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January 12, 2017 11:26 AM UTC

Cory Gardner Presides Over Obamacare Repeal Instigation

  • 27 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

While you were sleeping, as the New York Times reports:

Senate Republicans took their first major step toward repealing the Affordable Care Act on Thursday, approving a budget blueprint that would allow them to gut the health care law without the threat of a Democratic filibuster.

The vote was 51 to 48. During the roll call, Democrats staged a highly unusual protest on the Senate floor to express their dismay and anger at the prospect that millions of Americans could lose health insurance coverage.

One by one, Democrats rose to voice their objections. Senator Maria Cantwell of Washington said that Republicans were “stealing health care from Americans.” Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon said he was voting no “because health care should not just be for the healthy and wealthy.”

The presiding officer, Senator Cory Gardner, Republican of Colorado, repeatedly banged his gavel and said the Democrats were out of order because “debate is not allowed during a vote.”

That’s right–late last night, Colorado’s own Sen. Cory Gardner presided over the initial votes to repeal the Affordable Care Act, a.k.a. Obamacare. With no replacement plan in a state of readiness, this was a vote to strip millions of Americans of health coverage–including hundreds of thousands of Coloradans. And we’re not talking about the fake “cancellations” that Gardner has been misleadingly railing against for years, “cancellation notices” that were actually notices to renew–to policies that comply with the additional protections and coverage requirements of the ACA.

This time, Americans and Coloradans may lose their health coverage and not get it back.

Given Gardner’s promises in out-of-state media that Obamacare would be “replaced” with a “better” system while refusing to give any details, and the very serious potential harm to Gardner’s constituents that could result if Obamacare is repealed and not replaced with a system that covers as many people, we are increasingly dumbfounded as to why our local media is basically ignoring Gardner’s large role in this process. Where the hell is Mark Matthews? Where the hell is Kyle Clark? How is it that Colorado’s Senator manages to get quoted by everyone except the Colorado media?

Serious shit is going down in Washington, D.C., right now, and Sen. Gardner should be answering for it.

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27 thoughts on “Cory Gardner Presides Over Obamacare Repeal Instigation”

    1. Cory Gardner is a disgrace and embarrassment to the people of Colorado. Get ready, because after the affordable care act he’s going for Medicare. Shame on you!

        1. Finer than frogs' hair (which,of course, is so fine you can't see it.cheeky)

          Playing a lot of music, lately. Having fun messing with idiot trolls…some things never change. What have you been up to?

          Next time you get to Junction, dinner is on me

          2. This is Senator Bennety's response to my question why he voted as he did on the importation of drugs issue:

             

             Thank you for contacting me regarding amendment #178 to Sen.Con.Res 3. I appreciate hearing from you.

            Allowing the importation of drugs into this country without giving the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proper authority to oversee their safety could pose serious risks. In 2005 the FDA intercepted imported drugs that consumers thought they were buying from Canadian pharmacies. Of the drugs they thought were "Canadian," 85% actually came from 27 other countries. Additionally, some of these products were found to be counterfeit. Because of these safety concerns, I voted against the non-binding amendment calling for importation. 

            Prices of medications increased 9.4% between 2006 and 2013. In 2015, prescription medications that are most commonly used by seniors have increased by almost 16%. The pharmaceutical industry has not been transparent about their business model or the need for exorbitant price hikes. In the face of cancer treatments that cost $100,000 or more, Coloradans are faced with daily decisions about what necessities they will sacrifice to pay for life-saving medications. After working on drug safety issues for more than six years, I believe we can have lower prices and safe medications.

            There are important steps we can take to start bringing prices down.  The pharmaceutical industry has expressed strong opposition to government negotiations, but I believe we should give the government the ability to negotiate lower drug prices with pharmaceutical companies under Medicare Part D. Medicare's purchasing and negotiating power could provide real relief to America's seniors. Additionally, I was one of a handful of Senators who voted to take away all marketing rights for drug companies that are found guilty of fraud.

            I will also continue to fight against repeal of the Affordable Care Act which has been instrumental in increasing affordable high-quality care for over 600,000 Coloradans.

            Lowering health care costs – particularly for prescriptions drugs – is vital. This will continue to be a priority of mine moving forward, but we need to do it in a way that keeps us safe.

            I value the input of fellow Coloradans in considering the wide variety of important issues and legislative initiatives that come before the Senate. I hope you will continue to inform me of your thoughts and concerns.

            For more information about my priorities as a U.S. Senator, I invite you to visit my website at http://bennet.senate.gov/. Again, thank you for contacting me.

