Are Our Branches All Broken? The Cosby and Castile Verdicts, and the Super Secret Senate Health Care Law

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Senate Republicans say they’re going to fix the health care system by July 4th, but they won’t say how. A jury couldn’t convict Bill Cosby or the officer who shot Philander Castile, and we’re wondering about the effectiveness of all three branches of government. 

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The Pearls

We discuss the verdict in the Philando Castile murder trial and the hung jury in Bill Cosby's case. We're wondering how much the near universal outcry regarding the Castile verdict is influenced by the gun industry, and we're struggling with the Cosby jury's inability to reach a unanimous verdict. Should the standard for convicting a police officer be so high? What about the standard for sexual assault convictions? We also briefly discuss Michelle Carter's conviction for texting encouragement for her boyfriend's suicide. 

Beth compliments Senator Claire McCaskill for taking her colleagues to task on the health care law. Sarah compliments President Trump for his DACA announcement. 

The Suit

We discuss the process by which Senate Republicans are secretly drafting health care legislation (see Sarah Kliff's reporting on this and her guest appearance Pod Save America). The AHCA continues to be extraordinarily unpopular. Even fellow Republicans are frustrated by the process of drafting an alternative. Governors and most constituents are urging Senators to rethink the bill, and we are aghast at the process of drafting this legislation in secret then attempting to ram it through the Senate through the reconciliation process. Even Republicans who are close to the process can't describe what the policy objectives are. 

We also discuss Steve Hilton's interview on Freakonmoics and the lack of innovation in government and how that's evident in this process. We also come back to an issue we always discuss with regards to health care, which is costs and a great article from the Atlantic on where much of that spending goes. 

The Heels

Sarah talks about Sklar Body, a new perfume she's loving, and Beth discusses Leah Remini's Scientology and The Aftermath and we talk about Going Clear.