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Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he wants to make federal funding of Obamacare subsidies permanent before working with Republicans on other reforms to the troubled health care law the GOP has been unable to repeal.

Schumer said "there is a thirst" among Republicans to work with Democrats on reforming Obamacare following early Friday's defeat of the Republican plan to repeal the law.

"At the very beginning, we should stabilize the system," Schumer said Friday. "Make permanent the cost sharing, which keeps premiums low."

Schumer said he also wants to negotiate with the GOP on reviving insurance bailout payments from the federal government, known as reinsurance, as well as a plan by Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., to provide healthcare coverage in rural areas where there are no policies offered.

"That is what we should do initially," Schumer said. "Then, we should sit down and trade ideas."

Schumer emerged Friday with the attitude that his party now has leverage in the healthcare reform debate after Republicans failed to find enough support within their own party to begin the process of repealing Obamacare. A "skinny" repeal measure failed thanks to three GOP senators who voted against it, including Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.

Schumer said he has already talked to Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., about a bipartisan collaboration on rescuing the law, which is suffering from a collapse of the individual insurance marketplaces.

Schumer said Republicans approached him in the Senate chamber early Friday morning as it became apparent the GOP bill would fail and thanked him for pushing bipartisan talks, and told Schumer they want to be involved. "There is a thirst to do it," Schumer said.

Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who suffered a major defeat when the bill failed to pass, remained silent Friday afternoon about the path forward.

He signaled on the Senate floor following the defeat of the GOP bill that he would not be willing to simply pour more federal money into Obamacare, which suggests the cost sharing and reinsurance proposals would not happen without concessions from the Democrats.

Schumer said Friday he understands that dynamic.

"There has to be a give and take," Schumer said. "My colleagues and my caucus know that."

Schumer said he believes there is new impetus to work in a bipartisan way, even though Democrats passed Obamacare in 2010 without a single Republican on board.

McCain's surprise vote against the measure, Schumer said, could prompt new bipartisanship.

"Sometimes you need a spark that inspires the forces of coming together that outweigh the forces of pulling part," Schumer said. "And John McCain may have done that."

See more here:
Chuck Schumer outlines Democrat terms for healthcare talks with GOP - Washington Examiner

A former Miami Dolphins cheerleader hassplit from her husband in what isbeing described as the Trump divorce. The womanissued a press release stating that the couple were forced to end their marriage due to their political differences.

In the statement, 37-year-old Lynn Aronberg, who once cheered for the Florida football team, was described as a staunch Republican and supporter of President Donald Trump, the Palm Beach Post reported.Her husband, Florida state attorney for Palm Beach County Dave Aronberg, is a Democrat.

According to the statement, their political differences drove the couple apart afterLynn Aronbergs favor for the president caused her to feel increasingly isolated in the marriage."

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Despite their political differences, the former couple, who were wed in May 2015, have remained amicable throughout the separation and signed a divorce settlement earlier in the week. Lynn Aronberg will reportedly receive a $100,000 settlement, which includes a new BMW and $40,000 in cash.

The Aronbergs are notthe first couple to end their marriagedue to their partisanship. In May, Arlington, Virginiabased polling firm Wakefield Research released a study that found one in 10 couples, married or not, had ended their relationships because of political disagreements. The study, which included 1,000 participants across the U.S., found millennialsin particularwereseparating at an increasing rate after 22 percent said that they broke up with their significant other over political differences.

Twenty-four percent of participants said that they had disagreed or argued about politics more than ever following Trumps election victory, while 22 percent of participants said that they knew a couple, either married or in a dating, whose relationship had been negatively impacted specifically due to President Trump.

Trump aside, divorce rates in America are up in general, almost doubling since the 1990s, according to a March 2017 Pew Research report. The study, which was based on marriage data recorded from 1990 to 2015, setdivorce rates for adults ages 50 and up at10 for every 1,000 married persons in 2015 compared withfive for every 1,000 married persons in 1990. Adults ages 40 to 49 had a divorce rate of 21 adults per 1,000 in 2015 compared with18 per 1,000 in 1990.

People 25 to 39 were the only group to see a slight decline, with the divorce rate set at 25 adults for every 1,000in 2015 compared with30 adults per 1,000 married persons in 1990.

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Trump Divorce: Miami Dolphins Cheerleader Splits From Democrat Husband in Support of Trump - Newsweek

* Mostly true

* Democrat Day itself has not been canceled. Party members will still get their free tickets to the fair just like Republicans will on Governors Day. But the traditional noontime rally has been canceled.

Steve Brown told me part of the problem with Democrat Day over the years was that the same people make pretty much the same speeches at both the county party chairmans brunch and then at the state fairgrounds rally a couple of hours or so later. It gets boring and repetitive and kinda pointless. It can be a real drag sitting in the hot sun listening to the same speech you just heard at brunch.

