Feeling the Pelosi Love in This Hometown

Bless you, Nancy Pelosi. BTW, for Pelosi, spell check suggests plosive which I had no idea was a word. And after looking it up was reminded of its meaning. Blogging is so educational. Anyway, after that short digression.

Pelosi is canvassing her caucus to identify areas in which to improve the Affordable Care Act – such as finding ways to lower the cost of prescription drugs, something Mr. Trump has advocated, and to shore up the individual insurance marketplaces. Prices have risen sharply and choices diminished in these exchanges in many parts of the country.

She is also going to keep a bright spotlight on Health Secretary Tom Price to see if he tries to further erode Obamacare by pulling federal subsidies that help consumers pay for coverage and by not enforcing penalties associated with the individual mandate.

“Speaking to the president or even speaking to the Republicans, they hear it better if it goes through the public,” she said, in an answer to a reporter’s question about how she could work with Republicans if they stick to a replace-and-repeal strategy.

Additionally, insurers could well sue the administration if it tries to remove the federal supports that make coverage viable, she said.

I can guarantee she's not the only one watching them, but she has a bigger soap-box than most of us. Sounds like she's gonna climb up on it, too.  

Letter to the president. 

As Republicans led by Speaker of the House Paul Ryan gear up for a second swing at health care reform, Democratic senators say they’re willing to work with the president – if he stops attacking their party’s landmark health care law.

In a letter signed by 44 of the Senate’s 48 Democrats, the bulk of the party calls on President Trump to rescind his efforts to completely abolish the Affordable Care Act, the legislation, known as Obamacare, passed in 2010. The call comes as Democrats are emboldened by the defeat of the Republican-backed reform effort, which was pulled from the House floor last Friday after Republicans failed to come to a consensus.

“Members of the Democratic caucus remain ready and willing to work with you on policies that would improve the stability of the individual insurance market,” the senators write in the letter, which was shared with The Washington Post. “We ask that you begin the work of improving health care for millions of Americans by rescinding your January 20th executive order.”

BTW, can we get primary opponents for Senators Manchin and Heitkamp. I'll never understand the utility of having a Democratic senator who sides with Republicans 99% of the time.

And how's the national love for the House Majority Leader?

In fact, the PPR poll shows Ryan is currently the least popular politician in the country, with an approval rating of just 21% and a disapproval rating of 61% – a precipitous drop from his previous approval rating of 33% at the very beginning of Trump's term.

Voters also hold Ryan more culpable than Trump for the failed healthcare push. According to the poll, 54% of Republican voters blame Ryan compared to just 13% who blame Trump.

I don't expect to see him on a national ticket again anytime soon.