With the defeat of the new, and improved health care bill from the Senate, it’s obvious that the Trump administration has deep problems crafting successful legislation, as the GOP, despite its federal trifecta, is unable to make good on campaign promises from last year’s election.
The travel ban was knocked down by appeals courts, has only been given a mild lifeline, of sorts, by the United States Supreme Court, as it extended the reasons for foreign visitors from predominantly Muslim countries, to their grandparents; something that probably irritates President Trump, even more than the media’s constant focus on Russian collusion, from he, and his family.
Awhile back, in the not too distant past, the House passed a health care proposal that, oddly enough, Trump ironically labelled as “mean,” in what was to be short lived euphoria, at least for the press, and its photographers.
Having a non-politician as chief executive, might have played well during the campaign, but it’s clear that this is not an asset in the Oval Office, as the president seems unaware of the great diversity, of thought, in the Republican party.
It was easy with President Obama, they could handily be the party of “no” - as they steadfastly said that to any, and all, proposals coming from the Obama administration, causing one wag to note, that he would be criticized by the GOP for making even a peanut butter sandwich.
Now that they are the ruling party, the effort to agree, or even speak with one voice, is problematic. Case in point the defections by Senators Mike Lee and Jerry Moran, who neatly pulled the political rug from the bill, and easily blindsided Trump, with their refusal to support it, and furthermore providing political cover for even more in the Senate.
It’s safe to say that Trump is no Lyndon Johnson, who could have mustered the votes with every bit of effort, be it a phone call, or an interview; but then he knew the Senate inside and out, the value of a seasoned politician, in the White House.
Providing legislative seasoning, on the other hand, was Mitch McConnell, who as majority leader did an old-school game: build the opposition platform and then throw a few bones to the dissenting dogs, in this case Lisa Murkowski and Shelley Moore Capito, for their large swaths of rural communities. Yet, this was not enough, as the endgame proved. In fact, it was McConnell who had to walk up Executive Drive, tail between his legs.
The one option, now, is to work with the Democrats in a bipartisan effort, but this is political anathema to many in the party, and yet in a recent poll 71 percent of those polled want the Republicans to do just that.
Add to it their long term opposition to the Affordable Care Act, any work with the Dems might be seen as betrayal to their long standing opposition to the ACA, colloquially known as Obamacare; which ironically has its origins as a Republican compromise promulgated by Mitt Romney, as governor of Massachusetts. It was certainly not the intent of the Obama administration to protect and preserve the nation’s health insurance industry. At that time, there was not as much support for the single-payer option that there is now, and as Obama said later, it would not have passed.
Sensing defeat, and the weak strains of reveille, the GOP in a last ditch measure tried to foster a repeal without replacement, an effort that went straight down the pipes, as it had no support, and the spectre of even more senatorial defections.
The White House chefs made a dream menu for lunch, the other day, and the president, assumed that culinary seduction might pry some sort of victory from the ashes, but even seasonal veggies and rosemary sauce made the effort sour, and now all that we hear from Trump is to let Obamacare fail, and then, to the press, “We’re not going to own it. I'm not going to own it. I can tell you that the Republicans are not going to own it. We’ll let Obamacare fail, and then the Democrats are going to come to us.”
Somehow the image of Chuck Schumer, trudging to the North Portico, hat in hand is in doubt, but the president’s chutzpah, and naivety, bring a certain sort of charm to the dilemma.
To be fair, Trump did have some success, he led the U.S away from the Paris Climate Accord, and the TPP, but the latter was like a dying patient, so that required little effort, on his part. But, the defeat of Obamacare seems doomed, and he was “forced to certify that Iran continues to comply with the biggest foreign policy accord of Obama’s second term,” as the Chicago Tribune reported.
Deeply opposed to the DACA, by Trump the DACA is til intact with 750,000 recipients, and the tax hike on upper incomes is still on the books, much to the chagrin of its detractors. And, of course, the wall separating Mexico from the Unites States seems like only a distant memory.
A huge problem is that there is no one to deliver the message and do outreach in statesman like manner, (tweets don’t count), much like that first press conference where the president attacked one and all, shooting wisecracks, disclaimers and accusations, that seemed more reminiscent of something from ‘The Three Stooges.”
But, ‘so long as he remains more focused on unwinding Obama’s work than building [one] of his own,’ noted the Tribune, then these legislative failures will continue.
Repeal and delay for the health care proved disastrous, another myopic move by Trump, with the same objectors, this time joined by old-guard Republican Susan Collins of Maine. It’s as if he cannot learn from previous errors, or the consequences of millions of Americans losing their health insurance.
Trump has said, as if to bad employees, that their vacations have been cancelled until they pull up a solution in a rudderless ship. Yet, in true reality television style, he jabbed Dean Heller about him remaining in the Senate; perhaps he really wanted to uttler his, by now, infamous line: “You’re fired.”
It cannot be ignored that the White House has three goals in what is essentially a wealth transfer bill: decrease coverage, remove consumer safeguards (in the insurance business), and gut Medicaid.
The option remaining for the White House is to delete the ACA mandate, crucial to maintaining health insurance markets, since it encourages healthy people to sign up for coverage, since healthy people offset the cost of sicker people, which keeps premiums in check. if that is loosened then the system would truly collapse, with the result of skyrocketing premiums, even more than it did last year for some people who bought insurance on the Obamacare marketplaces.
While it can be argued that the government wants to leave health care, can it also rob children of dedicated healthcare in over 220 children's hospitals, where 60 percent of American children receive their care? Can it ask millions of Americans to see, as the Congressional Budget Office, analyzed, 32 million people to lose their healthcare plans by 2026?
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