So, it looks like this could be the end of a very long era. I dont know how far back the tradition goes, but its a very long time. Back in the day, the first Mayor Daley would send trainloads of people to the fair. It used to be a huge deal, but the rally crowds for both parties have seemed to taper off in recent years and I dont think that Speaker Madigan likes doing it, either. Maybe itll restart if the Democrats elect a governor again, whenever that might be, because then Madigan wont have to be in charge.

* From a Crains column I wrote back in 2014

The Illinois State Fairs Directors Lawn is a tree-lined venue far from the corn dogs, grandstand concerts and beer tents.

The lawn spreads out in front of a rather dingy house used by the states director of agriculture, off a road marred by potholes and best accessed via a special gate that often is closed during the fair because theres so little public parking. A million or so people attend the fair each year.

The grass on the lawn is trampled flat. But no events ever are as crowded as the annual Governors Day and the accompanying rally for the party out of power.

Even in this era of high-tech campaigns, the twin events unofficially kick off the governors race, despite the fairgrounds somewhat rundown appearance. Politicians high and low attend. The more important ones give speeches, the less important mill about and try to interest others in shaking their hands. Every major media outlet sends reporters.

There usually are four crowds. Theres the true believers, young men and women who work or volunteer for the candidates. They wear matching T-shirts, carry signs and fire up the crowds by cheering or shouting slogans on command.

Then there are the older believers, folks who arent nearly as youthful or fired up but still strongly support their candidates. They sit in the front section with a clear view of the stage.

The space-fillers mostly are bused in to increase the crowd. They sit where they cant see the speakers, either behind the stands for the news media or off to the side under a canvas tent. They chat among themselves and enjoy the free food.

The fourth group is the hacks in the back. These are the political professionals, high-level campaign operatives, lobbyists and legislators. Theyve heard enough speeches, so they gossip at the rear of the lawn near the free beer.

No more free beer and hot dogs and politicking on the Directors Lawn this year, at least for the Democrats.

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Annual State Fair Democrat Day rally canceled - The Capitol Fax Blog (blog)

Rep. John Delaney, a 54-year-old moderate Maryland Democrat and former banking executive, has been discussing plans for a potential presidential campaign in 2020, three people familiar with the talks said on Thursday afternoon.

The Democrats said that Delaney has told people he will forgo both a run for reelection in Maryland's 6th congressional district and a run for governor in 2018, and that he's increasingly moved toward the idea of a presidential bid instead.

He is expected to lay out his plans in a Washington Post op-ed, set to run in print on Sunday and online as early as Friday afternoon. A number of Maryland news outlets and blogs have been closely monitoring developments on the Delaney story, with one site, Maryland Matters, dubbing Friday "D-Day" in Maryland politics, "the day that Rep. John Delaney announces his political plans for 2018 and perhaps beyond." Maryland Matters and Bethesda Magazine reported first this week on Delaney's mounting interest in 2020 and on Friday's forthcoming op-ed.

A spokesman, Will McDonald, did not return requests for comment.

The news would make Delaney the first Democrat to openly declare his interest in a presidential bid. It would also put a centrist, pro-business, self-funding Democrat out early in a primary that will come down in part to the progressive voters that backed Bernie Sanders and nearly upended Hillary Clinton's chances at the nomination.

In Congress, Delaney caucuses with the centrist "New Democrats," and considers himself to be socially liberal but fiscally prudent. Since his election in 2012, he has championed a wide range of legislation, including measures to create access to universal pre-K, form an independent commission for redistricting, reduce the corporate tax rate, institute a federal tax on carbon pollution, and establish a new aid program to provide financial assistance and benefits to coal workers.

In Delaney's view, Democrats close to him said, there is room in the race for a candidate who can run as a job creator who understands the need for regulation in business but also the value of the free market a strong general election candidate if he can weather a primary, as a person familiar with his plans put it on Thursday.

Asked about the idea of a New Democrat entering the 2020 race first, the co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, Adam Green, replied, "John who?"

Another consideration for Delaney, whose estimated net worth is more than $91 million, comes down to a question of self-funding: If he's going to spend millions of his own money, better to do it on a national level, as two Democrats put it.

"He was never gonna run for governor," said a top Maryland Democrat, noting that the sitting Republican in office, Gov. Larry Hogan, has a strong approval rating and would be tough to beat for any Democrat. "It sounds crazy, but its not as crazy if you take a second to think about it. There is no Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama this time."

Even with more than three years to go until the next presidential election, Delaney has been considering the idea of a 2020 bid for a number of months now.

His political advisers have included strategists at SKDKnickerbocker, the prominent Washington firm, as well as friends from a large cross-section of the political word. (The invite list for his annual Christmas party ranges from financial executives and leaders in the Catholic Church to Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts.)

Although the Washington Post op-ed is expected to explicitly state his interest in running for president, Democrats said there could be a last-minute change.

