Broken Promises

So the House passed a Health Care act, now it heads to the Senate where it will likely get changed and passed into committee.
That is not news at this point.
However what some people may have forgotten is what promises were broken and lies told to the American people.
Republicans promised transparency and that we would see all bills up for 3 days before the vote.  Did not happen, in fact most Congressmen stated they had not read it.  Now some said they were relying on staffers but I have to ask why on such an important bill they cant take the time to read it for themselves?  Bills should not be so complicated and full of legalese a congressman (many of whom used to be lawyers) cant read and understand it.
Voting without a CBO score, the CBO score while not perfect is at least an attempt to figure out the cost of a bill.  So why vote before you even know the cost and effects?
Have we not heard time adn time again cries that this would not happen? The Speaker of the House Paul Ryan kept saying over and over again these and more promises, yet they were all lies.

So why were we lied to?
Because the House was afraid to look like they could not accomplish anything.  That is right.  All the showboating, the victory celebration at the Rose Garden and declarations of victory were all just so they could say they did something.  the House GOP was willing to deprive millions of Americans without Health Care, raise the premiums for millions more, gut Medicaid, cut taxes for the Rich, all so they could rush something through just to look like they could actually get together and vote for something instead of looking helpless.
This bill wont pass the Senate and will get changed so its too early to know its effects (plus they still have not showed us the public and voters what is in it).  However what we do know is that the GOP House has shown that they care more about the image of governing than the actual work of governing by passing the buck to the Senate.

Health Care Replacement passes the House. What is in it?

Here is the link to what we have so far on HR 1628 American Health Care Act 2017
Washington Post article
I will post the link when they get the full bill up on the site so Americans can read it.

Kind of funny that the GOP who complained bitterly that President Obamas bill did not get enough input and was rushed through Congress even though it took a year and they voted on this one with most of them not even reading it and no CBO score.
This is the main thing I hate about so many of our politicians the blatant hypocrisy and lying to the public. I can handle those who dont agree with my values, Democracy is about compromising and working through disagreements.  However you cant do that if everyone is lying.

What does your Representative stand for?

Listening to an interview with Senator Warren it is clear waht is really important to her.  If you had to say what your representative (at any level) values the most would you be able to say? Would you like that answer?
This is a key thing we should be asking more.
The ones I can think of are...

President Trump

• Being Popular
• Getting wealthier

Senator Bernie Sanders

• Health Care for everyone
• Tuition free College
• Good jobs, including a higher minimum wage and one that keeps up with inflation.

Senator Elizabeth Warren

• Consumer Protection
• Health Care

Senator James Lankford (My Senator)

• Curtailing Government Waste
• Fiscal responsibility in government spending

Contact your representative and ask them for their personal top three issues.  See if you get an honesty answer and one that is supported by their voting records.

Do not let them just give you talking points or a spin but an honest heartfelt answer on the top 3 things they want to address.

If they can not or will not give you a simple list they likely don't really have that much desire.

Watch the headlines. CNN gives misleading info

Republican House votes to decrease your pay.  At least according to CNN
The headline was "House passes measure to let employers decide about OT"
Sounds scary right?
If an employer can decide to give you time off rather than pay overtime that would hurt a lot of us who work overtime for the extra money.  Paid time off instead can be nice but it should be an option to get paid.  Sounds fair right?  The CNN click baiting headline can really raise hackles and Democrats are opposed to the bill.  So naturally I read the bill and the White House blurb below.
The Working Families Flexibility Act 

Does not seem wrong to me, but maybe there is some hidden thing I missed.  We need to read and hold ALL politicians accountable, Democrats and Republicans alike.
We have to be careful of our news sources and willing to look for ourselves rather than be spoon fed.

How to keep your Politician accountable

It is important to remember your politicians are supposed to represent you the voter. It can be hard to tell when a politician is voting if they are voting for you or some lobbyist who paid for their election campaign or gave them other financial incentives.

This is vital to empower the voter and some of these sites are really easy and quick to read. IF Americans get in the habit of checking on their politicians they will find things get better.  This works for you Left or Right, just check up on your politician after a vote your interested in and odds are whomever gave them money will have had an influence on it.

Here are ways to help and empower you the voter.

• Political Party Time A calendar of upcoming campaign fundraisers.  Nice site for tracking who is buying your politician.
• Campaign Money You can check by zip code to see who is funding your politicians.
• Follow The Money this is an example of my Senator Jim Lankford.  Use this site to see who donates to your person.
• Maplight Another site to check on funding.
• Open Secrets Donation tracking combined with news.

Finding your Representative or Senator

• Federal Representaive (House)
• Federal Senators Contact page
• Ballot O Pedia Find ALL your politicains!  Requires full street address but includes Federal, State and local officials.
• Town Halls to see any upcoming town halls

How did they Vote?

Below are some very easy to use sites that let you track important information about your legislatures

• Vote Spoter App
• GovTrack Voting records that can be emailed to you. Also very easy to use website.

Vote Smart A decent way to see various positions, especially as seen by various third party agencies. Also good at seeing policy statements by politician.

• Ballot Pedia Provides more of an overview rather than specific details. However there is a lot of data here.
• Congress.gov

Will the Republican party take action before it is too late?

Listening to the latest from President Trump I am growing more and more concerned that he is mentally unfit.
He has always played fast and loose with the facts and behaved petulantly and impulsively but it is getting worse.
I wonder if the stress of being president has pushed him too far and increased a preexisting mental illness.
I am not in favor of a President Pence but a president with dementia is worse.
The Republican party needs to bite the bullet and do right by America, and if they don't care about that I put it to them that the current situation is bad for the party and getting worse.
At the very least they need to immediately force a medical exam.

President Trump, Jackson could have prevented the Civil War?

Here is commentary from several historians.
The last one was the best as it attempts to explain the reasoning for the comment.