#anti tilly jones

[saveme-storybrooke-potc]

Killian: Who's- Who's this Gideon French?

Emma: Must be some boy at school.

Zelena: Well, he's not just "some boy." I think he's "the boy."

Killian: What? What? What? What's that supposed to mean?

Zelena: Hope told me about him. He has long brown hair and he's really funny and he's not stuck-up at all.

Alice: Call the police.

[bookgeekgrrl]

My media this week (25 Jun - 1 Jul 2023)

ᵃᶜᵗᵘᵃˡ ᵖᶦᶜ ᵒᶠ ᵐᵉ ᵃᶠᵗᵉʳ ᵗʰᶦˢ ʷᵉᵉᵏ

📚 STUFF I READ 📚

🥰Cabin Pressure: Series 5 (Zurich) (John Finnemore, author; Stephanie Cole/Roger Allam/Benedict Cumberbatch/John Finnemore, narrator) - the final flight of MJN Air and crew

😍Mr. Eames and the Boy Wonder (saltandbyrne) - 85K, arthur/eames AU - eames is a leather Dom, arthur's a cosplayer who commissions him to make a harness for a costume, massive sparks - great characterizations & character voices, very, very hot

😊i wanna cut to the feeling (hairstevington) - 79K, steddie AU - ' the fic where Hairstylist!Steve fixes Rockstar!Eddie's hair before a show and falls in love immediately' - cute & fun

😍Unpredictable Synchronicity (Zenaidamacrouras1) - 115K, shrunkyclunks - PHENOMENAL fic - bucky's a civil rights lawyer, *very* slow burn, incredible characterizations, so many LOL lines. Plus bonus instructions on how to badger/shame your elected officials over the human rights violations currently being perpetrated

💖💖 +48K of shorter fic so shout out to these I really loved 💖💖

I Didn't Know What Time It Was (MoreThanSlightly (cadignan)) - MCU: stucky, 19K - great WS recovery fic

📺 STUFF I WATCHED 📺

D20: A Crown of Candy - " There is Strength in Sweetness" (s5,e1)

D20: A Crown of Candy - "Ambush on the Sucrosi Road" (s5,e2)

Mamma Mia!

🎧 PODCASTS 🎧

Re: Dracula - June 25: Dead or Asleep

50 MPH - 1 MPH / Getting Up to... Speed

50 MPH - 2 MPH / Is Speed a Masterpiece? (with Justin Chang)

The Soundtrack Show - The Goonies: the Music

⭐The Soundtrack Show - Halloween: the Music

Big Gay Fiction Podcast - Mark Kanemura: From Dancer to Children's Book Author

The Sporkful - The Food-Obsessed Subculture Of The Appalachian Trail

Rachel Maddow Presents: Déjà News - Episode 3: "The Meanest, Dirtiest, Low-Down Stuff"

American Hysteria - Pig Hill | Urban Legends Hotline

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - The Italian War on Pasta

Switched on Pop - What makes a gay anthem?

Simply Reflecting - Welcome to Simply Reflecting!

Into It - My Beyoncé Ticket Cost $4,000: Why the Touring Industry Might Be Broken

Shedunnit - Meet The Coles

Stuff The British Stole - The Head in the Library

Vibe Check - Love, Life, and Liquor

Outward Plus - Despair Is a Rational Response to Anti-Trans Activism

ICYMI Plus - Finding Queer Love Online

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - We Heart Disasters… with John Marr

Endless Thread - 'Going Dark': Reddit's API Changes

Simply Reflecting - The Plane Is Running Out of Fuel?

Re: Dracula - June 29: Tonight is Mine

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - No Taste Like Home

99% Invisible #542 - Player Piano

50 MPH - 3 MPH / An Exercise in Structure

⭐Song Exploder - Natalie Merchant - Sister Tilly

Ologies with Alie Ward - Field Trip: Birds of Prey and Raptor Facts

Our Opinions Are Correct - Silicon Valley vs. Science Fiction: Ayn Rand

Re: Dracula - June 30: Devils of the Pit

Dear Prudence Plus - A Co-Worker I Dated is Spreading Rumors About Our Breakup. Help!

Pop Culture Happy Hour - Indiana Jones And What's Making Us Happy

Endless Thread - Pup Play

🎶 MUSIC 🎶

Speed (Original Motion Picture Score)

John Denver Radio • 1970s

Alternative Radio • 1970s

Donna Summer Radio • Upbeat

Presenting Kelly Clarkson

chemistry [Kelly Clarkson] {2023}

Lady Gaga

my Eagles playlist

my Fleetwood Mac playlist

my The Go-Go's playlist

[tomeandflickcorner]

OUAT Episode Analysis- The Guardian

So…what was the moral of this episode?  That if you repeat a lie enough times, it’ll become the truth?  Eh, at least this Rumpelstiltskin centric didn’t bore me.  Though it did make me want to bang my head against the wall. Hard to decide which reaction is worse.

It turns out that Alice settled into a cottage somewhere after her adventure with Robyn in 7x14.  Since then, Robyn had been a frequent visitor, acting as a courier between Alice and Wish Killian.  The two woman had additionally been taking advantage of this arrangement to grow closer.  And in this particular meeting, they even exchange gifts, with Robyn giving Alice a woven friendship bracelet and Alice giving Robyn a pocket watch she’d found in one of her adventures.

Unbeknownst to the two, Rumpelstiltskin had been spying on them from a distance.  Yeah, let’s talk about Rumpy Rumps in this flashback for a second.  We see he actually built an entire shrine to Belle.  Complete with an altar.  Which seems a bit creepy and unhealthy to me.  But he’s using this alter and shrine to try and talk to Belle.  (Though kudos to him for mentinoning Gideon.  I was actually thinking he completely forgot about his second son’s existence.)  Rumpy’s attempt at talking to Belle apparently gets Facilier’s attention, considering his forte is listening to the voices of the dead, and he tries to get the Dagger away from him with the use of a voodoo doll.  Needless to say, this doesn’t work and only results in annoying Rumpelstiltskin. I do question why Facilier believed a voodoo doll would work against Rumpelstiltskin, considering he’s supposed to be the Super Ultra Dark One at this point.  Rumpelstiltskin tries to get Facilier to help him communicate with Belle so she can tell him what he has to do, but Facilier simply tells him that Belle is worried that he’s running out of time.  Because the longer he takes for him to find the Guardian, the more he gives into the Darkness.  And if he waits too long, he won’t be allowed to rejoin her in the afterlife.  That point is driven home by the fact that his hands are already starting to go Crocky.

