You Can’t Rewrite Facts Trump is trying to gaslight the country by whitewashing January 6 Dan Rather and Team Steady Sep 29 Credit: Getty Images January 6, 2021, will — or at least should — always be considered one of the darkest days in our nation’s history. It is a date cemented to Donald Trump’s attempt to overturn a free and fair election that he lost. Trump had a lead responsibility for the violence that day, according to an exhaustive congressional study, among other analyses. Those are facts, whether Trump likes them or not. Many Americans hope that he cannot rewrite the past, that he cannot erase history. But he and his Republican colleagues are determined to try. And they are bringing the full force of their powers toward efforts to make it happen. House Republicans have formed a new committee to reinvestigate the insurrection and deliver a rosier report, no doubt demanded by the White House. Trump calls it all a “hoax” and the rioters “political prisoners.” The president is now calling FBI agents stationed in the crowd that day at the Capitol “agitators.” It is all semantic bunk. At the time, January 6 was as close as we’ve ever come to losing our democracy, and the list of those at fault will always begin with Donald Trump. The January 6 riots did not just happen for no reason. A group of protesters did not march on the Capitol by accident. No, the president of the United States sent out a call to action to his supporters, after months of claiming the results of the 2020 presidential election were rigged and that he was the actual victor. And Donald Trump had been sowing seeds of doubt about election veracity well before Election Day. Now he is trying to erase the worst and rewrite the rest of what happened that day. So in case it is needed, here is a brief history: On every January 6 following a presidential election, a joint session of Congress is convened to officially count the Electoral College votes. The vice president, as president of the Senate, presides over the count and announces the results. Historically, this has been a formality. At noon on January 6, 2021, a “Save America” rally convened at the Ellipse just south of the White House. Trump addressed the crowd in person, reiterating that the 2020 election had been “stolen by emboldened radical-left Democrats” and demanding that Vice President Mike Pence reject Biden’s victory. “If you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore,” he warned. The mob, many of whom belonged to far-right extremist groups like the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers, marched to the United States Capitol with the intention of stopping the certification of the election results. Thousands breached the building’s perimeter, climbed walls, broke windows, and forced their way inside the Rotunda. They proceeded to loot and vandalize the Capitol and assault law enforcement for hours. At 2:24 pm, Trump tweeted that Pence “didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done.” Supporters on social media then called for Pence to be hunted down. Rioters in the Capitol were heard saying they wanted to execute the vice president. Trump’s reaction to the threats against Pence was “So what?” Trump resisted sending in the National Guard to quell the insurrection. After multiple calls for help from Republican lawmakers inside the Capitol, he posted a Twitter video repeating the stolen election claims but did tell the rioters to “go home in peace.” Pence and the lawmakers remained unharmed, but 174 police officers were injured, and one died of a stroke the following day. One protester was shot and killed trying to climb in through a window. Four officers died by suicide within seven months of the insurrection. The rioters caused $2.7 million in property damage, according to the U.S. attorney’s office. Eventually, 1,424 arrests were made; 1,010 pleaded guilty; two-thirds served jail time. The leader of the Proud Boys, Enrique Tarrio, received the longest sentence, 22 years in prison. On January 13, the House impeached Trump — for a second time — for inciting an insurrection. Though the Senate voted 57-43 to convict, that fell short of the 67 votes needed. The Senate also blocked a bill that would have created an independent bipartisan commission to investigate, so the House did it alone. On June 9, 2022, the House Select Committee on the January 6th Attack held its first public hearing. In her opening statement, committee vice chair and Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney said, “On the morning of January 6, President Donald Trump’s intention was to remain