Health Care Activist Battling ALS: Lindsey Graham ‘Ran Away’ When I Confronted Him on Tax Bill
WATCH: Health care activist @AdyBarkan says Sen. Lindsey Graham "ran away" when he tried to confront him about the GOP tax bill.
"He doesn't have the heart to to look me in the eye and say 'yes, i am voting to cut your Medicare.'" pic.twitter.com/mHSyzney4k
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) December 19, 2017
Earlier this month, progressive activist Ady Barkan became something of a national hero when he confronted Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) on a flight, asking the retiring lawmaker to reconsider his support for the GOP tax bill. Barkan, who suffers from ALS, told Flake that the bill was personal to him as it could lead to funding cuts for the disabled.
With both chambers of Congress voting on the bill today, and it expected to pass by the end of the night, Barkan was on Capitol Hill this week and confronted other Republican lawmakers in an effort to get them to change their votes. In a video posted by Popular Democracy, Barkan can be seen attempting to ask Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) about his vote on the bill.
When @AdyBarkan and @souldier_ tried to ask Senator @LindseyGrahamSC about his vote on the #GOPTaxScam, all he could do was run away. #ListenToAdy pic.twitter.com/mEuhUzPnbs
— Popular Democracy (@popdemoc) December 19, 2017
As seen in the tweeted clip, Barkan states that Graham ran away. Barkan can also be heard calling Graham a “coward” while shouting that he’s “dying of a brain disease.”
In an interview on MSNBC this afternoon, Barkan provided more details on his attempted confrontation with Graham. He told host Ali Velshi that he rolled up to Graham while the senator was talking about his friend Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), who is suffering from brain cancer.
“I said, ‘Senator Graham, will you talk to me for a minute about this bill,'” Barkan stated. “And he ran away into a place where I’m not allowed to go as a civilian.”
“He doesn’t have the heart to look me in the eye and say ‘Yes, I am voting to cut your Medicare,'” he concluded.
Watch the clip above, via MSNBC.
[image via screengrab]
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