So now Rumpy Rumps is spying Alice, as he suspects she is the Guardian who can help him achieve his goal. Which makes me wonder what he was doing messing about with Anastasia if he’d known all along that Alice was the chosen one, but whatever.  When he sees Robyn leaving after her visit with Alice, Rumpelstiltskin starts to approach Alice, but he’s stopped by Wish Killian.  It turns out that he secretly follows Robyn when she goes to see Alice, so he can also watch his daughter from afar.  When he sees Rumpelstiltskin is also spying on Alice, he’s not very happy. Even though everyone has been telling him that Rumpelstiltskin had changed, he still hasn’t forgotten his own experiences with Wish Rumpelstiltskin.  So he’s not as trusting.  He demands that Rumpelstiltskin leave Alice alone and just let her live her life without him trying to use her for his own aspirations.

However, Rumpelstiltskin ultimately ignores what Wish Killian said, and when he’s sure that Wish Killian isn’t watching, he approaches Alice.  She’s initially on her guard, as Wish Killian had warned her about Rumpy in one of his letters.  But true to his nature, Rumpelstiltskin knows exactly what buttons to push with Alice. He lies to her by telling her he might know of a way to help lift the curse on Wish Killian’s heart.  Alice, probably naïvely, takes the bait.

They end up going to Facilier’s place, where Alice, at Rumpelstiltskin’s urging, magically rips out Facilier’s heart. Rumpelstiltskin then tells Alice the only way to cure Wish Killian’s cursed heart is if she crushes Facilier’s. Instantly, Facilier figures out what’s really going on, and he tries to warn Alice that Rumpy Rumps is simply using her, and that he’s risking her soul to test her in order to see if she could be the Guardian.  But Alice, due to the stress and confusion of the moment, unthinkingly Heart-Commands Facilier to be quiet, preventing him from completing his warning.

On a side note, I have to comment on how creepy it is to see Rumpelstiltskin talking in his Crocky voice when he still looks normal.  He’s even doing the hand gestures.  It’s really unsettling.  So props to Robert for his acting in this scene.

Thankfully, Alice ultimately decides that she can’t go through with killing Facilier and races off in devastation. Rumpelstiltskin hurries after her and, in light of her tangible distress, admits that this whole thing was just a test.  He confesses that he was trying to see if Alice was the person who could help free him from the Darkness.  Now, if I were Alice, I would have punched him in the face at this point.  He’d just admitted he deliberately lied to her about finding a cure for Wish Killian’s cursed heart and manipulated her into nearly killing a man because he wanted to use her for his own self-centered goal, showing no concern to how he was gambling with her very soul.  And he was rather unapologetic about the matter.  But, for some reason, Alice is still willing to hear him out, allowing him to explain about his desire to reunite with Belle and how he needs the Guardian to destroy the Dagger for that to happen. This somehow ends up charming Alice, who talks about how lovely it must have been to have experienced True Love and how heartbreaking it must be to be separated from the one you love.  As true as that might be, it doesn’t justify the stunt he just pulled with Alice.

Regardless, Alice ends up announcing she’s willing to help and magically summons the Dagger into her hand. In seconds, she begins the ritual that would free Rumpelstiltskin, with the Darkness being siphoned out of his body and getting absorbed by the Dagger.  But, right when Alice was about to make the Dagger disappear for good within an orb of light, Rumpy Rumps ends up getting cold feet and snatches back the Dagger.

Okay, so this is when the episode lost me.  They start explaining that, if Alice completed the ritual, then she would gain immortality.  Now, if this was true, does this mean Alice was the one Merlin’s prophesy was referring to? Does this mean she would absorb the Dark One’s essence but her pure Guardian heart wouldn’t let the Darkness tarnish her soul?  I guess that could make sense.  But the weird thing is that Rumpelstiltskin claims he took back the Dagger because he ultimately decided he couldn’t place the burden of immortality onto Alice, since he felt she deserved to have the chance at living a normal life and find a True Love of her own.   Unfortunately, even though that’s what the episode claimed his motive to be, I find that a bit suspicious.  There was no build up to him coming to that conclusion.  We never saw him considering that beforehand.  All we saw was him manipulating and lying to Alice to achieve his personal goals and changing his mind at the last possible second. So there’s a pretty big part of me that thinks he was only claiming his backtracking was done out of concern for Alice.  I think it was really because he once again was ultimately unable to give up the Dagger at the moment of truth.  It would certainly fit his character, considering how many times he got cold feet every time he was presented with the chance to be free from the Darkness.  (The incident with Baelfire and the Magic Bean Portal, the time he was gift-wrapped a completely clean slate with a bleached out heart……)   While it could be argued this was character development with him finally learning his lesson, it’s also possible the character development involved him becoming a much better liar, and being more skilled at coming up with excuses.  

Either way, because of this, Rumpy Rumps eventually goes full Crocky again. (Which answers that question.)  But, because Wish Killian believes his claims that he gave up his chance to be free from the Darkness out of concern for Alice, he once again approaches him in order to make amends.  Which would have been nice to see if it wasn’t for two underlining facts.  First of all, there’s my doubts that he really stopped the ritual out of a sense of nobility.  Second of all, this isn’t Killian Prime.  This is Wish Killian.  While I like both versions of Killian equally, Wish Killian wasn’t the one who interacted with Rumpelstiltskin Prime.  As such, it wasn’t Wish Killian who had do deal with everything Rumpelstiltskin did through S4-6.  Wish Killian wasn’t the one who was blackmailed and Heart-Controlled.  He wasn’t the one who had to watch Rumpelstiltskin take advantage of Emma’s mental breakdown and nearly trick her into committing suicide.  He wasn’t the one who witnessed Rumpelstiltskin terrorize and stalk his friend, Belle.   The only thing Wish Killian witnessed was Wish Milah’s death.  And he already gave up his desire to avenge her when Alice was born.  So seeing them make peace with each other here doesn’t really sit well with me.  It just felt cheap and unearned on every possible level.

As for the whole thing with Alice being the Guardian.  Fine, whatever.  But it would be nice if there was an attempt to explain what makes the Guardian different from being the Savior.  Because wasn’t it Emma’s job as the Savior to destroy the Darkness?  But now you’re telling me that the Guardian is more powerful? But then again, the Savior Mantle apparently came into existence around the time the Black Fairy became a thing. So perhaps the Savior only existed to stop the Black Fairy.  But that still doesn’t explain why they’re only just now learning about the Guardian.  How many Dark Ones were there before Rumpelstiltskin killed Dark One Zoso?  At the very least, you’d have thought Merlin would have been the one to mention it, considering he was there when the first Dark One was born.  Maybe A&E originally wanted this plotline to involve Emma but had to rethink things and come up with the Guardian subplot when JMO decided to go on to bigger and better things.  That might explain it.