president of the United States, despite the lawful outcome of the 2020 election and in violation of his Constitutional obligation to relinquish power.” Six months later, the committee issued an 845-page final report. According to The New York Times’s brief of the report, Trump “lied to the American people, ignored all evidence refuting his false fraud claims, pressured state and federal officials to throw out election results favoring his challenger, encouraged a violent mob to storm the Capitol and even signaled support for the execution of his own vice president.” In August 2023, special counsel Jack Smith presented his findings to a grand jury, which indicted the president on four charges: conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct official proceedings, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights. Trump’s efforts to change the narrative and absolve himself officially began on the first day of his second term. He signed an executive order granting clemency to all of the insurrectionists, including those convicted of violent crimes. He also purged the Department of Justice, which has since dropped the charges against him, of almost everyone involved in January 6 investigations and prosecutions. Since then many DOJ webpages with information about January 6 have been deleted. Thankfully several organizations have archived the information, which helped while researching this writing. Recently, Trump has pushed the House to convene a new committee to “reinvestigate” the January 6 House investigation. Unsurprisingly, he has gotten his wish. Many House Republicans are still bitter about the first select committee’s findings. According to Rep. Clay Higgins, a Republican from Louisiana, “That thing was never legitimate. It was always biased.” Higgins served on the first committee and is now on the second. Speaker Mike Johson called the new panel “a committee investigating the previous committee.” And characterized the prior investigation as “rigged,” on CNN. Make no mistake, January 6 has been investigated and reviewed. The original House investigation was not the only one. The Capitol Police inspector general’s office issued several reports. There was a bipartisan Senate review and one from retired Army Lt. Colonel Russel Honoré. Special counsel Smith’s investigation led to a presidential indictment. The purpose of the new “investigation” is to minimize Trump’s culpability and lay blame elsewhere. “They can’t even seem to settle on which conspiracy theory they want to advance. Was it Antifa? Did it not happen at all? Did Donald Trump really win the election? They can’t figure out what it is they want to say, and it’s because it’s just a tissue of lies and conspiracy theories,” Democratic Representative Jamie Raskin told Politico. Trump is also making noises about going after former FBI director Christopher Wray, suggesting he covered up FBI agents “acting as agitators and insurrectionists” during January 6. He accused Wray of “inappropriate behavior” and said to NBC News that he “would think” the Justice Department is investigating him. This followed his Saturday post that the FBI “secretly placed, against all Rules, Regulations, Protocols, and Standards, 274 FBI Agents into the Crowd just prior to, and during, the January 6th Hoax.” These unsubstantiated claims have been floating around for several years. A December 2024 DOJ inspector general’s report found no evidence that undercover FBI agents were at the protest. This is a short history of an attack on our democracy perpetrated by the sitting president. It is a story that must be preserved for the ages. This blight on our collective history should not be whitewashed because Trump in 2025 doesn’t like how Trump’s 2021 actions almost ended “the last great experiment,” American democracy. Steady is free, but to support my team’s efforts to protect our democracy through the power of independent journalism, we’d appreciate it if you would consider joining as a paid subscriber. It keeps Steady sustainable and accessible for all. No matter how you subscribe, I thank you for being part of the Steady community. Stay Steady, Dan

