Trump Blames Democrats as Major Push to Repeal Health Law Fails (NYT)

[corbe]

Trump Blames Democrats as Major Push to Repeal Health Law Fails


By ROBERT PEAR, JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS, JENNIFER STEINHAUER and THOMAS KAPLAN
MARCH 24, 2017


WASHINGTON — House Republican leaders, facing a revolt among conservatives and moderates in their ranks, pulled legislation to repeal the Affordable Care Act from consideration on the House floor Friday afternoon in a spectacular defeat for President Trump on the first legislative showdown of his presidency.

House Speaker Paul D. Ryan conceded, “We’re going to be living with Obamacare for the foreseeable future.”

Mr. Ryan had rushed to the White House shortly after noon to tell Mr. Trump he did not have the votes for a repeal bill that had been promised for seven years — since the day President Barack Obama signed his landmark health care act into law.

Mr. Trump, in a telephone interview moments after the bill was pulled, blamed Democrats and predicted that they would seek a deal within a year, he asserted, after “Obamacare explodes” because of high premiums.

He expressed weariness with the fight.

“The best thing that could happen is exactly what happened — watch,” he said. “It’s enough already.”

But the effort to win passage had been relentless — and hardly hidden. Vice President Mike Pence and Tom Price, the health secretary, rushed to Capitol Hill for a late appeal to House conservatives, but their pleas fell on deaf ears.

“You can’t pretend and say this is a win for us,” said Representative Mark Walker, Republican of North Carolina, who conceded it was a “good moment” for Democrats.

“Probably that champagne that wasn’t popped back in November may be utilized this evening,” he said.

At 3:30 p.m., Mr. Ryan called Republicans into a closed-door meeting to deliver the news that the bill would be pulled, with no plans to try again. The meeting lasted five minutes.

“We’re going to go home and spend time with our families and time with our constituents, and one day I hope we can eventually repeal,” said Representative Chuck Fleischmann, Republican of Tennessee.

The Republican bill would have replaced the Affordable Care Act, known informally as Obamacare, which mandated that almost everyone have health insurance, with a system of age-based tax credits to purchase health insurance plans.
 
House Speaker Paul D. Ryan walked in the Capitol on Friday after a vote on the rules for debating the American Health Care Act, the bill to replace the Affordable Care Act known as Obamacare. Credit Gabriella Demczuk for The New York Times 
 
But it never won over conservatives who wanted a far more thorough eradication of the Affordable Care Act. Nor did it have the backing of more moderate Republicans who were anxiously aware of the Congressional Budget Office’s assessment that the bill would leave 24 million more Americans without insurance.

With the House’s most hard-line conservatives holding fast against it, the bill’s support collapsed Friday after more rank-and-file Republicans came out in opposition, including Representatives Rodney Frelinghuysen of New Jersey, the soft-spoken chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, and Barbara Comstock of Virginia, whose suburban Washington district went handily for the Democrat presidential nominee, Hillary Clinton, in November.

<..snip..>

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/24/us/politics/health-care-affordable-care-act.html

[Bigun]

Trump is right but the democrats that killed it all have Rs behind their names!

[corbe]

   I like this strategy, when in doubt blame the democrats, you can't go wrong there and he doesn't need to be peeing on the Freedom Caucus, they're already mad.

[bolobaby]

Publicly blame the dems. Works for me. Enough stupid people in the country who will believe it.

Besides, it's quid pro quo for those democrat finger-pointers.

[r9etb]

   I like this strategy, when in doubt blame the democrats, you can't go wrong there and he doesn't need to be peeing on the Freedom Caucus, they're already mad.

It's just Trump playing his usual game: "I'm gonna, I'm gonna, I'm gonna..... it's somebody else's fault."

[InHeavenThereIsNoBeer]

Why does the title of every article on this topic contain the word "repeal"?

One almost thinks it might not be a coincidence.

[Applewood]

I think the bill was designed so Trump could look like he was doing something, then when it failed, Trump would have others to blame.  He can always say he tried to keep his promises, but someone else was to blame when his promises weren't kept. 

The real intent is to transition to government run health care.  Both parties are salivating  over the possibility of playing god with our lives.

[corbe]

Why does the title of every article on this topic contain the word "repeal"?

One almost thinks it might not be a coincidence.

   That's a good point @InHeavenThereIsNoBeer what is the agenda, here?

[Jazzhead]

And so ObamaCare will continue.   And for that we can thank the Freedom Caucus and their unreasonable demands.   

[corbe]

And so ObamaCare will continue.   And for that we can thank the Freedom Caucus and their unreasonable demands.   

    NO! @Jazzhead obamacare will die on it's own (sooner rather than later) and the House/Trump will be forced to negotiate a better deal with the Conservatives in both Chambers, that's what we elected them to do.

