[Healthcare Debate] Graham/Cassidy v. Sanders/Klobuchar town hall on CNN 9P EST

So It Goes

http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/25/politics/health-care-town-hall-debate-viewers-guide/index.html

CNN is hosting a town hall debate thing, tag team style.

Discuss it here.

Do not post things like "wow" or "good one Bernie" or things like that without any context, no one will know what part of the debate you are talking about.

Talk about the debate and things brought up in the debate, fact check the debaters, critique the moderators. If you start talking about elections past or future, including comparisons to Hillarys healthcare ideas, I will smite the thread with furious lightning. And then your medical bills might be really high. So don't do it.

dispatch.o

I'm really hoping this ends up being a debate in the best sense of the word and not what Americans now call debates. I'm skeptical that a town hall can provide much of an environment for any long form answers and I expect more snappy sound bites than nuanced answers. In the end I think I'm okay with it no matter how it goes, because talking about healthcare as a problem that needs solving can only be a good thing.

It's 90 minutes with 4 people, do we have any idea on the formatting or anything yet?

Fencingsax

1 min 15 sec to answer question, 30 sec for rebuttal

Aridhol

I can feel it in my bones that this will be supremely frustrating to watch.
I feel it's still a good idea to get Bernie type ideas out there to a wide audience though.

Do we know if there will be audience / phone / tweet in questions?

Aridhol

Fencingsax is much faster than I.

Fencingsax

Audience will have questions.

OptimusZed

I wonder how hard they dug for the pro AHCA side. Given it's polling at 20%.

Fencingsax

Graham's opening statement is standard talking points.

Sanders' is talking about all the times they tried to kill ACA, and the results (higher premiums for elderly, defunding PP) cites how medical orginizations hate repeal plans. Wants healthcare as right

Aridhol

Graham going after Obamacare instead of defending their bill (only saying "we have a damn good idea").
Bernie going after Graham-Cassidy directly.

Fencingsax

Cassidy talks about who has power patient vs government. Cites Charlie Gard

Aridhol

Fencingsax wrote: »

Graham's opening statement is standard talking points.

Sanders' is talking about all the times they tried to kill ACA, and the results (higher premiums for elderly, defunding PP) cites how medical orginizations hate repeal plans. Wants healthcare as right

You win

OptimusZed

Graham also failed to disclose how his state has sabotaged Obamacare. It doesn't matter how many people in his family died (that was super weird).

Fencingsax

Klobuchar talks about own experience with children. Basically own version of Kimmel test. Block grants reduce money, fix ACA

OptimusZed

I'm already sure that my wife (a doctor) is not going to get through this without attacking the television while Cassidy is on it.

Fencingsax

1st question is guy who's wife has MS, and now going to dinner. Someone else step up

OptimusZed

So far it's right wing pablum from the Republicans and a decent moral case against everything they've tried to do from the Democrats.

Aridhol

Graham arguing that Obamacare is failing some people. Completely ignoring that hundreds of thousands of people or millions have been saved by Obamacare.

OptimusZed

"The only thing I can tell you that is if you keep what doing what we're doing it's going to fail" - Graham

Aridhol

Moderator asking Graham directly about the no votes. Graham saying they're "talking to Alaska".

Aridhol

Graham: Medicaid and Medicare are gonna fail!

Yeah, any decade now.

Aridhol

Klobuchar talking about bi-partisan work on high cost patients being assisted by the govt. instead of private insurance.

Spoit

Silly "the best path is always in the exact middle" question is silly. But he has a point, why didn't they invite Lamar Alexander, or the other senator who had that compromise bill?

Aridhol

Bernie: "I don't think Medicare for all is an extreme idea" and comparing the USA to other developed countries.
One thing to do immediately is taking on the pharma industry and bring down the cost of drugs (purchase drugs abroad)

OptimusZed

Spoit wrote: »

Silly "the best path is always in the exact middle" question is silly. But he has a point, why didn't they invite Lamar Alexander, or the other senator who had that compromise bill?

Alexander specifically they probably kept off the stage because the bi-partisan plan was a direct challenge to the GC repeal and they wouldn't want that on television this close to a vote.

Not sure why we didn't field Murray.

OptimusZed

Graham is getting annoyed at everyone standing up to talk all the time.

Aridhol

Cassidy - a lot of blather about State level is the best way to handle health care.

It's a shame that we can't afford to play out the scenario where states who choose to reduce coverage and costs end up with people dying and going bankrupt.

Aridhol

Bernie supporting Graham that the insurance industry is the problem.
No fucking shit, don't make money off of peoples misfortune.

Spoit

As expected, the moderators are just letting them out and out lie. I'm not sure what the point even is to have them

OptimusZed

I'm getting more joy than I probably should from Sanders repeatedly waving his left hand directly in front of Graham's face.

dispatch.o

Such folksy bullshit and ridiculous non-points. Cassidy has basically ignored the questions and squished his stupid talking points in between toasted patties of bullshit.

DoctorArch

Cassidy completely dodges the pre existing condition question.

Aridhol

dispatch.o wrote: »

Such folksy bullshit and ridiculous non-points. Cassidy has basically ignored the questions and squished his stupid talking points in between toasted patties of bullshit.

Yeah Cassidy is just folksy bullshitting himself through questions. Zero specifics.
"The states will innovate and make it awesome!"

DoctorArch

Jimmy Kimmel Test! Drink!

OptimusZed

Cassidy is an enormous piece of shit.

Pre-existing conditions was the question, you jerk.

My wife just went upstairs to avoid hurling her drink at our entertainment center.

DoctorArch

Yes Bill Cassidy, we are saying that some governor out there will scheme against their people because we saw that when they declined Medicaid money just because.

OptimusZed

I will say that Klobuchar is doing an excellent job as Sanders' tag-team partner. He goes all wild eyed moralist and she is calm and on point with the facts.

Spoit

There's something deeply ironic about Cassidy saying that "language means something" while he's completely murdering it with his dissembling

dispatch.o

Here, let me answer that question by again plugging my facebook page and not answering the question. Insurance sure is expensive guys. Obamacare was a failure!

I keep having to mute it because it makes me angry. Is this a normal thing that happens to other people?

DoctorArch

No Bill, "adequate and affordable" is not specific.

OptimusZed

Adequate and Affordable only mean something if you make them mean something. And you don't, Cassidy.

Aridhol

Someone needs to ask Cassidy what he personally thinks is adequate and affordable.
What % of income? What $$ per month?

YOU define it if language means something dipshit.