Today in Politics, Bulletin 218. 9/29/25 Ron Filipkowski Sep 29 ∙ … Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries had their meeting with Trump today in the Oval Office in their effort to make a deal to avert a govt shutdown in exchange maintaining health care premium subsidies under the ACA. The WH and Republicans in Congress have chosen to demagogue the issue, posting in a coordinated way throughout the day that Democrats are only doing this to give free health care to migrants and trans people. … Trump decided to hold the meeting behind closed doors with no press, which is rare for him. Schumer afterwards: “We laid out to the president some of the consequences of what’s happening in health care, and by his face and by the way he looked, I think he heard about them for the first time.” … Jeffries: “It was a frank and direct discussion with the president and Republican leaders. But significant and meaningful differences remain. Democrats are fighting to protect the health care of the American people. And we are not going to support a partisan Republican spending bill that continues to gut the health care of everyday Americans. Period. Full stop.” … JD Vance after the meeting: “You don’t use your policy disagreements as leverage to not have essential services of govt actually function. I think we’re heading towards a shutdown because the Democrats won’t do the right thing.” … Trump shut down the govt in his first term over funding for his border wall. But I suppose that was around the time Vance was calling Trump ‘America’s Hitler’. … Vance: “If you look at the original thing they did with this negotiation, it was a $1.5 trillion spending package, basically saying to the American people, we want to give hundreds of billions of dollars to illegal aliens for their health care, We think the American people are going to suffer because these guys won’t do the right thing.” MAGA GOP HAVE NO BUDGET PROPOSAL...WHAT IS JUST DANCE VANCE TALKING ABOUT? … Jon Favreau: “If no one asks him to defend this absurd lie I’m going to lose my fucking mind.” … Homeland Security Committee Democrats: “When Republicans hurt Americans — like cutting their healthcare — they start lying about immigrants to distract from the real issue. Every. Single. Time.” … Jon Lovett: “These guys cannot and will not defend what they actually did, which is cut hundreds of billions of dollars in health care for AMERICANS. The ACA subsidies expiring will hit millions of AMERICANS. But no it’s ‘Peruvian sex changes’ and DEI in Burma and blah blah blah.” … Rep. Mark Alford (R-MO) on Fox before the meeting: “Let’s bring them into the Oval Office, let’s give them a little taste of what we gave Zelensky back in the spring.” WHO VOTED FOR THIS BRAIN DEAD MAGA CLOWN? PENNSYLVANIA: YOU SUPPORTED THIS DOLT? … Rep. Dan Meuser (R-PA) on Newsmax: “I love that the Trump admin is saying, ‘Okay, you’re gonna do this, we’re not gonna have a prolonged shutdown and then just bring people back so all the non-essentials get a two week vacation. They’re gonna be furloughed and then perhaps terminated if we feel those agencies can functionally effectively without them.’ And so that’s something that they better take into consideration.” … CNN: “No jobs report on Friday if the govt is shut down, according to the shutdown plan released by the Labor Department this morning: “Economic data that are scheduled to be released during the lapse will not be released, and all active data collection will stop.” … Curious. MORE TARIFFS BY THE BRAIN DEAD ORANGE TURD...AS IF THAT'S A SOLUTION! … Trump announced new tariffs on furniture and movies today: “In order to make North Carolina, which has completely lost its furniture business to China, and other Countries, GREAT again, I will be imposing substantial Tariffs on any Country that does not make its furniture in the United States. Details to follow!!!” … “Our movie making business has been stolen from the USA, by other Countries, just like stealing ‘candy from a baby.’ California, with its weak and incompetent Governor, has been particularly hard hit! Therefore, in order to solve this long time, never ending problem, I will be imposing a 100% Tariff on any and all movies that are made outside of the US.” … Chair of America First Women, founder of Women for Trump, and J6 organizer Amy Kremer: “The cost of living is out of control. If you don’t grocery shop, you need to go to the grocery store and see for yourself. The prices are outrageous and continue to climb. I don’t know how people are living. Families are struggling and can’t afford to eat. Our elderly are hurting and too prideful to say anything. Something has gotta give.” … I wonder who caused all that? And whether he has any solutions. He certainly isn’t going in any grocery stores. … Guardian: “NAZI Stephen Miller has played a leading role in directing US strikes against suspected Venezuelan drug boats, according to 3 people familiar with the situation. At times, his role has superseded that of Marco Rubio. The strikes on the Venezuelan boats allegedly carrying