Tag: republican senate
The Real Problem With Politicians Like Joni Ernst

The Real Problem With Politicians Like Joni Ernst

What do you do about Joni Ernst? The Republican senator from Iowa is being mocked by liberal media and beyond for her snarky response to a question about cuts in Medicaid: "We all are going to die."

That clumsy remark has been skewered for its insensitivity, but its greater significance lies in the bigger issue. Ernst answers to Donald Trump and no one else.

She is not alone in this. Bowing down to Trump's demands and caving in to MAGA threats have turned several Republicans against the people who voted for them.

Elon Musk has just called Trump's tax-and-spending bill a "disgusting abomination," thus freeing more Republicans to express their doubts. Some House members now express regrets about voting for it. Their excuse is that they didn't quite read it.

Think about that. They regard not doing their job as less politically damaging than owning up to their vote.

More than one in five Iowans receive Medicaid benefits. Rural hospitals will be especially hard hit by the cuts, but so will other medical centers serving large Medicaid populations. Even before the Republican House voted to chop over $700 billion from the program, 28 Iowa hospitals were at risk of closing, according to Becker's Hospital Review.

As the Senate considered the nomination of Pete Hegseth for Defense secretary, Ernst was riding high as one of the holdouts. A handful of other Senate Republicans wouldn't go along, giving Ernst the power to ditch a candidate known for sexual assault, drunkenness and abuse of corporate funds. Worse, Hegseth had little experience relevant to heading the department tasked with defending America from foreign attack. He was just a pretty boy on Fox News.

A combat veteran, Ernst made some impassioned objections to the appointment. But when the MAGA brigade threatened her reelection with a primary challenge, she forgot all about national security.

She explained her decision to cave as follows: "I will be supporting President Trump's pick for secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth." In other words, she was doing it for Trump.

American soldiers risk their lives for the country. Ernst was one. But then she changed shape into a politician who wouldn't even risk reelection, that is, a job, for the country.

In her service to Trump, she turned out to be not very good at politics either. Ernst's attempted recovery from her unfortunate "we are all going to die" comment was a not-very-clever video on Instagram, foolishly staged in a cemetery. Screwing her face up in a look of pain, she apologized for any misunderstanding. Then she made a failed stab at humor, saying, "I'm really, really glad that I did not have to bring up the subject of the Tooth Fairy as well."

She further insulted the audience by stating, "I made an incorrect assumption that everyone in the auditorium understood that, yes, we are all going to perish from this Earth." That also diverted attention from the issue at hand. The voters weren't demanding immortality, just medical care that would enable them to live longer, healthier lives.

If she really wanted fuller recovery from some awkward moments Ernst could have looked straight at the camera and say, "You know? I'm going to vote against a bill that would deprive so many of my constituents of the most basic health care." And if she wanted to nail down her conservative bona fides, she should have added, "I'm also not voting for tax cuts that blow up federal deficits by trillions."

Chances are excellent that she will vote for whatever Trump wants. That's the real problem with Joni Ernst. It's not a stray comment. It's straying from her duty to her constituents and the country.

Froma Harrop is an award winning journalist who covers politics, economics and culture.She has worked on the Reuters business desk, edited economics reports for The New York Times News Service and served on the Providence Journal editorial board.

Reprinted with permission from Creators.

Ernst's Callous Quip On Medicaid Cuts Inspires A Challenger

Ernst's Callous Quip On Medicaid Cuts Inspires A Challenger

Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa made some callous and disgusting comments about her support for Medicaid cuts during a town hall on May 30, telling constituents that “we all are going to die.”

Now her comments have officially earned her a top Democratic challenger in the 2026 midterm election: JD Scholten, a current state representative for Iowa.

"After her comments over the weekend, I've been thinking about it for a while, but that's when I just said: This is unacceptable and you've gotta jump in," Scholten told The Gazette on Monday. "At the end of the day, though, it's not about her, it's not about me, it's about the people of Iowa deserving better. I don't think there's anything worse that you could do than cut Medicaid, cut SNAP benefits for everyday Iowans just so you can give billionaires bigger tax breaks. That is not Iowa in my mind."

Ernst has not apologized for her comments, but instead she’s doubled down, posting a video over the weekend to make fun of people who condemned her comments.

“I made an incorrect assumption that everyone in the auditorium understood that yes, we are all going to perish from this Earth. So I apologize. And I’m really, really glad that I did not have to bring up the subject of the tooth fairy as well,” she said in the video.

But Scholten isn’t having her sarcasm, calling out her video as out of touch with what Iowans need.

“We’re taking them off [Medicaid], so billionaires can have a second yacht, so they can have a bigger tax break. We have a system that’s geared towards and favors billionaires and huge multinational corporations, and that’s not working for most of Iowa,” he told Politico.

Though Iowa has shifted right over the past decade—with Trump winning the state in every election since 2016—Ernst, who won in both 2014 and 2020, saw a margin of just 6 points in the 2020 election. That same year, Trump carried the state by 9 points.

And in a “blue wave” year like 2026 is shaping up to be—coupled with Ernst’s latest missteps—the race could be quite competitive.

Scholten overperformed the Republican lean in his district both in 2018 and 2020, according to Split Ticket data. And in 2024, he won his state House district by 6.9%, while Vice President Kamala Harris lost it by 1.6%.

It’s looking like we won’t want to sleep on Iowa in 2026.

Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos.

