May 02, 2017
As House Republicans scramble to amass support for the latest incarnation of their cruel repeal-and-replace legislation, one GOP representative laid bare the heartless way in which conservatives see the debate over pre-existing conditions and affordable coverage.
The Republican healthcare bill, also known as Trumpcare, "will allow insurance companies to require people who have higher healthcare costs to contribute more to the insurance pool that helps offset all these costs, thereby reducing the cost to those people who lead good lives, they're healthy, they've done the things to keep their bodies healthy," Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) said an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper on Monday.
"And right now, those are the people who have done things the right way that are seeing their costs skyrocketing," Brooks said.
Watch below:
The callous remark drew powerful responses online, including from one of Brooks' constituents and former legal clients:
\u201c@RepMoBrooks you represented my family in 1982 after a drunk driver slammed into our car at 75 mph. I was 5 years old. You were my lawyer\u201d— Sheela N. Gig (she/her/hers) (@Sheela N. Gig (she/her/hers)) 1493690692
\u201c@RepMoBrooks My brother had it even worse. He was a baby. Flew into the dashboard and became brain damaged for life. You defended us in Huntsville AL\u201d— Sheela N. Gig (she/her/hers) (@Sheela N. Gig (she/her/hers)) 1493690692
\u201c@RepMoBrooks Do you remember us? I am 40 years old now. The injuries I sustained still bother me, my ankle might need to be rebuilt (again). My brother\u201d— Sheela N. Gig (she/her/hers) (@Sheela N. Gig (she/her/hers)) 1493690692
\u201c@RepMoBrooks My brother requires almost $1,000 of medicine and insurance payments and dr co-pays per month. He is 36 now, still in Huntsville.\u201d— Sheela N. Gig (she/her/hers) (@Sheela N. Gig (she/her/hers)) 1493690692
\u201c@RepMoBrooks My brother requires medicine for the rest of his life. Please explain how we, as children, hit by a drunk driver, were not "living right?"\u201d— Sheela N. Gig (she/her/hers) (@Sheela N. Gig (she/her/hers)) 1493690692
Some juxtaposed Brooks' comments with late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel's emotional defense of the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, delivered Monday night, in which he revealed his infant son's rare heart defect and decried the idea that anyone should be denied coverage for pre-existing conditions.
\u201c.@RepMoBrooks @gop @realdonaldtrump Kimmel's 3 day old son now has a pre-existing condition for life. Is this baby a "bad person"? 2/2\u201d— B Did (@B Did) 1493733547
\u201cAccording to Rep. Mo Brooks, Jimmy Kimmel's newborn son just didn't lead a good life. #jimmykimmel #AHCA @RepMoBrooks https://t.co/2EFzSPOLtY\u201d— @liberalvixen@sfba.social (@@liberalvixen@sfba.social) 1493734210
Others drew Brooks' attention to their own health dilemmas as a way to highlight the congressman's insensitivity.
\u201cHey, Mo Brooks, I was such a bad child that I got polio. Please raise my insurance rates to teach me a lesson.\u201d— Mark Paul (@Mark Paul) 1493679923
\u201c@aravosis @americablog Would @RepMoBrooks like to come tour the NICU where I'm a RN and personally inform 45+ infants they apparently screwed up in utero??\u201d— Kirsten (@Kirsten) 1493689659
\u201c@aravosis @RepMoBrooks Here's my irresponsible 10-year-old boy, born with cerebral palsy. @RepMoBrooks maybe you can explain to him your theory.\u201d— Jeff (@Jeff) 1493691723
\u201c@RepMoBrooks Hey Brooks. As a triathlete, group exercise instr & mom, I did everything right but had breast cancer. U do not rep Americans\u201d— Patty Clements (@Patty Clements) 1493734028
Meanwhile, the resistance movement is urging supporters to help stop TrumpCare--which, in its latest version, would allow insurers to dramatically increase costs for people with pre-existing conditions--"once and for all."
House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) indicated Tuesday that the GOP does not have the votes to pass TrumpCare 3.0 after multiple moderate Republicans came out against the bill on Monday.
Ryan can only afford to lose 22 GOP votes from the Republican side and still pass the bill--and several whip counts, including those from The Hill and CNN, show 21 Republicans opposed.
In turn, the pressure's on potential Republican defectors.
\u201cWe can stop TrumpCare--but only if we work together, right now, to bury it.\n\nKeep calling. Keep showing up. Let's do this. https://t.co/JH2EvWpj3p\u201d— Indivisible Guide (@Indivisible Guide) 1493727324
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Deirdre Fulton
Deirdre Fulton is a former Common Dreams senior editor and staff writer. Previously she worked as an editor and writer for the Portland Phoenix and the Boston Phoenix, where she was honored by the New England Press Association and the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. A Boston University graduate, Deirdre is a co-founder of the Maine-based Lorem Ipsum Theater Collective and the PortFringe theater festival. She writes young adult fiction in her spare time.
