Healthcare: Republican Hide and Don’t Seek.


CREDIT: Screencap via Twitter.

CREDIT: Screencap via Twitter.

Hide & Don’t Seek, the new rethuglican game with healthcare. They have literally hidden their ACA replacement bill. That makes it clear just how lousy it is, and that it basically only has to do with healthcare in the sense of removing it.

Democratic lawmakers spent much of Thursday wandering around the Capitol in an attempt to find House Republicans’ health care plan to replace the Affordable Care Act. They couldn’t find it.

On Wednesday, House Republicans said they would release their much anticipated plan the next day, but that only House Republicans would be able to see it. Rep. Chris Collins (R-NY) said it would be available in a “basement of an office building that adjoins the Capitol.”

“No one is getting a copy … We can go and read it,” Rep. Collins told the Washington Examiner.

Democratic lawmakers, such as Rep. Steny Hoyer, (D-MD) Rep. Jan Schakowski (D-IL), and Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ) went on an “egg hunt” for the document.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) tweeted that the bill was “under lock and key,” but that he would demand a copy so the American people could see it. Sen. Paul added that it was “unacceptable” that one of the biggest issues before Congress and the American people would be kept secret.

Paul then reportedly wheeled over a copy machine to make copies of the bill, but was barred from entering the room where it was reportedly being kept. The bill had also been moved from the room before Paul got there, Politico reported.

You can follow all the tweets and the idiotic Republican hiding of healthcare at Think Progress. I think everyone is going to find that when they get to the bill, there is no there there.

Comments

  1. Chris J says

    Is it even legal to prevent lawmakers from viewing the law they’d be voting on? Especially if it’s denying everyone of a particular party? Or is this just something like a group writing a bill and not letting people read it until it’s finished? Gotta figure out how much outrage I should be feeling right now.

  2. rq says

    There’s a folk story called (loose translation) “Go there, don’t know where; bring back that, don’t know what” (sounds better in the original, Aizej tur, nezin kur; atnes to, nezin ko). Unfortunately, even with its talking giant frogs and magic, the story makes a lot more sense than whatever scary and childish game the Republicans are running about the ACA replacement. How is this serious, productive work and not a waste of government resources?
    Filthy rich assholes fucking everyone over sounds about right.

  3. says

    Chris J:

    Is it even legal to prevent lawmakers from viewing the law they’d be voting on?

    Since when, exactly, have republicans cared about the legality of something? Not that long ago, they illegally shut the whole government down in a temper tantrum. It’s nice you think they care about such things, but that rosy view doesn’t accord with reality.

    It’s quite obvious in the article that the bill is finished.

  4. Chris J says

    @Caine:

    Hey, I never said I think Republicans care about legality. :P

    Hrm… wrong emote…

    :|

    There we go.

    Someone should keep a record of shit like this so that the next time someone claims “both sides do it” you can dump a whole history of Republicans doing everything they can get away with and Democrats… not.

  5. says

    Is it even legal to prevent lawmakers from viewing the law they’d be voting on?

    This is a representative democracy!

    Which means that you have people who don’t represent you voting on laws they haven’t seen, based on party lines.

  6. says

    I am shocked the bill hasn’t leaked, yet.

    The only reason it hasn’t is because I suspect it looks like the “book” Jack Nicholson’s character was writing in “The Shining.”

  7. says

    Marcus:

    The only reason it hasn’t is because I suspect it looks like the “book” Jack Nicholson’s character was writing in “The Shining.”

    Yeah, there’s no there there.

  8. sandykat says

    I’m guessing it’s a little different in the US system, but here in Canada it’s essentially ILLEGAL to release the contents of a Bill to anyone outside the elected members of the governing party until it is introduced in the House, under the concept of Parliamentary privilege. The lawmakers as a group have to be the first to see it.

  9. komarov says

    Judging by the hubbub and general to-and-froing described above I assume this is a bit more than ‘you can’t see it until it’s ready’. Which is especially horrifying given that Republicans seem to have no compunctions about introducing idiotic laws that are based in unreason and fantasy. Others have said it before: they’re incapbale of shame. If they don’t want anyone to see their latest creation it must be grotesque even by their standars. Perhaps it’s written on a napkin. Or perhaps it’s a napkin but there isn’t anything written on it at all.

    At any rate, any reasonable politician would and should, by default, vote no (or use veto if able) on unseen legislation. This should be followed by some passionate remarks about sensible government and legislation. Then, with the session ended, our phantastic politician would mount their unicorn and ride home, their work done for the day.

  10. says

    “But the plans were on display…”
    “On display? I eventually had to go down to the cellar to find them.”
    “That’s the display department.”
    “With a flashlight.”
    “Ah, well the lights had probably gone.”
    “So had the stairs.”
    “But look, you found the notice didn’t you?”
    “Yes,” said Arthur, “yes I did. It was on display in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying ‘Beware of the Leopard.'”

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