Indeed I have been remiss in my Yopps for the past several weeks. Lots going on in my little world...mostly work related. I trust that most of you have been able to find ways to engage your resistance in the meantime. Looking forward to the next few weeks, I expect things won't let up until mid-June. I hope to be back to normal...or at least the new normal...at that point.
That said and in light of the House passing the health care repeal bill...WTF?! Actually, I'm not surprised in the least. They've looked like incompetent fools these first 100 days (if the shoe fits), so they were anxious to get something done. From what I've read/heard, the Senate will likely vote No on the bill as is, but there is a very strong chance that they'll revise it and bounce the new version back to the House in the hopes that We the People will not fuss so much over the revised bill.
One of my favorite podcasts, Pod Save America, just did an episode on this issue that I highly recommend. It's called "The Moment of Truth for the Resistance" (hence the title of this Yopp!) and you can find it here. The gist of their message is that THIS issue is the moment where the loose confederation of patriots known as the Resistance made up of various groups like Indivisible will either show its true mettle or prove to be as lazy and spineless as Trump and the GOP assumes we are.
If I were a better writer, this is the place where I would put in a deeply inspirational passage about patriotism and the call to duty. It might go something like this:
[Over the next few days, we] will be launching the largest [citizen resistance] in the history of [America. America.] That word should have new meaning for all of us today. We can't be consumed by our petty differences any more. We will be united in our common interest. [Today we] will once again be fighting for our freedom. Not from tyranny, oppression, or persecution, but from annihilation. We're fighting for our right to live, to exist...
Yeah...that sounded a lot better when Bill Pullman was talking about aliens and air battles.
But seriously, y'all. We need to call, write, email, picket, and everything in between from now until this latest bill is totally defeated. Here's a few options from The Night Owl Activist. (FYI, everything below until the asterisks is from the Night Owl Activist. Sorry about the confusing formatting. I'll change the font.)
Today, Republicans in the House passed their healthcare bill that would repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and take away healthcare from at least 24 million Americans (I call it “Don’tCare”). This bill must still pass the Senate to have a chance of being made into law. Some Republican senators have stated that they will not vote on the House bill and will instead draft their own “repeal and replace” bill (?!). Either way, we need to fight to make sure that Republicans stop attacking the ACA by doing two important things:
- shaming House Republicans for supporting a plan that takes healthcare away from millions of Americans
- demanding that the Senate reject any plan to repeal the ACA
One of my subscribers, Debbie Tapp, sent me her thoughts on the vote today:
We are mourning again. Don’t let it drag you down. The Senate says they let this happen so they can protect Obamacare. November 8 was horrible. We set our sights on the Electoral College. We started writing letters. Emails. Petitions. December 19 was awful. There was still a chance when they accepted the votes in January. January 20 was a depressing day but we survived planning for January 21st and the Women’s March. We have made it through over 100 days. We have learned to fight. We have learned to make calls, send postcards, march, protest. We will continue. We have learned that we need to win back and control Congress. If Hillary had won, we would not have learned this. Hillary Clinton would be an awesome president but she would have fought the same battles that Obama did – but worse as a woman. Trump is doing the damage that he does because he is an extension of a Republican Congress. We must clip his wings and flip congress. Make sure your friends, family and neighbors are registered to vote. Contact your Elections Offices. This link may have the info. https://www.eac.gov/voters/election-day-contact-information/ Find out if paper ballots are now being used. Ask what kind of systems and how they are protected from interference such as hacking. Then, contact your governor, your state legislators. Make changes. It is up to you.
Here are some ways you can fight back right now.
- Call your representative. Regardless of how your representative voted today, use the information and scripts at the following link to give them a call and tell them how you feel: https://www.indivisibleguide.com/resource/gop-health-care-repeal-hold-accountable/
- Call your senators. Use the information and script at the following link to call your senators and urge them to reject Don’tCare: https://www.istandwithpp.org/call
- Email your Republican representative. If your representative is a Republican who voted for Don’tCare, use the following link to email them and tell them that you won’t forget it when they’re up for re-election: https://www.dailykos.com/campaigns/letters/sign-and-send-a-letter-to-your-republican-member-of-congress-i-will-not-forget-your-vote-for-trumpcare
- Write a letter to the editor. Use the following link to send a letter to the editor of your local newspaper opposing Don’tCare: http://action.momsrising.org/lte/Healthcare_LTE_AHCA/
- Sign a petition condemning House Republicans. Sign the following petitions to let House Republicans know that their vote is unforgivable:
- From Common Defense: http://go.commondefensepac.com/page/s/trumpcare-is-betrayal
- From the Daily Kos: https://www.dailykos.com/campaigns/petitions/sign-the-petition-fck-republicans
- Sign a petition telling the Senate to reject Don’tCare. Sign the following petitions to urge the Senate to reject Don’tCare and protect the ACA:
- From Sen. Maggie Hassan: http://act.maggiehassan.com/page/s/20170504_healthcare-house
- From Sen. Kamala Harris: http://go.kamalaharris.org/page/s/kh-ahca-petition
- From a group of congresspersons: https://petitions.signforgood.com/tellthegop
- From my Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf: http://action.wolfforpa.com/page/s/tell-the-senate-to-reject-trumpcare
- From Public Citizen: http://action.citizen.org/p/dia/action4/common/public/?action_KEY=13492
- From MomsRising.org: http://action.momsrising.org/sign/protect_ACA_reject_AHCA/
- Sign a petition for single payer healthcare. Sign the following petition to demand single payer “Medicare-for-all” healthcare: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/sign-if-you-agree-health-care-is-a-human-right-2
If you want a simple action you can take without having to read all the above, then call your Senators and demand that they reject the House bill to repeal Obamacare. No revisions. Just vote NO.
Okay my fellow resisters! Let's do this! 'Til the world turns upside down!
No comments:
Post a Comment