As House Republicans scramble to amass support for the latest incarnation of their cruel repeal-and-replace legislation, one GOP representative laid bare the heartless way in which conservatives see the debate over pre-existing conditions and affordable coverage.
The Republican healthcare bill, also known as Trumpcare, "will allow insurance companies to require people who have higher healthcare costs to contribute more to the insurance pool that helps offset all these costs, thereby reducing the cost to those people who lead good lives, they're healthy, they've done the things to keep their bodies healthy," Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) said an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper on Monday.
"And right now, those are the people who have done things the right way that are seeing their costs skyrocketing," Brooks said.
Watch below:
The callous remark drew powerful responses online, including from one of Brooks' constituents and former legal clients:
\u201c@RepMoBrooks you represented my family in 1982 after a drunk driver slammed into our car at 75 mph. I was 5 years old. You were my lawyer\u201d— Sheela N. Gig (she/her/hers) (@Sheela N. Gig (she/her/hers)) 1493690692
\u201c@RepMoBrooks My brother had it even worse. He was a baby. Flew into the dashboard and became brain damaged for life. You defended us in Huntsville AL\u201d— Sheela N. Gig (she/her/hers) (@Sheela N. Gig (she/her/hers)) 1493690692
\u201c@RepMoBrooks Do you remember us? I am 40 years old now. The injuries I sustained still bother me, my ankle might need to be rebuilt (again). My brother\u201d— Sheela N. Gig (she/her/hers) (@Sheela N. Gig (she/her/hers)) 1493690692
\u201c@RepMoBrooks My brother requires almost $1,000 of medicine and insurance payments and dr co-pays per month. He is 36 now, still in Huntsville.\u201d— Sheela N. Gig (she/her/hers) (@Sheela N. Gig (she/her/hers)) 1493690692
\u201c@RepMoBrooks My brother requires medicine for the rest of his life. Please explain how we, as children, hit by a drunk driver, were not "living right?"\u201d— Sheela N. Gig (she/her/hers) (@Sheela N. Gig (she/her/hers)) 1493690692
Some juxtaposed Brooks' comments with late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel's emotional defense of the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, delivered Monday night, in which he revealed his infant son's rare heart defect and decried the idea that anyone should be denied coverage for pre-existing conditions.
\u201c.@RepMoBrooks @gop @realdonaldtrump Kimmel's 3 day old son now has a pre-existing condition for life. Is this baby a "bad person"? 2/2\u201d— B Did (@B Did) 1493733547
\u201cAccording to Rep. Mo Brooks, Jimmy Kimmel's newborn son just didn't lead a good life. #jimmykimmel #AHCA @RepMoBrooks https://t.co/2EFzSPOLtY\u201d— @liberalvixen@sfba.social (@@liberalvixen@sfba.social) 1493734210
Others drew Brooks' attention to their own health dilemmas as a way to highlight the congressman's insensitivity.
\u201cHey, Mo Brooks, I was such a bad child that I got polio. Please raise my insurance rates to teach me a lesson.\u201d— Mark Paul (@Mark Paul) 1493679923
\u201c@aravosis @americablog Would @RepMoBrooks like to come tour the NICU where I'm a RN and personally inform 45+ infants they apparently screwed up in utero??\u201d— Kirsten (@Kirsten) 1493689659
\u201c@aravosis @RepMoBrooks Here's my irresponsible 10-year-old boy, born with cerebral palsy. @RepMoBrooks maybe you can explain to him your theory.\u201d— Jeff (@Jeff) 1493691723
\u201c@RepMoBrooks Hey Brooks. As a triathlete, group exercise instr & mom, I did everything right but had breast cancer. U do not rep Americans\u201d— Patty Clements (@Patty Clements) 1493734028
Meanwhile, the resistance movement is urging supporters to help stop TrumpCare--which, in its latest version, would allow insurers to dramatically increase costs for people with pre-existing conditions--"once and for all."
House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) indicated Tuesday that the GOP does not have the votes to pass TrumpCare 3.0 after multiple moderate Republicans came out against the bill on Monday.
Ryan can only afford to lose 22 GOP votes from the Republican side and still pass the bill--and several whip counts, including those from The Hill and CNN, show 21 Republicans opposed.
In turn, the pressure's on potential Republican defectors.
\u201cWe can stop TrumpCare--but only if we work together, right now, to bury it.\n\nKeep calling. Keep showing up. Let's do this. https://t.co/JH2EvWpj3p\u201d— Indivisible Guide (@Indivisible Guide) 1493727324
Deirdre Fulton
Deirdre Fulton is a former Common Dreams senior editor and staff writer. Previously she worked as an editor and writer for the Portland Phoenix and the Boston Phoenix, where she was honored by the New England Press Association and the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. A Boston University graduate, Deirdre is a co-founder of the Maine-based Lorem Ipsum Theater Collective and the PortFringe theater festival. She writes young adult fiction in her spare time.
