September 2020 – Page 3

Dem group releases new ad showing Nick Saban as Alabama write-in candidate

Posted on September 28, 2020 by bamdj

A liberal group has released a new advertisement demonstrating to Alabama voters how to write-in a candidate in Tuesday’s special Senate election, providing University of Alabama football coach Nick Saban as an example.

The video, published by American Bridge, shows step-by-step instructions for voters, telling them not to vote along party lines, to fill in the bubble next to the write-in slot and to write in their candidate of choice, providing Saban as the example.

Saban has been the head football coach for the Alabama Crimson Tide since 2007. The team has won four national championships during his time there.

The race between Republican Roy Moore and Democrat Doug Jones has drawn significant national interest, particularly following sexual misconduct allegations against Moore.

Multiple women have alleged Moore made advances on them when they were teenagers and he was in his 30s.

Some Republicans have suggested voters consider a write-in candidate instead of Moore. Sen. Richard ShelbyRichard Craig ShelbyHouse pushes back schedule to pass spending bills Top Republican says Trump greenlit budget fix for VA health care GOP senators not tested for coronavirus before lunch with Trump MORE (R-Ala.) has said he wrote-in a “distinguished Republican,” and added Sunday that the state deserves better than Moore.

A Real Clear Politics average of polls shows Moore with a 2.5-point lead over Jones heading into the final days of the campaign.

American Bridge also targeted President TrumpDonald John TrumpSenate advances public lands bill in late-night vote Warren, Democrats urge Trump to back down from veto threat over changing Confederate-named bases Esper orders ‘After Action Review’ of National Guard’s role in protests MORE’s Florida rally on Friday with a mobile billboard showing Ivanka Trump’s criticism of Moore.

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Poll: Half of voters want Democrats to control Congress

Posted on September 28, 2020 by bamdj

Half of Americans now want Democrats to control Congress, according to a newly-released poll.

The NBC/Wall Street Journal poll released Sunday finds 50 percent of registered voters say they want a Democratic-controlled Congress, compared to 39 percent who want Republicans in control.

Democrats hold a massive advantage among voters ages 18 to 34 in the poll, with 69 percent of those voters saying they prefer Democrats in control of Congress versus 21 percent who prefer Republicans. They also hold double-digit advantages among female voters, 54 percent to 34 percent, and independent voters, 43 percent to 31 percent percent.

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Meanwhile, Republicans hold just a 2-point advantage among white voters, with 46 percent saying they prefer a Republican-controlled Congress compared to 44 percent who want Democrats in power.

NBC reports it’s the first time since 2008 that Democrats have held a double-digit lead and captured 50 percent of registered voters on the question of who should control congress in the NBC/WSJ poll.

Democrats also hold an advantage among voters who describe themselves as having a “high level of interest” in the 2018 midterm elections, according to the poll, with 59 percent of Democratic voters saying they have a high level of interest versus 49 percent of Republican voters.

The poll also found President TrumpDonald John TrumpSenate advances public lands bill in late-night vote Warren, Democrats urge Trump to back down from veto threat over changing Confederate-named bases Esper orders ‘After Action Review’ of National Guard’s role in protests MORE’s approval rating at 41 percent, significantly higher than some recent polls that have found his approval hovering in the low 30s.

The poll was conducted by phone from Dec. 13-15 among 900 adults. The margin of error is 3.3 percentage points.

The poll follows the results of the Alabama Senate special election, in which Doug Jones (D) captured a stunning victory over Republican opponent Roy MooreRoy Stewart MooreSessions goes after Tuberville’s coaching record in challenging him to debate The 10 Senate seats most likely to flip Sessions fires back at Trump over recusal: ‘I did my duty & you’re damn fortunate I did” MORE, who was marred by multiple allegations of sexual misconduct in the final weeks of the race. His election narrows the Republican majority in the Senate.

