My hat is off to this man.

"Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura)
07/26/2017 at 12:09 • Filed to: None

DISCUSSION (60)

Ash78, voting early and often > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
07/26/2017 at 12:13

Critics give him a lot of shit for his political pandering, but on a personal level that guy is a badass all around.

LongbowMkII > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
07/26/2017 at 12:15

Why? He just poisoned the irony well.

A man uses gov-paid healthcare in order to deny that same opportunity to millions.

Brain cancer is awful, but when his constituent had the same diagnosis McCain told him to move out of Arizona.

Honeybunchesofgoats > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
07/26/2017 at 12:16

https://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=press-releases&id=80124D36-EF8B-4CBD-A75A-9C6C697CA235

Context: I have it.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Ash78, voting early and often
07/26/2017 at 12:17

And loyal and dedicated to the government he serves. I’m glad he’s not trapped in the presidency right now and facing this illness.

bhtooefr > Honeybunchesofgoats
07/26/2017 at 12:19

Yeah, no.

I’ll trust McCain when he actually votes against the things that he says he’s opposed to.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > LongbowMkII
07/26/2017 at 12:19

He’ll do more to serve this country in the months before he dies than you or I will in our entire lives, regardless of whether or not we agree with his politics.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Honeybunchesofgoats
07/26/2017 at 12:20

And his remarks about not playing games but conduct the Senate’s business according to rules and not BS political BS.

Honeybunchesofgoats > bhtooefr
07/26/2017 at 12:21

I don’t disagree, since he has a history of voting one way and making statements the other, but I didn’t think it was obvious O.C. was referring to.

Textured Soy Protein > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
07/26/2017 at 12:22

I read this editorial yesterday and thought, “you know, this makes a lot of sense.”

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Textured Soy Protein
07/26/2017 at 12:24

I see McCain as allowing a process to continue. We need more honorable people in government, especially now.

I do not have to agree with John McCain’s politics or opinions to have the highest regard for the man.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
07/26/2017 at 12:25

He talks the talk, but never walks the walk.

random001 > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
07/26/2017 at 12:25

You can’t know that.

PS9 > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
07/26/2017 at 12:26

Helping throw your constituents under the bus you are comfortably riding in has a word, but ‘serve’ definitely isn’t it.

Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
07/26/2017 at 12:28

The brain cancer thing almost kind of makes sense given his ramblings during the depositions of Comey and that education jackass and that other jackass.

That being said he is a great man and hope nothing but the best for him.

LongbowMkII > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
07/26/2017 at 12:30

Politics have consequences. This isn’t the West Wing. I won’t ignore reality for a sense of decorum.

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > LongbowMkII
07/26/2017 at 12:34

Kinja'd!!!

Nothing > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
07/26/2017 at 12:47

Personally, I think he should resign his position, due to illness. It’s hard to separate the man from the politics. Your actions should follow your words, and yet after he speaks out, pandering to the court of public opinion, he tucks tail and votes along party lines nearly 100% of the time. He was done being a “maverick” 30 years ago, if he ever truly was one.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies
07/26/2017 at 12:57

Oh that’s harsh but true.

e36Jeff now drives a ZHP > LongbowMkII
07/26/2017 at 12:58

Let’s be clear here, he only voted yes on getting the healthcare bill to the floor for debate and amendments(rather than keeping it in a locked backroom). There is nothing wrong with this, as far as I’m concerned we would benefit from more bills making it past that hurdle. He has some serious reservations about the content of the bill as it currently stands, and as it currently stands the bill cannot clear the vote threshold required to pass it back to the house for review.

I should also note, I don’t really like his politics, but I do respect the man. He is one of the few republicans that is willing to speak ill of Trump on the record.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > LongbowMkII
07/26/2017 at 13:00

Do as you like in whatever reality you choose.

Sovande > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
07/26/2017 at 13:01

Is there a political blog you could post on? Cars, man. This is about cars.

Elumerere > e36Jeff now drives a ZHP
07/26/2017 at 13:02

Let’s be clear here as well, despite him saying he’d vote ‘no’ on the first pass of this bill he did in fact vote ‘yes’.

So, fuck him. He’s empty words.

No respect for this man.

