found these Japanese soldiers who still thought WWII was still going on? The war over Obamacare is over but Republicans go on fighting. This is not going to change here.
. . . Have you seen this movie before? I think I have about 20 times now.
~ Bob Schieffer on CBS



And folks, worse than the cost, or the bureaucrats, or the death panels, the most dangerous thing about Obamacare, is that people might like it.
~ Stephen Colbert

Republicans must threaten to crash their Zeros into the aircraft carrier of ObamaCare. Their demand is that the House pair the "must pass" CR or the debt limit with defunding the health-care bill. Kamikaze missions rarely turn out well, least of all for the pilots.
. . . The kamikazes could end up ensuring the return of all-Democratic rule.
~ Wall Street Journal

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Thursday, September 19, 2013

Ted Cruz and Teapublicans Trapped in "Box Canyon" with Obamacare ~ Updated

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source: democratic underground

I oppose Obamacare as much as anybody in the Senate, but it's just difficult for me to see how this leads us anywhere but a boxed canyon.
~ Senator Bob Corker, R-Tennessee


For those unfamiliar, a “box canyon” is a canyon that’s essentially a trap with no way out. (Sen. Ted) Cruz went to both Ivy League schools mentioned.
~ Roll Call

In the United States Senate, we will not repeal or defund Obamacare. We will not. And to think we can is not rational.... To somehow think we are going to defund it is simply not going to happen at this time, and it will, in my opinion, as it did before, harm the American people's view of the Republican party,
~ Senator John McCain, R-AZ on CNN

They have this hard-nosed, adamant, almost surreal tea party saying go ahead and do it, and the tea party doesn’t even know how it’s going to end.
~ Senator Chuck Schumer, D-NY

We voted on Obamacare ... and it's the law of the land. It's been through the Supreme Court. It's not perfect, but let's work to make it better.
~ Senator Mark Pryor, R-Arkansas





Huffington Post
On Wednesday, after House leaders said they'd go forward with the defund strategy Cruz had been pitching with ads on Fox News, his response boiled down to 'Thanks, you're on your own.'

"Harry Reid will no doubt try to strip the defund language from the continuing resolution, and right now he likely has the votes to do so," Cruz said in a statement. "At that point, House Republicans must stand firm, hold their ground, and continue to listen to the American people."

On the surface, House Republicans were seething. Members openly accused Cruz and his allies, Sens. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), of waving the white flag before the fight had even begun. One House GOP aide even called Cruz a "joke, plain and simple."

. . . "Cruz officially jumped the shark this week," said one GOP operative allied with House leadership, who, like others, requested anonymity to speak critically about fellow Republicans. "He's doing for the House Leaders what they couldn't do for themselves. House rank-and-file members are uniting with Boehner, Cantor over Ted Cruz's idiotic position."

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What a shame all this melodrama is a mirage, a farce, a game.
The choice is not, and never has been, between those willing to defund ObamaCare and those willing to fund it. That supposed choice is in fact an illusion. To defund the ACA would require the House and Senate to pass new legislation, which Barack Obama would have to sign. And no one, not even Senators Cruz, Paul, Lee and Rubio, believes the president would do that.
All the posturing that’s being done to present this as a battle between Intrepid Republicans versus the Surrender Caucus is nothing more than political theater.
It also appears that Captain Courageous himself, Ted Cruz, and some of his colleagues are now engaging—at least for now—in a premature surrender. House Republicans are incensed at Cruz for going wobbly on the filibuster he once seemed to favor, putting all the responsibility back on the House.
~ Peter Wehner on Commentary





























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Friday, March 22, 2013

Michele Bachmann Double Derp

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#1 ~ At CPAC, Ranting on Obama's "Lavish Lifestyle"
A new book is out talking about the perks and the excess of the $1.4-billion-a-year presidency that we’re paying for. And this is a lifestyle that is one of excess. Now we find out that there are five chefs on Air Force One. There are two projectionists who operate the White House movie theater. They regularly sleep at the White House in order to be readily available in case the first family wants a really, really late show. And I don’t mean to be petty here, but can’t they just push the play button? We are also the ones who are paying for someone to walk the president’s dog, paying for someone to walk the president’s dog? Now, why are we doing that when we can’t even get a disabled veteran into the White House for a White House tour? That isn’t caring!
~ Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference, March 16, 2013