Gold Star father attacked by Trump steps up role in Dem primaries

Posted on September 28, 2020 by bamdj

The Gold Star father who sparred with President TrumpDonald John TrumpSenate advances public lands bill in late-night vote Warren, Democrats urge Trump to back down from veto threat over changing Confederate-named bases Esper orders ‘After Action Review’ of National Guard’s role in protests MORE during the 2016 presidential race is using his political fame to boost Democratic candidates in crowded primaries in 2018.

Khizr Khan has so far backed several Democrats running in must-win House races. In an interview with The Hill, Khan said that he’s motivated by events like the fatal violence at a white supremacist rally last August in Charlottesville, Va.

It is a new political role for Khan, who entered the national spotlight with his 2016 Democratic National Convention speech about his son — a soldier who was killed fighting in the Iraq War in 2004 — as well as Trump’s attacks on Muslims.

Trump responded to Khan’s speech with a series of attacks, saying he had made “a lot of sacrifices” and questioning whether Khan’s wife didn’t speak at the convention because of her religion.

Democrats have seen a recruitment surge for House candidates in the Trump era, but the expanding fields can also lead to costly, divisive primaries.

It remains to be seen what kind of impact Khan’s endorsement will have in these primaries, but strategists say a boost from a high-profile Democrat could be a boon for candidates looking to accelerate their fundraising and mobilize voters.

“Voters, especially Democratic primary voters, remember his battle with Trump and see him as a symbol of the resistance,” said Democratic strategist Jesse Ferguson. “I think for voters he is a reminder that we’re better than this, and that is a powerful and compelling message for the midterms.

“I think any Democratic candidate would be fortunate to have his time and his effort and his voice in support of their campaigns for what it means to their message and what it means to energizing their grass roots.”

Following his convention speech, Khan went on to campaign for Democratic nominee Hillary ClintonHillary Diane Rodham ClintonWhite House accuses Biden of pushing ‘conspiracy theories’ with Trump election claim Biden courts younger voters — who have been a weakness Trayvon Martin’s mother Sybrina Fulton qualifies to run for county commissioner in Florida MORE in 2016 and has stayed politically active, participating in 176 speaking engagements in 2017. Khan, a Virginia attorney, also campaigned for successful Democratic gubernatorial nominees in Virginia and New Jersey.

In October, Khan sent a fundraising email on behalf of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), the House Democrats’ campaign arm. Khan’s fundraising plea came after controversy over callous remarks Trump was accused of making to a Gold Star widow.

“I love this country. My son died for this country. And like you, I watched Donald Trump’s latest attack on Gold Star families in horror,” Khan wrote in the DCCC’s fundraising email.

“Donald Trump can’t comprehend the sacrifice from our service members and families like mine. I know the only way to stop Trump is to win a Democratic House.”

Khan has endorsed several Democrats running in crowded primaries, including Jason Crow, who’s running against Rep. Mike CoffmanMichael (Mike) Howard CoffmanBottom Line Koch political arm endorses Colorado Sen. Gardner 20 years after Columbine, Dems bullish on gun reform MORE (R-Colo.); Ed Meier, who’s looking to unseat Rep. Pete SessionsPeter Anderson SessionsTexas kicks off critical battle for House control The Hill’s review of John Solomon’s columns on Ukraine Tenth Congressional Black Caucus member backs Biden MORE (R-Texas); Gina Ortiz Jones, who’s running to challenge Rep. Will HurdWilliam Ballard HurdHouse Republicans hopeful about bipartisan path forward on police reform legislation House GOP delays police reform bill The Hill’s Morning Report – Trump’s public standing sags after Floyd protests MORE (R-Texas); and Ann KirkpatrickAnn KirkpatrickHouse Democrats jam GOP with coronavirus bill Eleventh Democratic presidential debate to be held in Phoenix Arizona Democrat to get treatment for alcohol dependence after suffering fall MORE, a former House member who will be running for an open seat once Rep. Martha McSallyMartha Elizabeth McSallyGOP senators introduce resolution opposing calls to defund the police No evidence of unauthorized data transfers by top Chinese drone manufacturer: study Senate Democratic campaign arm launches online hub ahead of November MORE (R-Ariz.) announces her Senate run.