If you need more info, read this:

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/make-believe-maverick-20081016

Elumerere > bhtooefr
07/26/2017 at 13:03

He did vote yes.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever
07/26/2017 at 13:03

It’s the kind of harsh but true that the Right likes to throw out and feel good about having done so afterward. Sometimes, it’s worth setting aside differences and being humane. We decry Donald Trump’s lack of humanity, then feel justified in showing that same lack, over politics.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Sovande
07/26/2017 at 13:05

I also post about cars. And wrenches. This is an off-topic blog. Oppos can read or reply — or not — to anything that’s found here.

His Stigness > LongbowMkII
07/26/2017 at 13:07

The media needs to point this out more.

There was an article in my feed entitled something to the effect of: McCain, recently diagnosed with brain cancer, returns to Washington for critical vote on health care.

What it should have read was: McCain, currently receiving free government healthcare, to return to Washington to vote on taking away health care from 32 or more million Americans.

Fuck McCain for being such a hypocritical asshole. And screw the people who are calling him a hero for it.

Textured Soy Protein > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
07/26/2017 at 13:18

The process that was allowed to continue was the process of the GOP writing ACA “repeal” bills that will be able to be passed through reconciliation with only 50 votes (i.e. without any need for Democrats to vote for it).

The only thing that will make a real improvement in the healthcare system is if Congress takes action to shore up the ACA markets. They also need to do something to lower premiums, deductibles, and costs of services, drugs and devices but that’s a whole different thing.

Any attempt at “repeal” will not do either of these things. The only possible outcomes of a “repeal” are to undermine the ACA markets and/or reduce Medicaid spending. The only thing that’s being debated is how far to go with either of these things. Both of these will satisfy the GOP’s moral objection to Obamacare specifically, and the government being in the healthcare business generally, but they will both be demonstrably bad for healthcare for millions of Americans.

The courageous thing to do would’ve been to say, “no, I do not want to proceed down this road, we need to work with Democrats to write something that shores up the ACA markets and will get 60 votes.”

But the point the editorial I linked to makes is that McCain is generally speaking reliably conservative and only bucks the party in certain limited instances where public opinion is strongly against the party, which is the case with all of the GOP’s current healthcare efforts.

Personally I’m more disappointed in the GOP moderates who were raising all those objections to cutting Medicaid spending (Collins, Capito, Portman, Heller & Murkowski) who voted to proceed anyway.

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
07/26/2017 at 13:28

I have problems. Sure he’s a decorated war hero, he’s been known to reach across the aisle. But! Anyone that votes for the possibility to take away health care from millions of Americans has a black mark in my book. Regardless of any other factors.

I made a comment in a post earlier today, we are stifling small business in this country with this uncertainty in health care. Which is no surprise being that corporate America seems to be a priority for both state and federal governments. But how am I supposed to quit my job and start a business if I don’t have access to reasonably affordable health care?

But that aside. How can ANYONE with a heart vote for something that essentially amounts to conspiracy to commit murder ?

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Textured Soy Protein
07/26/2017 at 13:29

It’s interesting to me to see how reliable Oppos respond to things and how differently they perceive things. I used to get modded for not typing context and then people would write freaky responses that maybe got deleted by mods before I even saw them, or whatever. In those cases, mods wouldn’t really engage with me about what they particularly wanted, or whatever. Here, I thought Wow, who would get up from their deathbed to come to Washington to vote on anything? I’d be like, hey, where are my grandchildren right now? But then again, I’m not a politician, so I wouldn’t understand, right?

I’m just happy, and I should have written this in my post, that Senator McCain is not trapped in the American presidency right now and facing down this illness at the same time. Which goes to what the mods were saying, in part, I suppose.

For my part, though it may not always be entirely obvious, I take my Oppo very seriously. I receive highly meaningful replies from thoughtful Oppos. And some replies that frankly disappoint.

As for healthcare, it’s too expensive and too inaccessible. I pay $15,000/year for a giant deductible. I don’t know enough to have much of an opinion on how healthcare ought to be fixed, but I do know that President Trump and his minions are screaming that Obamacare is failing, but they say little about how it’s failing.

