A rally for healthcare in Washington, D.C., in February. (Photo: Ted Eytan/flickr/cc)
Mar 15, 2017
In the wake of the Congressional Budget Office's (CBO) damning analysis of the Republicans' healthcare bill, resistance to the repeal and replacement of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is ratcheting up.
On Thursday and Friday, "Stakeouts to Save Our Healthcare" organized by MoveOn.org will see constituents protesting at the district offices of Republican members of Congress who will soon cast decisive votes on the GOP's American Healthcare Act (AHCA).
Demonstrators are urged to grab lawmakers' attention by wearing scrubs, slings, and stethoscopes, or using crutches. Targeted Republicans include Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Rep. Leonard Lance (R-N.J.), Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), and Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), among many others.
Many of these politicians have already encountered the widespread outrage over Republican Party's push to strip Americans of healthcare at tense town halls in their home districts.
The public pressure has been so fierce, in fact, that some Republicans--including several who will see stakeouts at their district offices in coming days --are already vowing not to vote for the AHCA.
"I plan to vote NO on the current #AHCA bill. As written the plan leaves too many from my #SoFla district uninsured," tweeted Rep. Ros-Lehtinen on Tuesday:
\u201cI plan to vote NO on the current #AHCA bill. As written the plan leaves too many from my #SoFla district uninsured (1/2)\u201d— Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (@Ileana Ros-Lehtinen) 1489523674
\u201cAs #AHCA stands, it will cut much needed help for #SoFla's poor + elderly populations. Need a plan that will do more to protect them (2/2)\u201d— Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (@Ileana Ros-Lehtinen) 1489523685
Rep. Lance, who is up for re-election in 2018, toldCNN: "I do not want to vote on a bill that has no chance of passing over in the Senate. The CBO score has modified the dynamics."
CNN reports that administration officials acknowledged Tuesday that the House bill is unlikely to survive the Senate in its current form, although it is unclear what changes would be made. Lance told CNN that he believes the House must modify the bill and only vote on a version that can make it through the Senate.
"An emerging concern from House moderates is they could be asked to walk the plank on a health care bill that doesn't have a chance of passing the Senate in the first place," CNN writes.
To make it clear that voting for the AHCA would indeed be a decision to "walk the plank," people are mobilizing to increase pressure on Republican politicians to listen to the will of the people.
"We'll make sure that anyone coming in or out of the office--staff, visitors, the members of Congress themselves--have to come face to face with us, their constituents," MoveOn.org writes.
Find a stakeout near you here, or follow along on social media under the hashtags #ProtectOurCare, #ResistTrumpCare, #SpeakUpForUs, and #Stakeout:
Tweets about #ProtectOurCare OR #speakupforus OR #resisttrumpcare OR #stakeouts -#fullrepeal
Join Us: News for people demanding a better world
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
In the wake of the Congressional Budget Office's (CBO) damning analysis of the Republicans' healthcare bill, resistance to the repeal and replacement of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is ratcheting up.
On Thursday and Friday, "Stakeouts to Save Our Healthcare" organized by MoveOn.org will see constituents protesting at the district offices of Republican members of Congress who will soon cast decisive votes on the GOP's American Healthcare Act (AHCA).
Demonstrators are urged to grab lawmakers' attention by wearing scrubs, slings, and stethoscopes, or using crutches. Targeted Republicans include Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Rep. Leonard Lance (R-N.J.), Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), and Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), among many others.
Many of these politicians have already encountered the widespread outrage over Republican Party's push to strip Americans of healthcare at tense town halls in their home districts.
The public pressure has been so fierce, in fact, that some Republicans--including several who will see stakeouts at their district offices in coming days --are already vowing not to vote for the AHCA.