From the Washington Post Fact Checker
We could not track down a source for “five chefs” on Air Force One, but perhaps the word “cook” would be better. In any case, taxpayers will be pleased to hear that White House staffers need to pay out of their pocket — $20 a meal — if they eat on board.
As for “the projectionists,” this appears to be part of the president’s 24-hour-a-day staffing requirements. Gary’s book devotes considerable space to how much all presidents have used the White House movie theater, with Jimmy Carter supposedly using it 450 times. (The White House Museum says it actually was 480 times.)
The dog walker is the silliest claim. This refers to Dale Haney, the White House groundskeeper. Gray includes in his source list an Associated Press article on Haney, which states:
“Haney is often spotted walking Bo, the Obama family’s Portuguese water dog. In fact, he’s tended to every White House pup since King Timahoe, Richard Nixon’s Irish setter. . . . Before Bo came along to romp on the South Lawn and roam the White House hallways, Haney spent a lot of time walking and playing with President George W. Bush’s Scottish terriers, Barney and Miss Beazley. Haney was most fond of Spot, an English springer spaniel whose mother, Millie, belonged to Bush’s father, President George H.W. Bush.”
In other words, the White House groundskeeper — whose main job is caring for more than 18 acres of lawns, trees and gardens — happens to like dogs and has been doing this for every president since 1972.

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As comedic as Michelle Bachmann’s lies and distortions are, I actually feel like this is really dangerous. This gets into the water stream and then it becomes a repeated talking point, and people are completely misled about the realities of our budget and government spending.
~ Alex Wagner on MSNBC

Anderson Cooper did an amazing takedown of her the other day, fact-checking her speech at CPAC where she rants on about the Obama's so-called "lavish" White House lifestyle. This poor CNN reporter tried to ask her about it and Michelle pretty much screamed BENGHAZI in her face and then ran away down the hall.
~ Tabitha's Shoes on Jezebel

Reporter Dana Bash Tries to Catch Michele Bachmann
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Every other president in history has lived in comfort, and it looks like President Bush the younger had a bigger White House budget than Barack Obama does.
This is a trivial pursuit and Michele Bachmann made a mistake pursuing it.
Mr. Obama is entitled to convenience, protection and comfort as he runs the nation. Congresswoman Bachmann and all opponents of Mr. Obama should zero in on what’s really important: the president’s failure to deal with out-of-control spending and his core belief that America’s not a fair country. That’s what’s important, not who’s walking the presidential dog. By the way, that’s the gardener who walks the dog. And he’s always walked the dog!
It’s long past time for partisans on both on both the right and the left to cut the nonsense and look at things clearly… Michele Bachmann is playing small ball with the president.
~ Bill O'Reilly of Fox News

But Bill, she learned these baseless smear tactics from watching YOU!
~ James C. on Raw Story

And the President doesn't mow the lawn either, or cook his own breakfast, and for sure, he doesn't take out the trash! Just another lazy Black Man!
My "Snark Hat" is on. =)
~ SkipDallas on Raw Story

On the Sarah-Scale Bachmann is roughly 9.2 Mega Palins.
~ Cheesy Grits on Mediaite

Who walks Michelle Bachmann and much are they paid ?
~ Bamboo_Harvester on Mediaite

Why is Bill O’Reilly doing a hit on Michele Bachmann the way he did a hit on Sarah Palin the other day?
Have conservatives hurt themselves over criticizing Obama over crazy stuff?’ What kind of question is that on Fox?
. . . Does CNN know who walks Bo Obama?
Because they had a reporter chasing Bachmann and so crucial was that reporter chasing Michele Bachmann on that clip that Fox decided to run it.
Why? I have no idea. Because, you know, the folks want to know.
~ Conservative Mark Levin Criticizing both Bill O'Reilly and CNN for talking about Michele Bachmann

Leave the hard-hitting journalism to Mark Levin. He asks the tough questions. Is the person who walks Bo a secret Muslim? How do we know it's not bin Laden? Is that why the photos of bin Laden weren't released? Because the president has set up some kind of clandestine, Muslim, black liberation Christian, atheist, homosexual, Kenyan Marxist dog-walking program to purposefully undermine American democracy? WE WANT ANSWERS, OBAMA.
~ Keane on Mediaite
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#2 ~ Attacking Obamacare for Killing People

What he (Obama) demanded and insisted upon is that the government have 100 percent control over health care. 100 percent control? The American people lose control? What did they get?
They get health care — health insurance, I should say — that is more expensive than anything they’ve ever paid for before. And they get less for it. Well what a deal, Mr. President, Mr. Speaker. What a deal.
. . . Let's repeal this failure before it literally kills women, kills children, kills senior citizens. Let's not do that. Let's love people. Let's care about people. Let's repeal it now while we can.
~ Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minnesota, in a speech on the House Floor about repealing Obamacare





