Profiles in cowardice
On virtually the eve of our nation’s 249th Independence Day, the U.S. Congress descended to a level of travesty and tragedy I’ve rarely, if ever, witnessed.
Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski cast the deciding vote for a bill that will cripple health care, devastate the poor, pour tens of billions into rapidly increasing, draconian immigration enforcement and balloon the national debt to dangerous levels.
She then announced she hoped the House will change the bill she voted for. It didn’t.
“My sincere hope is that this is not the final product,” she told Axios. “The bill needs more work across chambers and is not ready for the President’s desk. We need to work together to get this right.”
Only The New York Times noted that after the chaotic noon vote “most senators have quickly fled the Capitol. Their cars were idling on the plaza to ferry them to the airport.” That left it to House members to stand up to Donald Trump—something Republican members of Congress in both chambers repeatedly have failed to do. So much for “working together.”
And why did Murkowski vote for the bill, which passed on a tie-breaker vote cast by the vice-president? Politico reports she cut deals for her state, some to lessen the impact of cuts on food stamp distribution and on rural hospitals, leaving many million more—including Republican voters—in 49 other states hanging out to dry.
It was a profile of cowardice. But then, there have been other Republican cowards, like Josh Hawley, who decried the Medicaid cuts, which he acknowledged would shut community hospitals and hurt his constituents, and then voted yes, too.
It is not hard to gauge much of the damage this bill will cause. It will strip the neediest Americans of health care, college loans and grants, and food stamps. And at the same time, it will massively drive up the national debt, meaning more will be spent on paying interest and less on programs. It will further destabilize the dollar, which has rapidly lost value.
For what?
To provide a win for Donald Trump, who seems hellbent on systematically dismantling this country, from its health care to its scientific research, from its National Parks to its elite universities that have contributed enormously to this country’s inventions and contributions in the world. And to put even more money in the pockets of the nation’s billionaires and multimillionaires who support Republicans’ campaigns.
But the law’s damage likely also will be considerably worse than most people already are aware of. For example, while the media have given substantial coverage to the Congressional Budget Office’s estimate that nearly 12 million Americans will lose their health insurance through Medicaid, much less attention has been paid to potentially devastating cuts in the Affordable Care Act that will end health insurance for millions more.
(This is an excerpt from Jerry Lanson’s excellent substack.)