In Hyperion Heights, Rumpelstiltskin and Rogers discover Parallel Hansel’s dead body, which stumps Rogers as Parallel Hansel was locked into the interrogation room and they were the only ones who had access to the key.  But Rumpelstiltskin freaks out when he spots a bit of thread on the floor, which I guess came from the voodoo doll Facilier used to kill Parallel Hansel.  Realizing that this means Facilier had been in the police station, he makes a beeline for his evidence room locker and discovers the Dagger is missing.

Believing that Facilier took the Dagger, on account of how the witch doctor had made it known he was after it, Rumpelstiltskin goes to confront Regina about the matter.  He also states he wants the vial of Anastasia’s Magic that Regina got from Facilier so he can use it to track down the Dagger.  Obviously, Regina refuses to hand over the vial, as she needs it to manufacture a cure for the poisoned Henry and tells Rumpelstiltskin that option isn’t even on the table, even going so far as to play the grandson card.  But she does agree to go talk to Facilier.  When she approaches Facilier about the matter, while he does seem to evade the question at first, he finally comes out and states that he doesn’t have the Dagger. After studying his face for a moment, Regina decides that she believes him.  And I’m once again wondering what the in-show reason for them not trying to contact the Original Nevengers is.  Because they certainly could have utilized Emma’s internal lie detector here.

Of course, Rumpelstiltskin, who was eavesdropping on the conversation, doesn’t believe Facilier as easily as Regina and he confronts the man over the matter.  He even pulls a gun on him, threatening him to start talking. But Facilier isn’t even fazed, coolly reminding him that he’d never be able to rejoin Belle in the afterlife if he resorts to violence.  This taunt works, allowing Facilier to teleport Rumpelstiltskin back to his car, along with the statement that he shouldn’t hesitate next time.

So now Rumpelstiltskin is not a happy camper.  He ends up returning to Regina’s bar and makes off with the vial of Anastasia’s Magic, promptly using it to perform a locator spell so he can find the location of the Dagger.  The locater spell sends him to the Stone Troll statue, but before he can begin searching, Tilly shows up.

Yeah, Tilly had actually been out on a date with Margot during this episode.  And it was a really adorable subplot, with them sharing candy apples and Tilly showing Margot her favorite spot in Hyperion Heights- the travel section in a local Mom-and-Pop (or Pop-and-Pop in this case) bookstore. This whole scene was so precious, with Tilly talking about how you could easily travel the world through the pages of the books in the travel section.  Margot is impressed, talking about how much easier this is than actually traveling the world, and Tilly is voicing the fact that she’s envious of how Margot had actually seen the places she’d read about.  The scene is even better when you remember that 1) Alice had probably spent hours reading about exotic locations when she was trapped in her tower and 2) Robyn had admitted in the flashback portion of the episode that she was envious of how many places Alice had seen after escaping her tower, and now their roles have been reversed.  I just love these two!  They’re so cute!

Anyway, while they were in the middle of the date, right when Margot was giving Tilly a friendship bracelet that was almost identical to the one Robyn gave Alice in the flashback, Tilly suddenly starts hearing a voice in her head.  It’s at this point, I do have to applaud A&E for the way they portray a person with mental illness.  Because it’s rather clear that’s what they’re going for with Tilly.  They even have her hitting her head in an effort to stop the voices.  Even though Tilly is able to quiet the voices, she is still shaken up and runs out on Margot with a rushed apology.

Now, at first, I was thinking that Tilly/Alice’s real memories were starting to surface again, having been triggered by the friendship bracelet Margot gave her.  But when she shows up at the Stone Troll statue where Rumpelstiltskin was, it’s revealed that the voices she was hearing was coming from the Dagger.  Which somehow ended up in her backpack.  How it wound up there, I don’t know.  Did the Dagger magically teleport itself into Tilly’s backpack when it ‘sensed’ Facilier’s presence in the police department?  It’s never really explained.  Also, Tilly/Alice can hear the Dagger now?  So that’s not just something that’s exclusive for former Dark Ones?  Or is this because Alice nearly destroyed the Dagger for good in the flashback?  Again, I have no idea.

Either way, Rumpelstiltskin is now feeling downtrodden because he realizes that the Dagger had made its way to Alice/Tilly, and Facilier probably hadn’t been involved after all.  So he goes back to face Regina.  To nobody’s surprise, Regina is LIVID, because she’d already noticed that the vial of Anastasia’s Magic was gone and she’d realized what Rumpelstiltskin had done.  Her ire is raised to another level when Rumpelstiltskin admits he virtually wasted the vial’s contents, as the Dagger was never in danger in the first place. But Regina is unsympathetic, because she finally has decided that Rumpelstiltskin has gone too far.  She announces that he has proven once and for all that he will only ever care about himself.  (It’s about time someone realized that.)  Before she storms off, she states that she’s officially washing her hands of him, putting an end to their truce once and for all.  All I can say is, good riddance!

I’m sorry to those people who actually like this guy, but this episode is precisely why I can’t stand him.  You can’t just have the characters talk about how much he’s changed and proven he’s a good man with a pure heart and expect me to believe it.  Not unless you actually SHOW him acting like that.  Have him do something that actually supports the claims of his pure, good heart.  Because I haven’t seen any reason to believe he’s even remotely changed and became a good person.  Yes, he’s toeing the line and making an effort to curb his murderous impulses.  But it’s made abundantly clear that he’s only doing that because he’s trying to rake up some brownie points so he can rejoin Belle in the afterlife.  He’s not doing this out of a desire to simply be a better man. Good deeds don’t count if you’re only in it for the reward.  He’s pretty much doing exactly what Regina did throughout…most of her ‘redemption.’ Please, show writers, make up your mind. Either give him a believable redemption story or just leave him as a villain.  Stop having him flip-flop between the two sides.  It just makes it hard to even like him as a character.

Oh, and Tilly later goes back to Margot to apologize for her behavior during the date, explaining that she has good days and bad days.  And once again, A&E are portraying mental illness in a believable way.  I once again applaud them for that.  Especially when Margot displays her complete understanding of Tilly’s condition and is still willing to continue their budding relationship.

Meanwhile, Henry and Jacinda are still reeling from the knowledge that the person they knew as Nick was a serial killer.  Henry is quick to reassure Jacinda that she shouldn’t blame herself for being so wrong about him, but he’s still haunted by the document Parallel Hansel showed him. The one that named him as Lucy’s biological father.  Unable to shake the feeling that something didn’t add up, he approaches Rogers and asks for the chance to have a second look in Nick/Parallel Hansel’s apartment. At first, Rogers is reluctant to agree to it, as it would be breaking a lot of police-related rules, especially in the light of Parallel Hansel’s sudden death.  But Henry manages to convince Rogers to bend the rules, pointing out how they never would have found the serial killer if it hadn’t been for him. So they return to Parallel Hansel’s apartment, where Henry is able to retrieve the results of the blood test.  

