GOP Admits to Sabotaging Obamacare – Call Your Reps

Posted on July 22, 2013 by rikyrah

Since the GOP is admitting that they are DELIBERATELY not helping their constituents who want to know about Obamacare, Balloon Juice had a good idea:

IF your Congressman/Woman is a GOPer, call them up with a generic set of questions. Keep track of those that they don’t answer.

From Balloon Juice

As mentioned two days ago, GOP reps face a tough dilemma between serving their constituents and hating the Affordable Care Act like it shot their dog. At the same time the pary as a whole needs the ACA to fail in every possible way, a lot of single Reps will have a hard time with re-election if people see them playing political games with the health and livelihood of individual constituents. I can think of several terrible Republicans at the Senate level, Jesse Helms and Rick Santorum being two, who stayed afloat not in small part due to a reputation for great constituent service.

There are three ways that a GOP Rep can go with this. Some of them will talk tough to the press but do their job like a grownup when real constituents call with real problems to address. Some other faction, most I would guess, will punt either by not answering or passing the caller off to HHS. Most of all we need to keep an eye out for the fabricators, liars and true believers whose staff genuinely believe the pap in the morning blast fax from Glenn Beck.

October is still some time off, so let’s start with questions that everyone should know. Say that I have a pre-existing condition and cannot get an individual market plan for any price. Can I buy one in October? How would I do that? The correct answers are yes and it depends on the state; in most cases we do not know the full details yet. If you feel like testing their bad faith, tell them you heard there will be death panels. I will not offer a script because you should really use your own words for this. Staffers’ interest often ratchets way down when they start hearing the same wording twice. Try being polite but a little slow and ask for clarification when possible.

Many thanks to readers for offering links to the excellent summary of the ACA from the Kaiser Family Foundation. You can find a lot of useful questions, no doubt including some that are relevant to your own situation, at their FAQ.

The Kaiser Family Foundation has an excellent collection of true answers that you can use to score your Rep.

Does that sound good? Yes? Now make it happen. One call won’t change the world but a lot of calls to the right people at the right time can move mountains. Trust me on this.

Here is the Phone Directory for Congress.

Once you make the call, please make note of if the Congressman’s Office was helpful/truthful in the replies of this post. Be sure to leave the name and district of the Congressman.

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8 Responses to GOP Admits to Sabotaging Obamacare – Call Your Reps

  1. Yahtc says:
    July 22, 2013 at 7:47 pm

    “Former Supreme Court Justice, John Paul Stevens ….criticized Chief Justice John Roberts’s opinion over its analysis of history, and disputed its rationale for overturning the provision.”

    http://www.politico.com/blogs/under-the-radar/2013/07/stevens-criticizes-supreme-courts-voting-rights-act-168910.html?hp=l7

    Reply
  2. Yahtc says:
    July 22, 2013 at 6:47 pm

    I just received this in my email because I signed the petition.

    Thank you for joining the NAACP’s national movement seeking justice for Trayvon Martin.

    Late last week, I met with Attorney General Eric Holder to discuss this case. He is committed to a thorough investigation of George Zimmerman. He also asked for patience during the Department of Justice review; this will be a long and arduous process.

    But patience does not mean inaction. And right now, there is something each of us can do.

    The DOJ has asked for public comment on the George Zimmerman case. Stand tall and let them know you support justice for Trayvon.

    As the legal process continues, we remain mindful of our responsibility to Trayvon and to all of our children. We know what enabled this tragedy — and we are methodically organizing to make sure it never happens again.

    Because if George Zimmerman didn’t break the law, then the law is broken.

    We are already working to repeal the legal framework — “stand your ground” laws — that made this verdict possible in the year 2013. We are fighting for strong anti-racial profiling laws. And we are demanding commonsense gun control legislation to reduce killings in all our communities.

    We are not nearing the end of this struggle, but we fight on, and today we can take a concrete step toward this goal.

    Send your thoughts on the George Zimmerman case to the Department of Justice. Do so today, for all of our children.

    More soon,

    Ben

    Benjamin Todd Jealous
    President and CEO
    NAACP

    Reply
  3. vitaminlover says:
    July 22, 2013 at 6:31 pm

    However we are not surprised. This is also to do with hindering President Obama anyway they can. This we know. But we will prevail if not anything else but on behalf of President Obama and helpless people.

    Reply
  4. Yahtc says:
    July 22, 2013 at 3:43 pm

    I am not sure which article to post this under, and so I will post it here:
    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rev-al-sharpton/we-need-more-than-just-a-_b_3636142.html

    We Need More Than Just a Conversation on Race; We Need Legislative Action
    Posted: 07/22/2013 3:47 pm
    by Rev. Al Sharpton
    President, National Action Network
    R

