Tags
Senate Democrats held a “talkathon” tonight to save Obamacare from Republican pillagers and looters. Read about it here and here. As of 11:00 p.m. this was the list of Senators who took the floor as per DailyKos’ Joan McCarter:
Tammy Baldwin (WI), Michael Bennet (CO), Richard Blumenthal (CT), Cory Booker (NJ), Maria Cantwell (WA), Bob Casey (PA), Chris Coons (DE), Joe Donnelly (IN), Al Franken (MN), Kirsten Gillibrand (NY), Kamala Harris (CA), Maggie Hassan (NH), Martin Heinrich (NM), Maisie Hirono (HI), Tim Kaine (VA), Angus King (ME), Amy Klobuchar (MN), Ed Markey (MA), Catherine Cortez Masto (NV), Jeff Merkley (OR), Chris Murphy (CT), Patty Murray (WA), Jack Reed (RI), Bernie Sanders (VT), Aaron Schatz (HI), Chuck Schumer (NY), Debbie Stabenow (MI), Tom Udall (NM), Chris Van Hollen (MD), Elizabeth Warren (MA), Sheldon Whitehouse (RI), Ron Wyden (OR)
My question is simple. Where was Claire McCaskill?
As a person with one of those pesky “preexisting” conditions, one that can easily turn terminal, I’ve got what they call skin in the game (and, yes, I know that GOPers only ever mean money when they say that, not life vs. death). I’ve also got Medicare, but it won’t cover lots of my expenses – I can only afford my illness because I have a private market supplemental insurance policy that picks up what Medicare leaves for me to pay. Of course, the Republican House is getting ready to go after Medicare too, so I can’t even count on that remaining intact. And don’t talk to me about risk pools – they tend to price treatment out of the reach of all but the wealthy. That just won’t do.
So that’s why I want to know why McCaskill’s name isn’t on this list. Was there a mistake? Was her name inadvertently omitted? Did she speak later? If that’s the case, then I will thank her. But if it isn’t, I want to know why she didn’t say anything. Where was she, and why wasn’t she standing up for me and for the rest of the many Missourians who have the same type of “skin” in the game that I have?
So our new California senator was there, but Feinstein was a no-show? Did she think that Kamala had the state covered?
I hear you about Medicare and the ACA. Last year I had cataract surgery that the ACA helped pay for (the 20% that Medicare doesn’t pay) so I would literally be blind without it.
To her credit, though, Feinstein seems to be doing a bang-up job today in putting Jeff Sessions on the hot seat he so richly deserves. She’s a lot like McCaskill – when she good, she’s very good, when she’s not, she’s infuriating (I lived in California for several years so I speak from experience).