Trump accused the Freedom Caucus of 'saving' Obamacare. Its leader said it's not over.

[Maj. Bill Martin]

It's not hot enough for our courageous congresspeople.

We voters will just have to turn up the heat some more.

It won't be members of the freedom caucus with puckered sphincters on Election Day.

You're right about the Freedom Caucus -- they're generally in safe districts.  But for a lot of the rest, there also will be non-conservatives calling them up and demanding that they save guaranteed issue, 26 year olds, etc..

The whole "they don't have spines/betrayed us" mantra overlooks that a lot of the GOP moderates who wouldn't support a more conservative bill promised their voters that they'd save some parts of ObamaCare.  The inability of the GOP Caucus to agree to a replacement bill even before the election was well-known.  The failure to pass a clean repeal bill shouldn't have surprised anyone who was actually paying attention.

[Bigun]

Conservatives cannot parley with those who believe not that government has no business running our lives, but how deeply it should be involved. There is no basis for discussion.

Absolutely right!   That's why I have him on ignore and have for some time now.

[Idaho_Cowboy]

GOP leadership didn't "give up" - they expended tremendous political capital only to be disrespected by a rump faction.   Unfortunately,  in the absence of Dem cooperation,  that rump faction can essentially veto GOP priorities.   

That's the way it goes, folks.  Kiss it goodbye.   Now on to tax reform, and the same dilemma will present itself - GOP needs to be unified or nothing gets done.

[attachment deleted by admin]

[Bigun]

You're right about the Freedom Caucus -- they're generally in safe districts.  But for a lot of the rest, there also will be non-conservatives calling them up and demanding that they save guaranteed issue, 26 year olds, etc..

The whole "they don't have spines/betrayed us" mantra overlooks that a lot of the GOP moderates who wouldn't support a more conservative bill promised their voters that they'd save some parts of ObamaCare.  The inability of the GOP Caucus to agree to a replacement bill even before the election was well-known.  The failure to pass a clean repeal bill shouldn't have surprised anyone who was actually paying attention.

Mine has been put on notice and his response was to cancel all of his public meetings during their - get this - month long Easter break.  Ive had it with the POS!

[Maj. Bill Martin]

Conservatives cannot parley with those who believe not that government has no business running our lives, but how deeply it should be involved. There is no basis for discussion.

So no loaf at all is better than 90% of one?  Or rather, getting rid of 90% of a rotten loaf isn't acceptable, because it still leaves 10%?

[musiclady]

You have no idea how close I came to posting an Eeyore meme, @Idaho_Cowboy !

Great minds, and all that.....   ^-^

[Bigun]

So no loaf at all is better than 90% of one?  Or rather, getting rid of 90% of a rotten loaf isn't acceptable, because it still leaves 10%?

I think you may have inadvertently transposed your numbers in that statement.  In fact, I'm damned sure you did!

[skeeter]

You're right about the Freedom Caucus -- they're generally in safe districts.  But for a lot of the rest, there also will be non-conservatives calling them up and demanding that they save guaranteed issue, 26 year olds, etc..

The whole "they don't have spines/betrayed us" mantra overlooks that a lot of the GOP moderates who wouldn't support a more conservative bill promised their voters that they'd save some parts of ObamaCare.  The inability of the GOP Caucus to agree to a replacement bill even before the election was well-known.  The failure to pass a clean repeal bill shouldn't have surprised anyone who was actually paying attention.

I urge those moderates to run on how they saved those wonderful aspects of Obamacare next time. We'll see how well they do.

[Idaho_Cowboy]

You have no idea how close I came to posting an Eeyore meme, @Idaho_Cowboy !

Great minds, and all that.....   ^-^

I think at this point I am required to say: "Thanks for noticing." in an Eeyore like voice

I always do the best imitating Eeyore's voice when I read to the kids. 

[skeeter]

So no loaf at all is better than 90% of one?  Or rather, getting rid of 90% of a rotten loaf isn't acceptable, because it still leaves 10%?

Major, as long as government keeps its greedy fingers on my healthcare system I'm afraid no amount of fiddling around the edges will be enough for me.

Give me back what I had five years ago.

[Maj. Bill Martin]

I urge those moderates to run on how they saved those wonderful aspects of Obamacare next time. We'll see how well they do.

Well, it got some of the elected in 2016, so I imagine they're much more confident with that than with the alternative.  Not what I'd prefer, but then, I only get my own vote.  People who disagree with me get to cast them too.

[musiclady]

I think at this point I am required to say: "Thanks for noticing." in an Eeyore like voice

I always do the best imitating Eeyore's voice when I read to the kids.

I'd love to do that, but I'm missing the basso quality when I try to say, "Bother"....

I pretty much have to stick with Pooh or Christopher Robbin to get authentic vocal reproduction.  ^-^

[Silver Pines]

I think you

 may have inadvertently transposed your numbers in that statement.  In fact, I'm damned sure you did!

@Bigun

Thank you.   

I heard Dana Loesch say she'd read the bill every way she could read it, and there was no way it was more than a 5% improvement.

[Silver Pines]

I like what Dan Calabrese over at Canada Free Press has to say.  "You've been promising this for the better part of 8 years, and you give up after 63 days?"

http://canadafreepress.com/article/thats-it-theyre-just-giving-up

Get back to work.  Write a better bill, the last one was slip-shod work.  This is too important to just give up.

