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Critics at Town Halls Confront Republicans Over Health Care New York Times But this week, with the House on a break, few of the 217 Republicans who approved legislation to repeal and replace critical parts of the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, chose to defend their votes at public meetings. Those who did were, in several ... Few Republicans hold town halls after health care voteABC News Democrats Shame Republicans With 'Adopt a District' Plan to Hold Town Halls for Missing GOP RepresentativesAlterNet Democrats Are Shaming Republicans by Holding Town Halls in GOP DistrictsNew Republic Mother Jones -The Guardian all 46 news articles »

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Critics at Town Halls Confront Republicans Over Health Care - New York Times

Democrats hold a 16-point lead over Republicans in a generic House ballot, according to a poll released on Wednesday.

TheQuinnipiac University Pollfound that54 percent of respondents said they would like to see the Democrats control the House of Representatives, while 38 percent said the Republicans. Eight percent said they did not know or had no answer.

A majority of Americans disapproves of the job both parties are doing in Congress.

Fifty-eight percent disapprove of the job Democrats are doing, while 34 percent approve.

Republicans currently hold 238 seats in the House, meaning Democrats need to flip at least 25 seats in the 2018 mid-term elections to gain a majority in the lower chamber.

The same poll also found that President Trumps job approval rating has dipped to a near-record low of 36 percent.

There is no way to spin or sugarcoat these sagging numbers, Tim Malloy, the assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll, said in a press release.

The erosion of white men, white voters without college degrees and independent voters, the declaration by voters that President Donald TrumpDonald TrumpWarren: Trump wants to cut off any investigation of him Le Pen's defeat in France aside, assess populism case by case Dem lawmaker rips Trump for making friends with top Russian diplomat MOREs first 100 days were mainly a failure and deepening concerns about Trumps honesty, intelligence and level headedness are red flags that the administration simply can't brush away.

The Quinnipiac survey was conducted from May 4 to 9, surveying 1,078 voters across the country. It has a margin of error of 3 percentage points.

By comparison, Democrats currently hold a 5.8 point lead on Republicans, according to the RealClearPolitics poll average of the generic House ballot.

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Poll: Dems lead Republicans by 16 points on generic House ballot - The Hill

President Trump says he is "so confident" the Senate will pass the American Health Care Act and send it to his desk to be signed into law but Republican senators say there's a lot of work to be done. (Peter Stevenson/The Washington Post)

Some more literally and clumsily than others, Republican lawmakers are running from the House-passed American Health Care Act. Back home, Rep. Rod Blum (R-Iowa) ran away from questioning about the AHCA, Newsweek reports: On Monday afternoon, the staunchly conservativeRepublican andmember of the House Freedom Caucusfled an interview withJosh Scheinblum, a reporter with TV9 in Dubuque, after Scheinblum had the temerity to ask Blum a series of difficult questions.

Asked why he wanted to exclude those from outside his district from a town hall, Blum got testy:

I dont represent all Iowans, Blum countered, still smiling but with a newfound edge to his voice. I represent the First District of Iowa.Thatd be like saying, shouldnt I be able to, even if I live in Dubuque,go vote in Iowa City during the election because Id like to vote in that district instead?

A child behind Blum offereda charming grin, likely unrelated to the healthcare debate. [Local reporter Josh] Scheinblum then posedthe following question: Would you still take donations from a Republican in Iowa City?

At this point, Blum rose and beganto pull off the microphone attached to his gray pullover sweater.

This is ridiculous, a visibly agitated Blum declared as he prepared to leave.Hes just gonna sit here and just, just badger me.

The Cedar Rapids Gazette reported that his town hall didnt go much better:

Rep. Rod Blum, R-Iowa, met a hostile crowd Monday night in his hometown while fielding questions on topics ranging from health care and immigration to school vouchers and climate change.

He took the podium to a mix of cheers, boos and applause from a crowd of about 1,000 at Dubuque Senior High School. After an introductory statement, Blum took questions from crowd members selected at random during the town hall event.

The two-term incumbent faced regular interruptions from shouted questions, stomping feet and boos when delivering answers in support of last weeks U.S. House bill repealing and replacing major provisions of the federal health care law known as Obamacare. Blum voted in favor of the bill.

Even before his vote, Blum was one of the Republicans at risk in 2018. He may be even more vulnerable than initial ratings projected after Mondays meltdown.

By contrast, Republican senators are carefully pivoting from the terms of a bill that they know is without policy or political merit. Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), just reelected in Ohio by a huge margin, told Fox News, I think we can do better bytaking what the House haspassed, improving it in certainways, being sure we arent pulling therug out from under peoplewho are currently getting coverage and at the end of the day, over timebegin to see these premiums andthese co-pays and deductibleslevel off and not continue torise. Obviously, the Trumpcare bill doesnt help matters. Portman added: This is the biggest problem wehave really in our economy, too.Wages are flat and yet expensesare up and the number oneincreased cost is healthcare.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is painting quite a contrast with the feverish, irresponsible process the House went through. This process will not be quick or simple or easy, but it must be done, he said on Monday.

