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DSCC FRIDAY TAKEAWAYS: REPUBLICANS RUSH SCOTUS CONFIRMATION & PUT ACA “IN GREATER DANGER THAN EVER”—HEALTH CARE LAWSUIT “ENORMOUS” LIABILITY FOR GOP

WHAT’S AT STAKE: AS REPUBLICANS RUSH TO FILL SCOTUS SEAT, PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS PROTECTIONS “IN GREATER DANGER THAN EVER.” Coverage protections for people with pre-existing conditions and other health care benefits are “in greater danger than ever” as anti-health care Senate Republicans rush to fill the Supreme Court vacancy. Oral arguments on the Republican lawsuit to strike down the entire Affordable Care Act and its pre-existing conditions protections are scheduled for November 10, just one week after Election Day. Republican incumbents and candidates support or refuse to oppose this lawsuit, and they are on the record in favor of gutting these core health care protections. Take a look at what will happen if the Supreme Court strikes down the Affordable Care Act:

  • As many as 133 million Americans have a pre-existing condition that could disqualify them “from buying a health insurance policy or cause them to pay significantly higher premiums.” 
  • 21 million Americans “are at serious risk of becoming uninsured.”
  • 12 million American adults “who have gained Medicaid coverage through the law’s expansion of the program could lose it.” 
  • 165 million Americans would face coverage limits on expensive treatments for conditions like cancer and hemophilia.
  • 60 million Medicare beneficiaries would have to pay more for preventive care and prescription drugs.

Then read more about how the fate of health care for tens of millions hangs in the balance:

WATCH: MSNBC’S CHRIS HAYES: REPUBLICANS POISED TO PAY STEEP PRICE IN SCOTUS FIGHT OVER ACA.

DESPERATE REPUBLICANS’ LATEST ATTEMPT TO DELIVER HEALTH CARE WIN “DOESN’T DO ANYTHING.” President Trump and Republicans in Washington know that voters don’t trust them to protect health care, which is why they’re running ads obscuring their toxic records and are desperately looking “for ways to win over voters on health care after failing to deliver on promises.” The latest attempt? A “frenzied rollout of proposals” from the president that experts say are “little more than a public relations ploy.” Trump’s latest executive order “doesn’t do anything” and even White House officials say “it will have no legal effect.” Republicans’ attempts are nothing more than an election year stunt to try and paper over their toxic records of supporting gutting the health care law that guarantees protections for people with pre-existing conditions and enabling the ongoing GOP lawsuit to strike down the entire law in the middle of a pandemic. 

JOBLESS CLAIMS CLIMB, BUT SENATE GOP FOCUSED ON SCOTUS. Senate Republicans let emergency unemployment relief expire almost two months ago and then went on a month-long recess — only to return and continue to block a full extension of emergency jobless relief. Now, the temporary patchwork replacement that still cut benefits is set to expire and “tens of millions of Americans are dealing with uncertain futures.” Despite reports that Senate Republicans’ refusal to work on bipartisan coronavirus relief “could impede economic growth for months to come,” “create widespread damage across America” and leave “many Americans without jobs or homes,” Mitch McConnell and his caucus have decided to focus on rushing to fill a lifetime Supreme Court vacancy and ignore the urgent needs of millions of hardworking families. 

VULNERABLE REPUBLICAN INCUMBENTS SLAMMED IN LOCAL NEWSPAPERS FOR HYPOCRISY OVER SCOTUS SEAT. Vulnerable Republican incumbent Senators across the map are coming under fire in their local newspapers for “playing party politics” by supporting Mitch McConnell’s push to confirm Trump’s Supreme Court nominee even as early voting has already begun in some states — a stunning reversal from their positions in 2016. Take a look at what local opinion-makers are saying about these Senate Republicans abandoning their own standard:

JOHN JAMES HIDING POSITION ON SCOTUS VACANCY. Failed politician John James was caught on tape on Tuesday refusing to answer whether he supports Mitch McConnell and President Trump’s plans to rush to fill a lifetime appointment before Michigan voters have a chance to make their voices heard. James is the only high profile Republican Senate candidate who hasn’t taken a position on filling the SCOTUS vacancy, issuing a lengthy statement that conveniently didn’t say whether he’d support confirming Trump’s nominee before the election or in a lame duck session –– following McConnell’s order to be cautious and “keep your powder dry.” And when asked by local press, “James’ campaign declined to clarify his position further.” James can try and run away from the basic questions, but his true positions are clear: James said that he supports Trump “2,000%” in putting “textualist Supreme Court justices on the bench.” Detroit Free Press/PolitiFact: John James stands out for not taking stance on vacant Supreme Court seat

SUSAN COLLINS UNDER FIRE FOR TAKING A HALL PASS ON SCOTUS VOTE. Senator Susan Collins spent three days dodging reporters and refusing to clarify whether or not she would vote to confirm a nominee put forward by Donald Trump on the Senate floor. After initially issuing an intentionally vague and carefully worded statement that gave her room to play both sides, Collins finally clarified her stance –– but only after McConnell had the votes without her support. Now, Republican strategists are saying the quiet part out loud: Collins’ position on the SCOTUS vacancy is purely a political calculation. Collins may have received another hall pass to claim she’s independent from her party, but the reality is the vulnerable incumbent has been a key player in Trump and McConnell’s efforts to take over the federal judiciary, voting to confirm 178 Trump judges.

WHAT MAINERS ARE SAYING ABOUT COLLINS. CNN’s Gary Tuchman traveled to Maine to talk to voters about Senator Susan Collins. Their thoughts? “I felt like she’s not listening to what the people of Maine want anymore…She has just capitulated…she’s just in Trump’s pocket…I think she’s too much of a Trumpy.” Watch to see why Mainers think Collins has changed after 24 years in Washington: 

 

MCCONNELL: GARDNER “KEY VOTE” TO GET SCOTUS CONFIRMATION “ACROSS THE FINISH LINE.” In an email to supporters, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell boasted that Senator Cory Gardner will likely be a “key vote” to ram President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee “across the finish line.” Gardner is clearly taking his marching orders from McConnell, initially following the Majority Leader’s playbook and dodging questions about the Court vacancy before he “flip-flopped” on his own 2016 commitment that “the president who is elected in November should be the one who makes this decision” and caved to Trump’s pressure. Gardner’s decision may ensure Trump secures just enough votes to rush through a justice who’s likely to oppose the health care law that protects people with pre-existing conditions, proving that the vulnerable incumbent is nothing more than a rubber stamp for McConnell and Trump. Colorado Times Recorder: McConnell: Gardner Is Likely To Be “Key Vote” That Gets Supreme Court Nominee “Across the Finish Line”

TILLIS EMBRACES RECKLESS COVID CONSPIRACY. What do Senators Joni Ernst and Thom Tillis have in common? The two vulnerable incumbents have both gotten caught peddling dangerous conspiracy theories and recklessly downplaying coronavirus deaths. Tillis also “embraced an extreme anti-vaccine position” and appeared to welcome a herd immunity strategy that Dr. Anthony Fauci has previously said would lead to an “enormous” and “unacceptable” death rate. This type of rhetoric is simply irresponsible from Tillis, who has consistently shown he is too weak and too spineless to stand up to his party leaders in Washington to protect public health. 

TILLIS RECKLESSLY QUESTIONS INTEGRITY OF ABSENTEE BALLOT PROCESS. Senator Thom Tillis questioned the integrity of North Carolina’s absentee ballot system –– just days after saying “he had so much faith in the system.” The vulnerable incumbent’s “about-face” on the subject followed a unanimous decision by the North Carolina Board of Elections that would make it easier for North Carolinians to fix mistakes on their absentee ballots, a decision that Republicans have recklessly politicized with less than 40 days until the election. News & Observer: Tillis says he has ‘grave concerns’ about voting by mail in NC after board settlement 

*RATINGS CHANGES* #COSEN, #MESEN, #SCSEN ALL SHIFT IN DEMOCRATS’ DIRECTION. Nonpartisan analysts at Cook Political Report and Sabato’s Crystal Ball shifted three Senate races in Democrats’ favor this week, reflecting the growing momentum behind Democrats in the battle for control of the Senate:

  • #COSEN: Cook Political Report moved the Colorado Senate race from “Toss-Up” to “Leans Democrat,” citing Gardner’s position as “one of the most endangered incumbents” combined with his recent flip-flop on SCOTUS as two reasons for the ratings change. Cook noted that even Republicans monitoring Colorado “seriously doubt” Gardner can win. 
  • #MESEN: Sabato’s Crystal Ball shifted the Maine Senate race from “Toss-Up” to “Leans Democratic,” reflecting Collins’ “increasingly perilous position” as polling shows Mainers souring on the vulnerable incumbent. 
  • #SCSEN: Sabato’s Crystal Ball also moved the South Carolina Senate race in Democrats’ favor as “Graham has been locked in a tightening contest with a well-financed Democratic opponent, Jaime Harrison.” The South Carolina race has only continued to get more competitive as polling shows a dead heat and Harrison has dominated Graham in fundraising. 

BARACK OBAMA AND JOE BIDEN ENDORSE SENATE CANDIDATES ACROSS THE MAP.  Former President Barack Obama endorsed Senator Gary Peters, Mark Kelly, Jon Ossoff, Reverend Raphael Warnock, Mayor Adrian Perkins, Congressman Ben Ray Luján, and MJ Hegar in their respective Senate races citing their commitment to rebuilding the economy and the middle class and protecting Americans’ health care and pre-existing conditions coverage. And Vice President Joe Biden also endorsed Senator Peters in his campaign for reelection. Biden pointed to Gary’s work during the Great Recession to help out the auto industry in Michigan, saying “as our country continues to face tough challenges, Michigan families can count on Gary to find bipartisan solutions and always put them first.” 

KC STAR EDITORIAL BOARD DECLARES BOLLIER WINNER IN #KSSEN DEBATE. The Kansas City Star Editorial Board called the first Kansas debate for Dr. Barbara Bollier against Congressman Roger Marshall, concluding that “Bollier would at least try to reach bipartisan solutions on important issues, while Marshall’s commitment to hyper-divisive politics remains obvious.” Bollier is widely recognized as a “strong candidate” who has built a reputation as an independent voice focused on finding common sense solutions and recent polls show that the Kansas Senate race is a dead heat. Kansas City Star Editorial: Barbara Bollier and Roger Marshall claim to represent Kansas values. Only one does

CUNNINGHAM COMES OUT ON TOP IN #NCSEN DEBATE. Army veteran Cal Cunningham and incumbent Senator Thom Tillis met for the second time on the debate stage, and Cal walked away the clear winner. Senator Tillis spent the entire debate on defense, unable to explain his stunning SCOTUS hypocrisy, provided no solutions on health care, and couldn’t answer for his votes to give tax breaks to major corporations and big donors while growing the national debt. Two political analysts who watched the debate “believed Cunningham won,” saying Cunningham gave “more substance to a lot of his answers.” And if that wasn’t enough evidence that Cal was the clear winner Tuesday night, undecided voters “said they viewed Tillis less favorably” after watching. WNCN: Analysts break down why NC Senate debate may have swayed undecided voters toward Cunningham

IN THE STATES

AL – Vox: The Vox Senate interview: Doug Jones sees a brighter future for Democratic candidates in the South

AZ – Arizona Republic (Opinion): Is Sen. Martha McSally’s vow to shield health care worth anything now? 

CO – CNN: Hickenlooper attacks Gardner over Supreme Court vacancy in Colorado Senate race

GA – Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Analysis: Why Georgia’s twin Senate races are up for grabs

IA – Cedar Rapids Gazette: Theresa Greenfield seeks more pandemic help for Iowans, end of D.C. corruption

MI – Crain’s: Detroit Regional Chamber backs Peters over James for U.S. Senate

TWEET OF THE WEEK

Lauren Passalacqua
@laurenvpass

Stewart Boss
@stew_boss

Helen Kalla
@helen_kalla

Shea Necheles
@sheanecheles

Regina Anderson
@reginasopinion

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