"I plan to vote NO on the current #AHCA bill. As written the plan leaves too many from my #SoFla district uninsured," tweeted Rep. Ros-Lehtinen on Tuesday:
\u201cI plan to vote NO on the current #AHCA bill. As written the plan leaves too many from my #SoFla district uninsured (1/2)\u201d— Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (@Ileana Ros-Lehtinen) 1489523674
\u201cAs #AHCA stands, it will cut much needed help for #SoFla's poor + elderly populations. Need a plan that will do more to protect them (2/2)\u201d— Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (@Ileana Ros-Lehtinen) 1489523685
Rep. Lance, who is up for re-election in 2018, toldCNN: "I do not want to vote on a bill that has no chance of passing over in the Senate. The CBO score has modified the dynamics."
CNN reports that administration officials acknowledged Tuesday that the House bill is unlikely to survive the Senate in its current form, although it is unclear what changes would be made. Lance told CNN that he believes the House must modify the bill and only vote on a version that can make it through the Senate.
"An emerging concern from House moderates is they could be asked to walk the plank on a health care bill that doesn't have a chance of passing the Senate in the first place," CNN writes.
To make it clear that voting for the AHCA would indeed be a decision to "walk the plank," people are mobilizing to increase pressure on Republican politicians to listen to the will of the people.
"We'll make sure that anyone coming in or out of the office--staff, visitors, the members of Congress themselves--have to come face to face with us, their constituents," MoveOn.org writes.
Find a stakeout near you here, or follow along on social media under the hashtags #ProtectOurCare, #ResistTrumpCare, #SpeakUpForUs, and #Stakeout:
Tweets about #ProtectOurCare OR #speakupforus OR #resisttrumpcare OR #stakeouts -#fullrepeal
In the wake of the Congressional Budget Office's (CBO) damning analysis of the Republicans' healthcare bill, resistance to the repeal and replacement of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is ratcheting up.
On Thursday and Friday, "Stakeouts to Save Our Healthcare" organized by MoveOn.org will see constituents protesting at the district offices of Republican members of Congress who will soon cast decisive votes on the GOP's American Healthcare Act (AHCA).
Demonstrators are urged to grab lawmakers' attention by wearing scrubs, slings, and stethoscopes, or using crutches. Targeted Republicans include Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Rep. Leonard Lance (R-N.J.), Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), and Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), among many others.
Many of these politicians have already encountered the widespread outrage over Republican Party's push to strip Americans of healthcare at tense town halls in their home districts.
The public pressure has been so fierce, in fact, that some Republicans--including several who will see stakeouts at their district offices in coming days --are already vowing not to vote for the AHCA.
"I plan to vote NO on the current #AHCA bill. As written the plan leaves too many from my #SoFla district uninsured," tweeted Rep. Ros-Lehtinen on Tuesday:
\u201cI plan to vote NO on the current #AHCA bill. As written the plan leaves too many from my #SoFla district uninsured (1/2)\u201d— Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (@Ileana Ros-Lehtinen) 1489523674
\u201cAs #AHCA stands, it will cut much needed help for #SoFla's poor + elderly populations. Need a plan that will do more to protect them (2/2)\u201d— Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (@Ileana Ros-Lehtinen) 1489523685
Rep. Lance, who is up for re-election in 2018, toldCNN: "I do not want to vote on a bill that has no chance of passing over in the Senate. The CBO score has modified the dynamics."
CNN reports that administration officials acknowledged Tuesday that the House bill is unlikely to survive the Senate in its current form, although it is unclear what changes would be made. Lance told CNN that he believes the House must modify the bill and only vote on a version that can make it through the Senate.
"An emerging concern from House moderates is they could be asked to walk the plank on a health care bill that doesn't have a chance of passing the Senate in the first place," CNN writes.
To make it clear that voting for the AHCA would indeed be a decision to "walk the plank," people are mobilizing to increase pressure on Republican politicians to listen to the will of the people.
"We'll make sure that anyone coming in or out of the office--staff, visitors, the members of Congress themselves--have to come face to face with us, their constituents," MoveOn.org writes.
Find a stakeout near you here, or follow along on social media under the hashtags #ProtectOurCare, #ResistTrumpCare, #SpeakUpForUs, and #Stakeout:
Tweets about #ProtectOurCare OR #speakupforus OR #resisttrumpcare OR #stakeouts -#fullrepeal
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.