Khan plans to attend fundraisers and help candidates at campaign events. He said he’s met with the DCCC and will make future endorsements as national Democrats start to coalesce around more candidates.

In his interview with The Hill, Khan said recent events like the Charlottesville violence motivated him to continue to his involvement in politics.

“It’s such reminders that encourage me, that give me direction, that this is the time to speak and continue to speak for the values that we all cherish so very much, meaning our democracy, our rule of law,” Khan said.

“It is from that angle that I support these candidates and I stand with them. I lend them my voice. I go to their fundraisers if it can add to their strength.”

Khan noted that he’s endorsed many veterans running for Congress, something he said “is very dear and close to my heart.”

Ortiz Jones, a former Air Force intelligence officer running for Hurd’s seat in Texas, said she first heard Khan speak in person at an Asian American Action Fund event and followed up with him after. Khan said he “fully endorses” her and decides on endorsements based on what candidates have done as well as finding “a personal connection” with them.

Ortiz Jones is one of several Democrats running to take on Hurd, a former undercover CIA officer who narrowly won reelection to his Texas swing seat in 2016 and ranks as a top Democratic target for 2018. Her toughest competitor in the March 6 primary is former federal prosecutor Jay Hulings, who’s close to Rep. Joaquin CastroJoaquin CastroTop Hispanic Caucus members endorse Melissa Mark-Viverito in NY House primary Ousted watchdog says he told top State aides about Pompeo probe CHC says George Floyd death shows ‘tiny fraction’ of what people of color confront in their daily lives MORE (D-Texas) and former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro.

Ortiz Jones has gotten other big endorsements, including from EMILY’s List, a group that aims to elect women who support abortion rights to office. She noted that Khan’s endorsement has helped with fundraising.

“In some places, maybe even in this race, where the ‘establishment’ might be behind one person, the fact that somebody like a Mr. Khizr Khan has your back, that means a lot to people in this district, particularly given the large military defense population that we have in this district,” Ortiz Jones told The Hill.

“He made a point of noting this in his endorsement, that as a veteran you are going to see issues in a different light. As an Iraq War veteran, I can’t separate that experience from how I talk and think about issues.”

Khan also sees a larger role in 2018, when Democrats hope to flip 24 seats to take back control of the House. Using the recent Virginia elections as an example, he said he’ll continue to focus on making sure voters don’t sit on the sidelines in the upcoming midterm elections.

“One question that mostly every speaking engagement ends with is ‘Where do we go from here?’ ” Khan said.

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WWE SmackDown back over two million viewers in overnight ratings

Posted on September 28, 2020 by bamdj

Overnight ratings are in for last night’s Clash of Champions go-home episode of SmackDown. The show averaged 2.032 million viewers on Fox, up four percent from last week’s overnight number.

In the overnight ratings last week, SmackDown dropped below the two million threshold for the first time since the introduction of the ThunderDome, but the final number was 2.037 million viewers.

Last night’s show opened with 2.05 million viewers in hour one and fell just 1.5 percent in hour two, to 2.014 million. Fox finished third out of the four major networks in total viewers, beating out NBC which aired an NHL Stanley Cup Finals game that averaged 1.95 million viewers.

In the 18-49 demo, SmackDown averaged a 0.55 rating, up 10 percent from last week. That topped all the networks, with ABC’s 20/20 and the NHL both doing a 0.5 rating. In 18-34, SmackDown averaged the same 0.3 rating it’s done for the last five weeks. SmackDown tied the NHL and Love Island for the top spot on network television in that demo.