narcotics, which the admin has claimed were necessary because interdiction did not work, have been orchestrated through the homeland security council (HSC), which Miller leads as the homeland security adviser.” … “Miller empowered the HSC earlier this year to become its own entity in Trump’s second term, a notable departure from previous admins where it was considered part of the NSC and ultimately reported to the NSA. As a result, the HSC has taken the lead on engaging the Venezuelan boats, a situation evidenced by his top deputy, Tony Salisbury, and others being the gatekeepers to details about what boat to strike until they are about to occur.” … NYT: “The boats that US forces have bombed in the Caribbean have killed at least 17 people, according to the Trump admin. Some legal experts have called it a crime to summarily kill civilians not directly taking part in hostilities, even if they are believed to be smuggling drugs. In the state of Sucre, on Venezuela’s Caribbean coast, the first boat to have been destroyed, on Sept. 2, is widely believed to have been carrying people from the towns of San Juan de Unare and Güiria, on a spit of land known as the Paria Peninsula.” … “For years the region has been dominated by cocaine trafficking, according to Ronna Rísquez, a Venezuelan journalist who has conducted field work in the area. But migrants, trafficking victims and govt-subsidized Venezuelan gasoline — which can be sold at a higher price in Trinidad and Tobago, just 6x miles away — also leave from this area, she said.” … “In an interview, one woman who identified herself as the wife of one of the dead men said that her husband was a fisherman with four children who left one day for work and never came back.” … Immigration lawyer Aaron Reichlin-Melnick: “Reuters uncovered that the Trump admin is prosecuting the LOWEST number of drug trafficking cases in decades. Why? Because the Trump admin has diverted so many law enforcement resources AWAY from drugs to going after migrants instead! Drugs are still pouring into the country! In fact, as a recent WSJ investigation uncovered, there’s so much cocaine being produced and brought into the US (easier than ever with CBP diverted to raids) that prices are dropping across the country!” … He then addressed arguments that drug trafficking prosecutions are down because Trump closed the border and bombed Venezuelan boats: “The overwhelming majority of hard drugs enter the US at lawful port of entry concealed in normal trade and traffic, and most often smuggled by US citizens. Still more comes in via drug tunnels and boats. Drug flow into the US is not down!” … Trump unveiled his plan to end the war in Gaza today in the WH with Israeli PM Netanyahu: “My plan calls for the creation of a new international oversight body. The Board of Peace. It will be headed by a gentleman known as President Donald J. Trump, so everybody wants to be on it now. They named me and everyone wanted to be on it.” … Netanyahu: “This can be done the easy way or the hard way but it will be done.” … Trump: “I want to thank Qatar, its leadership—the Emir. He is a fantastic person. I am going to be his public relations man, because I know him differently than a lot of people know him.” … Yeah, he gifted Trump his ‘Palace in the Sky’ jet along with many other lucrative business deals. … Journalist Yashar Ali: “Reminder - the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize is usually announced the second Friday of October.” … Which could explain the timing of this “deal.” … Section 10 of his 20-point plan is the one that caught my attention: “A Trump economic development plan to rebuild and energize Gaza will be created by convening a panel of experts who have helped birth some of the thriving modern miracle cities in the Middle East. Many thoughtful investment proposals and exciting development ideas have been crafted by well-meaning international groups, and will be considered to synthesize the security and governance frameworks to attract and facilitate these investments that will create jobs, opportunity, and hope for future Gaza.” … Besides the Nobel Peace Prize that he so badly wants, we can clearly see the personal financial interest in this as Trump Org continues to embed itself into the Middle East with deals all over the place. Watch Jared Kushner on this “economic development plan.” … ABC: “DUBAI, UAE - Dar Global said it plans to launch a Trump Plaza in the Saudi Red Sea city of Jeddah. The announcement by the company, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange, said the $1 billion landmark development is