I will give Democrats the rest of the weekend to feel good about the Republican implosion on Obamacare. They deserve a couple of days, they really do, but not much more. They deserve it because Republican leadership has finally been unmasked for their lack of honesty with the American public. That's the real sin that the Republican leaders have been perpetuating for the last seven or so years, their lack of honesty. During that time, they went out of their way to dismiss Obamacare as a disaster, as a nightmare, as a train wreck (pick your favorite term of derision), because it was easy to do, it was the low hanging fruit on that very tall tree. Their dishonestly lies in the wasted seven years of their implied message, seven years that our country can never back. The implication of course was that if Obamacare was such a disaster, then there must be a better way. And by extension, either there was a better way to provide health care or we would all be better off without anything in its place. That piece was never clearly articulated. There was no need. Enough Americans fell for it, and that was all Republicans needed. And so after seven years of sounding like a broken record, Republicans finally got what they had wished for all along, They took control of the House, the Senate and the Presidency.
Oh, the election of Trump to the top slot was more than just a referendum on Obamacare, it was clearly based on a large enough percentage of Americans feeling disenfranchised and wanting more than anything to break things, to disrupt the system, to put it to the Man, This was the manifestation of their anger. But Trump latched on to the Repeal (and Replace) Obamcare mantra. (That's all it was, just a mantra, as there was never any strategy on how to do this). The mantra worked for his image, he would be the disruptor, he would drain the swamp, he would be the grand savior. So, Repeal and Replace became a major showpiece of his campaign, and in the end he owned it as much as the Paul Ryan, Mitch McConnell, the Freedom Caucus and all the other lazy politician's, that's right, lazy. They had all taken took the easy way.
But now it was time to pay up. Now that they were all in office, now that they had the keys to the kingdom, the rubber was about to meet the road. They had completely forgotten to be careful of what they wished for, for they must just get it. And in their desire for speed, to get something passed to fulfill the mantra, to show decisive action, they rushed a bill through the House, that it seemed no one wanted, no one believed, and no one really understood. Most importantly, no one could really justify it as being better than Obamacare. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office dissed it as an effort to save a little money over ten years, but causing 24 million Americans to lose health coverage. The Republican response was to dis the CBO, and to argue that their analysis didn't take parts two and three of their grand plan into consideration. The fact that no one really knew what parts two and three were, was not important. Just trust us, they said, we'll get there.
However, the Republican approach failed to consider that the ground was shifting under their feet. As the shock of Trump's stunning and surprising victory back in early November became to subside, all Americans began to consider what this would mean, not just for the country, but what this would mean for them. Surprisingly, polls for the Affordable Care Act began to show increasing support, the highest support since its inception. Some individuals were surprised to learn that the insurance they were on was actually a result of Obamacare. House members went home during recess to find that public opinion was changing. Their constituients were now asking what did Repeal and Replace actually mean? What was going to happen next? All of sudden the Republican mantra of the last several years seemed hollow. The rubber was meeting the road.
Republican leadership continued to push ahead. The Art of the Deal author had laid down the law. We were going to have vote. All the while negotiations with the different factions within the Republican party continued to pull the bill in different directions, so much so, that it was confusing what the final bill was going to look like. And if we were to believe the polls, the bill held only had a 17% approval rating going into its final days.
Ultimately the bill failed under its own weight. Paul Ryan went to Trump and made the case that it was so bad, that holding a vote would be detrimental to the party. Not only would it fail and by more than just a few votes, but it would provide Democrats with added ammunition to target Republicans who had won in more moderate districts.
No vote was held, and the Republicans pulled back. President Trump, being the egotistical, self-centered bully he has been since a child went on to do what he does best, to blame the Democrats, something that while surprising in audacity, was not surprising at all (see richardpiccolo.blogspot.com # 21 dated 3.10.17 - The Art of the Squeal)
But burried just below the rubble of this Republican implosion may be the renewed growth of a old flower that hasn't bloomed in many years, the return of the reasonable Republican. In the waning days of the non-vote on Repeal and Replace, you began to hear more about the Tuesday Group, a group of 50+ moderates which was founded back in 1994 to counter the Republican House caucus which was dominated by conservative Republicans back in 1994 when Republicans took over the House. The Freedom Caucus, a group representing 30+ members from the more conservative faction of the party have pulled the Republicans farther right for the last 7+ years, but the bill failed to pass at least in equal part to the motivations of the Tuesday Group and other moderates. They had concluded that the Republican solution, as currently presented, was worse than Obamacare. They decided that it was better to fight another day. And they were right.