It’s notable that most network programming is now first-run and SmackDown numbers are still holding up relatively well.

Here’s a look at the last 10 weeks of overnight viewership for SmackDown along with key ratings demo numbers:

Six Environmental Heroes Awarded This Year's Goldman Prize

Posted on September 28, 2020 by bamdj

Six grassroots environmental activists are being honored on Monday with the prestigious Goldman Prize, raising the visibility of their efforts and helping to continue their quests to defend the natural world.

This year’s recipients, chosen by an international jury, hail from Australia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Guatemala, India, Slovenia, and the United States, and have defended land rights, prevented pollution, exposed corruption, and beaten back environmentally destructive extractive industries. Like other Goldman laureates, former child soldier Rodrigue Katembo from the DRC has put his own life at risk defending the environment.

As a ranger in the renowned Virunga National Park, Katembo went undercover to expose the bribes British oil company SOCO and its contractors offered to achieve their goal of extracting oil from the park. Ensuing media overage of the corruption ultimately led to the company withdrawing its license.

Another of this year’s recipients is Australian farmer Wendy Bowman. The 83-year-old turned down millions from an Chinese-owned company that sought to expand a coal mine, much of which would have been under her property. With her refusal, she torpedoed the expansion, thereby saving her whole community from further ravages of coal pollution.

And this year’s winner from North America is mark! Lopez, whose East Los Angeles community knows well the impacts of the environmental injustice. Lopez helped spearhead an effort to get homes tested for lead—a harmful neurotoxin—and get remediation for homes that suffered decades of pollution at the hands of a battery smelter.

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The new prizes are announced as the planet itself reels from climate change, while those who seek to defend it are putting their lives on the line. The independent organization Global Witness, for example, said that 2015 went down as the worst year on record for killings of land and environmental defenders, and March 2016 was when Honduran Indigenous rights activist Berta Cáceres—who was awarded the Goldman Prize in 2015—was assassinated.

“As demand for products like minerals, timber, and palm oil continues, governments, companies, and criminal gangs are seizing land in defiance of the people who live on it,” Global Witness campaign leader Billy Kyte said at the time. “Communities that take a stand are increasingly finding themselves in the firing line of companies’ private security, state forces and a thriving market for contract killers. For every killing we document, many others go unreported. Governments must urgently intervene to stop this spiraling violence.”

Still, the Goldman Foundation, which awards the prize, hopes that by recognizing these grassroots leaders’ struggles and victories, others too will be moved to act.

“Through recognizing these individual leaders, the Prize seeks to inspire other ordinary people to take extraordinary actions to protect the natural world,” it states.

Tune in to the Goldman Prize’s Facebook page beginning at 5:30pm PDT, Monday to watch a live-stream of the award ceremony.

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World Worries as Trump Set to Dump Paris Climate Deal

Posted on September 28, 2020 by bamdj

The world is worried as Decision Day nears.

At a April 29th rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Trump said he would make a “big decision” on Paris within the next two weeks and vowed to end “a broken system of global plunder at American expense.”

Now the Trump administration has a meeting scheduled this Tuesday to decide whether to drop out of the Paris Agreement.

During last year’s campaign Trump called the Paris climate agreement, COP21, a “bad deal” for the U.S. and promised more oil drilling and to revive the fading coal industry. He’s also called climate change a “hoax.”

Trump’s senior strategist Steve Bannon, White House counsel Don McGahn, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt and Attorney General Jeff Sessions are leading the climate deniers urging Trump to officially pull the United States from the accord. But, sources say, they are clashing with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and First Daughter Ivanka Trump.

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Trump’s scorched-earth approach to environmental protections has shocked current and former government officials overseas who are waiting nervously to see whether the US will destabilize the agreement by pulling out of the deal, the Guardian reports.

