Opinion: Can Sen. McConnell find a billionaire desperately in need of an Obamacare tax cut?

To the editor: Now that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has put off a vote on his healthcare bill until after the July 4 recess, I suggest he take time off from distributing $200 billion in bribes to recalcitrant senators, made possible by his bill’s deficit savings, and find one billionaire who’s in such dire financial straits that only a tax cut that guts healthcare for tens of millions of Americans will save him or her from poverty. (“Crunch time for McConnell as Senate GOP is forced to delay vote on healthcare bill,” June 27)

Find just one member of the 1% who will say that he or she deserves a tax cut even though ordinary people will suffer or even die without the health insurance McConnell is determined to deny them. Also try to find a responsible doctor or nurse with a single good word to say for his gutting of American healthcare.

I’d bet McConnell couldn’t deliver even if he was willing to try.

Spencer Grant, Laguna Niguel

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To the editor: McConnell having to stall to try to get votes for his healthcare bill highlights the dysfunction of Congress.

We have Democrats, moderate Republicans and tea party conservatives, and nothing can get done without wooing the support of two of these three groups. That task is proving to be impossible, so McConnell has apparently decided to try to buy some needed votes by using the deficit savings his bill would create, mostly from cuts to Medicaid.

What is particularly distressing is that few Republicans seem even slightly concerned about the projected 22 million Americans who will lose their health insurance over the next 10 years under this bill, or the fact that the budget deficit will be reduced even as the wealthy get lucrative tax cuts on the backs of the poor and middle class.

Alan Abajian, Alta Loma

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To the editor: We need to stop thinking about winning and start thinking about a solution.

Let’s get 10 moderate Republicans and 10 moderate Democrats together in a room and let them hammer out a healthcare compromise. Better yet, have 10 Republicans governors and 10 Democratic governors, who really know what’s best for their constituents, work on healthcare.

I am so sick of hearing from Republicans how Democrats refuse to participate when the truth is they don’t invite Democrats to anything. I am sick of hearing from the Democrats that the most important thing is to block everything the Republicans propose, when there are a number of moderate Republicans that they are probably very close to in position and policy.

Instead of trying to win, lawmakers should consider the people.

Wendy Graf, Los Angeles

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