Bannon is not a stupid man. Trump now has a reason to oust Ryan or at the very least begin that conversation. This is a great failure by Ryan to bring the party together. Why did he push a bill like that? He should have known damn well it was going to get killed.

Republicans passing a new bill with zero support from democrats and seemingly rushing to pass the bill seems like a tactic to bring Dems to the table after it shockingly fails. Especially given what Trump is saying currently about Obamacare imploding. Especially considering it is failing.

As others have posted when you look at the process Dems had for passing ACA it doesn't seem like Trump really expected that bill to pass. Well, at least I hope he didn't.

A Replica of the Successful 2015 Obamacare Repeal Is already in Committee

In 2015, Congress passed Obamacare repeal. Now, a replica bill has sat unaddressed in committee since March 8th and there’s a path to getting it to a floor vote quickly.

The Trump spin mill has been in overdrive since House Speaker Paul Ryan pulled the abysmal first attempt of the new administration and Congress at the promised “repeal and replacement” of Obamacare.

The Trump administration and the media sold the American Health Care Act as the last best hope for repealing Obamacare, which is a complete joke. The idea that Republicans in the House and Senate, who have largely run on Obamacare repeal in the last seven years, would suddenly give up because a bad bill didn’t pass is absurd.

Since the AHCA was presented and recognized for the dud it was, there has been an incredulity that after seven years of doggedly campaigning against Obamacare, Republicans weren’t unified and ready with a bill to repeal it.

So, now what?

That’s what many in the Republican caucus and outside interest groups are asking following Friday’s events.

Many have astutely pointed out that Congress passed a repeal bill in 2015, so why aren’t they simply doing the same now?

Alas, unknown to many, a replica of the 2015 bill was introduced by Rep. Jim Jordan (R – Ohio) on March 8th, just two days after the disastrous AHCA.

Rep. Jordan, a member of the much derided House Freedom Caucus, reiterated the familiar words of many Republican candidates across the country just before introducing H.R. 1436:

“Our goal is real simple: Bring down the cost of insurance for working families and middle-class families across this country. In an effort to do that we think you have to get rid of Obamacare completely. So tomorrow I will introduce a bill that every single Republican voted on just 15 months ago – the bill that actually repeals Obamacare. Our plan has always been repeal in one piece of legislation and replace in the other.

That’s right. The bill Rep. Jordan introduced earlier this month is a replica of the 2015 bill that passed in the House and Senate less than two years ago.

The bill has been languishing in committee ever since. However, there is one way it could move to consideration on the floor should an ambitious representative choose to take it on.

After a bill has been in committee for a certain period of time, a discharge petition can be circulated, which is privileged, to bring a bill out of committee and to the floor. But it must have a majority of the House. After the AHCA debacle that may seem unlikely, but consider the fact that this bill already passed in the last Congress. Repeal is the one thing a majority ostensibly agree upon.

There have been and will be endless autopsies over what went wrong with the AHCA, but one could insist that Republicans first post-Trump foray into Obamacare repeal didn’t have to go down the way it did.

Conservatives and the House Freedom Caucus took early blame for the AHCA’s passage or failure, even though moderates and the Tuesday Group became august denouncers of the bill as negotiations progressed. However, the HFC was asking for nothing less than what had passed in 2015.

“Conservatives expect nothing less than congressional Republicans to live up to their promises,” Jason Pye of FreedomWorks told RedState. “They passed this bill in the 114th Congress. Why can’t they do it now? This is the one aspect of this we all agree on, and it’s certainly a better option than the half-baked bill that leadership rolled out that didn’t really repeal ObamaCare.”

“But what about after repeal,” one might ask. “[H.R. 1436] gives us two years to work on a replacement that is grounded in real patient-centered, free market principles,” Pye stated.

What a sensible and prudent, but apparently novel, idea.

Rushing a replacement to Obamacare is asking for failure, as we saw with the AHCA. Pushing the bill through committee before the Congressional Budget Office gave it a score and having GOP leadership married to the bill already was poor planning, to say the least.

A clean repeal is what Republicans have been promising the American people for seven years. A clean repeal bill is sitting in committee, ready to go through the same process it breezed through in 2015 but in which the AHCA failed. As has been said before here, should Republicans fail to adequately reduce the cost of health care and increase access by repealing — and replacing to a degree — Obamacare, they will be seen as the biggest scammers in American politics for a generation.

The 2015 repeal bill is there, let’s pass it.

http://www.redstate.com/prevai...nguishing-committee/

http://www.breitbart.com/big-g...ok&utm_medium=social

Health Care Bill’s Failure: Just Part of the ‘Art of the Deal’



Exactly two weeks ago, this author predicted the defeat of the American Health Care Act — and explained that it was a step towards the final, actual deal that will repeal and replace Obamacare.
President Donald Trump faces three irreconcilable factions: the GOP establishment, conservatives, and Democrats. He must bring them together — to “deliver the goods,” a key rule in The Art of the Deal. But first he must show them “the downside” — and convince them they will fail on their own.