to rise along King Abdulaziz Road in the heart of the city. Dar Global said the project will have a Central Park-inspired green spine as an anchor, ‘bringing Manhattan-style vibrancy’ to Jeddah. It is the second collaboration in the coastal Saudi city with Trump Org and Trump Plaza Jeddah will represent the second Trump-branded development in Saudi Arabia, following the launch of Trump Tower Jeddah in Dec last year.” This is out a little late today because I had to spend several hours dealing with the VA bureaucracy. All I can say is that if you move from one state to another in that system it can be extremely problematic getting everything to transfer over without problems. You would think there is just one VA healthcare system in the US - but in reality there are 50. If you missed yesterday’s Bulletin, you can find it here. … Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA): “There were 5 MASS SHOOTINGS IN 24 HOURS! Trump’s FBI cannot protect us. He has them focused on targeting his political opponents rather than protecting us.” … The Telegraph: “The gunman who rammed his truck into a Mormon church and opened fire on worshippers was an Iraq war veteran who had previously shown support for Donald Trump. Thomas Jacob Sanford, from suburban Michigan, killed atleast 4 people in the attack on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc Township on Sunday.” … “The ex-Marine was killed by police after he shot at least 10 people with an assault rifle in what the FBI described as an ‘act of targeted violence’. Authorities have yet to provide a motive. His recent political views remain unclear, but he was seen wearing a camouflage Trump 2020 campaign shirt, emblazoned with the words Make Liberals Cry Again, in a picture posted on social media in 2019. An image of Sanford’s home, taken on Google Street View in June, showed a ‘Trump-Pence’ sign attached to his garden fence. … Legendary golfer Tom Watson: “I’d like to congratulate Team Europe on their victory. Your team play the first few days was sensational. More importantly, I’d like to apologize for the rude and mean-spirited behavior from our American crowd at Bethpage. As a former player, Captain and as an American, I am ashamed of what happened.” … Good for Watson. These are words that should have come from Trump since he was there the first day. But he said nothing because this is the kind of behavior he encourages. … Europe’s Ryder Cup team posted a video of themselves celebrating their win over the US. They looked into the camera, which appeared to be Rory McIlroy’s and chanted repeatedly: “Are you watching, are you watching Donald Trump?” This is out a little late today because I had to spend several hours dealing with the VA bureaucracy. All I can say is that if you move from one state to another in that system it can be extremely problematic getting everything to transfer over without problems. You would think there is just one VA healthcare system in the US - but in reality there are 50. If you missed yesterday’s Bulletin, you can find it here. Meidas+ is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. … MAGA has moved on from Cracker Barrel and has a new faux outrage for the grifters after the NFL announced that Bad Bunny will perform the Super Bowl halftime show. Podcaster Benny Johnson: “Massive Trump hater. Anti-ICE activist. No songs in English. He even canceled his entire US tour for this reason: ‘Fucking ICE could be outside my concert. And it’s something that we were talking about and very concerned about.’ The NFL is self-destructing year after year.” … Robby Starbuck, who instigates and organizes most of the MAGA boycotts for donations: “Roger Goodell and the NFL just decided to make the Super Bowl political by picking Bad Bunny as the 2026 Super Bowl music act. The guy literally says he isn’t touring the US because of Trump’s ICE raids and just released a video mocking President Trump. Also, most of his songs aren’t even in English. This is not a pick designed to unite football fans or let people just enjoy the show. It was a pick designed to divide fans.” … “No doubt Bad Bunny will find some way to push a woke message. Are NFL owners in on this idiocy or are they just culturally that disconnected from reality and how Roger uses the NFL to push left wing social issues? Is it that hard to pick a unifying music act who doesn’t want to peddle woke propaganda? Does this guy really scream American football to anyone? Be for real with me. No one thinks he does. This isn’t about music, it’s about putting a guy on stage who hates Trump and MAGA.” … Right-wing podcaster Jack Posobiec: “Creed denied yet again. Disgraceful. By every measure Creed has earned the Superbowl halftime gig. It is time for them to take us Higher. To a place with golden streets.” … Trump posted this today: “Hard to watch the new NFL kickoff. It’s wrong on every level. They should end it, immediately. Bad for the game of football!” … Fox reported that Gen. Keith Kellogg, Trump’s Special Envoy to Ukraine, is frustrated that Trump has authorized long-range strikes into Russia but Pete Hegseth and Elbridge Colby keep blocking them: “Everybody should follow what the President says. He’s the Commander in Chief, by the Constitution, and everybody falls in line. The last time I checked, none of us got electoral college votes, he did. So when the president said to do something, we just need to do that and complete the action.” … Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE): “The WH authorized long-range Ukrainian strikes into Russian. But, the Pentagon routinely blocks. Who is the Commander in Chief? The GOP criticized Biden for blocking Ukrainian long range strikes. Yet, Hegseth is doing the same. We want freedom to win.” … Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) responded to Marge Greene’s post suggesting that she may be killed by a foreign govt because she signed the petition to release the Epstein files: “Why do crazy people keep thinking ‘the Jews’ are trying to kill them? To everyone saying she never mentioned the Jews, it says ‘find out which foreign govt or powerful people would take heinous actions.’ You think she’s talking about Belgians? Argentinians? As she said ‘the People understand.’ Yes we do. And no, Israel didn’t murder Charlie Kirk.” DIRTY COAL? HUH? CHINA IS PROMOTING CHEAP CLEAN ENERGY, REDUCING THEIR ENERGY CONSUMPTION, PROMOTING HIGH SPEED RAIL & their economy is prospering!  THE MAGA MAGGOTS are BLIND! … Energy Secretary Chris Wright on Fox: “We’re announcing today expanded programs to help the American coal industry. We’re helping it because for years it has been under assault. It was out of fashion with the chardonnay set in San Francisco, Boulder, Colorado, and New York City. Coal makes the world go round.” … Making acute asthma attacks, pollution, and greenhouse gasses great again. … Trump again threatened New Yorkers that if they vote for Mamdani he will cut of federal funds: “He is going to have problems with Washington like no Mayor in the history of our once great City. Remember, he needs the money from me, as President, in order to fulfill all of his FAKE Communist promises. He won’t be getting any of it, so what’s the point of voting for him?” … Gothamist: “Andrew Cuomo, the former governor running as an independent for mayor, is one step closer to a head-to-head matchup with Zohran Mamdani after Mayor Eric Adams announced Sunday he was ending his longshot reelection campaign. Now, anti-Mamdani forces are expected to pressure Curtis Sliwa, the Republican nominee, to also drop out of the race. By Sunday night, those efforts were underway, at least on social media.” … Billionaire hedge fund investor Bill Ackman: “Thank you mayor for your service for our city and for stepping aside when the time was right! Sliwa, you should follow Eric’s lead for the good of NYC.” … “Sliwa - whose disclosures show he earns between $250,000-$500,000 a year - recently claimed billionaires close to Cuomo had bribed him with money and job offers to withdraw from the race. Cuomo’s campaign responded by calling Sliwa, who admitted to staging crimes in the 1970s to win publicity, ‘a liar and a fraudster.’ … On Fox5, Sliwa says he’s received 7 offers adding up to $10 million to drop out of the race: “I’m not for sale!” … UFC President Dana White, who is gearing up to host fights on the lawn of the WH, said he doesn’t agree with his fellow Trump supporters trying to get people fired from their jobs over Charlie Kirk: “I think you’re a disgusting human being if you’re celebrating the death of another human being. But people make mistakes and people are going to do dumb things. I don’t like trying to destroy people’s lives over doing something dumb.” … Fox host Maria Bartiromo: “The UN is promising a thorough investigation after President Trump said there was ‘triple sabotage’ at last week’s general assembly. Of course he’s referring to the escalator which stopped as soon as he and the First Lady stepped on. She was incredibly unfazed. She just kept walking up the steps. No problem for her. Was this sabotage?” … Democratic House Whip Katherine Clark on Mike Johnson’s continued refusal to swear in a new Democratic Rep who