During the debate in the House over the new ‘Trumpcare’ health bill, Rep. Joe Kennedy III (D-MA) tapped into his great-uncle’s fiery passion for health care reform, channeling his inner Ted Kennedy to vehemently oppose the Republican legislation.
Honing in on Speaker Paul Ryan’s claim that the House bill is “an act of mercy,” Kennedy set out to expose the obvious hypocrisy in a party that claims to have the best interest of the working-class at heart — but routinely introduces legislation that harms working and lower-income Americans.
“There is is no mercy in a system that makes health care a luxury,” thundered the grandson of Robert F. Kennedy, who was among the 20th century’s outstanding Senate champions of the poor. “There is no mercy in a country that turns its back on those most in need of protection: the elderly, the poor, the sick, and the suffering.”
Although the bill was ultimately approved by the Ways and Means Committee, Kennedy provided a spark of integrity in what will clearly be a long battle.