As House Republicans scramble to amass support for the latest incarnation of their cruel repeal-and-replace legislation, one GOP representative laid bare the heartless way in which conservatives see the debate over pre-existing conditions and affordable coverage.
The Republican healthcare bill, also known as Trumpcare, "will allow insurance companies to require people who have higher healthcare costs to contribute more to the insurance pool that helps offset all these costs, thereby reducing the cost to those people who lead good lives, they're healthy, they've done the things to keep their bodies healthy," Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) said an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper on Monday.
"And right now, those are the people who have done things the right way that are seeing their costs skyrocketing," Brooks said.
Watch below:
The callous remark drew powerful responses online, including from one of Brooks' constituents and former legal clients:
\u201c@RepMoBrooks you represented my family in 1982 after a drunk driver slammed into our car at 75 mph. I was 5 years old. You were my lawyer\u201d— Sheela N. Gig (she/her/hers) (@Sheela N. Gig (she/her/hers)) 1493690692
\u201c@RepMoBrooks My brother had it even worse. He was a baby. Flew into the dashboard and became brain damaged for life. You defended us in Huntsville AL\u201d— Sheela N. Gig (she/her/hers) (@Sheela N. Gig (she/her/hers)) 1493690692
\u201c@RepMoBrooks Do you remember us? I am 40 years old now. The injuries I sustained still bother me, my ankle might need to be rebuilt (again). My brother\u201d— Sheela N. Gig (she/her/hers) (@Sheela N. Gig (she/her/hers)) 1493690692
\u201c@RepMoBrooks My brother requires almost $1,000 of medicine and insurance payments and dr co-pays per month. He is 36 now, still in Huntsville.\u201d— Sheela N. Gig (she/her/hers) (@Sheela N. Gig (she/her/hers)) 1493690692
\u201c@RepMoBrooks My brother requires medicine for the rest of his life. Please explain how we, as children, hit by a drunk driver, were not "living right?"\u201d— Sheela N. Gig (she/her/hers) (@Sheela N. Gig (she/her/hers)) 1493690692
Some juxtaposed Brooks' comments with late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel's emotional defense of the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, delivered Monday night, in which he revealed his infant son's rare heart defect and decried the idea that anyone should be denied coverage for pre-existing conditions.
\u201c.@RepMoBrooks @gop @realdonaldtrump Kimmel's 3 day old son now has a pre-existing condition for life. Is this baby a "bad person"? 2/2\u201d— B Did (@B Did) 1493733547
\u201cAccording to Rep. Mo Brooks, Jimmy Kimmel's newborn son just didn't lead a good life. #jimmykimmel #AHCA @RepMoBrooks https://t.co/2EFzSPOLtY\u201d— @liberalvixen@sfba.social (@@liberalvixen@sfba.social) 1493734210
Others drew Brooks' attention to their own health dilemmas as a way to highlight the congressman's insensitivity.
\u201cHey, Mo Brooks, I was such a bad child that I got polio. Please raise my insurance rates to teach me a lesson.\u201d— Mark Paul (@Mark Paul) 1493679923
\u201c@aravosis @americablog Would @RepMoBrooks like to come tour the NICU where I'm a RN and personally inform 45+ infants they apparently screwed up in utero??\u201d— Kirsten (@Kirsten) 1493689659
\u201c@aravosis @RepMoBrooks Here's my irresponsible 10-year-old boy, born with cerebral palsy. @RepMoBrooks maybe you can explain to him your theory.\u201d— Jeff (@Jeff) 1493691723
\u201c@RepMoBrooks Hey Brooks. As a triathlete, group exercise instr & mom, I did everything right but had breast cancer. U do not rep Americans\u201d— Patty Clements (@Patty Clements) 1493734028
Meanwhile, the resistance movement is urging supporters to help stop TrumpCare--which, in its latest version, would allow insurers to dramatically increase costs for people with pre-existing conditions--"once and for all."
House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) indicated Tuesday that the GOP does not have the votes to pass TrumpCare 3.0 after multiple moderate Republicans came out against the bill on Monday.
Ryan can only afford to lose 22 GOP votes from the Republican side and still pass the bill--and several whip counts, including those from The Hill and CNN, show 21 Republicans opposed.
In turn, the pressure's on potential Republican defectors.
\u201cWe can stop TrumpCare--but only if we work together, right now, to bury it.\n\nKeep calling. Keep showing up. Let's do this. https://t.co/JH2EvWpj3p\u201d— Indivisible Guide (@Indivisible Guide) 1493727324
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