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > Sovande
07/26/2017 at 13:29

Opposite Lock is for whatever you feel you want to discuss, as far as I knew! And as long as it falls within the guidelines. Being that we’re all car fans, a lot of discussion leans that way and that’s why I like hanging out here, but posts of something other than cars are a welcome addition in my opinion! Skip them if you don’t like them.

spanfucker retire bitch > LongbowMkII
07/26/2017 at 13:34

Respectability politics will be the death of us all.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs
07/26/2017 at 13:37

Conspiracy to commit murder? I’d call that hyperbole.

I share your dilemmas both with regard to the black mark and to the uncertainty in the healthcare insurance market and the disruption that it causes.

Just the same: I admire the guy, all politics aside.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > LongbowMkII
07/26/2017 at 13:45

Please read this, in its entirety:

“Mr. President:

“I’ve stood in this place many times and addressed as president many presiding officers. I have been so addressed when I have sat in that chair, as close as I will ever be to a presidency.

“It is an honorific we’re almost indifferent to, isn’t it. In truth, presiding over the Senate can be a nuisance, a bit of a ceremonial bore, and it is usually relegated to the more junior members of the majority.

“But as I stand here today – looking a little worse for wear I’m sure – I have a refreshed appreciation for the protocols and customs of this body, and for the other ninety-nine privileged souls who have been elected to this Senate.

“I have been a member of the United States Senate for thirty years. I had another long, if not as long, career before I arrived here, another profession that was profoundly rewarding, and in which I had experiences and friendships that I revere. But make no mistake, my service here is the most important job I have had in my life. And I am so grateful to the people of Arizona for the privilege – for the honor – of serving here and the opportunities it gives me to play a small role in the history of the country I love.

“I’ve known and admired men and women in the Senate who played much more than a small role in our history, true statesmen, giants of American politics. They came from both parties, and from various backgrounds. Their ambitions were frequently in conflict. They held different views on the issues of the day. And they often had very serious disagreements about how best to serve the national interest.

“But they knew that however sharp and heartfelt their disputes, however keen their ambitions, they had an obligation to work collaboratively to ensure the Senate discharged its constitutional responsibilities effectively. Our responsibilities are important, vitally important, to the continued success of our Republic. And our arcane rules and customs are deliberately intended to require broad cooperation to function well at all. The most revered members of this institution accepted the necessity of compromise in order to make incremental progress on solving America’s problems and to defend her from her adversaries.

“That principled mindset, and the service of our predecessors who possessed it, come to mind when I hear the Senate referred to as the world’s greatest deliberative body. I’m not sure we can claim that distinction with a straight face today.

“I’m sure it wasn’t always deserved in previous eras either. But I’m sure there have been times when it was, and I was privileged to witness some of those occasions.

“Our deliberations today – not just our debates, but the exercise of all our responsibilities – authorizing government policies, appropriating the funds to implement them, exercising our advice and consent role – are often lively and interesting. They can be sincere and principled. But they are more partisan, more tribal more of the time than any other time I remember. Our deliberations can still be important and useful, but I think we’d all agree they haven’t been overburdened by greatness lately. And right now they aren’t producing much for the American people.

“Both sides have let this happen. Let’s leave the history of who shot first to the historians. I suspect they’ll find we all conspired in our decline – either by deliberate actions or neglect. We’ve all played some role in it. Certainly I have. Sometimes, I’ve let my passion rule my reason. Sometimes, I made it harder to find common ground because of something harsh I said to a colleague. Sometimes, I wanted to win more for the sake of winning than to achieve a contested policy.

“Incremental progress, compromises that each side criticize but also accept, just plain muddling through to chip away at problems and keep our enemies from doing their worst isn’t glamorous or exciting. It doesn’t feel like a political triumph. But it’s usually the most we can expect from our system of government, operating in a country as diverse and quarrelsome and free as ours.

“Considering the injustice and cruelties inflicted by autocratic governments, and how corruptible human nature can be, the problem solving our system does make possible, the fitful progress it produces, and the liberty and justice it preserves, is a magnificent achievement.

“Our system doesn’t depend on our nobility. It accounts for our imperfections, and gives an order to our individual strivings that has helped make ours the most powerful and prosperous society on earth. It is our responsibility to preserve that, even when it requires us to do something less satisfying than ‘winning.’ Even when we must give a little to get a little. Even when our efforts manage just three yards and a cloud of dust, while critics on both sides denounce us for timidity, for our failure to ‘triumph.’