Before they could leave, they are alerted to a sudden sound.  When Rogers goes to investigate, he is tackled by Naveen, who tries to run off. Rogers quickly catches up to Naveen, however, and starts interrogating him, especially since security cameras had caught Naveen outside the police station around the time of Parallel Hansel’s death.  Naveen states he didn’t kill Parallel Hansel, informing Rogers that the culprit was Facilier/Mr. Samdi.  He goes on to explain that he was only skulking outside the apartment because he thought Facilier/Mr. Samdi would have shown up to take something from the apartment. Rogers questions Naveen, asking him why he hadn’t simply came to the police with his information.  Naveen replies by stating that police protection hadn’t helped keep Parallel Hansel alive and warns him that Mr. Samdi is more powerful than he could possibly imagine.  He goes on to state that Rogers wouldn’t believe him if he tried to explain what was really going on, but suggests that Rogers check the autopsy report for Parallel Hansel since that would prove that something was going on.  Something bigger than Rogers could have ever known. In the end, Rogers decides to listen to Naveen and checks the autopsy report.  To his surprise, he sees the coroner had reported Parallel Hansel had been stabbed through the heart- from the inside.  Which is obviously highly unusual.

As for Henry, he ends up showing Jacinda the test results from the blood test.  He points out that, if the document is to be believed, it proves that everything Lucy had been saying about the curse was true, and that he really was her father.  The episode ends before we can see how Jacinda responded to this, but it’s clear that things are coming to a head, since both Henry and Rogers are finding proof that something is going on.  The only question is how they’re going to proceed with this information.  Either way, it looks like the final four episodes will be quite the ride.

(Click here to read more Episode Analyses)

[cryingaggressively]

S7 is a goddamn mess and I don't even watch it but Curious Archer warms my cold dead heart

[perfectharmonyloveschaos]

okay I have no idea why people would ship Henry x Drizella/Ivy when we could have Bi!Buds talking about their ladies and just being buds and Henry helping Drizella/Ivy see that she can be happy with Alice and be better than her mother since Henry helped redeem Regina. I just want clueless Drizella stammering over her words and being confused like how could she likes girls when she has only liked guys and then Henry just bursts through the crowds like My Time Has Come!!

ps Ella and Alice being buds and just smirking at their two love-struck idiots clears my skin, with their little moment in wonderland and all. imagine ella tells Alice everything she needs to woo her lady like buy her a violin she likes those and chocolate but ask before you hug her she’s not used to it kay?

[justanoutlawfic]

Alice, Emma, Snow

Fuck: Snow

Marry: Alice

Kill: Emma. (Only spot left and she already died in 4B, so….)

Let’s play fuck, marry & kill.

[saveme-storybrooke-potc]

Emma: It seems like it was just yesterday Hope was so nice cute little smile, little blonde curls.

Alice: I have blonde curls.

Killian: Yeah, you do, Ma. You do.

[incorrectly-quoted-queers]

Star Trek: Discovery "That Hope Is You Pt. 2"- And So It Begins

How wonderfully fitting so that my personal blog needs can match the Star Trek episode I wanna talk about! Serendipitous, right? Anyway, here we are on a Thursday to begin a new weekly thing I want to do for my sanity: Star Trek Thursdays! I know that isn't the satisfying alliteration that people might want, but Thursdays have been my least favorite days of the week since I was like, 6. My theory is that Monday is dreary, but fine, Tuesday you start hitting your stride, Wednesdays are neat because they're like the sweet spot of getting your act together, Friday is the last day of the work/school week, and of course the weekend is... the weekend. But Thursday is this weird spot where my excitement for the week is running out of steam and it's like, a lame tease for Fridays. So I've always hated it. But as my career has been doing better, I made a quality of life decision where I will go to work slightly later (sorry if that's flexing my freelancer privilege) and extend my morning tea drink and watch the most recent Star Trek. And with the final episode of Star Trek: Discovery's third season, I will start by doing a little writing warm-up each Thursday! So, these new Thursday blogs won't quite be reviews or personal blogs or just reactions, but a sort of blend of the three depending on the week. We got the gist? Okay? Okay. Now I'll get to talking about the actual episode and WE BETTER because I really liked this one. Let's start with the bad just to get it out of the way. I am bummed and concerned about the implications of Saru leaving Discovery. At the very least, it didn't feel clear that he'd be coming back to the ship and that greatly upsets me. Doug Jones is arguably one of my favorite actors and Saru was the anchor that made me adore Discovery even at its weakest points. While I know people come and go (like we always knew Pike was temporary) the thing is that Saru felt so... integral to Discovery. I can understand wanting to finally make Michael "Captain Burnham" finally, and she definitely deserves it. I'm just v stressed about possibly losing my favorite lanky alien. What I liked about a lot of this season was a decrease in the Kelvin inspired action-bonanza. Yes, Trek always had some action going on, but I appreciate more episodes that focus on societies and ideals and curious science. While the rest of the season was better than others, this final episode was pretty hardcore action-y and it was... fine? I just don't prefer it. I think Osyraa might've been the best Discovery villain so far and her death felt just sort of... anti-climactic. Like, I think a charm of old Star Trek villains is how the captains would run into them and then some time would pass, they'd evolve or become scarier, and they'd find new ways to tackle them. I was kinda hopeful that could happen with Osyraa & the Emerald Chain. But alas, she's just... dead. I'm meh on the new uniforms. I've always been a big fan of the old ones, though. NOW TO THE GOOD! Disabled super-genius is *chef's kiss*. Give me that sweet, sweet representation. The b-plot of Tilly and the crew trying to blow up the nacelles felt really older Star Trek and I like it. Owo+Keyla always makes me happy, but also Owo+Keyla is not confirmed either so 0_0 The baby family unit of Adira, Stamets, and Culber makes me very happy. Also making Gray a real character over time also makes me happy. He's probably going to end up a hologram and I am very okay with that. I want to see more of them. I think after all the trials she went through this season, Burnham absolutely deserves this captain's post. I also am so happy that a captain gets a love interest. It's good comeuppance for all the BS struggle she's had to deal with. Not just this season, but the past 3. It feels like we got a weird 3 season prologue to how the proper captain got their chair and it's kinda weird but I also kinda like it? But maybe I'm at a point where I'm attached to the crew enough to be like "yep, this is good". So, as Captain Burnham's adventure begins, so does my Star Trek blogging. (As well as a couple other secret things I hope I can talk about more in the future). But for now, I'm settled. Next week (until  I am graced with a new season of something something Trek), let's start at the beginning of TOS and go from there. ....And yes, that means we're gonna get real gay. 

PS: Anyone else get gay Kelpian vibes from Sokal and Saru?

[ao3feed-rumbelle]

The Changeling

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/37KiTOW

by Paige_Turner36

With Belle’s pregnancy mysteriously accelerated and the people around her urging her to send the baby away, Rumple has to act fast to remove the Changeling before he loses his son for good.

Words: 7345, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: Once Upon a Time (TV)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death

Categories: F/M, Gen

Characters: Rumplestiltskin | Mr. Gold, Belle (Once Upon a Time), Emma Swan, Captain Hook | Killian Jones, Blue Fairy | Mother Superior, Grumpy | Leroy, Snow White | Mary Margaret Blanchard, Prince Charming | David Nolan, Nova | Astrid, Dienw/the Changeling | OC (Original Character)

Relationships: Belle/Rumplestiltskin | Mr. Gold, Belle & Rumplestiltskin | Mr. Gold

Additional Tags: Episode AU: s06e09 the Changeling, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, season 6 AU, Anti-6A, Fix-It, No Golden Queen Romance!, Anti-CS, Anti-Emma, Anti-Hook, Anti-Blue, anti-snow, Anti-Zelena, Though not present Anti-Regina, The Changeling - Freeform, Shears of Destiny, Magic Crystals, Storybrooke (Once Upon a Time), the edge of realms, reference to Alice/Tilly - not related to Hook, True Love, True Love's Kiss, Angst with a Happy Ending

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/37KiTOW

[tomeandflickcorner]

OUAT Reaction Post- 7x18

Wheee!  I can finally watch an episode live!

What are you up to, Rumpy Rumps?

Oh, wow.  Did he put together this entire shrine for Belle?  That’s....a bit obsessive and unhealthy.

Hey, they mentioned Gideon!  Guess he didn’t completely forget about him.

Wait, so he suspected Alice was the Guardian?  Then what was he doing messing around with Anastasia?

Oh!  He’s already going Crocky!

Hey, Rumpy!  It might be time to try waking up Wish Killian.  Just a suggestion.

Awww.  Tilly/Margot date?

Wow!  They’re giving the characters a chance to just be people!  What a concept!  Though, I wonder how Henry and Jacinda will react upon learning Parallel Hansel/Nick is dead.  Especially when they finally wake up and learn the truth of their friend, Jack.

Seriously!  Either wake up Wish Killian or fill in Rogers on what’s going on.  Swallow your stinking pride and ask for help, Rumpy!

Awwww.  Curious Archer is adorable.

So, if Robyn frequently played messager girl for Wish Killian and Alice, why was Regina so surprised by her age in 7x10?

EEEE.  I love suspicious/protective Wish Killian.   Of course he won’t forget everything Rumpelstiltskin did to him.  So it’s only natural he won’t be willing to let him near Alice.

Hmm.  Is Henry starting to sense something doesn’t add up?  I really hope he wakes up soon.

That’s it, Regina.  Play the grandson card!  (Not that he ever really cared about Henry.)

BWAAAHAAHA!  Did she actually tell Rumpy Rumps not to do anything crazy?  She does remember why she’s talking to, right?  This is the guy who masterminded the Dark Curse, unleashed Chernabog onto Storybrooke, etc.

Oh, this is cute!  Robyn was envious of Alice’s adventures, and now Tilly is envious of Margot’s adventures.

No!  Leave her alone, Rumpy Rumps!  And don’t act like you’re her friend!  The fact that you’re blatantly lying to her proves you’re no friend to her!

Shame we don’t have Emma here.  She could have used her internal lie detector on him.   Why can’t they call in the original Nevengers, again?  Have they ever given an in-show explanation for that?

No, Rumpy Rumps!  Don’t manipulate poor Alice!  You’re such a jerk!  I hate you!  Just die so I can dance on your shallow grave!

Punch him, Alice!  He’s just admitted he doesn’t care about you!  He just wants to use you for his own selfish goals!

Who is....oh, it’s Naveen!

Can we please wake up Henry, Wish Killian, Parallel Ella, Tiana, Alice and Robyn already?  You’ve already woken up everyone else.

Oh!  Is the bracelet triggering her memories again?

Grrrr!  No!  Bad Rumpy!  Whatever your’re doing, stop it now!

Really?  Why is Alice still listening to him?  Especially after he admitted that he used her?

How can she call him a good man?  He lied to her!  He just risked her soul!

Wait.  So he was already freed?  But then what happened?

Oh.  Now who could have predicted that?  He just couldn’t give up his power, could he? He really can’t change, can he?

Wait.  What’s this about Alice becoming immortal if she completes the ritual?  Huh?  Show, you’re just making this up as you go, aren’t you?

So...she can hear the Dagger?  And how did it end up in her backpack?  

Sorry, but I still don’t trust Rumpelstiltskin. 

Exactly!  You tell him, Regina!   At the end of the day, Rumpy doesn’t care about anyone but himself.  That’s something that will never change.  It’s about time someone realized it.

Kinda like how Tilly is being portrayed the way she is.  Nice representation for people with mental illnesses.

Oh.  Is he going to tell her about the blood test results?  How’s she going to react to this?

Oooooh.  Next episode is gonna be good!

[ao3feed-captainswan]

A Long December

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2SDBnfH

by searchingwardrobes

Emma Swan knocks on his door the morning after Christmas and continues to do so off and on well past the new year. Killian Jones knows, however, that he must tread lightly, so he never knocks on hers. Until one day in May . . . Although, technically, he doesn’t knock.

Words: 6777, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Series: Part 39 of Fandom Birthday Playlist

Fandoms: Once Upon a Time (TV)

Rating: Mature

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: F/M

Characters: Captain Hook | Killian Jones, Emma Swan, Henry Mills (Once Upon a Time), Alice | Tilly, Gothel | Eloise Gardener, Baelfire | Neal Cassidy

Relationships: Captain Hook | Killian Jones/Emma Swan

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Fluff and Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Implied/Referenced Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, Single Parents, Single Parent Emma Swan, Parent Captain Hook | Killian Jones, KnightRook, not as heavy as the tags suggest I promise!, anti neal

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2SDBnfH

[xtruss]

POLITICS

The 13 Races That Will Determine The Senate Majority

— NPR | October 29, 2020 | Susan Davis

President Trump campaigned with Sen. Martha McSally, R-Ariz., in Prescott, Ariz., this month. McSally is a top target of Senate Democrats, who are hoping to flip her seat blue on Election Day. Alex Brandon/AP

Republicans hold the Senate 53-47. (There are two independents — Angus King of Maine and Bernie Sanders of Vermont — but they caucus with Democrats and therefore should be counted that way in the math for Senate control.)

To flip the Senate, Democrats would need to net-gain four seats outright or three seats and control of the White House, because in a 50-50 Senate — which is possible this year — the vice president breaks the tie. Republicans can lose up to three seats and hold the majority, as long as President Trump wins reelection.

Democrats are forecast to gain two to six seats. Control of the Senate remains a jump ball days out from Election Day. These are the races that will decide it:

Democratic-held seats (Republicans favored to gain one seat)

Alabama: Sen. Doug Jones is the only Democratic incumbent in a tough race this year. He is expected to lose to former Auburn University football coach Tommy Tuberville, the Republican challenger. Trump remains wildly popular in Alabama, and it would be very difficult for Jones to overcome that advantage in a nationalized political climate. A Republican pickup here would mean Democrats would need to pick up four GOP-held seats and win the White House for Senate control.

Republican-held Seats (Democrats Favored to Gain Two to Six Seats)

Arizona: GOP Sen. Martha McSally is running against Democrat Mark Kelly, the popular and well-known former astronaut turned gun control advocate after the 2011 Tucson shooting of his wife, then-Rep. Gabby Giffords, D-Ariz. Kelly has led in all but one public poll in 2020. Kelly has also significantly outraised McSally.

Colorado: Republican Sen. Cory Gardner is running against former Gov. John Hickenlooper, a former 2020 Democratic presidential candidate. Hickenlooper initially indicated he was not interested in a Senate run but jumped in after his presidential campaign faded. He has run a lackluster campaign, but the overall Democratic pull of the state is probably enough to carry Hickenlooper to victory.

Iowa: First-term GOP Sen. Joni Ernst is running against real estate developer Theresa Greenfield. This race has gotten increasingly competitive in the closing months of the campaign. Ernst had been the early favorite for reelection, but the race has become a toss-up in the close.

Maine: Republican Sen. Susan Collins is running against Democrat Sara Gideon, the state's House speaker. Few others have seen their political stock fall as fast as Collins has. Once one of the most popular senators in the U.S., she now ranks at the bottom. The polarization of the Trump era has done no favors for centrist moderates. Collins is a savvy campaigner and knows her state and how to win, but Gideon has been able to capitalize on Collins' sinking political clout and anti-Trump sentiment.

Montana: Republican Sen. Steve Daines is running against term-limited Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock, arguably the only Democrat who could make Montana competitive for the party. Bullock is well-known and has generally been given decent marks by voters for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic. Montana is a red state that wants to stay that way, and that helps Daines. A Bullock victory would be a telling sign of a broader Democratic wave.

North Carolina: Republican Sen. Thom Tillis is running against attorney Cal Cunningham, a former state senator. This is widely viewed as the tipping-point race — whoever wins here will likely represent the party in control of the Senate. Cunningham had all the advantages, but late-breaking reports of marital infidelity will test whether old-school political scandals still register with voters.

Potential Election Night Surprises

Alaska: GOP Sen. Dan Sullivan is running against orthopedic surgeon Al Gross, who is technically an independent but will appear on the ballot as a Democrat. Trump won Alaska by 16 points in 2016, and Sullivan should be able to pull out a win. But Gross has run a surprisingly strong campaign aided by waves of grassroots Democratic fundraising, including after the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. There isn't regular or reliable polling in this race.

Georgia 1: Republican Sen. David Perdue is running against Democrat Jon Ossoff, best known for running and losing a high-profile 2017 special election for a U.S. House seat. Perdue has been a Trump loyalist in a state that is increasingly more purple than red. Republicans are bullish that Perdue can win reelection, but the risk of a Jan. 5 runoff is real unless a candidate wins at least 50%. A third-party candidate, Libertarian Shane Hazel, is complicating that path.

Georgia special election: Appointed GOP Sen. Kelly Loeffler is running to serve out the term of former Republican Sen. Johnny Isakson, who retired early for health reasons. Loeffler is a wealthy businesswoman. If no candidate gets at least 50% — which is unlikely — the top two vote-getters go to a Jan. 5 runoff. Loeffler has to fend off both a Republican challenge from Rep. Doug Collins and the top expected Democratic vote-getter, Raphael Warnock. Warnock is a civil rights leader and pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, the same church where Martin Luther King Jr. served. If control of the Senate comes down to Georgia, it might not be known until January 2021.

Kansas: This is an open-seat race because Republican Sen. Pat Roberts is retiring. Republican Rep. Roger Marshall is running against doctor and state Sen. Barbara Bollier. Marshall is the GOP establishment's pick and is favored to win. Bollier is a Republican turned Democrat who has focused on her medical background during the pandemic.

South Carolina: Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham is running against former Democratic congressional aide Jaime Harrison. Trump won South Carolina by 14 points in 2016, and Graham has transformed from Trump critic to Trump champion since then. Harrison has been able to turn a long-shot bid into a well-funded campaign that is polling competitively. The conservative roots of the state keep Graham as favored to win. A loss could be an indication of a massive Democratic-wave election.

Texas: Republican Sen. John Cornyn is favored against Democratic challenger MJ Hegar and has consistently led in public polling. A Democratic victory here would be a major upset and would likely be contingent on a surprise Joe Biden win in the state. Texas is also seeing a surge in voter turnout across the state, fueling Democratic hopes that the polls are wrong and 2020 is the year Texas goes blue.

[gordonwilliamsweb]

Opposition to Obamacare Becomes Political Liability for GOP Incumbents

In the 2014 elections, Republicans rode a wave of anti-Affordable Care Act sentiment to pick up nine Senate seats, the largest gain for either party since 1980. Newly elected Republicans such as Cory Gardner in Colorado and Steve Daines in Montana had hammered their Democratic opponents over the health care law during the campaign and promised to repeal it.

Six years later, those senators are up for reelection. Not only is the law still around, but it’s gaining in popularity. What was once a winning strategy has become a political liability.

Public sentiment about the ACA, also known as Obamacare, has shifted considerably during the Trump administration after Republicans tried but failed to repeal it. Now, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing economic crisis, which has led to the loss of jobs and health insurance for millions of people, health care again looks poised to be a key issue for voters this election.

With competitive races in Colorado, Montana, Arizona, North Carolina and Iowa pitting Republican incumbents who voted to repeal the ACA against Democratic challengers promising to protect it, attitudes surrounding the health law could help determine control of the Senate. Republicans hold a slim three-vote majority in the Senate but are defending 23 seats in the Nov. 3 election. Only one Democratic Senate seat — in Alabama, where incumbent Doug Jones is up against former Auburn University football coach Tommy Tuberville — is considered in play for Republicans.

