Senator Tina Smith Says Republicans Stole Their Healthcare Plan From ‘SpongeBob SquarePants’
If the Trump Administration is going to take its policies straight from Nickelodeon, the least they could do is guarantee every American universal slime.
SpongeBob SquarePants has always been the kind of show that parents can enjoy watching alongside their children, but, every now and then, Stephen Hillenburg’s seminal series hits the entire family with such a real punchline they have to sit and contemplate like they’re SpongeBob sitting in a diner by himself with a cup of steaming coffee. However, in the households of Republican lawmakers, some of those scenes were downright inspirational, or so says Minnesota Senator Tina Smith.
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When SpongeBob SquarePants fans started a viral Twitter thread asking for the most too-real SpongeBob scenes ever, Smith chimed in and argued that this classic bit from the Season Four episode “The Lost Mattress” is basically the GOP’s entire health care platform:
As many politically-minded SpongeBob fans rushed to point out to the Senator, her comparison between the Republican approach to health care and the famous “Lost Mattress” scene when Mr. Krabs learns the hard way how society treats uninsured crustaceans isn't exactly complete – in the original scene, upon learning that Mr. Krabs does not have health insurance, the doctor first has him moved in front of a vending machine. The incapacitated patient only makes it to the sidewalk when he blocks someone's path to their snack.
Now, of course, in a better world, we would expect more from the party of resistance than just SpongeBob memes when it comes to issues such as the health care crisis. Just a few weeks ago, following a successful election season that Democratic leadership apparently found uncomfortable, Senate Democrats under minority leader Chuck Schumer folded to Republican pressure and passed a bill to end the government shutdown without guaranteeing an extension on Affordable Care Act subsidies, which, if lapsed, would skyrocket health insurance costs for millions of working Americans.
Right now, those same senate Democrats are attempting to force a vote on an ACA subsidy extension, but the effort is almost definitely going to fail, seeing as they gave up all of their leverage last month. But, hey, at least the Democrats have some dank SpongeBob memes.
