4d ago

Steve Bannon, US hospitals join GOP rebellion over Medicaid cuts

fortune.com Steve Bannon, US hospitals join GOP rebellion over Medicaid cuts

“Medicaid, you gotta be careful,” Bannon said. “Because a lot of MAGAs are on Medicaid, I’m telling you. If you don’t think so, you are dead wrong.”

Summary

A growing Republican backlash, including hospitals and Steve Bannon, is challenging Trump’s proposed Medicaid cuts.

The GOP budget seeks at least $880 billion in reductions, risking healthcare access for millions. Bannon warned that many MAGA voters rely on Medicaid, while hospitals and moderate Republicans urged caution, fearing economic harm.

Speaker Mike Johnson supports work requirements but lacks enough fraud-related savings to meet budget goals.

Critics argue the cuts could gut essential services, contradicting Trump’s promise not to harm Medicaid recipients.

57 comments

Reminder that Bannon is an ethno-fascist who's just pissy that he's been sidelined for techno-fascists. If his goals align with anti-fascists for the moment, great, but don't for a second think that he is any less vile or dangerous than Trump, Musk, or any of the other chittering goobers that are gnawing away at our democracy right now.
- Fuelling ego-jostling and in-fighting is pretty much the main approach any opposition has for limiting the effectiveness of this administration until the mid-terms. They don't seem especially concerned about following the law, after all.
  If they're all singing from the same sheet, they will be ruthlessly efficient in their destruction. If they're busy sniping each other, they're not actively focused on harming people.
- At this point I'd say we're deep into the 'enemy of my enemy' area. Focus on the one actively ruining things, then deal with the rest later. The trap we'd need to avoid is continuing to treat people like Bannon as allies once Trump and Musk have been dealt with, an issue that happens a lot with this kind of situation.
- I'm just wondering which group is going to night-of-the-long-knives the other first.
- He’s vile, no question. Even a stopped clock is right twice a day, but you don’t rely on it or consider it quality.
- I just like seeing them fight.

Bannon's an actual supervillain because he's not abjectly stupid like Trump.
- I’d say the same for Vance after his comments on the legality of the Judiciary Branch checking the power of the Executive Branch. Of course he knows better. He graduated Yale Law, yet people seem to underestimate him. It’s a dangerous combination.
  
  He’s adaptive, but not sure if he can lead, time will tell.
  
  No no, I'm legitimately sure that Vance doesn't believe that the Judiciary Branch can check on the Executive.
  When you get high up enough on the ladder, you don't go to school to learn things, you go there to meet the right people.
  Remember: Trump is a College Graduate and was described as more or less being the dumbest student his professors ever had, and yet he still passed and even played on the baseball team (despite being too unhealthy for Vietnam)
  Money talks, getting good grades is for losers and plebs who have to work for a living.
- Their skills complement each other quite well. If evil has mind and heart, we got both in America right now.
  
  Money part is covered too.

Fuck Steve Bannon. I hope this piece of shit dies in a fire.
- Fuck Bannon just like fuck Michael Cohen

A little late for any GOP to be complaining now. This is exactly what they voted for. None of what is happening now is a surprise; it was well known during the election.

Bannon knows if they don't precisely fuck over the right people then the entire thing will backfire.
The dude is a complete fucking psychopath but he's right.
- The old guard GOP IMO has raised a populist dragon they can no longer effectively control. McConnell, the Fox News media cabal, and other old guards never stopped to realize that eventually their dragon would start to turn on them. The brand of populism used doesn't always line up with traditional GOP aims. If they harm the wrong crowd, the populist branch could quickly turn on them.
  
  The amazing thing is it's not even the first time they've leveraged a movement for votes and then lost control of it. A century ago, the Republican Party was just the corporatocracy party. This doesn't get you votes and they were getting annihilated by the Democrats, so they used the Southern Strategy to get the racist vote. They didn't actually care one way or the other, but it got them votes. Then the racists started getting elected as Republicans and the corpocrats lost control of the party for a while. Then they did it with evangelicals and had the same problem. Now they've done it with fascists.
  
  Oh it was always going to end this way, I'm just surprised it took this long.

