OPINION: Nancy Pelosi takes blame; Devin Nunes gets a refresher course; Travis Kalanick quits

June 22--Good morning. On behalf of The Sacramento Bee's editorial board, welcome to The Take, your opinion-politics newsletter. Please sign up for it here.

Jack Ohman says that Uber executives may need a new pick-up line. Learn their moves here.

Our take

Columns

Bill McEwen, The Fresno Bee: I wonder if the secret health-care bill Mitch McConnell is writing up in the U.S. Senate covers amnesia. If it doesn't, Rep. Devin Nunes will have to foot the bill himself -- should he desire treatment.

Karin Klein: When's the best time to exercise to help slow or stave off osteoporosis, the bone-thinning that occurs in many older people? When we're kids. But schools have cut back on physical education to create the class time that might improve test scores.

Op-Eds

John Kingsbury: California is hell-bent on draining the Sierra by taking water from one region to meet the environmental needs of another. Though essential to the survival of the Sacramento/San Joaquin Delta, the Sierra Nevada watershed is rarely recognized for its natural resources and significance.

David Townsend: California Democrats are bowing to ideology and squandering a chance to appeal to the growing ranks of Independents they need to govern. Nowhere is the disconnect as glaring as on health care, where single-payer dogma is trumping pragmatism and compromise.

Robert Graboyes and Trevor Carlsen: Universal health care would cost California billions. But at least the state is giving federalism a chance. Why conservatives can cheer California's single-payer health care bill.

Take a number: $33 billion

Most Americans who have been following the health care debate know that 23 million is the estimate of how many Americans would lose insurance by 2026 under the House Republican bill to blow up Obamacare. The left-leaning Economic Policy Institute said Wednesday that those who keep their insurance would pay $33 billion more a year by 2026 in deductibles, copays and other out-of-pocket expenses as subsidies are cut and insurers offer less generous plans. A "discussion draft" of the Senate Republican leadership's version of "repeal and replace" is supposed to be released Thursday after weeks of being drafted behind closed doors. The leaders are pushing for a vote next week before the July 4 recess, but at least they say they will wait for an analysis from the Congressional Budget Office before voting -- which, outrageously, House GOP leaders didn't bother to do. -- Foon Rhee, @foonrhee

Their take

East Bay Times: Process matters. That's why state legislators' devious use of the budget process to slip through major policy changes is so despicable.

Joseph N. Sanberg, The Nation: In the years I've spent advocating for the Earned Income Tax Credit, I can't tell you how many times I've been told that this issue is too boring, that it just isn't sexy enough. These complaints invariably come from elected officials, reporters and other political insiders. You know who I've never heard complain about this? The families who earn the EITC. Our view; we don't find it boring.

Kansas City Star: Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley is taking an important and necessary step in the ongoing effort to address the opioid drug crisis in the state. Hawley sued three pharmaceutical companies in state court Wednesday in St. Louis, alleging the firms contributed to the overuse of pain-killing medicines such as OxyContin and Percocet.

Raleigh News & Observer: Pay teachers who agree to go to high-poverty or low-achieving schools more, substantially more, and give them stronger support systems by providing more money for supplies and for assistants and even outside consulting. Get serious about improving opportunities for all students by giving all students the very best teachers there are.

Charlotte Observer: Voters may be wary of President Donald Trump, but House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi remains an albatross for Democrats, one that Republican winner Karen Handel effectively exploited in the Georgia race. Democrats also continue to have trouble fielding candidates who connect with voters. For Republicans, the message Tuesday is the same as two earlier special elections this year: You're winning, but losing.

San Francisco Chronicle: House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi's stock has certainly slumped. The Democrats' special-election losses this week showed that what they have in free-floating anti-Trump money and angst they lack in strategy, message and candidates.

The Guardian: The resignation of Uber's chief executive Travis Kalanick is a victory for everyone who cares about the way businesses are run, about the duty of corporations to obey the law and of employers to respect and treat fairly their employees. Uber now lacks an entire top level of management. As one joker had it, it's a self-driving company.

Syndicates' take

E.J. Dionne Jr.: Republican Karen Handel's victory over Democrat Jon Ossoff was not an endorsement of the president. It was a personal and party success achieved despite him.

Thomas L. Friedman: We've had breakdowns in truth and trust before in our history, but this feels particularly dangerous because it is being exacerbated by technology and President Donald Trump.

Ruben Navarrette: The Class of 2017 is the first crop of "Trump graduates" who are leaving college -- and either going to graduate school or into the workforce -- in the shadow of our 45th president. They should spurn some of his traits, but they should try to emulate others.

Mailbag

"There was nothing secret about the new dam safety legislation." -- Bill Croyle, Department of Water Resources acting director, Shingle Springs

Tweets of the day

"What are two things all four Dems in Congressional specials this year had in common? None had ever held local political office and all lost." -- Matt Rexroad? @MattRexroad

"@realDonaldTrump again says 'we're 5 and 0' and even mentions election 'in California.' Pretty sure @JimmyGomezCA is a Dem" -- David Siders?@davidsiders

Never miss a local story.

Sign up today for a 30 day free trial of unlimited digital access.

SUBSCRIBE NOW

___

(c)2017 The Sacramento Bee (Sacramento, Calif.)

Visit The Sacramento Bee (Sacramento, Calif.) at www.sacbee.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.