Three Things You Can Do to Fight Trumpcare Right Motha Fuckin' Now

These mother fuckers are effectively trying to sentence millions of people to death. Mark Wilson / Getty

Okay, I know, I'm cussing a lot. But it's only because I'm freaking out.

For the last few weeks, 13 men in another Washington have been meeting in secret during fucking LUNCH to figure out how many millions of people they can kick off healthcare without losing their seat in the Senate. And there's very little anyone can do about it.

Except for Mitch McConnell. Mitch McConnell could schedule hours of open hearings on the Senate's version of the American Health Care Act like the Democrats did with the Affordable Care Act. Mitch McConnell could allow Democrats to propose over a hundred amendments to the bill like Dems allowed Republicans to do during those hearings on the ACA. But no. Mitch McConnell is not doing any of that. As many, many, other outlets have reported, McConnell and the rest of his ghoulish cohort are going to jam this thing through before the July recess so they can move on to other business, like trying to find even more ways to cut taxes for the rich at the expense of the working poor.

But if you're not Mitch McConnell, and if you live in a blue state with two blue Senators like we do here in Seattle, there's not much you can do about this frankly tyrannical gesture. Except, of course, make noise.

There are effective ways of making noise and not-so-effective ways of making noise, however. An ineffective way of making noise is staring at your reflection in the mirror for fifteen minutes and saying "EhhhhhhHhhhHh maybe I should just move to Canada?" More effective ways include:

1. Filibustering by amendment. Indivisible organizers recommend pressuring Democratic Senators to introduce tens of thousands of amendments during the vote-a-rama period to slow the AHCA's passage through the Senate. You can help your Senator draft those amendments by writing one yourself at ouramendments.org. The amendment you'd add essentially demands that the new AHCA would preserve a number of protections from the ACA (coverage for pre-existing conditions, essential health benefits, expansion of Medicaid, etc.) for you personally.

It's true McConnell can shut down the vote-a-rama process the second he wants to, but forcing Republican Senators to vote against amendments emblazoned with their own constituents names is a bad look.

And it's true that these calls and congressional advocacy efforts are all really just ways for the Democratic party to fundraise and for Indivisible to get your e-mail. But the Democratic party is the only thing big enough to even slow down the AHCA, and you should be getting those e-mails from Indivisible anyway.

2. Thanking Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell for holding the Senate floor Monday night. Look at Cantwell telling these Republican Senators to drag the bill out of the shadows and into the light. She's in the minority, but at least she can bring some attention to this nonsense:

Call Murray: (206) 553-5545

Call Cantwell: (206) 220-6400

While you're on the phone, encourage both of them to commit even more loudly and proudly to more radical strategies. When I asked a spokesperson if Cantwell would withhold consent on all Senate business until the GOP starts holding open hearings on the AHCA, he told me "Senator Cantwell will use every tool appropriate to slow down or block the Trump agenda, including his disastrous healthcare plan," and added that she's co-sponsoring the No Hearing No Act bill, "which would require a hearing on any bill done under reconciliation which includes Trumpcare." That's nice, but the No Hearing No Act bill won't see any more light than the AHCA. Democrats need Senators like Cantwell, who is up for re-election in 2018, to use the most radical parliamentary maneuvers available to them.

What, after all, does any Democratic Senator have to lose by coming out as strongly as possible against a bill that only enjoys a 21 percent approval rating?

3. Protesting in front of the Federal Building tomorrow. Wednesday afternoon at 1:30 p.m., members of Washington CAN, a consumer advocacy group that's been around since the 1970s, plan to demonstrate outside of the Jackson Federal Building downtown. This demonstration is part of a nationwide effort by Health Care for America Now! to raise awareness about the issue.

Some of the Washington CAN people will dress up like pigs because, they say, "the latest iteration of Trump’s health care bill is like 'putting lipstick on a pig.'" You don't have to dress up like a pig. You can just show up with a sign and a dream.

Do you have better ideas? Good. Please share them in the comments: