Quote:Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan face a very difficult choice as they survey the smoking ruins of their “unified GOP government” after nearly six months in office. They and their lieutenants could decide to pivot from health care to racking up small victories and awaiting reinforcements from the 2018 elections. Or they could go for a big deal with Democrats. It’s a tough choice for Ryan and McConnell, but I’m hoping they opt for the latter.

Putting off fixing the disaster that is Obamacare is risky, though not impossible. If Republicans score enough small victories between now and November 2018 — cutting corporate taxes and confirming all Court of Appeals judges and perhaps next summer another member of the Supreme Court — it may be possible to hold both houses of Congress. Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., is a dead man walking for his role in pulling the first thread that led to the unraveling of “repeal and replace,” but McConnell might calculate that wins in Florida, Missouri and elsewhere may leave him in a stronger position in January 2019 than he was at the start of this year.

Ryan is in more dangerous terrain, as every member of his caucus “owns” the failure to repeal and replace — especially the Freedom Caucus, which threw the process into disarray only to retreat (too late) with a fig leaf — and as a result the carnage of the collapsing Obamacare experiment. Real people with real illnesses and deeply flawed Medicaid insurance will discover in increasing numbers that paper insurance doesn’t deliver real health care when their children are sick. A “watch it fail” approach to Obamacare, when the crisis is real and the consequences for poor children are so enormous, is not just bad politics; it is also immoral.

The alternative to waiting for 2019 is a bipartisan approach — if Democrats will have it. A health care deal could be done, leaving the fringes of both party caucuses on the outside looking in. Devolution of authority over Medicaid to the states, and repeal of the insurance mandate and absurd taxes such as the medical device tax, are the GOP must-haves. The Democrats will have their list.

Odds of success increase if the parties go big at the start by removing the sequester’s limits on defense spending and adding immigration reform to the deal: appropriations for President Donald Trump’s wall paired with legalization of the law-abiding, undocumented population but no path to citizenship. A truly ambitious “go big” option could also include a settlement of the judicial confirmation wars, because the more moving parts, the better the chances of success. McConnell, Ryan and Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi could get together with a half-dozen of the smartest members from both parties to work on an expedited basis and go big.

The GOP Congress has failed. Unless there’s a Lazarus-like resurrection of the health care bill, the session is effectively over. Tax reform isn’t likely going to do any better than health care reform, especially with Wall Street Journal ideologues demanding the end of the state and local income-tax deduction and the capping of the mortgage-interest deduction. (F.A. Hayek doesn’t vote in large numbers. Blue-state voters with Republican congressmen do.) The GOP must get its appellate court nominees through the Senate, or the party wipeout could expand to seats previously thought safe.

The 2018 prospects look bad for both parties: The GOP lacks policy victories, thanks to imprudent Freedom Caucus members and scared moderates. The Democrats are lost in Trump hatred to the point where a large part of the country thinks that they and the mainstream media are deranged. Both parties have cause for concern. We are at a crisis point where citizens are giving up on representative government en masse. So why not swing for the fences?

Garbage.

The freedom caucus stood their ground, and ended up with a much better bill passed. The house members are under little danger because they passed a bill. Its Senators who are going to have hell to pay.

Sounds like Hugh Hewitt is getting crappy pants that a full-on repeal may just happen.

Also, a full repeal vote will leave exposed those democrats in red states.Some of those guys may need to flip their vote to yes or know that they are dead.

Just wonder ... how are the GOP going to "kill" Heller, Murkowski, Capito, etc?

You have to run someone against them, who is better and more well liked by the locals than that person. You can't just pluck someone off a list and fly them into the state from across the country ... that's too easy to sniff out. It has to be someone from Nevada, from Alaska (especially there), from W Virginia ... and if these people, who are that good already, are already there ... then why weren't they elected last time?

Murkowski and Collins both voted for the repeal last time. They stood up on the senate floor and demanded it to be repealed. They campaigned on repealing.

Only a libturd thinks it will end well for them if they vote no on repeal.

This isnt the democratic party or the libturd voting base. Voters in the republican party have no problem throwing senators and party leader out if they dont get the job done.

You have to run someone against them, who is better and more well liked by the locals than that person. You can't just pluck someone off a list and fly them into the state from across the country ... that's too easy to sniff out. It has to be someone from Nevada, from Alaska (especially there), from W Virginia ... and if these people, who are that good already, are already there ... then why weren't they elected last time?

(07-20-2017 09:05 AM)MplsBison Wrote:  You have to run someone against them, who is better and more well liked by the locals than that person. You can't just pluck someone off a list and fly them into the state from across the country ... that's too easy to sniff out. It has to be someone from Nevada, from Alaska (especially there), from W Virginia ... and if these people, who are that good already, are already there ... then why weren't they elected last time?