won in a landslide: “We need one more signature to release the Epstein Files. But Speaker Johnson won’t let Rep-elect Adelita Grijalva take her oath and make it official. The GOP can run, but they can’t hide forever. We’re coming after the truth.” … IL Gov JB Pritzker on troops being sent to US cities: “For Trump and the MAGAs in Congress, this is not about fighting crime or public safety - this is about consolidating power in Trump’s hands. What he plans to do with that power now or during the 2026 elections should worry all of us.” … If federal agents fired upon journalists and protesters, when unprovoked, what would we call it? If federal agents marched down busy streets harassing civilians and demanding their papers, what would we say? I don’t think we’d have any trouble calling it what it is. Authoritarianism. So let’s not pretend it’s something else when it happens in our American cities.” … NBC: “Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy is donating $100,000 from his political fund to the progressive organizing group Indivisible — the latest in a series of donations he says total nearly $1 million to grassroots groups across the country taking on the Trump admin: “We may not have another election, at least a free and fair election, if we don’t stop this slide away from free speech and democracy quickly. And what we know from history is that the only way to stop a would-be tyrant from cratering, from destroying a democracy is mass mobilization.” … “There’s something magic that happens when millions of people are mobilized all around the country. It just throws sand in the gears of an effort to try to convert a democracy to something very different.” … Indivisible, the progressive-aligned nonprofit group that has been holding ‘No Kings’ rallies across the country to protest Trump, is the latest recipient of those dollars. Murphy also invested in groups that mobilize on issues like Medicaid or opposing the GOP’s recent tax and spending bill, as well as groups that organize young people, Latinos and rural voters across a variety of states of varying degrees of political competitiveness, including MI, LA, UT, NC, GA, WI and SD.” … “There are senators and House members sitting on millions of dollars, and my warning is pretty simple - you may never get to spend that money. We are far too optimistic about our ability to get to November of 2026 as Trump tries to destroy the ability of mainstream media to tell the true story.” … Steve Bannon’s ‘War Room’ WH correspondent Natalie Winters responded to Murphy: “While Republicans are calling for ‘unity,’ Democrats are pumping cash to guerrilla political organizers responsible for violent protests.” … I missed all those Republican calls for unity. I also missed all the violence at No Kings. I hear there is another big one coming up on October 18 all over the country.

When We Lose Health Care, We All Pay the Price Meghan Hays and MeidasTouch Network Sep 29 Guest article by Meghan Hays, Democratic strategist and former special assistant to the president and director of message planning for President Joe Biden. Editorial credit: Christopher Penler / Shutterstock.com Donald Trump and the Republicans are about to oversee the largest healthcare cost increases in recent memory. And it’s important to remember this didn’t have to be. This was a policy choice made by the Republican Party to benefit their wealthiest donors and benefactors rather than serve the people’s interests. Here are the facts: Republicans are refusing to negotiate with Democrats on two things — the government’s funding and the Affordable Care Act’s healthcare premiums that will expire at the end of the year. Both of these will have devastating consequences for individuals who have healthcare-related costs (ALL OF US). It cannot be impressed upon you enough that health insurance is not just about doctor visits or paying for prescriptions. It is about whether people can keep working, keep their families afloat, and keep our economy moving in the right direction. When Americans lose their health care, it does not just hurt them, it hurts all of us. Think about it: an inability to pay for small health needs creates much larger health problems. And those increasing health problems don’t just affect the sick individual; they affect their family, friends, workplaces, and the economy at large. Let’s walk down this undesirable path for a moment. What happens if you cannot afford to get basic healthcare? If you can’t afford to see a doctor, small health problems turn into big ones. A cough becomes pneumonia. High blood pressure becomes a