@Cyber Liberty

Trump had better things to do, like golfing.

[Silver Pines]

I think after eight years of being mocked and watching Obastard take undeserved victory laps they just wanted to win, principles were of secondary importance.  They just wanted the damned Democrats the hell out.  Look at the massive sigh of relief that went out when it became certain Hillary Clinton lost it.

@Cyber Liberty

Yes, I think that was part of it, too.

[corbe]

Ryan reverses course, will continue Obamacare repeal and replace effort
By John Parkinson
Mar 27, 2017, 6:12 PM ET

In the wake of the defeat of the GOP overhaul of Affordable Care Act, House Speaker Paul Ryan said Friday that Obamacare was the "law of the land ... for the foreseeable future" and that health care would be set aside as Republicans work toward tax reform this fall.

But in a reversal, Ryan — who called his legislation, the American Health Care Act, "fundamentally flawed" — told donors Monday that the effort to roll back the ACA is not over yet.

"We are going to keep getting at this thing," he said, according to a recording obtained by The Washington Post. "We're not going to just all of a sudden abandon health care and move on to the rest. We are going to move on with rest of our agenda, keep that on track, while we work the health care problem."

Ryan says Obamacare will 'remain the law of the land' after health bill failure

How the GOP health care bill failed without a vote

"We still have a promise to keep, so the speaker wants members to continue discussing this issue until we can find a path ahead," Doug Andres, a spokesman for Ryan, said in an email, confirming the intent behind the quotes reported by the Post.

The Post also reported that Ryan suggested a plan was being developed in time to brief donors at a retreat scheduled for Thursday and Friday in Florida.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/ryan-reverses-continue-obamacare-repeal-replace-effort/story?id=46408759

[Cyber Liberty]

@Cyber Liberty

Yes, I think that was part of it, too.

Any port in a storm.

[Smokin Joe]

Trump wants to solve problems.  He's no doubt bored by the conservative circle-jerk.  If he goes in the direction of single payer,  don't blame him, blame yourselves.   

Not me, pal, I didn't vote for him.

[Smokin Joe]

@driftdiver

No, the truth is all that matters, whether folks are ignorant of it or not... Because the truth will out.
Sooner or later, folks will come to understand that the arguments on these pages that discount Conservative principles are nothing more than a disagreement on the size of one's chains.

There s no third way. There is no other way. There is only one truth.

@INVAR

Well said!

[Maj. Bill Martin]

I think you may have inadvertently transposed your numbers in that statement.  In fact, I'm damned sure you did!

Actually, I didn't, because the numbers are irrelevant when the position I'm arguing against is "complete repeal or nothing."  If you're willing to accept something less than full repeal, then at least there's a basis for discussion.  But it's pretty clear that at least some posters around here are very much "all or nothing" when it comes to repealing ObamaCare.  And in that case, it is perfectly fair to ask if they'd turn down a 90% deal.

As to the actual percentages, it's obviously just a euphemism.  But I'd say that ending the business and employer mandates, and especially converting the Medicaid expansion to a block grant to states rather than an individual entitlement, gets you up to around 40% or so repeal.

[Bigun]

Actually, I didn't, because the numbers are irrelevant when the position I'm arguing against is "complete repeal or nothing."  If you're willing to accept something less than full repeal, then at least there's a basis for discussion.  But it's pretty clear that at least some posters around here are very much "all or nothing" when it comes to repealing ObamaCare.  And in that case, it is perfectly fair to ask if they'd turn down a 90% deal.

As to the actual percentages, it's obviously just a euphemism.  But I'd say that ending the business and employer mandates, and especially converting the Medicaid expansion to a block grant to states rather than an individual entitlement, gets you up to around 40% or so repeal.

And you COMPLETELY ignore the 7 year mantra of "give us X,Y,and Z and we will REPEAL every last word of Obamacare! 

Does that not matter at all to you?  You prefer business as usual where Revise is substituted for Repeal and we aren't supposed to notice?

YOU can go for that if you like but I WILL NOT!  Not today, not tomorrow, not ever!

[driftdiver]

@driftdiver

No, the truth is all that matters, whether folks are ignorant of it or not... Because the truth will out.
Sooner or later, folks will come to understand that the arguments on these pages that discount Conservative principles are nothing more than a disagreement on the size of one's chains.

There s no third way. There is no other way. There is only one truth.

@INVAR

@roamer_1

you forgot to capitalize the T in Truth.     BWHAHAHAAAA


Chaos is the only certainty, not order and definitely not freedom.    Freedom takes work, blood, and tears.    Throughout THOUSANDS of years of human history this story has been repeated.  You ignore those lessons at your own peril.

[txradioguy]

If Obama had presented the very same bill to the public 7 years ago that Trump and the House tried to force on us...not one single Republican would have voted for it and there would have been an uproar from the public.

[Sanguine]

If Obama had presented the very same bill to the public 7 years ago that Trump and the House tried to force on us...not one single Republican would have voted for it and there would have been an uproar from the public.

Exactly.

[Jazzhead]

If Obama had presented the very same bill to the public 7 years ago that Trump and the House tried to force on us...not one single Republican would have voted for it and there would have been an uproar from the public.

I disagree.   The changes made by the ACHA would have converted the ACA into a true bipartisan bill.   It would have picked up its share of GOP support - unless you're of the view that the GOP back then - like the Dems now - would simply have refused to work with the party in power on anything whatsoever.