YOU’RE IN QUICKSAND. BUT DON’T TAKE WE THE PEOPLE WITH YOU

Lawmakers are not in the dark. You know how we the people feel about the OBBBA y’all are moving heaven and mostly hell to get passed. Your constituents, the Congressional Budget Office, conservative think tanks, the Wall Street Journal, state officials, and a myriad of economists have explained the bill’s horrid consequences. You might parrot MAGA talking points, but when Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) distributes materials to fellow Republicans highlighting the devastation the bill will cause, only the truly deluded or the willfully spineless can imagine this is anything but horrid policy. The Hill quoted a source familiar with the scene at Tuesday’s Senate Republican lunch: “Thom Tillis got up and he had a chart on what the Senate’s provider tax structure will cost different states, including his. His will lose almost $40 billion. He walked through that and said, ‘this will be devastating to my state.’” “What do I tell 663,000 people in two years or three years, when President Trump breaks his promise by pushing them off of Medicaid because the funding’s not there anymore, guys?... [T]he effect of this bill is to break a promise.” No wonder he’s heading for the exit. One Senator called the bill “Robin Hood in reverse…stealing from the poor in order to give to the rich, this massive transfer of wealth from the bottom to the top…. This is socialism for the rich.” And of course Trump is pushing GOP senators to ignore the Senate parliamentarian, who judges whether proposed measures adhere to Senate rules. Trump posted on social media: “An unelected Senate Staffer (Parliamentarian), should not be allowed to hurt the Republicans Bill. Wants many fantastic things out. NO! DJT.” The reverse-Robin-Hood scheme is deeply unpopular in every recent public poll. Particularly among independents. All this undeniable reality shows y’all can’t wish away the political quicksand you’ve stepped in. Trump might strong-arm enough Republicans to vote for a bill that constitutes not only the largest Medicaid cut in history but also a historic transfer of wealth from middle- and low-income Americans to the wealthiest. But he can’t save y’all from voters.