They had made the most important decision of their political careers. It wasn't a vote for or against a bill on health care, it was vote for Country over Party.
Underneath all the rubble and hidden in all the noise on the debate on health care lies a unique moment in our time, a renewed opportunity for both parties to reach accross the aisle and a renewed opportunity for our country. It will be up to leaders in both parties embrace this moment and take a step in a new direction.
Stay tuned for "A Road Map for the Future"
Oh, the election of Trump to the top slot was more than just a referendum on Obamacare, it was clearly based on a large enough percentage of Americans feeling disenfranchised and wanting more than anything to break things, to disrupt the system, to put it to the Man, This was the manifestation of their anger. But Trump latched on to the Repeal (and Replace) Obamcare mantra. (That's all it was, just a mantra, as there was never any strategy on how to do this). The mantra worked for his image, he would be the disruptor, he would drain the swamp, he would be the grand savior. So, Repeal and Replace became a major showpiece of his campaign, and in the end he owned it as much as the Paul Ryan, Mitch McConnell, the Freedom Caucus and all the other lazy politician's, that's right, lazy. They had all taken took the easy way.
But now it was time to pay up. Now that they were all in office, now that they had the keys to the kingdom, the rubber was about to meet the road. They had completely forgotten to be careful of what they wished for, for they must just get it. And in their desire for speed, to get something passed to fulfill the mantra, to show decisive action, they rushed a bill through the House, that it seemed no one wanted, no one believed, and no one really understood. Most importantly, no one could really justify it as being better than Obamacare. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office dissed it as an effort to save a little money over ten years, but causing 24 million Americans to lose health coverage. The Republican response was to dis the CBO, and to argue that their analysis didn't take parts two and three of their grand plan into consideration. The fact that no one really knew what parts two and three were, was not important. Just trust us, they said, we'll get there.
However, the Republican approach failed to consider that the ground was shifting under their feet. As the shock of Trump's stunning and surprising victory back in early November became to subside, all Americans began to consider what this would mean, not just for the country, but what this would mean for them. Surprisingly, polls for the Affordable Care Act began to show increasing support, the highest support since its inception. Some individuals were surprised to learn that the insurance they were on was actually a result of Obamacare. House members went home during recess to find that public opinion was changing. Their constituients were now asking what did Repeal and Replace actually mean? What was going to happen next? All of sudden the Republican mantra of the last several years seemed hollow. The rubber was meeting the road.
Republican leadership continued to push ahead. The Art of the Deal author had laid down the law. We were going to have vote. All the while negotiations with the different factions within the Republican party continued to pull the bill in different directions, so much so, that it was confusing what the final bill was going to look like. And if we were to believe the polls, the bill held only had a 17% approval rating going into its final days.
Ultimately the bill failed under its own weight. Paul Ryan went to Trump and made the case that it was so bad, that holding a vote would be detrimental to the party. Not only would it fail and by more than just a few votes, but it would provide Democrats with added ammunition to target Republicans who had won in more moderate districts.
No vote was held, and the Republicans pulled back. President Trump, being the egotistical, self-centered bully he has been since a child went on to do what he does best, to blame the Democrats, something that while surprising in audacity, was not surprising at all (see richardpiccolo.blogspot.com # 21 dated 3.10.17 - The Art of the Squeal)
But burried just below the rubble of this Republican implosion may be the renewed growth of a old flower that hasn't bloomed in many years, the return of the reasonable Republican. In the waning days of the non-vote on Repeal and Replace, you began to hear more about the Tuesday Group, a group of 50+ moderates which was founded back in 1994 to counter the Republican House caucus which was dominated by conservative Republicans back in 1994 when Republicans took over the House. The Freedom Caucus, a group representing 30+ members from the more conservative faction of the party have pulled the Republicans farther right for the last 7+ years, but the bill failed to pass at least in equal part to the motivations of the Tuesday Group and other moderates. They had concluded that the Republican solution, as currently presented, was worse than Obamacare. They decided that it was better to fight another day. And they were right.
They had made the most important decision of their political careers. It wasn't a vote for or against a bill on health care, it was vote for Country over Party.
Underneath all the rubble and hidden in all the noise on the debate on health care lies a unique moment in our time, a renewed opportunity for both parties to reach accross the aisle and a renewed opportunity for our country. It will be up to leaders in both parties embrace this moment and take a step in a new direction.
Stay tuned for "A Road Map for the Future"
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