SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Anti-Trumpcare protesters have been vocal during the Senate July 4 recess. (Photo: Huebner Family Photos/Flickr/cc)
As Trumpcare Protests Grow, GOP Senators Duck and Dodge Determined Voters
Poll shows only 12 percent national approval as lawmakers face continued heat over July 4th recess
Jul 05, 2017
As the Republican Senate leadership aims to push through a deeply unpopular healthcare bill, GOP senators across the country are spending their July 4th recess clashing with their constituents--or avoiding them.
Senators Ted Cruz of Texas, Susan Collins of Maine, and Dean Heller of Nevada were all met with impassioned protests when they arrived at Independence Day parades and gatherings on Tuesday.
Cruz had to speak over a demonstration at a July 4th ceremony in McAllen, Texas, where protesters held signs saying, "Healthcare is a human right" and "Cruzin for a Bruzin' 2018."
In an interview with the Texas Tribune, Cruz dismissed the protesters as "a small group of people on the left who right now are very angry." But with the latest polls showing only 12 percent of Americans in favor of the Better Care Reconciliation Act, also known as Trumpcare, it's clear that it's actually Cruz who represents a rapidly shrinking minority.
At a parade in Eastport, Maine, Collins was greeted by a vocal crowd imploring her to protect Medicaid by voting against the bill. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office found last month that Trumpcare would cut Medicaid spending by $772 billion and would eliminate care for 22 million Americans over the next decade. In an interview with the New York Times, Collins said of the protesters, "Never before, in the 15 times I've marched in this parade, have I had people so focused on a single issue."
Other senators whose constituents are counting on "No" votes on Trumpcare declined to appearances at July 4th events. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), whose state has the fifth-highest Medicaid enrollment in the country, released a short video on YouTube wishing West Virginians a happy holiday, but didn't meet with any of them publicly. Capito's phone lines have been inundated with calls from voters urging her not to back the bill, while demonstrators have gathered outside her office to voice their disapproval.
Meanwhile, Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Col.) who helped write the Trumpcare bill, has not met with voters at a single live Town Hall event in 2017, and he continued the pattern on July 4th. But Colorado residents have been vocal about their views on the bill during the Senate recess, and healthcare-related protests are showing no signs of slowing down in the coming days. At least eight protests were planned for the week-long recess in Colorado, including several "Rallies to Protect Healthcare" at Gardner's offices around the state.
While Gardner and Capito appear to realize that they can't expect a warm welcome from voters, other Republicans have shown a lack of understanding about where most Americans stand on healthcare. The Indiana Republican Party attempted to gain traction on Tuesday in its effort to cast Trumpcare as a policy that will benefit most Americans. On Facebook, the party asked users to share their "horror stories" about the Affordable Care Act, also called Obamacare. "Have your premiums increased?" they asked. "Are burdensome regulations hurting your small business?"
The post received more than 7,000 comments, but the vast majority supported Obamacare.
"Instead of paying for birth control, I got it for free," wrote one user.
"My patients' families no longer have to fear medical bankruptcy, and my patients no longer face a lifetime of insurance discrimination for conditions they were born with," said a pediatrician.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
As the Republican Senate leadership aims to push through a deeply unpopular healthcare bill, GOP senators across the country are spending their July 4th recess clashing with their constituents--or avoiding them.
Senators Ted Cruz of Texas, Susan Collins of Maine, and Dean Heller of Nevada were all met with impassioned protests when they arrived at Independence Day parades and gatherings on Tuesday.
Cruz had to speak over a demonstration at a July 4th ceremony in McAllen, Texas, where protesters held signs saying, "Healthcare is a human right" and "Cruzin for a Bruzin' 2018."
In an interview with the Texas Tribune, Cruz dismissed the protesters as "a small group of people on the left who right now are very angry." But with the latest polls showing only 12 percent of Americans in favor of the Better Care Reconciliation Act, also known as Trumpcare, it's clear that it's actually Cruz who represents a rapidly shrinking minority.
At a parade in Eastport, Maine, Collins was greeted by a vocal crowd imploring her to protect Medicaid by voting against the bill. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office found last month that Trumpcare would cut Medicaid spending by $772 billion and would eliminate care for 22 million Americans over the next decade. In an interview with the New York Times, Collins said of the protesters, "Never before, in the 15 times I've marched in this parade, have I had people so focused on a single issue."
