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Magdi Jacobs @magdi.bsky.social · 13h

In historical terms: when did this shift occur? Is it for the first time now? Or did it start before? Either way: Repubs now feel like they have to at least lie about protecting parts of the ACA. That didn't use to be the case. It was their bête noir. A major propoganda point.

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Magdi Jacobs @magdi.bsky.social · 13h

Republican Senate Majority leader reassuring the public re: the "basics of ACA" (& his reassurances are lies) is interesting. Particularly in the midst of a government shutdown w/ some role reversals occurring. Signals need for defense of ACA; possible weakness.

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Magdi Jacobs @magdi.bsky.social · 13h

Maybe it's happened & I just haven't noticed it. If you have, we should pinpoint the time when they shifted from full-frontal ACA attack to "Don't worry about the baseline of ACA." That's a shift. It's either new or it happened & we didn't notice. Either way. . . .

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Magdi Jacobs @magdi.bsky.social · 13h

John Thune is nervous. He just spread a bunch of lies on @pbsnewshour but I noticed one thing in particular: He reassured the audience that the underlying structure of ACA would be intact. He's lying. But I don't think I've heard a Republican make a promise about ACA like that before. Have you?

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Reposted by Magdi Jacobs

The Fig Economy @figgityfigs.bsky.social · 7d

They’re scared. “Could be in the thousands” is an enormous walk back from Vought’s threats.

Reuters Legal @legal.reuters.com · 7d

U.S. government layoffs could be in the thousands, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said on Thursday as the federal government began the second day of a shutdown.

US government layoffs could be in the thousands, White House says

U.S. government layoffs could be in the thousands, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said on Thursday as the federal government began the second day of a shutdown.

reut.rs

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Magdi Jacobs @magdi.bsky.social · 8d

Look at what Neera Tanden was publishing in 2020, a few months before she was nominated by Biden for OMB. People tanked her nomination. People payed *much more attention* to her nomination than they ever did to Vought's. Time to ask "why?" & whether or not this behavior is bad.

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Magdi Jacobs @magdi.bsky.social · 8d

Neera Tanden got in the news, stayed in the news, and drove social media discussion in a way Vought never has. If that doesn't show us the superficiality of some of our discussions, I don't know what else will. We like to debate what we have control over. What gives us "cred."

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Magdi Jacobs @magdi.bsky.social · 8d

I feel like now is as good a time as ever to say that people on social media & in the news spent infinitely more time on Neera Tandem's nomination for OMB (2021) than they ever did for Russell Vought (2025). This difference, which is a pretty clear comparison, should tell us something.

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Magdi Jacobs @magdi.bsky.social · 8d

They’re nervous. Recognize their anxiety. Work with that in mind. They don’t necessarily want this. Don’t give them more power than they have. If they seem nervous, take note. They seem nervous.

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Magdi Jacobs @magdi.bsky.social · 8d

Republicans are nervous about this. Keep the pressure on them.

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Magdi Jacobs @magdi.bsky.social · 8d

I don't think Republicans feel strong going into this shutdown. I think they actually feel weak. There are things that social media users can do to reinforce this weakness.

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Magdi Jacobs @magdi.bsky.social · 8d

That's the nature of my comment: Republicans do not seem confident, including Vance. They seem a tad bit defensive. Watch and see if you observe the same. They don't feel great about this. Whatever you think Democrats should do, it is worth noting if Republicans are showing weakness.

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Magdi Jacobs @magdi.bsky.social · 8d

I'm not going to comment on what Democrats should do. I have my opinion, but I always recognize that there are no good options. Here is what I will comment on. Republicans are often, in our view, "invulnerable." JD Vance did not appear invulnerable in his commentary today. He seemed nervous.

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Reposted by Magdi Jacobs

STEMthebleeding @stemthebleeding.bsky.social · 13d

I want to point a very important detail of this:

Jeffries is holding a press conference trashing Trump.

And only CSPAN is carrying it.

And that is the problem with America right now. The only place Democrats get any press coverage are places where no one watches.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 13d

Jeffries: "Cancel the cuts, lower the costs, save healthcare. Not complicated. Eight words. Even Donald Trump should be able to understand that."

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Reposted by Magdi Jacobs

Just Kevin @kevinleecaster.bsky.social · 13d

Hunter Biden was an imperfect victim, so we dropped the ball by not highlighting that he was being attacked by a Republican weaponized DOJ. We thought we were being high and mighty on a pedestal of purity, but we were actually allowing the DOJ to become even worse.

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