A Mile Wide, An Inch Deep

tl,dr: Yesterday was a huge victory for high quality, affordable health care in election after election. In exit polls nationwide, voters confirmed that health care was their top priority—and they punished those officials at every level of government who had sought to take it away. Even in races where health care proponents ultimately lost, the margin of victory was often significantly closer than anyone would have predicted two years ago in states won handily by Donald Trump—thanks to the power of health care voters. And, of course, a number of the Affordable Care Act’s harshest foes were forced to lie about their opposition to the law in a sweeping reversal of health care politics from previous election cycles. With Democrats taking control of the U.S. House of Representatives, the door has been firmly closed on further legislative attempts next year to repeal the ACA, gut Medicaid, block low-income patients from accessing care at Planned Parenthood, or cut Medicare to pay for t...

With Donald Trump remaking the Republican Party in his image, a number of prominent conservatives, Republicans, and former Republicans have argued that the only way to save the GOP from racism, corruption, conspiracies, and alternative facts is to hand the party a big defeat at the polls by voting a straight Democratic ticket. For conservatives like Max Boot and Tom Nichols, the issue is straightforward . The common rejoinder from their Republican-voting friends is always the same: abortion . Often on this blog I'm repurposing writing and research that I've done in a professional capacity for other entities, adding some personal color or making it much more partisan. This time I'm not aligned with any organization. In fact, I'm about to go off-message. But when I see Republicans using abortion as a reason to give a blank check to an administration that threatens our democracy itself, I think... Can we... can we be honest with each other for just a second? I...

tl,dr; Yesterday was a lot. An angry, spittle-flecked, partisan hack cried, screamed, pouted, spouted conspiracy theories, and most importantly lied under oath, looking every bit like the aggressive mean drunk that his victims told us he was. And Republican men apologized to him—to him!—without saying a single word to the woman he attacked, even as she earnestly, painfully relived one of the worst moments of her life. My write-up: After a harrowing hearing on Thursday, Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee look set to advance the Supreme Court nomination of Brett Kavanaugh. The vote could come less than 24 hours after Dr. Christine Blasey Ford testified under oath that Kavanaugh had sexually assaulted her when they were both teenagers. Even though two more women—Deborah Ramirez and Julie Swetnick—have accused Kavanaugh of sexual assault on the record and have called for an FBI investigation into their allegations, only Dr. Blasey Ford was allowed to testify. Afraid of...

—September 26, 2018 —   Reliving my own stories of disempowerment and hearing those of so many other women, I wanted to relay a story about one time with a happier ending. When I was a freshman in college, I lived in a dorm with a handful of girls I’m still friends with today. At some point early in the year, the boys who lived on the first floor right by the entrance put up a soft-core porn poster on the outside of their door depicting a college-age girl in a demeaning pose. Every girl who entered the dorm had to walk by that poster just to get to her own bedroom. It was degrading, threatening, disgusting. It communicated: we can do whatever we want and you just have to put up with it. I don’t remember who had the idea but I remember that I was the one who found the replacement poster: a male stripper in a provocative pose completely naked but for a well-placed cowboy hat covering his genitalia. Early one morning, my partner in crime and I crept down to the first floo...

Julie Swetnick A third woman, Julie Swetnick, has come forward alleging sexual assault by Brett Kavanaugh and his best friend in high school, Mark Judge. ( Link to the affidavit . Allegations are disturbing so warning in advance.) Mark Judge—now a conservative writer with a long history of making misogynistic, homophobic, and transphobic statements—is also a witness and accomplice to the attempted rape alleged by Dr. Christine Blasey Ford. Swetnick has stated her allegations in an affidavit under oath and is calling for an FBI investigation. Her  allegations align with  those made by Ford, Deborah Ramirez, and  Mark Judge's high school girlfriend . Two quick asides: 1- Swetnick is represented by Michael Avenatti, Stormy Daniels lawyer, and Republicans are trying to make him the story , instead of responding to what Swetnick has said under oath. 2- After  Ramirez came forward in the New Yorker , the New York Times ran an absolute shit hit piece on Ramirez...

Kavanaugh categorically denies the allegations. His conservative backers think he probably did it anyway. They just don't care. Or care that he could be lying about it now. On Sunday, the Washington Post reported that California psychology professor Dr. Christine Blasey Ford had credibly accused Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault and attempted rape when they were both in high school. As reported in the Post, significant circumstantial evidence supports Dr. Blasey Ford, who described the attack to therapists in 2012 and 2013, long before Kavanaugh’s nomination, and who passed a lie detector test in August. The Senate Judiciary Committee had been scheduled to vote on the nomination today, with a vote in the full Senate planned for next week. At first, Republicans attempted to muscle their way through. When that became untenable, they hastily announced a hearing for this coming Monday, September 24, allowing little time to investigate...

Omnibus, Poison Pills, and a Third Government Shutdown? This week, Congress is negotiating the last pieces of an omnibus spending package to fund the government through the end of the fiscal year. Current stopgap funding expires on March 23. Originally slated for a House vote this week, the timeline has been pushed to early next week. While most of the spending decisions have been finalized, big questions remain over more than a hundred controversial policy changes that Republicans hope to tie the bill. The package is likely one of the last big, must-pass bills Congress will take up before the election, making it the last chance for members of Congress to win legislative victories that they can take home. Anti-abortion conservatives, in particular, are clamoring for a win now that Republicans have given up on attempting a third reconciliation package, which would have let them once again try to force through attacks on Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers with just 50 s...

I first started covering federal gun policy for a member of Congress in 2006. In the 12 years since, I’ve heard every possible defense of guns there is, and every last one of them falls apart under even mild scrutiny. I used to be more respectful and nuanced in my tone and approach. I used to hold “moderate, middle ground” positions and push for incremental change and meticulously but gently list the overwhelming catalog of evidence to support gun control . But it’s been a long 12 years and I’m tired. I’ve lived through Congressional staffers like me getting murdered while doing routine constituent outreach . I’ve lived through little kids getting slaughtered attending school . I’ve lived through movie-goers and concert-goers and church-goers and club-goers getting shot by angry, (overwhelmingly) white, (always) men with arsenals that no civilian should ever have access to. I’m tired of the stupid, stupid, stupid fact-free talking points drafted by gun manufacturers to dr...

As January wraps up, it appears that Congress is still nowhere close to a deal on several major issues with significant implications for health policy. Four months into fiscal year 2018, Congress still can’t agree on FY 2018 funding levels or a budget deal to prevent sequestration — the deep, automatic, across-the-board cuts set to hit everything from the military to family planning and HIV/AIDS services to road and bridge safety. Hardline conservatives are happy to let sequestration hit non-defense priorities like health care, education, and infrastructure but are pushing for new spending for the Pentagon. Democrats have said that’s a non-starter. Meanwhile, there’s little evidence that Congress is any closer to a DACA deal for Dreamers, and there are significant concerns that, even if the Senate can pass something, Republican leadership in the House won’t bring it to a vote unless moderate Republicans face more public pressure. If there’s a silver lining to this madness ...