, the former Brazilian environment minister: “Trump’s actions on the climate are worrying. Although it is still too early to be sure what his strategy is for the US, the signs so far of backsliding are a concern to anyone who was involved in the long process that lead up to the Paris agreement. We certainly could not have imagined this political picture when we signed the agreement in Paris. It is a concern because we saw a similar situation when George W Bush came to power and backed away from the Kyoto protocol.”
, UN environment chief: “There is no doubt where the future is and that is what all the private sector companies have understood. The future is green. Obviously if you are not a party to the Paris agreement, you will lose out. And the main losers of course will be the people of the United States itself because all the interesting, fascinating new green jobs would go to China and to the other parts of the world that are investing heavily in this.”
, the prime minister of Fiji: “Climate change is not a hoax. it is frighteningly real. Billions of people are losing the ability to feed themselves. Don’t let the whole side down by leaving, just when we have a game plan.”
the president of the Marshall Islands: said she was “extremely disappointed to see the United States seeking to roll back its efforts to reduce emissions. My country’s survival depends on every country delivering on the promises they made in Paris. Our own commitment to it will never waiver.”
, former head of Uruguay’s climate policy: “I’m very worried by what is happening in the US regarding climate change. It was an extraordinarily strong shock to hear that Trump has signed a decree to revise the clean power plan. Of all of Trump’s policies, this is the one with the worst consequences for the world. If an important country like the US, which has the second biggest emissions after China, doesn’t abide by the Paris agreement, then the Paris agreement is broken. It will make it harder for other countries to maintain their ambitions.”

“If the U.S. pulls out, it will be a pariah,” said Andrew Light, a climate adviser at the World Resources Institute. “It will be on the sidelines, and that’s going to hurt American businesses.”

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It Appears Trump Admin. Wants to Bury Senate Torture Report Forever

Posted on September 28, 2020 by bamdj

The Trump administration is moving to keep the lengthy Senate report on the CIA’s torture and detention program forever from the public eye, the New York Times first reported Friday.

That’s because the administration is returning to Congress copies of the over 6,000-page document, following through on requests made by Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), the Senate Intelligence Committee’s current chairman. Laws requiring government records to eventually be made public don’t apply to congressional documents.

The Times, citing multiple congressional officials, writes that the “CIA, the office of the Director of National Intelligence, and the CIA’s inspector general have returned their copies of the report.”

Burr, who’s been a critic of the report, said in a statement to Reuters: “I have directed my staff to retrieve copies of the Congressional study that remain with the Executive Branch agencies and, as the Committee does with all classified and compartmented information, will enact the necessary measures to protect the sensitive sources and methods contained within the report.”

But countered Hina Shamsi, director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s National Security Project: “It would be a travesty for agencies to return the CIA torture report instead of reading and learning from it, as senators intended.”

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Shamsi, whose organization has sought for years public release of the report, added: “The landmark investigative report documents horrific abuses and details of CIA lies to the White House, Congress, the courts, and the public about its torture program. This critically important investigation should have been made public and must not be buried or destroyed.”

“America’s lack of interest in history—even our own—has now gone from pathological to dangerous.”
—Shelby Sullivan-Bennis, Reprieve Human rights organization Reprieve also criticized the move to totally bury the report.

“America’s lack of interest in history—even our own—has now gone from pathological to dangerous,” said Shelby Sullivan-Bennis, U.S. attorney at Reprieve specializing in counter-terrorism abuses. “For over a decade, our government has refused to reckon with U.S. torture, preferring to deny or suppress the facts. It is no surprise that we now have a pesident whose contempt for facts leads to dangerous decisions. We cannot learn from history unless we know what it is.”

When the executive summary of the Senate Intelligence Committee’s report, then under the chairmanship of Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), was released in December of 2014, Ben Emmerson, United Nations Special Rapporteur on counter-terrorism and human rights, said that those “responsible for the criminal conspiracy revealed in [the] report must be brought to justice, and must face criminal penalties commensurate with the gravity of their crimes.”

