Political Quotes

“Mr. President, after some chaotic weeks of hush-hush deliberating, a lot of arm-twisting, and more than a few obvious buy- offs, the House has handed the Senate a healthcare bill that will plunge tens of millions of Americans into suffering. With it, the debate now comes to this side of the Capitol, and my Republican colleagues seem to be competing to find out who can put the most distance between themselves and the House bill. The message is that they are starting from scratch with a partisan working group and a new bill under construction. But I want to make sure that everybody is realistic about where this debate stands. There is not a shred of actual hard evidence that the Senate Republican conference is objecting to nearly $1 trillion in tax breaks for the wealthy and the special interests, paid for by slashing middle-class tax benefits and cutting more than $800 billion out of Medicaid. The dates, the numbers, and the waivers might look a little different when Senate Republicans write a bill, but the underlying framework will be the same. This process, in short, is leading America back to the days when healthcare worked only for the healthy and wealthy. It is clear, when we look at the particulars, that the bill passed by the other body doesn't care whether you are young or old. It poses a threat of pain across all generations.…”