Survey results come after Republican attacks on government-backed health programs, including the Affordable Care Act
About 7 million fewer Americans have health insurance today than did four years ago, a new survey has found, the highest uninsured rate since 2014. The results come after sustained Republican attacks on government-backed health schemes, including the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare.
The survey’s findings come as the public is incre...
US politics
Democratic 2020 hopefuls pay lip service to the left. Don’t be fooled | Bhaskar Sunkara
Likely candidates are begging for Wall Street’s support – and reminding us who really owns American democracy
It’s a framing that’s been everywhere over the past two years: the Resistance v Donald Trump. By some definitions that “resistance” even includes people like Mitt Romney and George W Bush. By almost all definitions it encompasses mainstream Democrats, such as the likely presidential hopefuls Cory Booker, Kamala Harris, and Kirsten Gillibrand.
In their rhetoric ...
Rashida Tlaib: Democrat defends call for Trump’s impeachment – live
Michigan congresswoman stood by impeachment comment as her office says: ‘Tlaib was elected to shake up Washington’
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On their first full day in power, House Democrats voted to jump into into a court battle defending the Affordable Care Act as part of their rules package.
From the Associated Press, new poll shows Americans increasingly concerned with immigration:
As much of the U.S. government remains shut down over President Donald Trump’s insistence on funding for his border wall, nearly half of Americans identify immigration as a top issue for the government to work on this year.
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Medicare for All: ‘huge step’ for proposal as Pelosi agrees to hold hearings – live
- Legislation would create universal health care system
- President accuses Democrats of ‘presidential harassment’
- Nancy Pelosi to be sworn in as House speaker
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Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib, one of the two first Muslim Congresswomen who will take office today, will take her oath of office on a copy of the Koran owned by Thomas Jefferson, per the Detroit Free Press.
Fun fact: When Rashida Tlaib, a Muslim, is sworn in as the first Palestinian-American woman in Congress today, she will take the oath of office using Thomas Jefferson’s personal copy of the Quran. https://t.co/wZ6I2eKq3v
The new 116th Congress has now officially convened.
Vice President Mike Pence is swearing in members of the Senate. House members are preparing to be sworn in.
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US election meddling: Russia running ‘active and ongoing’ operations – live
- Report on Russian interference prepared for the Senate accuses Facebook, Google and Twitter of impeding the investigation
- Russian disinformation campaign used every social media platform to help Trump in 2016 election and after he took office
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6.43pm GMT
A doctor who helped draft Obamacare said he’s “not particul...
How Republicans are turning US states into labs of anti-democracy
The party’s brazen efforts to rewire state legislature poses a greater threat than Trump – and will be all the harder to tackle
America’s federal system of government is, in theory, key to the strength of its democracy. As opposed to citizens in the more centralized states of Europe, Americans get to vote for a huge array of local offices, policies and ballot initiatives that can influence their lives for the better. Innovation in the states can be healthy for the whole country, such as when healthcare reform in Massachusetts provided inspiration for the Affordable Care Act. The supreme court justice Louis Brandeis famously praised US states as laboratories which could “try novel social and economic experiments without risk to the rest of the country”.
Related: Voter suppression is an all-American problem we can fight – and win | Cas Mudde
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Voting rights, marijuana and tampons: the night in ballot measures
State passes largest expansion of voting rights in decades as Massachusetts affirms transgender protections
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It’s not all about the red v blue. In dozens of states, voters cast ballots Tuesday on issues ranging from voting rights and climate change to gun control and taxing tech to fund homeless services. Four states will see voters weigh in on...
Midterm elections: Sean Hannity accused of lying about Trump rally as Beto O’Rourke delivers final message – live
- Fox News host campaigned onstage with Trump after claiming he wouldn’t
- Everything you need to know about the midterms
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3.09pm GMT
Guardian readers have been in touch about how they’re voting and the reasons why. For Lynne in New Mexico, universal healthcare and abortion rights are key issues. “I’d like to see universal healthcare provi...
Eight candidates with scientific degrees that have a shot in the 2018 midterm elections
There are 435 seats in the US House of Representatives. After the 2016 presidential election, Americans with some training in science attempted to fill 48 of those, and shift the balance of the Republican-majority Congress. Thirty fai...
Has Obamacare become a winning issue for Democrats?
Democrats were once reluctant to engage with attacks on the law. But in the midterms campaign, the tide has turned
Donald Trump would like to believe it’s all about him. And there is no doubt that the extraordinarily divisive US president has helped drive turnout on both sides of the midterm elections.
But after their catastrophe of 2016, when Hillary Clinton was criticised for lacking a clear message to compete with “Make America great again”, Democrats realised that a pure anti-Trump message would not be enough. Instead, many have maintained a laser-like focus on a single issue: protecting Americans’ healthcare.
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