[truth_seeker]

It's just Trump playing his usual game: "I'm gonna, I'm gonna, I'm gonna..... it's somebody else's fault."

As in "I'm gonna, I'm gonna, I'm gonna.... Get elected President?"

This issue isn't finished.

[r9etb]

As in "I'm gonna, I'm gonna, I'm gonna.... Get elected President?"

This issue isn't finished.

Except that Trump was running for king, and is discovering that it doesn't work that way.

[Silver Pines]

Right, Trump plays good cop and blames the Democrats, while Bannon played both ends to get Ryan.

Breitbart:

https://twitter.com/mattdpearce/status/845380491964379136

[Cripplecreek]

    NO! @Jazzhead obamacare will die on it's own (sooner rather than later) and the House/Trump will be forced to negotiate a better deal with the Conservatives in both Chambers, that's what we elected them to do.

They can always go join the no labels party where making deals, getting along and bashing conservatives are what its all about.

[Silver Pines]

And so ObamaCare will continue.   And for that we can thank the Freedom Caucus and their unreasonable demands.

@Jazzhead

You mean the guys who actually did what they promised?  What 83% of the people wanted?  Those guys?

While you're attempting to lay the blame on them, you better save a big slice for the two dozen moderates who jumped ship to oppose the bill. 

[Mom MD]

Publicly blame the dems. Works for me. Enough stupid people in the country who will believe it.

Besides, it's quid pro quo for those democrat finger-pointers.

Except the dems had nothing to do with it other than to be smart enough to stay out of the way while trump and the republicans imploded

[GtHawk]

As in "I'm gonna, I'm gonna, I'm gonna.... Get elected President?"

This issue isn't finished.

No, as in the Representatives that were elected by the people are not gonna allow Ryan and Trump to I'm gonna, I'm gonna, I'm gonna shove another Cr@p sandwich down the throat of America. Obamacare lite is still Obamacare, do it right, that's what the election was about. No the issue isn't finished, but this iteration of feces is. I know, Trump is gonna have every one who didn't bow too his will primaried out right? Well the Presidency is no more allowable a dicktatorship under Trump as it was under Obama.

[corbe]

Right, Trump plays good cop and blames the Democrats, while Bannon played both ends to get Ryan.

Breitbart:

https://twitter.com/mattdpearce/status/845380491964379136

   I refuse to believe this monstrosity was all Ryan's fault, he had plenty of help and guidance along the way from the Trump Administration.  IMHO
   Who does Bannon want as Ryan's Replacement, Ivana?

[Gov Bean Counter]

It's just Trump playing his usual game: "I'm gonna, I'm gonna, I'm gonna..... it's somebody else's fault."

We have moved from Bill Clinton'a, "The buck didn't get here" to

Donald Trump's "There was a buck"???

[Silver Pines]

   I refuse to believe this monstrosity was all Ryan's fault, he had plenty of help and guidance along the way from the Trump Administration.  IMHO
   Who does Bannon want as Ryan's Replacement, Ivana?

@corbe

Frighteningly enough, I wouldn't doubt it.

[r9etb]

No, as in the Representatives that were elected by the people are not gonna allow Ryan and Trump to I'm gonna, I'm gonna, I'm gonna shove another Cr@p sandwich down the throat of America. Obamacare lite is still Obamacare, do it right, that's what the election was about.

Just to point out -- due in part, though certainly not entirely, to those principled individuals, Obamacare is still Obamacare and now stands to be so for some time.

So, tell me: does that mean that the election really about getting nothing instead of something?  The thing they campaigned against, is the thing their actions have helped to perpetuate.  Do you want to call that "victory?"

Let's agree that the replacement bill was a bad one, probably because a) it was done too fast, and b) done all in one piece rather than piecemeal.  There are a lot of reasons for it being done that way, I suppose... but it sure didn't work.

[corbe]

   Trump may be blaming democrats (somewhat), but everyone else (flurry of recent headlines across the political spectrum) are all blaming RYAN, he should have known better than to dance with the devil.

[libertybele]

    NO! @Jazzhead obamacare will die on it's own (sooner rather than later) and the House/Trump will be forced to negotiate a better deal with the Conservatives in both Chambers, that's what we elected them to do.

 

[Gov Bean Counter]

   Trump may be blaming democrats (somewhat), but everyone else (flurry of recent headlines across the political spectrum) are all blaming RYAN, he should have known better than to dance with the devil.

Yep.

[LonestarDream]

    NO! @Jazzhead obamacare will die on it's own (sooner rather than later) and the House/Trump will be forced to negotiate a better deal with the Conservatives in both Chambers, that's what we elected them to do.

THIS.  Exactly the correct analysis.