The most difficult faction to deal with is the Republican establishment — not because they are politically strong, but because on policy issues like health care, they are convinced that they have all the answers and that Trump just does not understand.

So he let them make the first move — and he exposed two things about them: first, that they had not come up with a plan that was ready for prime time; second, that they had not done any of the political legwork necessary to sell their plan to voters.

Trump gave Speaker Paul Ryan and the House Republican leadership enough rope to hang themselves. Instead of dictating terms to him, they will now depend on him to save them, politically. They must accept whatever plan he will put forward.

But Trump will not make the next move. He will let the conservatives move first. They are the big winners in the first round — much more so than the Democrats, who are enjoying the spectacle of Republican dysfunction but have no role to play yet.

The conservatives will proceed with their demand for a full repeal of Obamacare. And then they will face the ire of voters who are deeply unhappy with Obamacare but upset about losing the paltry, expensive health insurance they currently have.

That, too, will strengthen Trump, and convince conservatives they need his leadership.

Whereupon Trump will turn to the moderate Democrats and offer them a deal — perhaps catastrophic health coverage in exchange for repealing Obamacare.

Democrats would take that deal because they would see a government-backed catastrophic insurance system as a possible path to the universal health care system of their dreams. Republicans would take that deal — after exhausting all of the other options — because it would leave enough room for the free market to provide insurance for most health issues, and for states to experiment with their own policies. And the more health care stakeholders who can be brought into the process, the better.

To quote Morpheus, from the Matrix Reloaded: “What happened, happened, and couldn’t have happened any other way.”

Dana Loesch‏Verified account @DLoesch

2010: "Give is the House, Senate, and WH so we can repeal Obamacare."

2017: "We can't do a repeal because we may lose seats."

The Cowardice of Their Convictions
Derek Hunter

There isn’t an elected Republican in the House of Representatives who didn’t run on repealing Obamacare. Every Republican in the House last year voted in favor of repealing the law, as did every Republican in the Senate. They put that bill on President Barack Obama’s desk, he vetoed it, as they knew he would, and they claimed a moral victory for keeping a campaign promise.

But empty promises are easy to keep; it’s leading that is hard.

Leadership of the principled variety was lacking in government this week at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue. President Donald Trump and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan were so interested in passing something on the issue of health care they were willing to support anything. Arms were twisted, deals were cut, and nothing was done.

Missing from the discussions and debate was the Constitution and the fact the federal government has no business being involved in health insurance in the first place.

Obamacare is a disaster. It harms far more people than it helps. It jacks up premiums and deductibles so high you’d have to be run over by a steamroller twice to reach your out-of-pocket maximum. Unless, of course, you’re already getting subsidies to pay your premiums. In that case, you don’t care; you’re already addicted to the heroin of “free stuff” from Washington.

Both the subsidized and non-subsidized need help.

The poor unsubsidized souls need relief from being mandated to buy worthless “insurance” so others can pay less than their age and risk otherwise would mandate. Those on the government teat simply don’t care.
CARTOONS | Henry Payne
View Cartoon

This is but one of the many bad things that happen when the government bastardizes a market – and make no mistake, government involvement bastardizes any market.

Democrats believed they could control the market through regulations, taxes and mandates. As we suffer through that reality, Republicans didn’t so much propose to strip it away as they did to replace it with their version. A differently bastardized market is still a bastardized market. Better nothing than the something Republican leadership tried to push through.

That Democrats would seek to control people and markets is no surprise – it’s what they do and they’re quite open about it. The Republican Party is supposed to be the opposite – in favor of free markets and advocates for individual liberty. On paper, at least.

For seven years we heard how they’d repeal Obamacare just as soon as they had the ability to do so. They now do, but they didn’t because they couldn’t agree about what to replace it with. How about replacing it with what the Constitution allows for: nothing.

The reality is most Republicans are conservatives only when it comes time for elections. Their rhetoric of “repealing Obamacare and replacing it with a free market solution” was really just replacing one federally managed monstrosity with another. Sure, it might be smaller, but the concept remained – Washington is in charge.

Replacing a bad idea with a slightly less bad idea is a step in the right direction on a technical level, but it’s still a bad idea in reality.

After years of proclaiming Obamacare violated the Constitution, Republicans accepted the concept when they tried to manufacture their own version of a top-down system. Government control is government control, even if you dial back the degree of that control.