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Sullivan-Bennis also referenced that shorter document as well as the still-open Guantanamo Bay prison, where “[h]armless men are still languishing […] without charge or trial, due entirely to mistakes and abuses detailed in the summary of that report—merely the tip of the iceberg. My clients and the American people are entitled to see the truth. Lawmakers should be ashamed of this disgraceful cover-up, and Americans should ask themselves what our government is so desperate to hide.”

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As Trump Pushes Massive Saudi Weapons Deal, Yemenis Suffer from Cholera, War, and Famine

Posted on September 28, 2020 by bamdj

President Donald Trump will arrive in Saudi Arabia on Friday bearing a major arms deal for the Gulf kingdom, which observers warn will swiftly then be used against the people of Yemen, who are currently facing a deadly cholera outbreak, devastating famine, and two years of war that shows no sign of abating.

In exchange for the $110 billion package, said to be the largest arms deal in history, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman has offered “to invest at least $200 billion in American infrastructure and open up new business opportunities for U.S. companies inside the kingdom,” according to Alternet‘s Max Blumenthal, a move that is expected to win the U.S. president points in the rust belt states of Ohio, Michigan, and Wisconsin.

“The weapons,” Blumenthal added, “would then be used to pulverize Yemen.”

The deal, partially brokered by Trump’s son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner, includes a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, as well as precision guided-munitions that had previously been withheld by the Obama administration “out of fear that they would be used to bomb civilians in Yemen,” the New York Times reported. During his time in office, former President Barack Obama oversaw $115 billion in arms sold to the Gulf state.

“The package also includes ‘maritime assets,’ meaning ships, so the Saudis can assume more of the burden of policing the Persian Gulf and Red Sea against Iranian aggression,” the Times further wrote. “It does not include high-end items like the advanced F-35 fighter, whose sale to Saudi Arabia would alarm Israel.”

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Trump is expected to receive a “royal welcome” in the capital Riyadh, where the Saudis are hosting an Arab Islamic American Summit with leaders from dozens of Muslim countries. Trump, a prolific tweeter, is also expected to give a keynote on social media use as well as a speech at the inauguration of a new counterterrorism center said to be focused on Islam.

Blumenthal notes: “The address will likely have less to do with tolerance than with interests that converge around hostility to Iran, the drive to destroy a government in Yemen that is seen as its proxy, and selling the tens of billions in weapons the meat grinder operation requires.”

Kristine Beckerle, Yemen and Kuwait researcher with Human Rights Watch, is among many who have warned that the U.S. risks being complicit in war crimes in Yemen, as the latest sale is being brokered amid mounting evidence of unlawful attacks.

“More than two years into the war, we’ve documented 81 apparently unlawful coalition attacks and almost two dozen in which U.S. weapons were used,” Beckerle wrote earlier this month. “For weapons produced later and shipped now, pleading ignorance is no longer plausible.”

“There is no mystery here,” she continued. “The Saudi-led coalition has committed scores of unlawful attacks, many amounting to war crimes. Continued arms sales not only send a clear message to the coalition that it can kill civilians with impunity, but they increasingly put U.S. officials at legal risk for aiding those crimes.”

Notably, the Trump administration has been forthright about its disinterest in enforcing human rights abroad, with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson recently explaining that such concerns would not interfere with U.S. foreign policy.

Throughout the visit, the American delegation will meet with many members of the Saudi-led coalition that has been bombing Yemen with U.S. assistance for more than two years.

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The visit will take place as the embattled nation “is in the grip of a humanitarian crisis,” the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said Thursday, as “two million people have been displaced, malnutrition is rife, and, the United Nations estimates, a Yemeni child dies every ten minutes from preventable illnesses. Now a cholera outbreak has become the latest, deadly threat.”

Yemen could see as many as 300,000 cases of cholera within six months and an “extremely high” number of deaths, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Friday, as aid groups have struggled to contain the epidemic partially because of the nation’s devastated health facilities and infrastructure.

