Here's a good look for House Speaker Paul Ryan: calling out the Capitol Police to arrest a bunch of people in wheelchairs who are fighting for their lives against his Trumpcare bill.
Members of the group ADAPT, which organizes disability rights activists, were protesting against the American Health Care Act currently being debated in Congress and proposed cuts to Medicaid.
“I want the Medicaid,” the protesters yelled and held signs that carried statements like “Medicaid= life 4 disabled.” The protest started around 2 p.m. […]
Just before 3 p.m., the police removed each protester by either wheeling them out of the room or helping them up off the floor.
Capitol Police made arrests and are still processing the scene, according to their office.
Trumpcare will cut $880 billion from Medicaid in the next decade. It will force states to have to decide whether to provide healthcare to the elderly in nursing homes, to children, or to the disabled. That's exactly what Paul Ryan wanted to happen.
Taking that almost $900 billion out of Medicaid now gives him the chance to give even deeper tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations in the tax legislation he has coming up next.
He says that—loud and clear: "And so yes, it is important that we get this [the health plan] done so that we can do tax reform. Because this bill also takes out about $900 billion in tax increases, the Obamacare tax increases are taken out which makes it $900 billion easier to reform the tax code afterwards ... That’s why this is really important."
And that's what those brave people getting arrested in the Capitol Rotunda are fighting.
Help them fight. The House is still scheduled to vote on Trumpcare on THURSDAY, MARCH 23. Even if you already called your member of Congress, do it again by calling the Capitol Hill switchboard at (202) 224-3121. Jam the phone lines, urge them to vote NO.