Mitch McConnell was forced to postpone the Senate vote on Trumpcare (the vote was supposed to be TODAY.)
Dear MoveOn member,
Mitch McConnell was forced to postpone the Senate vote on Trumpcare (the vote was supposed to take place TODAY.)1
The delay of the Senate vote shows that the efforts of the resistance movement are working and now is the time to turn up the heat. Republicans are running away from Trumpcare. And if a vote were held today, Trumpcare would lose.
Our win is both huge and real, but also very temporary. Although nine Republican senators have announced their opposition to the current bill—according to our best intelligence from Capitol Hill—we expect a full-court press by Republican leaders and Donald Trump to sway these senators and pass this horrible bill.
Here's what we expect to happen next:
- McConnell will use the additional time to aggressively pressure every key Republican, using every possible lure and threat to swing the Republicans who have expressed concerns or said that they would not support moving forward with a vote. McConnell is, no doubt, hoping that delaying the vote will cause popular opposition and outrage to subside just enough for him to ram it through, just like what happened with the House Trumpcare bill last month.
- Senators will go home for the July 4 recess. They will be closely watching what happens in their districts and how much heat they get from their constituents.
- The Republican money machine will go into overdrive. Just days ago, a Super PAC aligned with Trump and Mike Pence announced that it's launching a $1.3 million ad campaign attacking Nevada's Republican Senator Dean Heller because he said that he couldn't support the current bill.3
- Republicans will keep trying to pass a bill when they get back to Washington the week after next, and until the August recess. Republicans, anxious at the prospect of facing the righteous anger from their constituents during the long August recess, will want to pass the bill as soon as possible after they return to Washington from the July 4 recess. The good news is that if we can make it until August without a vote, then there's a good chance that Trumpcare really will be dead for the foreseeable future.
We can stop this bill, if we turn up the heat and keep it on. Here are five things that you can do to help stop Trumpcare:
- Call your Democratic Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten E. Gillibrand at 855-912-2982. Democrats are united in support against Trumpcare, but you can urge them to use every tactic at them disposal to slow and stop this bill: to join protests, to join the filibuster-by-amendment (a way of slowing down the bill with a high number of amendments when the bill does come to a vote), and—this is crucial—to not vote for any amendments that will help Republicans pass Trumpcare. Republicans might try to get Democrats to help pass amendments that make it easier for moderates to vote for the bill. Tell them not to fall for it!
- Urge your friends and family across America to call their senators at 855-912-2982. It's easy! Just click here to share our Facebook post on your wall. You can also write personal notes to friends and family, especially those who live in Alaska, West Virginia, Ohio, Nevada, Maine, Pennsylvania, Arizona, and Arkansas. Be sure to include the phone number 855-912-2982.
- Join a MoveOn community cookout this weekend. These are local gatherings where you'll meet with neighbors, activists, and fellow progressives to strategize about actions over recess and in the weeks ahead. Join a MoveOn community cookout this weekend.
- Get involved during the July 4 recess. You can start by bringing a health care message to your local Independence Day parade. Though members of Congress are canceling town halls, they will show up for the parade. Hold signs or banners that say "Health care is our right," "Health care for all is patriotic," or "Taking away our health care is unpatriotic." These signs will get captured in local news coverage, and you can also share photos of them on social media with the hashtag #protectourcare. You can also click here to look up your senators' local district offices, call to get their office hours, and show up in person and check out Indivisible's "Trumpcare delay" website for ways to get involved.
- Sign up for MoveOn text message alerts. We'll send you text alerts at the most crucial moments—like right before the vote—to remind you to call again or to let you know when there's an in-person protest coming up near you.
If not for the uprising of millions of Americans, Trumpcare would have been signed into law five months ago. Now, thanks to the voices of grassroots activists fighting for their lives, its end could be within reach ... If we keep going at full throttle.
The key thing here is that the whole country has to know what's going on—that this isn't yet a victory. It's a setback for the Republican agenda overall (since Trumpcare's slowdown delays other priorities), a sign that our resistance is working, and an opportunity to double down and stop this zombie bill from returning yet again.
In recent weeks MoveOn has been pulling out all the stops. We rallied to organize a three-state tour with Bernie Sanders; we had huge Washington, D.C., rallies this week with Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, Bernie Sanders, and many others; we're buying an unprecedented amount of ads; and we're completely maxing out the capacity of our new technology to reach progressive activists whom we can't reach by email. And MoveOn members like you are hitting the phones, sharing stories, attending local events, and driving for hours to make your voices heard.
Because the truth is: If folks know what's really happening and take action, we will win. Everyone hates this bill. When people understand that this bill really is on the verge of being passed, they get off the sidelines. And we need everyone to stand up and take action—the roar of the American people against this bill has to be deafening.
McConnell wants to throw off our momentum. We won't let him.
If you wish, thinking back on it now, that you'd put just a little more time, money, and energy into stopping Trump before he was elected—pour that time, money, and energy into this fight now.
Thanks for all you do.
–Ben, Anna, Corinne, Jo, and the rest of the team
P.S. MoveOn is spending hundreds of thousands of dollars per week to organize huge rallies in Washington and in key states, pay for our growing organizing team, flood Congress with calls every single day, and run ads. Will you help us keep it up all month long? Click here to chip in $3—or whatever you can afford—so we can keep it up.
Sources:
1. "Vote Delayed as G.O.P. Struggles to Marshal Support for Health Care Bill," The New York Times, June 27, 2017
https://act.moveon.org/go/10919?t=21&akid=185488.10220574.Wmnnw0
2. "Pro-Trump group launches TV, radio ads against Heller over health bill," Politico, July 27, 2017
http://act.moveon.org/go/10921?t=23&akid=185488.10220574.Wmnnw0
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