Thanks to the platform Jimmy Kimmel Live affords him, the titular late night host launched Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana) and Sen. Lindsey Graham’s (R-North Carolina) so-called Graham/Cassidy bill into the spotlight on Tuesday. Kimmel was irritated since Cassidy had appeared on his program (and others) previously, promising not to allowed congressional Republicans’ repetitive efforts to repeal and replace Obamacare to go through — so long as certain protections weren’t cut. Cassidy retorted the following morning, saying Kimmel “does not understand” what his bill will do. But what about President Barack Obama himself?
The man whose name adorns the contested legislation addressed the matter in general terms during an event sponsored by Bill and Melinda Gates in New York. “The legislation that we passed was full of things that still need to be fixed. It wasn’t perfect, but it was better. So when I see people trying to undo that hard-won progress for the 50th or 60th time,” he said, “it is aggravating. And all of this being done without any demonstrable or economic or actuarial or plain common sense rationale, it frustrates.”
“It’s certainly frustrating to have to mobilize every couple of months to keep our leaders from inflicting real human suffering,” Obama continued. “But typically that’s how progress is won, and how progress is maintained.” The former president didn’t specifically mention Sen. Bernie Sanders’s (I-Vermont) recent push for single-payer healthcare either. However, considering Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnel’s recent announcement that he and other Republicans would push for a vote ahead of the Graham/Cassidy bill’s September 30th deadline, it’s not too difficult to realize what Obama currently finds “aggravating.”