By trying to manufacture a “freer” and “smaller” government-administered health law, Republican leadership ceded the concept of government interference and control over health insurance in the country. Even if they’d been successful, Democrats would need only to tweak what they’d left in place to regain more control, either through legislation or the regulatory leviathan created.

Limited government is not a reduced version of big government with lesser tentacles creeping ever further into our lives. Yet that’s what Republicans all too often offer when they get their hands on the levers of power.

Republicans need to keep their word and repeal all of Obamacare and, while they’re at it, remove the other barriers government has erected to creating a nationwide health insurance market. States would be free to band together and deregulate to create large markets or become islands of regulation unto themselves, as it should be.

The federal government should not be in the health insurance business, either directly or indirectly through subsidies. Congress needs to extend the same tax advantages found in the employer market to those in the individual market, then get the hell out of the way.

End subsidies and refundable tax credits, wean government assistance addicts off their heroin and allow personal responsibility to re-establish itself in those dependent on other people’s money. If a state wants to spend money that way, fine; but it’s no place for the federal government.

When Obamacare passed, many Democrats knew they were committing political suicide. They did it anyway because they believed in what they were doing. Republicans need that same resolve.

It’s doubtful the blowback would be as severe as the 2010 election for those who ran on repeal and as conservatives. But some would lose. So what? They stand a better chance of losing their jobs for not doing what they promised than if they did.

Public servants afraid to stand up for what they believe in because they’re afraid to lose their next election are unworthy of elected office in the first place.

It’s time for Republicans to put up or shut up. When you have power, the only thing keeping you from doing the right thing is the will. Far too few Republicans have the courage of the convictions on which they ran. No seat in Congress belongs to anyone currently occupying it, and conviction-less cowards should have their offices pulled out from under them if they fail to live up to their word.

https://townhall.com/columnist...convictions-n2304253

^^^ ~sigh~

^^^ ... and that's true.
Democrats are smiling in DC today... Nancy Pelosi doing the Happy Dance.
But... Trump also tweeted:

Donald J. Trump
✔
@realDonaldTrump

Watch @JudgeJeanine on @FoxNews tonight at 9:00 P.M.

... shortly before she called for Paul "Ryan needs to step down as Speaker of the House. "
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/...all-paul-ryan-resign

I went to a dinner last night with a bunch of St. Louis County Republicans. After several emails from me and a lot of others my Congresswoman was still committed to voting with the Speaker, right up until the time he pulled the bill.

She was there last night (48 hours at home) and she said maybe it's better to get it right than to just get it passed.... and she also said she was committed to a full repeal.
But, I don't trust her anymore. She's a climber. She says whatever advances her own interests at the moment. Lack of conviction....

There isn’t an elected Republican in the House of Representatives who didn’t run on repealing Obamacare. Every Republican in the House last year voted in favor of repealing the law, as did every Republican in the Senate. They put that bill on President Barack Obama’s desk, he vetoed it, as they knew he would, and they claimed a moral victory for keeping a campaign promise.

But empty promises are easy to keep; it’s leading that is hard. Leadership of the principled variety was lacking in government this week at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue.

Missing from most of the discussions and debate was the limited government nature of our Constitution and the fact the federal government has no business being involved in health insurance in the first place.

quote:

Originally posted by BamaJeepster:

Donald Trump can shove that comment up his ass.

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:
Donald Trump can shove that comment up his ass.

But it is true. Obamacare is not going anywhere, and as long as the standard is 'full repeal' without a replacement it won't ever go away. Planned Parenthood funding and many onerous elements of the current Obamacare could have been stripped away, but now they won't be. It's simply a statement of fact.

quote:

Originally posted by BamaJeepster:

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:
Donald Trump can shove that comment up his ass.

But it is true. Obamacare is not going anywhere, and as long as the standard is 'full repeal' without a replacement it won't ever go away. Planned Parenthood funding and many onerous elements of the current Obamacare could have been stripped away, but now they won't be. It's simply a statement of fact.

He's playing chicken. We'll have to see who flinches first. Couple of 90-150% yearly premium increases and the Dems constituencies will be begging their representatives to do something.

We are pretty much left with waiting for this to implode and then figuring out if free markets will win or single payer will win. At this point its all a waiting game.

The 'full repeal' bill pending has a two-year phase out... which gives them two-years to implement a better version of 'replace'.
They can de-fund planned parenthood anytime they want.... if they want.

quote:

Originally posted by Skins2881:
He's playing chicken. We'll have to see who flinches first. Couple of 90-150% yearly premium increases and the Dems constituencies will be begging their representatives to do something.

We are pretty much left with waiting for this to implode and then figuring out if free markets will win or single payer will win. At this point its all a waiting game.