“I hope we can again rely on humility, on our need to cooperate, on our dependence on each other to learn how to trust each other again and by so doing better serve the people who elected us. Stop listening to the bombastic loudmouths on the radio and television and the Internet. To hell with them. They don’t want anything done for the public good. Our incapacity is their livelihood.

“Let’s trust each other. Let’s return to regular order. We’ve been spinning our wheels on too many important issues because we keep trying to find a way to win without help from across the aisle. That’s an approach that’s been employed by both sides, mandating legislation from the top down, without any support from the other side, with all the parliamentary maneuvers that requires.

“We’re getting nothing done. All we’ve really done this year is confirm Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. Our healthcare insurance system is a mess. We all know it, those who support Obamacare and those who oppose it. Something has to be done. We Republicans have looked for a way to end it and replace it with something else without paying a terrible political price. We haven’t found it yet, and I’m not sure we will. All we’ve managed to do is make more popular a policy that wasn’t very popular when we started trying to get rid of it.

“I voted for the motion to proceed to allow debate to continue and amendments to be offered. I will not vote for the bill as it is today. It’s a shell of a bill right now. We all know that. I have changes urged by my state’s governor that will have to be included to earn my support for final passage of any bill. I know many of you will have to see the bill changed substantially for you to support it.

“We’ve tried to do this by coming up with a proposal behind closed doors in consultation with the administration, then springing it on skeptical members, trying to convince them it’s better than nothing, asking us to swallow our doubts and force it past a unified opposition. I don’t think that is going to work in the end. And it probably shouldn’t.

“The Obama administration and congressional Democrats shouldn’t have forced through Congress without any opposition support a social and economic change as massive as Obamacare. And we shouldn’t do the same with ours.

“Why don’t we try the old way of legislating in the Senate, the way our rules and customs encourage us to act. If this process ends in failure, which seem likely, then let’s return to regular order.

“Let the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee under Chairman Alexander and Ranking Member Murray hold hearings, try to report a bill out of committee with contributions from both sides. Then bring it to the floor for amendment and debate, and see if we can pass something that will be imperfect, full of compromises, and not very pleasing to implacable partisans on either side, but that might provide workable solutions to problems Americans are struggling with today.

“What have we to lose by trying to work together to find those solutions? We’re not getting much done apart. I don’t think any of us feels very proud of our incapacity. Merely preventing your political opponents from doing what they want isn’t the most inspiring work. There’s greater satisfaction in respecting our differences, but not letting them prevent agreements that don’t require abandonment of core principles, agreements made in good faith that help improve lives and protect the American people.

“The Senate is capable of that. We know that. We’ve seen it before. I’ve seen it happen many times. And the times when I was involved even in a modest way with working out a bipartisan response to a national problem or threat are the proudest moments of my career, and by far the most satisfying.

“This place is important. The work we do is important. Our strange rules and seemingly eccentric practices that slow our proceedings and insist on our cooperation are important. Our founders envisioned the Senate as the more deliberative, careful body that operates at a greater distance than the other body from the public passions of the hour.

“We are an important check on the powers of the Executive. Our consent is necessary for the President to appoint jurists and powerful government officials and in many respects to conduct foreign policy. Whether or not we are of the same party, we are not the President’s subordinates. We are his equal!

“As his responsibilities are onerous, many and powerful, so are ours. And we play a vital role in shaping and directing the judiciary, the military, and the cabinet, in planning and supporting foreign and domestic policies. Our success in meeting all these awesome constitutional obligations depends on cooperation among ourselves.

“The success of the Senate is important to the continued success of America. This country – this big, boisterous, brawling, intemperate, restless, striving, daring, beautiful, bountiful, brave, good and magnificent country – needs us to help it thrive. That responsibility is more important than any of our personal interests or political affiliations.

“We are the servants of a great nation, ‘a nation conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.’ More people have lived free and prosperous lives here than in any other nation. We have acquired unprecedented wealth and power because of our governing principles, and because our government defended those principles.

“America has made a greater contribution than any other nation to an international order that has liberated more people from tyranny and poverty than ever before in history. We have been the greatest example, the greatest supporter and the greatest defender of that order. We aren’t afraid. We don’t covet other people’s land and wealth. We don’t hide behind walls. We breach them. We are a blessing to humanity.

