Remember the great Peanuts comic strip where every time Charlie Brown went to kick the football it was yanked away? Think of congressional Republicans as Charlie Brown and Medicaid as the football.
For 40 years, the GOP has tried to slash Medicaid, the federal-state health care program targeted at the poor. They'll get some temporary wins, only to have that football yanked back. Over the past 40 years, Medicaid has grown more than Medicare.
They're at it again.<...
Opinion
If Biden doesn’t run, would Bernie be the best alternative?
Republicans delight in polls showing most Democrats don’t want President Biden to run for a second term.
Well, that leads to a question: How do they feel about Bernie? As in Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).
A Reuters/Ipsos poll of Democrats taken last month found that the 81-year-old Sanders is running second for the 2024 presidential nomination. With 13 percent support, he is ahead of Vice President Kamala Harris (12 percent) and Transportation Secretary Pete ...
If Biden doesn’t run, would Bernie be the best alternative?
Republicans delight in polls showing most Democrats don’t want President Biden to run for a second term.
Well, that leads to a question: How do they feel about Bernie? As in Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).
A Reuters/Ipsos poll of Democrats taken last month found that the 81-year-old Sanders is running second for the 2024 presidential nomination. With 13 percent support, he is ahead of Vice President Kamala Harris (12 percent) and Transportation Secretary Pete ...
The government will finally cover obesity care for its employees — but not the rest of us
Obesity is a complicated disease that is poorly understood by the public. Unfortunately, treatment for this disease is hindered by societal misconceptions and discriminatory beliefs that confuse appearance with disease. The recent media coverage and popularity of new anti-obesity medications (AOM) has given some more confidence to seek treatment for this disease. However, most people still cannot access care because their insurance will not pay for it — unless you are a federal employee.<...
Everyone wants to cut Medicare
“Let’s all agree to stand up for seniors,” President Biden told Congress in his State of the Union address. “If anyone tries to cut Medicare, I will stop them.”
Yet, Congress has been constantly pruning Medicare for over four decades — most recently under Biden and the Democratic majority only a few months ago. While most politicians promise to oppose cuts to Medicare on the campaign trail, the bulk of legislators have voted repeatedly to do so, because the growth of expenditu...
Is a Democrat headed for the Mississippi governor’s mansion?
Now that you all have placed your Super Bowl bets and don't want to be a chalk-eater, here's a good underdog wager: A Democrat will win the Mississippi governor's race this year.
Yeah, sounds crazy.
The deep-red Magnolia State went overwhelmingly for Donald Trump, hasn't voted for a Democratic president since 1976, for a U.S. Senator in 40 years — and not for a Democratic governor in almost a quarter century.
But incumbent Gov. Tate Reeves is not very popul...
Democrats, keep your eye on the prize: getting things done
The high from a successful midterm election for Democrats feels like a vague and distant memory. After defying history with one of the four best midterms for a party controlling the White House in the last century, we have settled into our new lives under divided government. And it ain’t pretty.
While the intense GOP infighting over Kevin McCarthy’s nomination to be Speaker of the House was entertaining at first, it quickly turned into deep anxiety. As McCarthy (R-Calif.) cont...
Democrats, keep your eye on the prize: getting things done
The high from a successful midterm election for Democrats feels like a vague and distant memory. After defying history with one of the four best midterms for a party controlling the White House in the last century, we have settled into our new lives under divided government. And it ain’t pretty.
While the intense GOP infighting over Kevin McCarthy’s nomination to be Speaker of the House was entertaining at first, it quickly turned into deep anxiety. As McCarthy (R-Calif.) cont...
Déjà vu all over again: Tea Party tactics and realpolitik
After the French Revolution, when the Bourbon regime was restored to power, the French statesman Charles Talleyrand remarked, “They learned nothing and they forgot nothing.” That may also be true of the Republican Party after Donald Trump.
The new Republican majority in the House of Representatives is hell-bent on revenge. Revenge for what? For eight years of Barack Obama and his hated Obamacare program. For Republican insiders who foisted establishment figures like George W. ...
Déjà vu all over again: Tea Party tactics and realpolitik
After the French Revolution, when the Bourbon regime was restored to power, the French statesman Charles Talleyrand remarked, “They learned nothing and they forgot nothing.” That may also be true of the Republican Party after Donald Trump.
The new Republican majority in the House of Representatives is hell-bent on revenge. Revenge for what? For eight years of Barack Obama and his hated Obamacare program. For Republican insiders who foisted establishment figures like George W. ...