heart attack. When big health problems occur, people miss work, they leave jobs early, or they can’t work at all. The result? Fewer people earning paychecks, friends and family members forced to take care of the sick individual — causing them to work less. Now, fewer businesses are running at full strength, fewer people have the purchasing power to buy consumer goods, and an overall weaker economy is created for everyone. Already, nearly 4 in 10 adults carry crippling medical debt. This debt forces families to put off buying groceries, fixing their car, or paying rent because they are drowning. That lost spending does not just affect them — it means local shops make fewer sales, restaurants see fewer customers, and small businesses struggle. Medical debt takes money out of our communities and locks it away in collection agencies. Hospitals do not turn away patients. That’s a good thing. But just because a patient cannot pay doesn’t mean the bill gets left unpaid. As all economists say, “there is no such thing as a free lunch.” So here’s what happens: when patients cannot pay, hospitals pass on the costs. Insurance companies raise their premiums. Employers spend more on health benefits instead of raises. Taxpayers cover shortfalls. One way or another, we all end up paying for unpaid hospital visits. This is why Democrats are prepared to fight to protect affordable health care. They remember what it was like before the Affordable Care Act, when being sick could mean bankruptcy and “pre-existing condition” was a scarlet letter. Republicans may treat stripping health care as just another political game, but Democrats know it’s about life and death, financial stability or ruin, dignity or despair. And these consequences, as laid out earlier, don’t just impact individuals — they affect us all. So, if that means holding the line in budget negotiations and even risking a government shutdown, then so be it. Democrats are not going to let Trump and Republicans trade away Americans’ health care behind closed doors. Shutting down the government is never ideal. But letting millions of Americans lose the health care that keeps them alive, keeps them working, and keeps our economy running? That is far worse. Democrats are putting working Americans first. The bottom line is this: taking health care away from millions of Americans is not only cruel, it’s economic sabotage. A strong country depends on strong, healthy people. Families who can see a doctor when they are sick. Workers who are not crushed by debt. Communities that keep money flowing instead of watching it disappear into unpaid bills. Health care is more than a personal issue. It’s a national investment. And when we cut people off, we all lose. That’s why Democrats are willing to stand their ground: because keeping health care affordable is not just the moral choice, it’s the smart economic one. Meghan Hays is a Democratic strategist and former special assistant to the president and director of message planning for President Joe Biden. Meidas+ is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. A guest post by Meghan Hays Dem strategist. Crisis communicator. Cable news talker. Fluent in Bravo & true crime. Most importantly a sweet snack enthusiast. Sacramento native. I was in the EMERGENCY ROOM for a non-life-threatening issues & spoke with a young woman who worked at a job that offered no health insurance with 3 small kids.  She was having DEBILITATING HEADACHES.  The ER recommended a CT SCAN. Since she had no insurance, she had to raise MONEY to pay for the CT SCAN.  She raised the money, had the CT SCAN & determined she had an inoperable BRAIN TUMOR.  She made arrangements for care for her kids & died shortly thereafter.  Could it have been different? We don't know!  This happens repeatedly in the nation! CHILDREN loose parents, Parents loose CHILDREN! What we know is that MONEY drives HEALTH CARE.  MONEY has driven FOR PROFIT HEALTH CARE that SUCKS!  MASSACHUSETTS is one of the VICTIMSS of STEWARD HEALTH CARE that raped HOSPITALS, FAILED TO PAY VENDORS OR EMPLOYEES, SOLD REAL ESTATE THAT HOSPITALS SAT ON, CEO rape the HOSPITALS nationwide, bought expensive real estate & a few yachts & boats.  In Massachusetts, COMPASS abruptly closed leaving many scrambling for care including cancer treatment.  We have a MASSIVE HEALTH CARE CRISIS in the US that REPUBLICANS inflamed with the BIG BEAUTIFUL DISASTER: TAX CUTS FOR THE WEALTHY & ENDLESS DEFICITS...screw the rest of you!  MEDICARE FOR ALL IS THE SOLUTION! BE SELFISH & PUT YOURSELF, YOUR FAMILY & YOUR LOVED ONES FIRST!  EVERYONE SHOULD HAVE HEALTH CARE!