“What greater cause could we hope to serve than helping keep America the strong, aspiring, inspirational beacon of liberty and defender of the dignity of all human beings and their right to freedom and equal justice? That is the cause that binds us and is so much more powerful and worthy than the small differences that divide us.

“What a great honor and extraordinary opportunity it is to serve in this body.

“It’s a privilege to serve with all of you. I mean it. Many of you have reached out in the last few days with your concern and your prayers, and it means a lot to me. It really does. I’ve had so many people say such nice things about me recently that I think some of you must have me confused with someone else. I appreciate it though, every word, even if much of it isn’t deserved.

“I’ll be here for a few days, I hope managing the floor debate on the defense authorization bill, which, I’m proud to say is again a product of bipartisan cooperation and trust among the members of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

“After that, I’m going home for a while to treat my illness. I have every intention of returning here and giving many of you cause to regret all the nice things you said about me. And, I hope, to impress on you again that it is an honor to serve the American people in your company.

“Thank you, fellow senators.

“Mr. President, I yield the floor.”

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > spanfucker retire bitch
07/26/2017 at 13:46

Somewhere, there is a line to be drawn on one side or the other of humanity , and I want my humanity to be on this side of that line, regardless of where yours (proverbially) may be.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
07/26/2017 at 13:47

For anyone who hasn’t read or listened to this:

“Mr. President:

“I’ve stood in this place many times and addressed as president many presiding officers. I have been so addressed when I have sat in that chair, as close as I will ever be to a presidency.

“I’m sure it wasn’t always deserved in previous eras either. But I’m sure there have been times when it was, and I was privileged to witness some of those occasions.

“What a great honor and extraordinary opportunity it is to serve in this body.

“Thank you, fellow senators.

“Mr. President, I yield the floor.”

LongbowMkII > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
07/26/2017 at 13:50

Actions speak louder than words.

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
07/26/2017 at 13:52

“Conspiracy to commit murder? I’d call that hyperbole.”

I don’t very much. There’s plenty of people whose life support system is the ACA. If you rely on it for life-saving medication, chemo treatments or anything else you need to stay alive/recover. Someone voting to take that away from you is voting to kill you.

“I admire the guy, all politics aside.”

From what I hear, I do too, to some extent. Obama’s comments on his dealings with him were particularly nice to hear. It does seem he is semi-reasonable. But still. That vote.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > LongbowMkII
07/26/2017 at 13:53

I don’t disagree with you; he only voted to continue discussion.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
07/26/2017 at 14:04

Dave, I had not read this, but when I posted about Senator McCain, this is the stuff of a variety of assumptions I made about Mr. McCain, and those assumptions, upon reading this statement, are proven more than 100% accurate. Thank you for sharing this, what may be one of the most relevant and important speeches ever to issue forth from a politician’s mouth.

Textured Soy Protein > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
07/26/2017 at 14:05

I know a lot about healthcare. The “failing” to which the GOP refers is that in some places, the options for healthcare coverage in general and through the ACA marketplace in particular are very limited and undesirable. In a more general sense, premiums and deductibles are too damn high.

To distill the problem down to more simple than it really is, prices for medical services, drugs, devices etc keep going up, most everybody pays for them through insurers rather than directly, and the insurers seek to control costs by charging higher premiums and deductibles.

In many ways, the ACA was designed to mitigate the problem by providing subsidies to insurers to incentivize them to offer coverage in the ACA marketplaces, but the GOP undermined several of those parts of the ACA. You can read more about that here .

Also, while deductibles and premiums continue to rise and are in many cases at undesirable/unsustainable levels, they have risen more slowly in the time since the ACA passed than the time directly preceding it.

Another part of the ACA that is not failing in the slightest is all of the states which used it to expand Medicaid. In all of those states, hundreds of thousands (and in some cases millions) more people have health coverage than before. But instead of a nationwide Medicaid expansion, we have a patchwork of states that did or did not expand Medicaid, because a bunch of red states fought the mandatory Medicaid expansion in court.