These fucking "plays" happen in public to distract you from larger things. These parasites need each other, don't believe their horseshit.
- I like that his wording indicates that hurting people by taking away healtrhcare is fine, just that they need to be careful not to hurt to many people who support you.
  "It's fine if you kill grandma, just make sure you kill a grandma and grandpa who would have voted against you when you do so."
  
  "You're hurting the wrong people."
- These parasites need a heavy dose of ketamine.
  
  Heavier*
  
  Ketamine is a brand name. The generic version of that drug is actually more effective and it has a really pretty name... Guillotine.

Or we could tax people who make over $400k/yr. More so if you make over $10million (didn’t Warren have a plan for that at one point?).
Instead of cutting everything people who make less than $150k/yr rely on.
- That's what Biden was planning to do and the media started crusade that he shouldn't run.
  Harris no longer had this promise, but they killed her off anyway.
  
  Doesnt seem like it would have mattered by the way voting went. Even if Biden had beat Trump, the Senate and Congress would have been Republican still. So while our Republic would have stayed standing, no real changes Biden would have tried for would have ever happened.
- But if we do that how will the uber rich afford their 4th homes? Could you imagine getting by with just three homes?
  (In truth, if too much wealth ends in the hands of the few, there won't be enough money to sustain the consumption needed for economies to prosper.)

Steve Bannon siding with Joe and Jane average is a weird timeline. JFC

..... Is Steve Bannon suddenly one of the good guys?
I get that this is a broken clock is right twice a day situation but still, it feels wrong, somehow
- The enemy of my enemy isn't really a friend but I'm willing to support them sometimes?
  
  frenemy
- … Is Steve Bannon suddenly one of the good guys?
  No. He's just been pushed to the side and is pissy about it. I'll appreciate his involvement in resisting that maybe he can pull off some of the supporters, but at the end of the day, he's still an asshole.

I hope this guy chokes on his own shit a
- He savors that flavor.

...has no one seen the Phantom Menace? you always win when your team is playing both sides, even superficially...

Insert TF2 "We are auto-balancing the teams!" meme here

Thus bringing us one step closer to the night of long knives

When Trump promised not to harm Medicaid recipients, he meant that he would not personally assault a Medicaid recipient. Of course, being Trump, that probably means he’ll do it anyway.

steve bannon... welcome to the resistance
- Now step right this way. Yes, put your head in the hole.

Yes, please - accelerate. Accelerate the building of guillotines.

Unpopular opinion here, but GOOD. I want cuts to medicaid, medicare, and social security. I want the people who voted for this to get what they wanted.
I don't use any of those systems, and as far as I am concerned, we are at the point of ever person for themselves. Cut it all, I can fend for myself and I'm done paying for moochers who voted against my rights.
- As someone who didn't vote for this and is currently struggling to get basic needs met, fuck you. Sincerely.
  
  This country is going to be destroyed by apathy. Use that anger. Riot. Disobey. If a bunch of people are getting their needs met then things go on as they were while each group is picked off in turn. My family is already collateral damage, and most people, many of whom collect social security and are on Medicare and Medicaid are fine with that until it affects them.
- do you prefer living surrounded by destitute desperate misery? when its every person for themselves you wont fend for nada.
  
  It depends on if that is the thing that wakes people out of apathy. I don't wish misery on anyone, but considering the voter turnout in the last election, we deserve to suffer together.
  
  We already do. Ya don't see it because it's been a slow turn. We are the richest country in the world in history, but yet, we have issues paving roads because of the rich don't want to pay their fair share. We could take a few points of the GDP and we could have the greatest country this world has ever seen, a pure utopia.
- Yet another unnecessary accelerationist in a world where the brakelines were cut years ago and the bus has been speeding up all on its own.
  "I can fend for myself" is the extremely naive thought that cut those brakes. No human is an island, and everyone is connected to everyone, past and present.
  And "good, they should suffer because they deserve it" is the extremely evil thought that placed the brick on the accelerator. It's the same thought that drives decisions like defunding healthcare.
  So, congrats on being a part of the problem. Enjoy cheering for the suffering of humanity.
- How is life with a brain that can only think in one dimension?
  
  The blueberries taste like chlorine.

57 comments