To date, over 23,400 suspected cholera cases and 242 deaths have been reported in 18 governorates, WHO noted.

“The speed of the resurgence of the cholera epidemic is unprecedented (for Yemen),” WHO Yemen representative Nevio Zagaria told reporters.

Reuters continued:

The United Nations published a map on Friday highlighting how the cholera outbreak is spreading “in exactly the same places that are suffering most from food insecurity.”

“We have a situation where the areas most affected by Cholera are also the most insecure,” according to UN Dispatch. “Unless there is a de-escalation of the conflict, these numbers will only get worse.”

Unfortunately, one possible outcome of Trump’s visit could be a green light to attack the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah, “where the bulk of the humanitarian aid enters Yemen,” noted Medea Benjamin, co-founder of anti-war organization CodePink.

“Further escalation of the war in Yemen, particularly an offensive to seize Hodeidah from the Houthi rebels, will mean even more death and hunger for the Yemeni people,” Benjamin wrote at Common Dreams on Friday.

“Trump should not use this trip to support Saudi Arabia’s aggressive agenda, aggravate Sunni-Shia tensions, and further enrich U.S. weapons makers,” she added. “Instead, he should put a halt to weapons sales and press the Saudis to sit down with Iran and other regional players to find a political solution to the devastating regional conflicts, starting with Yemen.”

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As Resistance Mobilizes, Poll Shows 'Overwhelming' Hatred for Trumpcare

Posted on September 28, 2020 by bamdj

Just following the release of the Senate’s “morally bankrupt” healthcare bill—which would impose deep cuts to Medicaid, eliminate funding for Planned Parenthood, and give enormous tax breaks to the wealthy—an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll published on Thursday found Americans “overwhelmingly” dislike the House version of the legislation.

“The bottom line is that Americans don’t support this bill. It is irredeemable and unfixable.”
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“By a 3-to-1 margin, the American public holds a negative view of the American Health Care Act, legislation that House Republicans passed last month and that President Donald Trump supports,” NBC‘s Mark Murray observed. “Just 16 percent of adults believe that House health care bill is a good idea, versus 48 percent who say it’s a bad idea.”

In addition, the poll found that a mere 34 percent of Republicans view the House plan favorably.

Given the similarities between the two bills, the numbers appear to bode poorly for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who hopes to bring his measure—the Better Care Reconciliation Act—to the floor for a vote next week.

The fierce and persistent backlash against GOP attempts to repeal and replace Obamacare has given many Republicans pause, as they consider the electoral risks of backing legislation that could kick tens of millions off their insurance.

Resistance groups have moved in recent weeks to take advantage of this hesitance. UltraViolet has organized sit-ins at the offices of vulnerable senators; Indivisible launched the Trumpcare Ten initiative, which highlights lawmakers who could potentially defect from the Republican Party given enough grassroots pressure.

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Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) experienced that pressure firsthand on Wednesday, as his “usually quiet” constituent coffee meeting was turned into a mini town hall, with angry Ohioans peppering him with questions about his healthcare stance. Portman has been one of several Republican senators to worry publicly about the draconian cuts the bill would impose on crucial programs, including ones designed to help those addicted to opioids.

Now that the Senate bill is public, groups are looking to ramp up their efforts to force the handful of defections needed to prevent the measure’s passage. As the Senate’s Trumpcare bill was making the rounds, protesters, including many in wheelchairs, were being arrested after staging a protest outside of Sen. McConnell’s office.

“The bottom line is that Americans don’t support this bill. It is irredeemable and unfixable,” said Indivisible policy director Angel Padilla in a statement. “If the well-being of their constituents is every senator’s priority, no senator should vote for this bill, period.”

Indivisible co-executive directors Ezra Levin and Leah Greenberg layed out an action plan on Thursday for those looking to get involved.