But even though Medicaid expansion has been a runaway success in 100% of the states that did it, the main GOP proposals all involve $700+ billion in cuts to Medicaid over the next 10 years in order to cut a similar amount of taxes on the wealthy. That is quite literally taking healthcare away from 20+ million people in order to give a tax break to the top tax bracket.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs
07/26/2017 at 14:06

Have you read or heard this?

http://oppositelock.kinja.com/1797271315

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
07/26/2017 at 14:11

At work, so don’t have time to read it all, but I scanned through it, it seems like a very well thought out statement.

This is an interesting bit. But one also needs to acknowledge that the ACA seems to be stabilizing, I’ve heard it several times recently and while it’s beginnings may be fraught. The result may not be, there’s some proof it won’t be. So why not give it a chance? Politicians are such assholes when it comes to party lines.

But I do appreciate he wants to bring some dignity and reason to the senate. It’s absolutely necessary.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Textured Soy Protein
07/26/2017 at 14:13

Thank you for this; I would like to discuss it more with you later on. I have to get away from Oppo and do some actual WORK right now...

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
07/26/2017 at 14:13

He’s by no means a perfect man (as none of us are), but he’s worthy of respect and thanks for his service. I gained even more respect for him for the rebukes he made to the false claims made against Obama during the 2008 campaign and for his concession speech at the end.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs
07/26/2017 at 14:14

Please find time later to read Senator McCain’s speech. I had not read it until just before I sent you the link. The speech is the stuff of the assumptions I’d made about Mr. McCain before my initial post.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
07/26/2017 at 14:15

John McCain is an honorable man, even if I do not always, or often, agree with him.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > LongbowMkII
07/26/2017 at 14:17

Will you look for five minutes to read this?

http://oppositelock.kinja.com/1797271315

LongbowMkII > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
07/26/2017 at 15:14

I read it. In a vacuum that’s nice, but with the context it’s abhorrent.

ttyymmnn > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
07/26/2017 at 15:15

And for all its eloquence, it fell on deaf ears. I can see Mitch McConnell in the background, checking his email.

LongbowMkII > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
07/26/2017 at 15:17

“It’s just a discussion”

Frankly, there’s nothing to discuss.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > LongbowMkII
07/26/2017 at 16:32

What if he actually succeeds in getting enough moderate Republicans together with enough Democrats to actually form a bill that a majority on both sides can agree on? Seems like wishful thinking at this point, but I’m sure there’s plenty of Democrats hearing from their constituents that the current state of the ACA is as unacceptable as the shitty plan the Republicans attempted to pass.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > ttyymmnn
07/26/2017 at 16:34

He might not need Mitch if he can convince enough moderate Republicans to join with enough Democrats. Wishful thinking, I know, because neither party wants either to have a “victory”, but one would like to think that some percentage of our representatives truly have the people’s best interest at heart...

ttyymmnn > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
07/26/2017 at 16:36

Well, in a moment of enlightenment, the Senate just rejected straight repeal.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > ttyymmnn
07/26/2017 at 16:51

I was confident of that. There are enough Republicans with some decency/compassion.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > ttyymmnn
07/26/2017 at 16:53

Kinja'd!!!

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > LongbowMkII
07/26/2017 at 16:55

Action:

Kinja'd!!!

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
07/26/2017 at 17:09

And not to put anyone on a Death Panel. Longbow disappoints me. Rigid attitudes like his make him and others part of someone’s ideological base — set in concrete — which is no place I want to be.

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
07/27/2017 at 00:04

““But they knew that however sharp and heartfelt their disputes, however keen their ambitions, they had an obligation to work collaboratively to ensure the Senate discharged its constitutional responsibilities effectively. Our responsibilities are important, vitally important, to the continued success of our Republic. And our arcane rules and customs are deliberately intended to require broad cooperation to function well at all. The most revered members of this institution accepted the necessity of compromise in order to make incremental progress on solving America’s problems and to defend her from her adversaries. “

It was a nice speach, but a load of shit from what he said 9 months ago.

http://www.npr.org/2016/10/17/498328520/sen-mccain-says-republicans-will-block-all-court-nominations-if-clinton-wins

“I promise you that we will be united against any Supreme Court nominee that Hillary Clinton, if she were president, would put up,”

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > gmporschenut also a fan of hondas
07/27/2017 at 01:28

That Garland thing was a dirty deal.

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
07/27/2017 at 23:28

a deal usually means you get at the least something