“The fall election will significantly revolve around people’s belief about what [candidates] will do for their health coverage,” said Dr. Daniel Derksen, a professor of public health at the University of Arizona.

The Affordable Care Act has been a wedge issue since it was signed into law in 2010. Because it then took four years to enact, its opponents talked for years about how bad the not-yet-created marketplace for insurance would be, said Joe Hanel, spokesperson for the Colorado Health Institute, a nonpartisan nonprofit focused on health policy analysis. And they continued to attack the law as it took full effect in 2014.

Gardner, for example, ran numerous campaign ads that year criticizing the ACA and, in particular, President Barack Obama’s assertion that “if you like your health care plan, you’ll be able to keep your health care plan.”

But now, Hanel said, the ACA’s policies have become much more popular in Colorado as the costs of health exchange plans have dropped. Thus, political messaging has changed, too.

“This time it’s the opposite,” Hanel said. “The people bringing up the Affordable Care Act are the Democrats.”

Despite Gardner’s multiple votes to repeal the ACA, he has largely avoided talking about the measure during the 2020 campaign. He even removed his pro-repeal position from his campaign website.

Democratic attack ads in July blasted Gardner for repeatedly dodging questions in an interview with Colorado Public Radio about his stance on a lawsuit challenging the ACA.

His opponent, Democrat John Hickenlooper, fully embraced the law when he was Colorado governor, using the measure to expand Medicaid eligibility to more low-income people and to create a state health insurance exchange. Now, he’s campaigning on that record, with promises to expand health care access even further.

Polling Data

Polling conducted by KFF for the past 10 years shows a shift in public opinion has occurred nationwide. (KHN is an editorially independent program of KFF, the Kaiser Family Foundation.)

“Since Trump won the election in 2016, we now have consistently found that a larger share of the public holds favorable views” of the health law, said Ashley Kirzinger, associate director of public opinion and survey research for the foundation. “This really solidified in 2017 after the failed repeal in the Senate.”

The foundation’s polling found that, in July 2014, 55% of voters opposed the law, while 36% favored it. By July 2020, that had flipped, with 51% favoring the law and 38% opposing it. A shift was seen across all political groups, though 74% of Republicans still viewed it unfavorably in the latest poll.

Public support for individual provisions of the ACA — such as protections for people with preexisting conditions or allowing young adults to stay on their parents’ health plans until age 26 — have proved even more popular than the law as a whole. And the provision that consistently polled unfavorably — the mandate that those without insurance must pay a fine — was eliminated in 2017.

“We’re 10 years along and the sky hasn’t caved in,” said Sabrina Corlette, a health policy professor at Georgetown University.

Political Messaging

Following the passage of the ACA, Democrats didn’t reference the law in their campaigns, said Erika Franklin Fowler, a government professor at Wesleyan University and the director of the Wesleyan Media Project, which tracks political advertising.

“They ran on any other issue they could find,” Fowler said.

Republicans, she said, kept promising to “repeal and replace” but weren’t able to do so.

Then, in the 2018 election, Democrats seized on the shift in public opinion, touting the effects of the law and criticizing Republicans for their attempts to overturn it.

“In the decade I have been tracking political advertising, there wasn’t a single-issue topic that was as prominent as health care was in 2018,” she said.

As the global health crisis rages, health care concerns again dominate political ads in the 2020 races, Fowler said, although most ads haven’t explicitly focused on the ACA. Many highlight Republicans’ support for the lawsuit challenging preexisting condition protections or specific provisions of the ACA that their votes would have overturned. Republicans say they, too, will protect people with preexisting conditions but otherwise have largely avoided talking about the ACA.

“Cory Gardner has been running a lot on his environmental bills and conservation funding,” Fowler said. “It’s not difficult to figure out why he’s doing that. It’s easier for him to tout that in a state like Colorado than it is to talk about health care.”

Similar dynamics are playing out in other key Senate races. In Arizona, Republican Sen. Martha McSally was one of the more vocal advocates of repealing the ACA while she served in the House of Representatives. She publicly acknowledged those votes may have hurt her 2018 Senate bid.

“I did vote to repeal and replace Obamacare,” McSally said on conservative pundit Sean Hannity’s radio show during the 2018 campaign. “I’m getting my ass kicked for it right now.”

She indeed lost but was appointed to fill the seat of Sen. Jon Kyl after he resigned at the end of 2018. Now McSally is in a tight race with Democratic challenger Mark Kelly, an astronaut and the husband of former Rep. Gabby Giffords.

“Kelly doesn’t have a track record of voting one way or another, but certainly in his campaign this is one of his top speaking points: what he would do to expand coverage and reassure people that coverage won’t be taken away,” said Derksen, the University of Arizona professor.

The ACA has proved a stumbling block for Republican Sens. Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Joni Ernst of Iowa. In Maine, GOP Sen. Susan Collins cast a key vote that prevented the repeal of the law but cast other votes that weakened it. She now also appears vulnerable — but more for her vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court and for not doing more to oppose President Donald Trump.

In Montana, Daines, who voted to repeal the ACA, is trying to hold on to his seat against Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock, who used the law to expand the state’s Medicaid enrollment in 2015. At its peak, nearly 1 in 10 Montanans were covered through the expansion.

As more Montanans now face the high cost of paying for health care on their own amid pandemic-related job losses, Montana State University political science professor David Parker said he expects Democrats to talk about Daines’ votes to repeal cost-saving provisions of the ACA.

“People are losing jobs, and their jobs bring health care with them,” Parker said. “I don’t think it’s a good space for Daines to be right now.”

Kaiser Health News (KHN) is a national health policy news service. It is an editorially independent program of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation which is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.

USE OUR CONTENT

This story can be republished for free (details).

Opposition to Obamacare Becomes Political Liability for GOP Incumbents published first on https://nootropicspowdersupplier.tumblr.com/

[saveme-storybrooke-potc]

Hope: *at her grandparents looking at a fish tank*

Hope: Can we name them?

Brennan: Yeah. Let's call these two Lee and Stan, and that big one with its mouth open we'll call Alice.

[stephenmccull]

Opposition to Obamacare Becomes Political Liability for GOP Incumbents

In the 2014 elections, Republicans rode a wave of anti-Affordable Care Act sentiment to pick up nine Senate seats, the largest gain for either party since 1980. Newly elected Republicans such as Cory Gardner in Colorado and Steve Daines in Montana had hammered their Democratic opponents over the health care law during the campaign and promised to repeal it.