“We’ve got three ways to fight back,” they wrote:

? Excellent. CALL THEM. Find daily scripts and material at TrumpCareTen.org.
? Great. Help them filibuster-by-amendment by submitting your amendment to to bury this awful bill: OurAmendments.org. Also ask them to slow down Senate business by withholding consent.
Awesome. Here’s a list of planned events.

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Upside of Trumpcare Ugliness: Medicare For All Goes From 'Pie in the Sky' to 'Inevitable'

Posted on September 28, 2020 by bamdj

As Senate Republicans are reportedly set to introduce yet another version of their overwhelmingly despised and “deadly” healthcare plan on Thursday, Medicare for All is experiencing an unprecedented surge in support from both the grassroots and elected officials.

“People say Medicare for All is ‘politically unfeasible. But the past ten years have taught us that it’s politically unfeasible to aim for anything less.”
—Richard Eskow, Campaign for America’s FutureRecent polls have indicated that most Americans favor something like the healthcare plan Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) proposed during his 2016 presidential campaign, despite the fact that his ideas were repeatedly denounced as “unrealistic” and “pie-in-the-sky” by politicians and major news outlets like the Washington Post.

Some notable polls include:

A Gallup survey from May of last year, which found that 58 percent of the public favors replacing Obamacare with “a federally funded healthcare program providing insurance for all Americans.”
An Economist/YouGov poll (pdf) from April of this year, which found that most Americans favor “expanding Medicare to provide health insurance to every American.”
A Pew survey published just last month found that 60 percent of Americans believe “it is the federal government’s responsibility to make sure all Americans have healthcare coverage.”

These numbers have been seized upon by progressive groups across the country as they mobilize to ensure the death of Trumpcare, the latest Senate version of which would strip health insurance from an estimated 22 million Americans. Organizations like Our Revolution have argued that while resisting efforts to repeal Obamacare, it is crucial to articulate an inspiring and ambitious alternative.

“Healthcare is a right, not a privilege,” the group stated ahead of a recent nationwide day of action. “Our country needs single-payer, Medicare for All that leaves no one out.”

At the behest of the grassroots, Democratic politicians are increasingly warming to the idea as well.

As Common Dreams has reported, Rep. John Conyers’ (D-Mich.) Medicare for All legislation “has now received support from more than half of the Democratic caucus, a record for the party.”

“I have been introducing the Medicare for All bill every session of Congress since 2003, and I’m the longest serving member of Congress,” Conyers has said. “I have never seen more enthusiasm and energy behind this issue than what I’m seeing today.”

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Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) has been the most prominent progressive to join the growing chorus in recent weeks. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Warren argued that single-payer is “the next step” urged Democrats to run on the issue in 2018 and 2020.

In an interview with CNN on Tuesday, Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) noted that he is seeing support for Medicare for All even in the most conservative parts of his state.

“I’ve been asking each audience, I’ve been saying, ‘How many people here 10 years ago would have supported a single-payer Medicare for All?’ And it’s a small number,” Merkley said. “And then I ask, ‘How many now?’ And the hands just go up throughout the room.”

“I have never seen more enthusiasm and energy behind [Medicare for All] than what I’m seeing today.”
—Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.)

Commentators have argued that all of these signs—surging poll numbers, grassroots enthusiasm, and support from elected officials—indicate that Medicare for All has rapidly transitioned from “pie-in-the-sky” to “inevitable.”

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A recent New York Times analysis showed why a single-payer system makes sound economic sense.

And countering those who have in recent years insisted that Medicare for All is “unrealistic” from a political standpoint, Richard Eskow, a senior fellow at Campaign for America’s Future, argued that in fact “it’s an easy sell: I can save you thousands of dollars a year by replacing a terrible system with a much better one.”

“People say Medicare for All is ‘politically unfeasible,'” Eskow added. “But the past ten years have taught us that it’s politically unfeasible to aim for anything less.”

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