It’s been a difficult year for Republicans. After last year’s stunning upset, the Grand Old Party had secured both chambers of Congress and the White House. Democrats reacted angrily out of fear that all of their major legislative trends would be undone. First and foremost, the target was going to be the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare.
Enter 2017, Republicans struggled with the one legislative goal they all agreed on. Politics met reality and suddenly everyone was shocked with the reality. Many did not want to actually repeal the law as they pledged, because it was too bold of a move.
Only a select few members actually wanted to do it.
But for all the Obamacare Lite versions the White House and establishment Republicans in Congress pushed, it was actually something. Now the reversal is fully complete as Republicans have officially agreed to fund the reviled legislation.
Moderate United States Senator Susan Collins announced she has a commitment from Senate Republican leadership that former President Barack Obama’s chief legislative achievement will be funded. The reason the Republicans have sold out their campaign promise? Votes for the tax plan. It passed successfully early this evening.
What it comes down to is legislative Republicans are getting desperate. They’ve had sole control for almost a year and not much to show for it. The tax plan is their next effort to get anything passed, though the plan itself is not all that great.
What have the Republicans in Washington D.C. turned into? Liberals?
Sen. Collins has been a roadblock to Obamacare Lite in the past, but her reasons were not because she wanted the legislation repealed. She felt that the Republican version of Obamacare was too harsh and like those pushing Obamacare Lite itself, they should scale back on their campaign promises because of political pressure.
The Republicans have had a year of tremendous disappointment.
Sen. Collins indicated that Obamacare funding would only occur if she supported the tax plan. Not only did Sen. Collins sell her vote to help fund Obama’s biggest legislative accomplishment, Republican leadership has become so desperate for a shallow win that they’re capitulating on Obamacare to secure it.
Which is worse?
Republican voters got swindled in the election last year. President Donald Trump has failed to push an ambitious agenda, repeatedly pushing weak Obamacare repeals and Republican substitutes. He has embraced adding to the deficit. He’s become not too different than House Speaker Paul Ryan or Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, just with Twitter tirades.
Obamacare needs to be repealed and healthcare returned to the free market between doctors and patients. It doesn’t need some weak replacement or a rearranging of the seats on a sinking ship. These Republicans that voters sent to Washington D.C. last year don’t have the stomach for it. Their principles have been compromised and sold. Their campaign promises have been thrown away for political safety. There’s no ambition for anything bold.
The only winner in the Republican Party is Sen. Susan Collins and that is just plain sad. Republicans deserve better. Conservatives deserve better. The American people deserve better.
True and that is hypocritical and idiotic but forcing individuals to buy a service they don’t need in order to pay the bills for those who do need it is a far more blatant case of communistic thievery.
Kill the whole thing please but I will breathe a little easier if you just kill the individual mandate.
I seriously find myself thinking lately that quitting smoking and watching my diet are almost pointless if fatass smokers are getting me to pay their medical bills anyway.
Mandate is gone…
The House hasn’t signed off on it. Only the Senate.
They’ve been funding it for 8 years. This is nothing new