Six years later, those senators are up for reelection. Not only is the law still around, but it’s gaining in popularity. What was once a winning strategy has become a political liability.

Public sentiment about the ACA, also known as Obamacare, has shifted considerably during the Trump administration after Republicans tried but failed to repeal it. Now, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing economic crisis, which has led to the loss of jobs and health insurance for millions of people, health care again looks poised to be a key issue for voters this election.

With competitive races in Colorado, Montana, Arizona, North Carolina and Iowa pitting Republican incumbents who voted to repeal the ACA against Democratic challengers promising to protect it, attitudes surrounding the health law could help determine control of the Senate. Republicans hold a slim three-vote majority in the Senate but are defending 23 seats in the Nov. 3 election. Only one Democratic Senate seat — in Alabama, where incumbent Doug Jones is up against former Auburn University football coach Tommy Tuberville — is considered in play for Republicans.

“The fall election will significantly revolve around people’s belief about what [candidates] will do for their health coverage,” said Dr. Daniel Derksen, a professor of public health at the University of Arizona.

The Affordable Care Act has been a wedge issue since it was signed into law in 2010. Because it then took four years to enact, its opponents talked for years about how bad the not-yet-created marketplace for insurance would be, said Joe Hanel, spokesperson for the Colorado Health Institute, a nonpartisan nonprofit focused on health policy analysis. And they continued to attack the law as it took full effect in 2014.

Gardner, for example, ran numerous campaign ads that year criticizing the ACA and, in particular, President Barack Obama’s assertion that “if you like your health care plan, you’ll be able to keep your health care plan.”

But now, Hanel said, the ACA’s policies have become much more popular in Colorado as the costs of health exchange plans have dropped. Thus, political messaging has changed, too.

“This time it’s the opposite,” Hanel said. “The people bringing up the Affordable Care Act are the Democrats.”

Despite Gardner’s multiple votes to repeal the ACA, he has largely avoided talking about the measure during the 2020 campaign. He even removed his pro-repeal position from his campaign website.

Democratic attack ads in July blasted Gardner for repeatedly dodging questions in an interview with Colorado Public Radio about his stance on a lawsuit challenging the ACA.

His opponent, Democrat John Hickenlooper, fully embraced the law when he was Colorado governor, using the measure to expand Medicaid eligibility to more low-income people and to create a state health insurance exchange. Now, he’s campaigning on that record, with promises to expand health care access even further.

Polling Data

Polling conducted by KFF for the past 10 years shows a shift in public opinion has occurred nationwide. (KHN is an editorially independent program of KFF, the Kaiser Family Foundation.)

“Since Trump won the election in 2016, we now have consistently found that a larger share of the public holds favorable views” of the health law, said Ashley Kirzinger, associate director of public opinion and survey research for the foundation. “This really solidified in 2017 after the failed repeal in the Senate.”

The foundation’s polling found that, in July 2014, 55% of voters opposed the law, while 36% favored it. By July 2020, that had flipped, with 51% favoring the law and 38% opposing it. A shift was seen across all political groups, though 74% of Republicans still viewed it unfavorably in the latest poll.

Public support for individual provisions of the ACA — such as protections for people with preexisting conditions or allowing young adults to stay on their parents’ health plans until age 26 — have proved even more popular than the law as a whole. And the provision that consistently polled unfavorably — the mandate that those without insurance must pay a fine — was eliminated in 2017.

“We’re 10 years along and the sky hasn’t caved in,” said Sabrina Corlette, a health policy professor at Georgetown University.

Political Messaging

Following the passage of the ACA, Democrats didn’t reference the law in their campaigns, said Erika Franklin Fowler, a government professor at Wesleyan University and the director of the Wesleyan Media Project, which tracks political advertising.

“They ran on any other issue they could find,” Fowler said.

Republicans, she said, kept promising to “repeal and replace” but weren’t able to do so.

Then, in the 2018 election, Democrats seized on the shift in public opinion, touting the effects of the law and criticizing Republicans for their attempts to overturn it.

“In the decade I have been tracking political advertising, there wasn’t a single-issue topic that was as prominent as health care was in 2018,” she said.

As the global health crisis rages, health care concerns again dominate political ads in the 2020 races, Fowler said, although most ads haven’t explicitly focused on the ACA. Many highlight Republicans’ support for the lawsuit challenging preexisting condition protections or specific provisions of the ACA that their votes would have overturned. Republicans say they, too, will protect people with preexisting conditions but otherwise have largely avoided talking about the ACA.

“Cory Gardner has been running a lot on his environmental bills and conservation funding,” Fowler said. “It’s not difficult to figure out why he’s doing that. It’s easier for him to tout that in a state like Colorado than it is to talk about health care.”

Similar dynamics are playing out in other key Senate races. In Arizona, Republican Sen. Martha McSally was one of the more vocal advocates of repealing the ACA while she served in the House of Representatives. She publicly acknowledged those votes may have hurt her 2018 Senate bid.

“I did vote to repeal and replace Obamacare,” McSally said on conservative pundit Sean Hannity’s radio show during the 2018 campaign. “I’m getting my ass kicked for it right now.”

She indeed lost but was appointed to fill the seat of Sen. Jon Kyl after he resigned at the end of 2018. Now McSally is in a tight race with Democratic challenger Mark Kelly, an astronaut and the husband of former Rep. Gabby Giffords.

“Kelly doesn’t have a track record of voting one way or another, but certainly in his campaign this is one of his top speaking points: what he would do to expand coverage and reassure people that coverage won’t be taken away,” said Derksen, the University of Arizona professor.

The ACA has proved a stumbling block for Republican Sens. Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Joni Ernst of Iowa. In Maine, GOP Sen. Susan Collins cast a key vote that prevented the repeal of the law but cast other votes that weakened it. She now also appears vulnerable — but more for her vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court and for not doing more to oppose President Donald Trump.

In Montana, Daines, who voted to repeal the ACA, is trying to hold on to his seat against Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock, who used the law to expand the state’s Medicaid enrollment in 2015. At its peak, nearly 1 in 10 Montanans were covered through the expansion.

As more Montanans now face the high cost of paying for health care on their own amid pandemic-related job losses, Montana State University political science professor David Parker said he expects Democrats to talk about Daines’ votes to repeal cost-saving provisions of the ACA.

“People are losing jobs, and their jobs bring health care with them,” Parker said. “I don’t think it’s a good space for Daines to be right now.”

Kaiser Health News (KHN) is a national health policy news service. It is an editorially independent program of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation which is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.

USE OUR CONTENT

This story can be republished for free (details).

Opposition to Obamacare Becomes Political Liability for GOP Incumbents published first on https://smartdrinkingweb.weebly.com/