             

            Sincerely,

             

            Signature

            Michael F. Bennet
            United States Senator

            1. we need to do it in a way that keeps us safe. 

              Here is the catch that so many bullshit artists use to justify screwing the public. 

              So…..the FDA keeps us safe? Who knew?

              Thurston is keeping us safe solely by making sure that drugs that say they are from Canada, are actually from Canada. He gives no information about anything actually being dangerous, did he?

              1. Canadians must be dropping left and right from these drugs, which, by the way, are in significant part originally imported from the US. The safety excuse is some bullshit these cowards hide behind knowing that the White House won't approve the drugs, as noted in this article.

                I have to correct myself. Of course, "coward" is the wrong word to use. He’s not afraid to stand up to the folks who’ve given him so much money– he just doesn’t want to.

    1. Doable, yes.  Since upwards of a half a million Coloradans could lose their coverage due to their Senator Gardner's willful disregard for the health, safety and welfare of his constitutents (that aren't millionaires, anyway)

      The Denver Post Editorial Board must really be proud of themselves.

      1. The wording of the Colorado Constitutional Article XXI is that the recall petition would have to be signed by:

        "registered electors entitled to vote for a successor of such incumbent ".

        In Colorado, any registered voter can vote for any nominee of any party. So, no, not just Republicans, but registered voters. Colorado Senators Giron and Morse were recalled by a group of registered voters of various affiliations.

        I am also not a lawyer, but am shopping the recall idea around, hope to form a committee, and have some lawyers sign on to advise and draft the petition.

        For Gorky's objection that it might be unconstitutional overreach by a state, how many right wingnuts would be willing to go to bat for Federal precedence over "state's rights"? wink

        And the Trumpsters have made congressional term limits a campaign promise, albeit one that they probably won't be able to keep.

         

        1. How and by whom would he be replaced?

           

          The serious downside of impeaching Trump would be that Slick Mikey Pence would step up.

          Trump is a stupid disaster.

          Slick Mikey Pence would be a smart, conniving disaster.

          1. The post is about recalling Senator Cory Gardner. Impeaching Trump would be another rodeo. Certainly, there are grounds for both recalling Gardner and impeaching Trump.

          1. Thanks for weighing in. I know you have legal training. I'll continue to seek the opinion of an election lawyer on this matter.

            What I have found out: there are no provisions for recall of Federal officials in the US Constitution. And nine states, including Colorado, have constitutional language that “any elected official” can be recalled. There have been precedents in which people have tried to recall sitting Congresspeople, but these were stopped by state officials. It’s likely that the legality of such an initiative would have to be decided by the US Supreme Court.

            https://ballotpedia.org/Laws_governing_recall#State.2C_local.2C_and_federal

            1. The fact that no federal official has ever been recalled by voters speaks for itself.  In Colorado's case, Scotus ruled state term limits could not apply to federal offices.  Too bad in a way.

  4. How can they not have a replacement plan written by the insurance lobby ready to go?  They have had six years to prepare for this moment.  How is it possible that they don't have a clue what to do next?  Is this a complex conspiracy or do they really not know what they want as a replacement?

      1. Totally agree dude. It's not like they can just tell people what they're bill entails.   They need a safe space to craft their awesome new plan.  Any scrutiny or fake news of what is in their bill will hurt their sensibilities.  Cory Gardner has a plan.  Donald Trump has a plan.  We should trust that.  Any suffering that might come out of the repeal is God's will.  Keep government out of it and let the private sector to determine who is worthy of healthcare and how much they are worthy of. If they are unworthy, too bad. Don't you agree AC?

    3. Individual Republicans seem to have their preferred options. The challenge is that they apparently don't have a coherent package with anything close to common support.

      As only one example – Sen. Gardner just introduced legislation to allow birth control pills to be sold over the counter. I'm betting those Republicans with close ties to pharmacy companies and several medical associations will oppose it, and if it passes, it will be with substantial Democratic support to push it over the line.

  5. It's official — with Republicans at the wheel, deficits don't matter again:

    What are conservatives doing voting to increase debt by $9 trillion?

    http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/congress/article125030014.html

    This is part of the reconciliation bill to begin the repeal of Obamacare.  They already know that it alone will increase the debt by $137 billion.  So I guess they expect the rest to go for tax cuts to their billionaire supporters, or maybe a Presidential Palace in each state (hey, Saddam Hussien had his multiple palaces, surely America the Greatest can top that!)

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