MORNING MESSAGE
Attention, Democrats: Voters Want More Government, Not Less
A recent poll finds a record number of Americans say the government should do more — not less — to solve the nation's problems. That's the highest it's been since the question was first asked, and we should all take note. Contrary to conventional Democratic wisdom, this suggests that moving to the left may not lose “persuadable” voters at all. They may be more responsive to a well-framed agenda based on an expanded role for government than they would to a 'split the difference' centrist approach - one that would also depress turnout among the Democratic base.
House Rushes to Vote on Health Care
“Republican leaders have called a vote on a plan to replace the health care law, signaling surging confidence that they’re on the cusp of earning enough support to pass it…. About 18 Republican lawmakers are publicly opposed to the GOP plan, leaving leaders room for only a handful of additional defections.”
“House Republicans are eyeing a vote on hastily cobbled together legislation to repeal and “replace” the Affordable Care Act… despite the evident lack of enthusiasm among GOP lawmakers themselves, widespread opposition from the health care industry and patient groups, and still no Congressional Budget Office evaluation of just what this bill would actually do to the health care system…This is not how lawmakers legislate when they’re advancing a good policy. This is how they legislate when they’re afraid that the voters they represent will figure out the game and refuse to go along.”
“It would force many low-income families to pay hundreds or thousands of dollars more for insurance — and most of them would likely respond by not buying insurance. The people who still buy plans would disproportionately be sick people, which would then cause costs to rise even higher.”
Rush to Repeal Labor Rules
“Under the Congressional Review Act (CRA), lawmakers have only a certain amount of time to repeal such regulations passed toward the end of the previous president’s term. In February, the House passed two bills — which invoked the CRA — to reverse Department of Labor regulations permitting cities and states to offer retirement accounts to workers whose employers do not already offer retirement benefits.”
“Democrats think the bill undercuts the Fair Labor Standards act. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass) was one Democrat who vehemently spoke out against it, tweeting on Tuesday that the bill is a “disgrace.”
“President Trump on Thursday will ease restrictions on political activity by churches and charities, White House officials said, but has backed away from a broader religious liberty order that would have allowed faith-based organizations and companies to avoid serving or hiring gay people… He will also direct federal agencies to exempt some religious organizations from Affordable Care Act requirements that provide employees with health coverage for contraception.”
Deportation Two-Step
“Rabner waded into a fight bubbling up at halls of justice across the country, where deportation officials are turning up at routine hearings to catch defendants, witnesses and in some cases victims of crimes who may have entered the country illegally.”
“This is outrageous. This is the United States of America. We send a five-year-old back to Honduras? And they call that homeland security? That’s outrageous. Absolutely outrageous,” Casey said in an interview… “They’ve just allowed ICE to run wild. There doesn’t seem to be much in the way of constraint.”
More from OurFuture.org:
“Maybe that’s something that Heritage and Trump don’t understand. Millions of Americans fundamentally disagree with them. We don’t believe that cutting taxes for the wealthy is smart policy. That’s because we live a very different reality, far from the so-called “intellectual” bubble of Washington think-tanks and lobbyists on the corporate payroll.”
“Now I’m scared to death that Congress and President Trump will take away our health care the same way Superstorm Sandy took our homes and our security… The ACA and Medicare gave us peace of mind. But now our peace of mind is gone, killed by the Trump-Ryan health care repeal plan. I’m fighting back, though, for myself, my husband, and everyone in my community. I’ve spoken to TV reporters, newspaper reporters, congressman and senators, even gone out and waved signs, saying, ‘Please, no more chaos. We’ve had enough of that.'”
Progressive Breakfast is a daily morning email highlighting news stories of interest to activists. Progressive Breakfast and OurFuture.org are projects of People's Action.more »
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