The GOP’s looming health-care disaster is the whole party’s fault

NY Post ^ | July 20, 2017 | Rich Lowry

[Oshkalaboomboom]

The ascension of Donald Trump was supposed to change everything in the GOP. As it happens, perhaps one very important thing hasn’t: The Republicans may well still be The Stupid Party.

That ObamaCare repeal has one or maybe two feet in the grave, depending on how you’re counting, is testament to jaw-dropping disarray and bad faith.

On the cusp of a historic failure, the party has begun the finger-pointing, and it’s hard to argue with any of it. The establishment is right that Trump is incapable of true legislative leadership. The Trumpists are right that the establishment is ineffectual. Conservatives are right that moderates don’t really want to repeal ObamaCare, whatever they’ve said in the past. And pragmatists are right that a few conservatives are beholden to a self-defeating purity.

The Republican members of the world’s greatest deliberative body aren’t covering themselves in glory. Susan Collins of Maine and Rand Paul of Kentucky have always been no’s, leaving no margin for error. Mike Lee of Utah and Jerry Moran of Kansas are additional no’s on the current repeal-and-replace bill, while Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska have joined Collins as no’s on repeal-only.

At least Collins, an ideological outlier, has been consistent. She voted against the repeal-only bill in 2015, and the GOP leadership never thought she was gettable.

The same can’t be said of her cohorts. Capito and Murkowski both voted for the repeal-only bill a year and a half ago. The only plausible reason they’ve switched now is that they knew the bill would be safely relegated to oblivion by an Obama veto, whereas Trump will now sign any legislation into law.

[PGalt]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XObcP69dhCg

[I want the USA back]

The Republican party is shooting itself in the foot. Trump is insisting on getting a bill passed.

Wrong move. Change nothing. Keep bammycare. Keep repeating that the Republicans have changed nothing, that it’s the original bill. Half of the public is too stupid to understand, and will blame the disaster on Republicans no matter what.

We lost. The left controls the mind of the public through their branch known as the media.

Repealing and anything will result in 24/7 repetition of “30 million without coverage” or something similar. False or not, it will be entering the minds of an ignorant public.

[bert]

I will argue you are incorrect

In the main, the Republicans know what they want and have crafted a bill.

The party is pretty much in agreement. The disarray is caused by a very few individuals. So the disarray is not the fault of the party which has agreed in the main but rather these outliers representing their constituencies.

[Wuli]

At the end of the day, what distinguishes Republicans from Democrats, in or out of office, is that in the majority Republicans are less for the party than for the individual, while Democrats are in lock step for the party - in the main.

That works for we Conservatives, up to a point. But in the big game of politics it can fail to make any achievement, because, as individuals, we are less suited to “partial” victories. To have a political record of achievement, that is an error.

[TxAg1981]

Disagree.. they’ve had 7+ years to come up with a plan and failed miserably and it’s pretty easy: There should be no replacement there should only be repeal and allow insurance competition across state lines and let the free market work. Government should stay out of healthcare period including medicare and medicaid.

I agree. This shows a complete lack of leadership on the Republican's side. McConnell, Cornyn and Ryan are full of bluster and BS. They put on a big show when they knew their actions had no chance of passage.
Foolish Conservatives took them at their word (I know I did). Now, we all see them for what they are...empty suits.