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The First Democrat Talking About A Presidential Bid Is A Pro-Business Moderate - BuzzFeed News

Democrats largely protested a GOP effort to put senators on the record on a plan providinguniversal health care, but a handful running for re-election in Republican-leaning states decided to reject the single-payer system.

Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont, introduced an amendment Wednesday night to amend the House-passed health care legislation currently on the floor and replace it with a Democratic bill giving every American health care through Medicare. Daines does not support the Medicare-for-All bill, but he argued that the American people should know Democratsposition on the issue. Democrats cried foul, saying that Republicans were playing politics.

For Senate Democrats, avote against the bill would risk angering the progressive Democratic base, with more liberal groups rallying around the single-payer option. But a vote for the bill could spark criticismfrom the moderate wingthat is wary of a government-run health care system.

Asked if the Thursday vote put Democrats up for re-election in the 2018 midtermsin the difficult position of taking a stance on a contentious intra-party issue, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chairman Chris Van Hollendidnt respond directly.

I think every member will vote based on what they think is best for their state, the Maryland Democratsaid.

And a handful of Senate Democrats in some of the most competitivere-election decided supporting the bill was not good policy or politics.

Forty three of the 48 Democratsvoted present on the amendment. But fourSenate Democrats and one Independent who caucuses with them all voted no. All of them are up for re-election in 2018, and the fourDemocrats are running in states that President Donald Trump won in November.

We need realistic solutions to help fix our health care system and Ill keep trying to work across the aisle to do just that, Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., said in a statement explaining her no vote. The decision was made in 2010 to go with a market-based system the question is how we improve the system we have.

Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, also voted against the bill. Thatdoesnt necessarily express his final opinion on the subject, he said.

But the bill had way too many complications King said. I didnt think it was a good bill, so I voted no.

Trump won one of Maines four electoral votes last November. Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales rates Kings re-election race as a Solidly Democratic.

Three of the Senate Democrats in tossup races Heitkamp, Joe Donnelly of Indiana and Joe Manchin III of West Virginia also voted no. Sen. John Tester of Montana also rejected the amendment. Hisre-election race israted Tilt Democrat.

Those who voted present sided with Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who supports single-payer but called the GOP amendment a political trick on the Senate floor. Sanders decided Wednesday night, in consultationwith Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, that he would not be voting in favor of the amendment. And theyencouraged fellow Democrats to do the same.

One Democratin a tossup race voted present even though she opposes a single-payer system.

I am not for single-payer said it a million times,Sen. Claire McCaskill explained after the vote. Im for public option. Im for buy-in on Medicare for 55-65. And ... I dont think anybody in Missouri is going to think Im afraid of taking a tough vote. So Im not worried aboutthat."

But I am worried that they dont realize what a sham this has become, the Missouri Democrat added. [Republicans] arenow saying they will only pass a bill if theyre positive the House wont pass it. This is like the twilight zone. I mean its crazy.

McCaskill was referring to GOP leadership's plan to pass a skinny repeal of provisions of the Affordable Care Act, so that the Senate could go to a conference with the House and negotiate a more comprehensive Obamacare repeal bill.

The skinny repeal is still being drafted. Democrats accused Republicans of playing political games in the meantime.

Sen. Christopher S. Murphy said he was not concerned that single-payer supporters would be angry that Democrats did not voice support for the legislation.

People who are pushing single payer understand that this is a sham process, the Connecticut Democrat said. Once the dust settles on this repeal effort were going to have a really important conversation about what the future of U.S. health care is. But this is a total sham. Were not going to let it dictate the terms of the debate on Medicare-for-All.

Ken Zinn, political director for the National Nurses United, which supports the Medicare-for-All legislation, said he understood Democrats decision to vote present.

As Sen. Sanders correctly pointed out on the Senate floor, this was a ploy by Sen. Daines, Zinn said.

Zinn expected a renewed push for single-payer after the GOP health care votes this week, and expects Sanders to introduce his own Medicare-for-All legislation in the coming weeks.

Zinn said the union would be approaching the senators who voted against the amendment Thursday and urge them to support Sanders bill. He said those who do not support the proposal would absolutely face political blowback.

The movement for single payer, Medicare-for-All, is growing by leaps and bounds across the country, Zinn said. Those who are not willing to go there are going to have to face the consequences when they face their constituents or their voters.

Republicans were quick to criticize Senate Democrats for their votes on the bill, accusing them of ducking a policy the Democratic base supports.

Senate Democrats had the opportunity to put their money where their mouths are and vote for their own government-run health care plan, and they promptly went into hiding, said NationalRepublican Senatorial Committee spokeswomanKatie Martin.

Andy Van Wye contributed to this report.Correction:A previous version of this story incorrectly stated Sen. Bill Nelsons vote. The Florida Democratvoted present.

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Some Red State Democrats Reject Single-Payer Amendment - Roll Call