You mean the dems will be electing representatives to do something about it since the republicans promised to do something and failed to deliver. The dems will not vote for ANY republican plan. I'm simply astonished that given the climate today that anyone could believe that would ever happen.

quote:

Originally posted by chellim1:
The 'full repeal' bill pending has a two-year phase out... which gives them two-years to implement a better version of 'replace'.
They can de-fund planned parenthood anytime they want.... if they want.

No stand alone 'defund PP' would have a chance, it would be filibustered in the Senate. This bill allowed them to strip it thru reconciliation, which only required a simple majority and buried it in the bill so it wasn't a separate fight - which would never fly in the Senate.

You can have a 20 year phase out and there will be zero democrat votes for a replacement. They will be working on replacing republicans, not working with them.

quote:

Originally posted by BamaJeepster:

quote:

Originally posted by Skins2881:
He's playing chicken. We'll have to see who flinches first. Couple of 90-150% yearly premium increases and the Dems constituencies will be begging their representatives to do something.

We are pretty much left with waiting for this to implode and then figuring out if free markets will win or single payer will win. At this point its all a waiting game.

You mean the dems will be electing representatives to do something about it since the republicans promised to do something and failed to deliver. The dems will not vote for ANY republican plan. I'm simply astonished that given the climate today that anyone could believe that would ever happen.

Well then Republicans better get their shit in gear, because if that is the case, then the only other option is single payer.

Current house of cards will not last much longer before people can't afford insurance at all and companies won't be able to stay in business.

I'm not concerned about any of this, nor do I consider this to be a failure to be placed on President Trump.

I'm glad RyanCare was defeated. You knew what the leftists would say. You knew they would continue to ignore completely the disaster that is the AHCA. You knew they would gloat and declare that this means that the Republicans are boobs and that the American people want ObamaCare.

Just turn it off.

We are a mere two months into this presidency. Pace yourselves.

quote:

No stand alone 'defund PP' would have a chance, it would be filibustered in the Senate. This bill allowed them to strip it thru reconciliation, which only required a simple majority and buried it in the bill so it wasn't a separate fight - which would never fly in the Senate.
You can have a 20 year phase out and there will be zero democrat votes for a replacement.

I agree that they will have to implement the "Reid Rule" in the Senate... for anything that doesn't lead toward single-payer socialism.

And... Para's right. Pace yourselves... the fight has only just begun.

quote:

Originally posted by BamaJeepster:

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:
Donald Trump can shove that comment up his ass.

But it is true. Obamacare is not going anywhere, and as long as the standard is 'full repeal' without a replacement it won't ever go away. Planned Parenthood funding and many onerous elements of the current Obamacare could have been stripped away, but now they won't be. It's simply a statement of fact.

Blaming the most conservative and pro-life faction in Congress for Planned Parenthood not being defunded? Really? It's an asshole move.

He's an amateur politician playing politics with professionals. He needs to be careful because they can harm him far more than he can harm them.

Watch it... let's not get this locked. This is a good discussion.

I've wondered if Trump really wanted this to pass. Not that he doesn't want healthcare reform, but that he wanted Ryan to take ownership and fail. Ryan wasn't on board with him most of the way to the WH and I do not think he forgot that. I think he saw the flaws. But of course he couldn't say that and had to play along.

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:

quote:

Originally posted by BamaJeepster:

Donald Trump can shove that comment up his ass.

Try cramming it up your own. Withdraw from this thread if that's what we can expect to see from you. You are in perilous waters. Fair warning.

quote:

Originally posted by chellim1:
The 'full repeal' bill pending has a two-year phase out... which gives them two-years to implement a better version of 'replace'.
They can de-fund planned parenthood anytime they want.... if they want.

Doesn't a phase out with no replacement just pretend that something MUST happen because a collapse of coverage would be unthinkable? It seems like the sequester and what ravaged the military. Or, is collapse the goal?

With all the sweeteners being added at the last minute, it still wasn't enough. I heard an interview with a Freedom Caucus member who agreed that their demand to eliminate preexisting condition coverage was what finally had President Trump say that negotiations were at an end.

President Trump campaigned on the promise that preexisting conditions must be covered. So, how are people with preexisting medical conditions to be protected in any "true" conservative replacement bill?

Rather than discussing all the inside-the-beltway palace intrigue, how or why would the free market cover people with preexisting conditions?

Isn't this a big issue in all of this? Yet, no one seems willing to discuss it.

It seems equally true that the proposed bill that only promised a 10% premium reduction was not something that produced affordability.

Poor support among the electorate remains a matter of practical substance, not philosophy. Promises and hopes are not what people are buying these days.

chellim1, is the "true" conservative health care approach to have it all free market without the government setting any threshold for minimum coverage?