Good point. That strategy didn't work for Hillary in New York. Oh wait it did. And it did for Bobby Kennedy in NY. Maybe Democrats like carpetbaggers.

OK fine ... good luck in Nevada, Alaska, and Maine.

My bet is the locals won't vote for an outsider flown in to unseat the incumbent. If they can find a local to run against them, that would work better.

(07-20-2017 09:20 AM)MplsBison Wrote:  OK fine ... good luck in Nevada, Alaska, and Maine.
My bet is the locals won't vote for an outsider flown in to unseat the incumbent. If they can find a local to run against them, that would work better.

They should focus on beating democrats, not each other.

They should, agreed. And Dems should focus on trying to beat Repubs.

Can't recall if it was you who suggested this, but someone on here at one time suggested that the whole primary system perhaps needs to just be scrapped, and party leaders should simply decide amongst themselves who will be the party's candidate.

I'd be for that, just fine, since I'm not a member of any party. Perhaps that would also result in more independent candidates.

(07-20-2017 09:36 AM)MplsBison Wrote:  They should, agreed. And Dems should focus on trying to beat Repubs.

Can't recall if it was you who suggested this, but someone on here at one time suggested that the whole primary system perhaps needs to just be scrapped, and party leaders should simply decide amongst themselves who will be the party's candidate.

I'd be for that, just fine, since I'm not a member of any party. Perhaps that would also result in more independent candidates.

Nothing like having unelected Kingmakers....

There won't be any bipartisan deal on Obamacare with the Democrats. Nothing the Republicans want to do will be acceptable to the Dems - end of story.

The republicans need to let it go. The votes aren't there. The die is cast. The Democrats want Obamacare. Let them have it. Let them run on a plan that cost 40% more every year and can't even be bought at any price in more and more portions of the country. The plan will collapse on its own. Let it.

(07-20-2017 10:40 AM)Attackcoog Wrote:  The plan will collapse on its own. Let it.

And then Republicans will be labeled as "sitting there, doing nothing to help those suffering and dying".

(07-20-2017 10:45 AM)MplsBison Wrote:  

(07-20-2017 10:40 AM)Attackcoog Wrote:  The plan will collapse on its own. Let it.

And then Republicans will be labeled as "sitting there, doing nothing to help those suffering and dying".

because of Obama.....

They'll say that. Dems will say it's Repub's fault for not doing anything.

Voters pick who is right.

(07-20-2017 10:53 AM)MplsBison Wrote:  They'll say that. Dems will say it's Repub's fault for not doing anything.

Voters pick who is right.

Like last November?

Are you calling into question the validity of the presidential election??

https://www.wsj.com/articles/is-the-repu...1500501761

"These claims may have some truth. But the main reason the GOP failed is that party unity and discipline mean nothing to too many Republicans in Congress. For senators like Rand Paul, Mike Lee and Jerry Moran, it’s their way or the highway. House leadership narrowly overcame this sentiment within the Freedom Caucus. The delay and disarray in the House deliberations, however, dispirited senators. The GOP’s narrow majority in the upper chamber also encouraged defections.

...With Republicans in charge of everything in Washington, voters won’t blame Democrats when health-insurance premiums continue to rise, the number of providers further dwindles, and Americans in more counties are left with zero options on the ObamaCare exchanges. The public knows Democrats passed the law, but Republicans are still expected to clean up the mess.
As an optimist—and only an optimist can view the situation this way—I’m hoping this plays out like a made-for-TV drama. The protagonist appears near certain death at the commercial break but is miraculously saved when everyone returns with popcorn after the final Geico ad. "

Well that's easy then -- beat out Rand Paul.

Why can't that get done?

(07-20-2017 10:45 AM)MplsBison Wrote:  

(07-20-2017 10:40 AM)Attackcoog Wrote:  The plan will collapse on its own. Let it.

And then Republicans will be labeled as "sitting there, doing nothing to help those suffering and dying".

So what. Nobody is getting elected supporting Obamacare. The republicans will stay in power because the alternative is more of the same 40% a year insurance increases from the democrats. I mean honestly, how long do you think the average consumer can keep paying 40% annual increases before they throw every democrat touting thier support of Obamacare the hell out of office? 2016 was just a taste of where this is heading. The democrat leadership couldn't be more out of touch with middle America. Lol....The democrats actually think more of the same is winning.

The problem is that you're only talking about a sliver of the pie.

People whose employers provide them a subsidized group health plan aren't paying 40% increases.
People on medicaid/medicare aren't paying 40% increases.
People who get subsidies for the exchanges aren't paying 40% increases.