Other senators whose constituents are counting on "No" votes on Trumpcare declined to appearances at July 4th events. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), whose state has the fifth-highest Medicaid enrollment in the country, released a short video on YouTube wishing West Virginians a happy holiday, but didn't meet with any of them publicly. Capito's phone lines have been inundated with calls from voters urging her not to back the bill, while demonstrators have gathered outside her office to voice their disapproval.
Meanwhile, Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Col.) who helped write the Trumpcare bill, has not met with voters at a single live Town Hall event in 2017, and he continued the pattern on July 4th. But Colorado residents have been vocal about their views on the bill during the Senate recess, and healthcare-related protests are showing no signs of slowing down in the coming days. At least eight protests were planned for the week-long recess in Colorado, including several "Rallies to Protect Healthcare" at Gardner's offices around the state.
While Gardner and Capito appear to realize that they can't expect a warm welcome from voters, other Republicans have shown a lack of understanding about where most Americans stand on healthcare. The Indiana Republican Party attempted to gain traction on Tuesday in its effort to cast Trumpcare as a policy that will benefit most Americans. On Facebook, the party asked users to share their "horror stories" about the Affordable Care Act, also called Obamacare. "Have your premiums increased?" they asked. "Are burdensome regulations hurting your small business?"
The post received more than 7,000 comments, but the vast majority supported Obamacare.
"Instead of paying for birth control, I got it for free," wrote one user.
"My patients' families no longer have to fear medical bankruptcy, and my patients no longer face a lifetime of insurance discrimination for conditions they were born with," said a pediatrician.
As the Republican Senate leadership aims to push through a deeply unpopular healthcare bill, GOP senators across the country are spending their July 4th recess clashing with their constituents--or avoiding them.
Senators Ted Cruz of Texas, Susan Collins of Maine, and Dean Heller of Nevada were all met with impassioned protests when they arrived at Independence Day parades and gatherings on Tuesday.
Cruz had to speak over a demonstration at a July 4th ceremony in McAllen, Texas, where protesters held signs saying, "Healthcare is a human right" and "Cruzin for a Bruzin' 2018."
In an interview with the Texas Tribune, Cruz dismissed the protesters as "a small group of people on the left who right now are very angry." But with the latest polls showing only 12 percent of Americans in favor of the Better Care Reconciliation Act, also known as Trumpcare, it's clear that it's actually Cruz who represents a rapidly shrinking minority.
At a parade in Eastport, Maine, Collins was greeted by a vocal crowd imploring her to protect Medicaid by voting against the bill. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office found last month that Trumpcare would cut Medicaid spending by $772 billion and would eliminate care for 22 million Americans over the next decade. In an interview with the New York Times, Collins said of the protesters, "Never before, in the 15 times I've marched in this parade, have I had people so focused on a single issue."
Other senators whose constituents are counting on "No" votes on Trumpcare declined to appearances at July 4th events. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), whose state has the fifth-highest Medicaid enrollment in the country, released a short video on YouTube wishing West Virginians a happy holiday, but didn't meet with any of them publicly. Capito's phone lines have been inundated with calls from voters urging her not to back the bill, while demonstrators have gathered outside her office to voice their disapproval.
Meanwhile, Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Col.) who helped write the Trumpcare bill, has not met with voters at a single live Town Hall event in 2017, and he continued the pattern on July 4th. But Colorado residents have been vocal about their views on the bill during the Senate recess, and healthcare-related protests are showing no signs of slowing down in the coming days. At least eight protests were planned for the week-long recess in Colorado, including several "Rallies to Protect Healthcare" at Gardner's offices around the state.
While Gardner and Capito appear to realize that they can't expect a warm welcome from voters, other Republicans have shown a lack of understanding about where most Americans stand on healthcare. The Indiana Republican Party attempted to gain traction on Tuesday in its effort to cast Trumpcare as a policy that will benefit most Americans. On Facebook, the party asked users to share their "horror stories" about the Affordable Care Act, also called Obamacare. "Have your premiums increased?" they asked. "Are burdensome regulations hurting your small business?"
The post received more than 7,000 comments, but the vast majority supported Obamacare.
"Instead of paying for birth control, I got it for free," wrote one user.
"My patients' families no longer have to fear medical bankruptcy, and my patients no longer face a lifetime of insurance discrimination for conditions they were born with," said a pediatrician.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.