    This past Saturday, we witnessed a historic moment across this country. In 100 cities from coast-to-coast, people rallied against ‘Stand Your Ground’ laws and called on the Department of Justice to investigate whether the unarmed teenager’s civil rights were violated. With only days to organize, the National Action Network (NAN) spearheaded these demonstrations that proved how people were engaged, visibly frustrated by injustice and most importantly, knew that nothing would change going forward without a demand for substantive action. Discussions about race are good, we need that as well, but unless those conversations are leading to legislative change, they aren’t doing much for us as a nation. Many thought organizing a 100-city vigil in four days was unthinkable; many simply didn’t believe we could do it. But we did. It was grassroots mobilization that brought tens of thousands out on a Saturday where the weather ranged from pouring rain to sweltering heat in different cities. We watched men, women, children, Black, White, Brown, the elderly, the young and folks from all socio-economic backgrounds join together to rally on the side of truth, fairness and justice. We witnessed celebrities like Beyoncé and Jay-Z lend their support in places like New York. And we saw peaceful protesters in these cities energized to take the battle for equality to the next level. Now we just need the law to catch up.
    There are those that try to pull the wool over people’s eyes. They try to twist and alter facts so that we may not get a clear picture of reality. That may work sometimes. But sooner or later, the truth shall prevail. And sooner rather than later, the people will demand change. Trayvon Martin was an unarmed 17-year-old. Trayvon Martin committed no crime. Trayvon Martin went to store to buy Skittles and an iced tea. Trayvon Martin was shot dead by a civilian who had no authority to stop him. Trayvon Martin’s killer wasn’t arrested for weeks until after the horrible incident. Those are facts. And facts cannot be denied no matter how they may be twisted or spun.
    In another case in the state of Florida, an African-American mother by the name of Marissa Alexander fired a warning shot to scare off her abusive husband. She was denied the ability to use ‘Stand Your Ground’ in her defense and is currently serving a 20-year sentence. How is that justice? The man who killed Trayvon, George Zimmerman, gets to return to his old life; meanwhile, this mother of three who was protecting herself and her children is rotting in a prison cell. That sort of blatant injustice cannot be hidden. People will see through the hypocrisy and they will accept nothing less than our laws becoming modified so as to protect all of us equally. We cannot live in a society that continues to give preferential treatment to some, while castigating and punishing others. That is not progress; that is where our work remains.
    Whenever I speak about the fight for civil rights today, some try to attack me and say this isn’t the 1960s.
    *______________________
    Well on *****August 24th, NAN and Martin Luther King III will actually be conducting a massive demonstration to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s ‘March on Washington’.******
    *______________________
    As we pay homage to his vision, some try to argue that there’s no need to rally anymore. To compare today’s challenges to those of the ’60s is just as disingenuous as comparing the ’60s to the days of slavery. Even though sitting at the back of the bus was better than being a slave, it did not mean that segregation should be accepted. Sure, times are much better now overall because so many of us fought tirelessly to make it that way, but that does not mean that we have arrived at a fully equal and fair society. Women today earn more than their grandmothers did, but that doesn’t solve the problem of gender income disparity. Every generation makes progress, but every generation must continue the journey. Our next step is making sure we all receive equal protection under the law.
    In the aftermath of the Zimmerman verdict, we’ve seen a lot of talk. A discussion on the state of race in America is of course needed, but to reduce the worth of our lives into highbrow intellectual discourse is in itself profiling. When young men of color in places like New York City are disproportionately stopped and frisked by the police, we need more than just talk. When a mother of three fires a warning shot to scare off an abusive husband (whom she had a protective order against) gets 20 years in prison, we need more than just talk. When our prisons and courtrooms are overwhelmingly filled with minorities, we need more than just talk. And when a young boy like Trayvon Martin can be shot to death while simply heading home from the store, the time for talk is over. Now’s the time for legislative

    Reply
  5. rikyrah says:
    July 22, 2013 at 3:32 pm

    Republicans’ dilemma: How aggressively should they sabotage Obamacare?

    By Greg Sargent, Published: July 22 at 11:45 am

    Here’s a question to keep an eye on when the Obamacare exchanges go live later this year: How many Republican lawmakers will take the most basic of steps a lawmaker can take, and help their constituents benefit from — or even understand — the law?

    I’m not talking about whether Republicans will continue arguing against Obamacare or calling for its repeal. Those are actual policy positions, and Republicans obviously are free to advocate for them (though at a certain point the endless repeal votes would seem to become counterproductive). I’m talking about whether Republican lawmakers will do the absolute minimum when it comes to making the law work for their own constituents — whether they will offer basic assistance navigating the law as it goes into effect.

    Take GOP Rep. Lee Terry of Omaha, Nebraska. He is as diehard an Obamacare opponent as many of his colleagues. But it was recently revealed by the Nation that he requested under the law — and received — a federal grant of $2.5 million to the local health department designed to reduce deaths and disability by cardiovascular and lung disease, obesity, and other health problems.

    The Omaha World Herald asked a spokesman for Terry to square the grant request with his opposition to Obamacare, and got back this welcome answer:

    “Congressman Terry believes that it’s unfortunate Obamacare even exists, but he takes seriously his responsibility to represent the people of Nebraska’s 2nd District. This is an issue of fairness, and while Congressman Terry doesn’t agree with this law, it’s his job to make sure the law works for the 2nd District.”

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2013/07/22/republicans-dilemma-how-aggressively-should-they-sabotage-obamacare/

    Reply
  6. Ametia says:
    July 22, 2013 at 3:07 pm

    Thanks for this Rikyrah. The GOP are despicable!

    Reply

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