Tim Walz

'That Is A Damning Non-Answer': Walz Drags Vance On January 6 Evasion

Democratic Gov. Tim Walz cornered Republican Sen. JD Vance during Tuesday night’s debate when the subject of the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol came up.

“I think there's a lot of agreement,” Walz said of the debate, “but this is one that we are miles apart on. This was a threat to our democracy in a way that we had not seen, and it manifested itself because of Donald Trump's inability to say. He is still saying he didn't lose the election.”

Walz then asked Vance, “Did he lose the 2020 election?”

Vance refused to answer the question. “Tim, I'm focused on the future,” he said. “Did Kamala Harris censor Americans from speaking their mind in the wake of the 2020 COVID situation—“

“That is a damning, that is a damning non-answer,” Walz responded.

Damning indeed.

Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos.

Confronting Revolt On Healthcare Bill, Senate Republicans Postpone Vote

Confronting Revolt On Healthcare Bill, Senate Republicans Postpone Vote

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Senate Republican leaders postponed a vote on a healthcare overhaul on Tuesday after resistance from members of their own party, and President Donald Trump summoned Republican senators to the White House to urge them to break the impasse.

The delay put the future of a longtime top Republican priority in doubt amid concerns about the Senate bill from both moderate and conservative Republicans. With Democrats united in their opposition, Republicans can afford to lose only two votes among their own ranks in the Senate.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had been pushing for a vote ahead of the July 4 recess that starts at the end of the week. The legislation would repeal major elements of Obamacare and shrink the Medicaid government healthcare program for the poor.

“We’re going to press on,” McConnell said after announcing the delay, adding that leaders would keep working to make senators “comfortable” with the bill. “We’re optimistic we’re going to get to a result that is better than the status quo.”

At the White House meeting with most of the 52 Republican senators, Trump said it was vital to reach agreement on the Senate healthcare measure because Obamacare was “melting down.”

“So we’re going to talk and we’re going to see what we can do. We’re getting very close,” Trump told the senators. But he added, “If we don’t get it done, it’s just going to be something that we’re not going to like, and that’s okay.”

McConnell, whose party has a razor-thin majority in the 100-member Senate, told reporters that Republican leaders would work through the week to win over the 50 senators needed to pass the bill, with a vote planned after the recess. Vice President Mike Pence could provide the crucial vote needed to break a tie.

The Senate has delayed the vote on the controversial GOP led healthcare legislation. GOP leaders in the Senate did not have enough support for the bill to put it to a vote and have delayed voting on the measure until after the July 4th break. The decision to delay the vote came amid the growing concern about the current drafted Healthcare Bill and the impact it will have on millions of Americans who have access to coverage as well as sustaining medicaid. Senate Republicans can only loose two votes, in order for the bill to remain in play. So far six Republican senators came out publicly saying they could not support the health care draft bill as written.

“I think we can get 50 votes to yes by the end of the week,” Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS) said after the White House meeting.

The House of Representatives last month passed its own version of a healthcare bill, but the Senate bill has been criticized from both the left and the right. Moderate Republicans worried millions of people would lose their insurance. Conservatives said the bill does not do enough to erase Obamacare.

The bill’s prospects were not helped by a Congressional Budget Office analysis on Monday saying it would cause 22 million Americans to lose insurance over the next decade, although it would reduce the federal deficit by $321 billion over that period.

The report prompted Senator Susan Collins, a Republican moderate, to say she could not support the bill as it stands. At least four conservative Republican senators said they were still opposed after the CBO analysis.

Three more Senate Republicans, Rob Portman of Ohio, Jerry Moran of Kansas and Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, said after the delay was announced that they oppose the current draft.

Portman and Capito cited the bill’s Medicaid cutbacks and how that would hurt efforts to combat the opioid epidemic that has taken a heavy toll in their states. The Medicaid program was expanded under former President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare law.

“I think giving time to digest is a good thing,” Republican Senator Bob Corker said after the delay was announced.

U.S. stock prices fell, as the decision to postpone the vote added to investor worries about Trump’s ability to deliver on his promises of tax reform and deregulation, as well as changes to the health sector. Those expected changes have driven a rally in U.S. stocks this year.

The benchmark S&P 500 index closed down 0.8 percent, and the Dow Jones industrial average finished down 98.9 percent.

“The market likes certainty and now there’s uncertainty. What is this going to look like when this gets out of the next iteration?” said Peter Costa, president of trading firm Empire Executions Inc.

Passing the measure would be a win for Trump as he seeks to shift attention after weeks of questions over Russia’s role in last year’s U.S. presidential election.

McConnell has promised since 2010 that Republicans, who view Obamacare as a costly government intrusion, would destroy the law “root and branch” if they controlled Congress and the White House. Republicans worry a failure to deliver will cost them votes in next year’s congressional elections.

If the Senate passes a healthcare bill, it will either have to be approved by the House or the two chambers would reconcile the differences in a conference committee. Otherwise, the House could pass a new version and send it back to the Senate.

Lawmakers are expected to leave town by Friday for their July 4 holiday break, which runs all next week. The Senate returns to work on July 10, the House on July 11. Lawmakers then have three weeks in session before their month-long August recess.

(Additional reporting by Yasmeen Abulateb, Amanda Becker, Eric Walsh, Susan Heavey and Tim Ahmann; Writing by John Whitesides and Frances Kerry; Editing by Leslie Adler)

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