So why was it then that the House felt so compelled to throw together a bill with no Congressional Budget Office scoring, no robust debate, no hearings and no participation by Democrats? House leadership obviously made a political calculation pass an indefensible bill and then lieaboutit. Thats not an option for the Senate, which will be expected to pass something that works. Judging by what Blum encountered, the House approach isnt working even on political terms.

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Republicans are running from the AHCA - Washington Post (blog)

By Neera Tanden and Matt Browne By Neera Tanden and Matt Browne May 9 at 3:45 PM

Neera Tanden is president and chief executive of the Center for American Progress. Matt Browne is a senior fellow at the organization.

The landslide victory of Emmanuel Macron in the French presidential election will be met with a sigh of relief among many across the Western democracies who feared the advance of ethno-nationalist populism. Many commentators, trying to discern lessons for the United States or elsewhere, may well focus on the rise of Macrons new party. Others will likely emphasize how the French media was far more discerning in its handling of emails hacked by a foreign entity than, say, the American media was in 2016, ensuring that it did not impact the election.

Both are important elements of the story, but in an age of anti-establishment politics and reduced trust in politicians, it is perhaps Macrons vision of political reform, and his pledge to put the French back at the heart of political life, that provides lessons for all Americans, but particularly progressives.

In France, as elsewhere, lack of trust in the political establishment has never been greater. This is in part because the French Parliament has been too slow to act and often produces poor laws that are not easy to understand. But the French Parliament and government have also been unrepresentative of the population at large. Ninety percent of the ministers of the Fifth Republic so far have been men, while 40 percent of deputies in Parliament have served for well over a decade, according to Macrons campaign.

Macron set out to challenge the status quo in French politics. He has vowed to take steps to get a new generation into politics, on the basis of skill and ability rather than connections, and will make this renewal a condition of future party funding. Similarly, he has promised to gradually eliminate the old practice of French politicians holding more than one office and to keep intact legislation to prevent politicians from serving more than three consecutive terms.

Macron also has a plan to make politicians more accountable. Parliamentarians would be prohibited from hiring members of their families as parliamentary assistants or advisers, a position that drew a sharp contrast with the predicament of the conservative candidate Francois Fillon in the first round of voting. The generous personal allowances made to French parliamentarians would be subject to taxation. And those with serious criminal records would be prevented from running for office.

Finally, Macron has set out a bold agenda for institutional reform. He has pledged to concentrate the governments energy on key priorities and to limit governmental and parliamentary bureaucracy. He plans to limit the number of months that issues can be debated in Parliament and reduce the number of parliamentarians in each chamber. He also embraces the promise of digital democracy, pledging to introduce an electronic vote to broaden participation, reduce election costs and modernize the image of politics.

(Adam Taylor,Jason Aldag/The Washington Post)

In short, his program directly addressed the fact that, in a democratic society, government should be responsive to citizens equally, irrespective of wealth. Macron understood that to challenge the rising tide of ethno-nationalist populism, political leaders must also challenge the status quo. Asking voters to choose between the status quo and nationalist populism leaves supporters of liberal democracy too insecure. Macron provided the French people two visions of change his and Marine Le Pens. And they chose wisely.

For progressives in the United States, this is a critical lesson. In 2016, when Democrats held the presidency, it may have been hard for them to argue against the status quo. But now, shut out of control of the presidency and the two chambers of Congress, Democrats can and should campaign on an agenda that challenges the status-quo politics of Washington. They should campaign to truly drain the swamp. That means offering reforms of our public corruption laws to ensure that we truly end pay-to-play politics, advancing campaign finance reforms that end the practice of dark money flooding elections and closing the revolving door between lobbyists and the government. Real reforms should show progressive leaders on the side of people instead of a political system that seems rigged against them.

Just as in France, an aggressive agenda for political reform in the United States can demonstrate to the public that progressive candidates dont accept a status-quo politics that isnt delivering. And it can be a strong rebuttal to ethno-nationalist populism, whose wave may have finally crested in France.

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What American progressives should learn from France's Macron ... - Washington Post

The progressive Alliance for Justice group is opposing Judge Amul Thapar's nomination to join the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals ahead of a Senate Judiciary Committee meeting to consider Thapar's nomination on Thursday.

"Judge Thapar fundamentally misunderstood and misapplied the law in a key case involving campaign ethics and finance, and he has repeatedly ruled to deny citizens' access to justice and weakened critical legal protections," said Nan Aron, the president of Alliance for Justice. "We believe Judge Thapar should not be confirmed to sit on the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, and urge senators to oppose this nomination."

Senate hearings on Thapar's nomination prompted many questions from Democrats about the judge's connections to the right-leaning Federalist Society, as a result of Thapar's inclusion on President Trump's shortlists for the Supreme Court vacancy filled by Justice Neil Gorsuch. Three of Trump's nominees to federal appellate court seats were first considered by the president for the Supreme Court vacancy and increased opposition to their nominations from Senate Democrats is expected. The Alliance for Justice has already prepared a dossier on Thapar as part of its effort to block Thapar's confirmation.

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Progressives mount opposition to Amul Thapar's 6th Circuit nomination - Washington Examiner