Guns don't kill people, health care kills people.
~ Chris J. on Talking Points Memo

When fascism comes to America, she'll be wearing a flag, carrying a cross, and standing side-by-side with her gay husband, Marcus.
Can't we get the History Channel to use HER face as The Devil, instead?...
~ Kombema on Daily Kos

OMG, I was just reading the obituaries section in the local newspaper, and MIchelle is right - people are dying! Like, every day, almost! How can this happen in America? It must be Obama's fault! We need to elect a President who will end death once and for all!
~ Mose H. on Slate

Bachmann is concerned that Ted Cruz is stealing her thunder ... and her title as reigning Congressional delusional nut case, and so she steps up to the House floor mic, stares creepily into the camera, and delivers her standard rant about the evils of Obamacare and the government trying to kill Grandma and the kids.
~ labman57 on Slate

Michele Bachmann’s latest right wing ‘episode’ has done major damage to the RNC’s efforts to fix their party. Just a few days ago, the talk was centered on the RNC’s autopsy report on how they lost the 2012 election. The discussion was centered on how Republicans could repair their party. Three days later, Michele Bachmann’s rant has firmly placed the Republican Party back on the same path that it was before.
When Michele Bachmann uncorks a rant about Obamacare, Medicaid, or Benghazi she confirms the widely held belief that the Republican Party is completely out of step with the rest of the country. Bachmann comments will get all the headlines, and she makes all Republicans look crazy.
~ Politicus USA
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Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Whether Freudian Slip or Gaffe, Paul Ryan Wants to Destroy Healthcare

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Previous Post:
Snark Amendment: Ryan Reruns Plan to Repeal Obamacare



"This to us is something that we're not going to give up on, because we are not going to give up on destroying the health care system for the American people."
~ Freudian Slip by Republican Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, while unveiling his budget plan to "Repeal Obamacare" and to cut Medicare and Medicaid for millions of poor and needy Americans


A gaffe is when a politician tells the truth - some obvious truth he isn't supposed to say.
~ Journalist Michael Kinsley

Now that's some funny stuff right there...or at least it would be if the stakes weren't so high for the American people.
So much for the meme that Republicans are capable of learning from their defeat in 3 of the last 4 elections.
~ John B. on Maddow Blog

OMG...this is at least 47% as damning as Mr. Romney's ill-fated utterance...just sayin.
~ Going to Texas on Maddow Blog

Ayn Rand, when she was eligible, signed up for both Soc. Security and Medicare.
~ blatcat on Maddow Blog









Just ’cause it has numbers in it doesn’t make it a budget. Right? My lottery ticket is not a budget just ’cause it’s a bunch of numbers on the page.
He’s not a deficit hawk, he’s a health care hawk.
~ Ari Melber on MSNBC, via Political Carnival

I'm guessing that Paul Ryan thinks those manly biceps are just going to dazzle the media so much that they'll just glide right over the most truthful Freudian slip to ever cross those PX90-lovin' lips.
~ Crooks and Liars

I hope this accidental moment of honesty dogs you for the rest of a short and miserable political career.
~ Mr. Flibble on Crooks and Liars





Thanks Paul. Now, tell us something we didn't already know.
~ Jed Lewison on Daily Kos

The Very Serious People "value" Sadism.
~ Egalitare on Daily Kos

Freud is laughing from whichever afterlife he's in. Now that's a Slip!
~ Icicle 68 on Daily Kos

Quintessential Kinsley gaffe. Pretty much the textbook definition.
~ Purple2Blue on Daily Kos

Ryan's nickname: The Grim Reaper.
~ Eyeball Kid on Daily Kos

Dear Mr. Ryan,

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Respectfully,
The American People
~ GomezAdams on Huff Post

If Ryan had his way we'd all be goose stepping to his jingoisms.
~ cecilok on Huff Post

I see republicans have softened their message.
~ makemyteabagmoist on Huff Post

President Romney will sign this into law when it reaches his desk
~ ThreadKiller on Huff Post

If Ryan truly believes that Obamacare will collapse under it's own weight, then why is he working so hard to repeal it? Answer: what the Republicans are really afraid of, is that it will be a smashing success.
~ coraggio on Raw Story

More proof Republicans are not interested in governing or in compromise.
~ transformer1 on Raw Story



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