Repealing Obamacare is a choice between free market and Stalin-type socialism, said San Diego Congressman Darrell Issa on a call-in radio show this week.

The health care bill written by Republicans on beverage napkins over lunch on Thursday affecting one-sixth of the economy is, I gather, all about “freedom,” the GOP’s code word for unfettered greed, lack of empathy, and government-enforced poverty.  

The pieces of “Skinny Repeal” we already know about will raise insurance premiums by 20% while causing 16 million fewer people to have coverage next year. Americans who are low-income, older or living in rural communities would no longer be able to afford insurance — while the savings from the bill would be applied to tax cuts for the wealthy.

Here are Issa’s thoughts, via Think Progress: (Fake facts in boldface)

“In a nutshell, there is a decision of whether you believe in the free market and competition or whether you believe in Stalin-type socialism,” Issa said on Boston Herald Radio ahead of the Senate’s vote on the motion to proceed Tuesday. “I know that always gets people going — ‘How can you compare?’ — but the fact is that when one entity, the federal government [decides] … how much you get in health care versus how much you paid in or currently make, and whether you get a surgical procedure or not…”

…His portrayal of former President Obama’s signature achievement as “Stalin-type socialism” is more extreme than the congressman has been recently, when he has touted his collaboration with Obama. Issa represents a competitive district, and he once even included the former president in a campaign mailer.

“Unless we roll Obamacare back… You no longer control your own life,” Issa said. “Understand that on one hand, Obamacare says that every woman is going to get her prescriptions for birth control paid for but they also decide whether or not you’re going to get a new lifesaving medicine, whether a procedure is going to be paid for.”

I’m so happy to hear the prison camps for people refusing to sign up for health insurance will be closed. 

Take Back the 49th has called for an emergency protest at Issa’s Vista office, Friday, July 28 at 10am.

Congressman Issa and the GOP have already put their names on the line to repeal the ACA at any cost. They just want to pass something, and they don’t care (or at this point even know) how many people will be harmed in the process. The best way to stop this is to STOP THE SENATE. 

Please join us as we stand in solidarity with our biggest showing yet in opposition to the Senate vote, and make it very clear to Issa where his constituents stand if this dangerous and disastrous bill makes it back to the House. We will be rallying outside of Issa’s office with tombstone and health care signs to symbolize the lives at risk – over 175,000 people in congressional district 49 are on Medi-Cal or receive subsides to help pay for their health care. Congressman Issa has already voted to strip health care from 20 million Americans with his vote on the American Health Care Act. We must hold him accountable and make sure he does not take another disastrous vote for his constituents.

Our message to Issa is that we will not stand by as the Senate dismantles our healthcare system and risks lives in our community, and he shouldn’t either.

Congressman Issa also joined an exclusive club this week of elected officials compiled by  Emily’s List, the group that aims to elect women who support abortion rights. The 49th Congressional District is one of 50 congressional and Senate seats nationwide targeted by the group as part of their “On Notice” program to flip seats in the midterm election.

According to the Los Angeles Times, no women have filed to run in Issa’s district. Emily’s List spokeswoman Julie McClain Downey told the paper they are still recruiting female candidates.

Speaking of Neanderthals, Congressman Duncan Hunter was strongly supportive of President Trump’s Twitexcutive Order banning transgender humans from serving in the military, according to the Union-Tribune:

Representative Duncan Hunter, a San Diego area Republican and a member of the House Armed Services Committee, called it “the right decision.

“National security should trump social experimentation, always,” he said in an email.

(Today’s lead photo is via Take Back the 49th Facebook)

Looking for some action? Check out the Weekly Progressive Calendar, published every Friday in this space, featuring Demonstrations, Rallies, Teach-ins, Meet Ups and other opportunities to get your activism on.

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Doug Porter

Doug Porter was active in the early days of the alternative press in San Diego, contributing to the OB Liberator, the print version of the OB Rag, the San Diego Door, and the San Diego Street Journal. He went on to have a 35-year career in the Hospitality business and decided to go back into raising hell when he retired. He won numerous awards for his columns from the Society of Professional Journalists in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017. Doug is a cancer survivor (sans vocal chords) and lives in North Park.

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