House Republicans are celebrating a major victory over the Affordable Care Act (colloquially known as Obamacare). The House voted 217-213 on a repeal and replace bill Thursday. However, not every Republican is smiling.
https://twitter.com/WSJPolitics/status/860199801446649856
U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) was one of 20 Republicans to vote against the American Health Care Act (AHCA). Shortly after the vote, Massie explained his decision on Facebook:
Thursday the House will again attempt to pass a bill to repeal and replace Obamacare. Americans have been anxiously waiting in anticipation especially since the Freedom Caucus expressed support for the GOP’s new plan. The bill does indeed rescind some Obamacare taxes and regulations while putting other measures in place, but is it really what the country needs?
Last week, Congress avoided a government shutdown by agreeing to a continuing resolution to keep the federal government funded for another week.
Then over the weekend, US lawmakers agreed to a deal that will extend funding through September while Congress and the White House continue to negotiate longer-term fiscal policy priorities.
The US House passed the budget deal Wednesday.
At the Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Wednesday, FBI Director James Comey said a number of curious things, but one comment in particular stood out. When asked about Russian influence in the U.S. election and the ability to combat a foreign actor’s misinformation campaign, the Director said, “We need to arm ourselves with good troll armies pushing back.”
Say what?
Evangelizers often run into resistance, and so I’ve noticed not everyone I talk to about the Centrist Project gets excited. “Sorry, but it’s a waste of time. Third parties can’t succeed in America. We’ve got a two-party system and these are the two parties we’ve got.” Or to put it differently, we’re stuck with the way things are.
But the lessons of American history aren’t quite as clear cut as the naysayers would have it.
After busting some myths about US education performance and its causes, we interview renowned SF Teacher of the Year Lana Corda to understand some of the challenges facing one of the toughest school districts in the country. We learn a lot about the on-the-ground details on some of the barriers to improving student performance.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTsBAxngGLY
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI), and Edward Snowden all have reason to cheer the recent win for privacy.
Update: A federal judge dismissed the DNC lawsuit on August 28. The court recognized that the DNC treated voters unfairly, but ruled that the DNC is a private corporation; therefore, voters cannot protect their rights by turning to the courts:
In April, Maine Treasurer Terry Hayes announced her 2018 campaign for governor. She says she is running on a campaign that puts Maine and its people before partisan politics.
“I care about what is in the best interest of our state and its people,” Hayes states in the press release announcing her candidacy. “This is just the start of an eighteen month job interview with Maine voters. Together, we can move Maine beyond the divisive partisan politics that are holding us back.”
https://youtu.be/WDH9oLh6WXg
The divide between the left and the right continues to grow with no end in sight.
Senators Angus King (I-ME) and Susan Collins (R-ME) sat down with Chuck Todd on NBC's Meet the Press this past Sunday to provide their take as some of the more independent-minded members of the Senate, on the causes, effects, and solutions to polarization.