Conservatives near revolt on Senate health care negotiations

[mystery-ak]

 Conservatives near revolt on Senate health care negotiations

Republicans are increasingly pessimistic that key conservative senators will vote for the eventual bill.

By Burgess Everett

06/09/2017 05:42 PM EDT

Conservative senators and allied outside groups are on the verge of rebellion against the Senate’s Obamacare repeal effort, potentially derailing delicate negotiations to overhaul the nation’s health care system.

As Obamacare repeal talks enter crunch time with a vote as soon as this month, the Senate bill continues to tilt toward more moderate members of the GOP on keeping some of Obamacare’s regulatory structure and providing a more generous wind-down of the law’s Medicaid expansion. The movement has made Republicans increasingly pessimistic that two critical conservative senators, Mike Lee of Utah and Rand Paul of Kentucky, will be able to vote for the GOP’s ultimate agreement on health care, according to senators and aides.

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http://www.politico.com/story/2017/06/09/health-care-bill-conservative-senators-revolt-239364

[Oceander]

If they want to be able to say in 2018 that they've been working toward their campaign promises, they'd better not blow this up because if they do, Obamacare in its unvarnished glory remains. 

[Mesaclone]

This one isn't all that complicated in terms of its political impact.

If the GOP can't pass a new Health Care bill, even an imperfect one, that the Dems are going to take back the Senate and perhaps the House...and we'll be getting single payer Health Care. This isn't a matter of choosing the lesser of two evils for these conservatives, its the difference between "lightning and a lightning bug" (Mark Twain quote).

If you can't score a touchdown, take the field goal and try again on the next drive...this is a matter of tactics, not principle. We all understand that "we" want a fully free market solution in the end...this is about how do we get to that. Killing the whole bill moves us irreparably away from that goal, finding a way to get it through moves us...albeit incrementally...towards the goal.

[Oceander]

This one isn't all that complicated in terms of its political impact.

If the GOP can't pass a new Health Care bill, even an imperfect one, that the Dems are going to take back the Senate and perhaps the House...and we'll be getting single payer Health Care. This isn't a matter of choosing the lesser of two evils for these conservatives, its the difference between "lightning and a lightning bug" (Mark Twain quote).

If you can't score a touchdown, take the field goal and try again on the next drive...this is a matter of tactics, not principle. We all understand that "we" want a fully free market solution in the end...this is about how do we get to that. Killing the whole bill moves us irreparably away from that goal, finding a way to get it through moves us...albeit incrementally...towards the goal.

[endicom]

This one isn't all that complicated in terms of its political impact.

If the GOP can't pass a new Health Care bill, even an imperfect one, that the Dems are going to take back the Senate and perhaps the House...and we'll be getting single payer Health Care. This isn't a matter of choosing the lesser of two evils for these conservatives, its the difference between "lightning and a lightning bug" (Mark Twain quote).

If you can't score a touchdown, take the field goal and try again on the next drive...this is a matter of tactics, not principle. We all understand that "we" want a fully free market solution in the end...this is about how do we get to that. Killing the whole bill moves us irreparably away from that goal, finding a way to get it through moves us...albeit incrementally...towards the goal.

Guerrilla lawfare.

[Oceander]

Guerrilla lawfare.

Reaganism. 

[Right_in_Virginia]

If you can't score a touchdown, take the field goal and try again on the next drive...this is a matter of tactics, not principle. We all understand that "we" want a fully free market solution in the end...this is about how do we get to that. Killing the whole bill moves us irreparably away from that goal, finding a way to get it through moves us...albeit incrementally...towards the goal.

Sorry @Mesaclone   I doubt Conservatives will agree with you (or me) on this. 

From all I've been reading over the past year, for today's Conservative:  Bitterness is virtue, hubris is principle, abject failure is preferable to partial victory. 

And while perched on this three-legged stool, they are going to fight for the death of any accomplishment. 

[Smokin Joe]

Sorry @Mesaclone   I doubt Conservatives will agree with you (or me) on this. 

From all I've been reading over the past year, for today's Conservative:  Bitterness is virtue, hubris is principle, abject failure is preferable to partial victory. 

And while perched on this three-legged stool, they are going to fight for the death of any accomplishment.

Accomplishment? How about passing the 2015 bill again and sending that to the Oval Office?

[Right_in_Virginia]

Accomplishment? How about passing the 2015 bill again and sending that to the Oval Office?

Because it will not pass the Senate @Smokin Joe

[Smokin Joe]

Because it will not pass the Senate @Smokin Joe

Don't the Republicans have the majority?

[Right_in_Virginia]

Don't the Republicans have the majority?

Not for this ....

[Victoria33]

This one isn't all that complicated in terms of its political impact.  If you can't score a touchdown, take the field goal and try again on the next drive...this is a matter of tactics, not principle. We all understand that "we" want a fully free market solution in the end...this is about how do we get to that. Killing the whole bill moves us irreparably away from that goal, finding a way to get it through moves us...albeit incrementally...towards the goal.

@Mesaclone

Lyndon Johnson was a senator before he was president.  He said about the senate, "I'll take what I can get and come back later for the rest."

[Smokin Joe]

Not for this ....

Why not? Weren't people promised that all those Senate candidates would repeal the ACA? Or are they unmitigated liars? Not behind the Party? Or has the Party been jerking the peoples' collective chain telling them one thing when they can't get it through, and now that they can, they won't?
I'm thinking the latter.

Which is why I am no longer GOP. They are only marginally better than the Dems and then only part time.

[jpsb]

Accomplishment? How about passing the 2015 bill again and sending that to the Oval Office?

Just shows the utter hypocrisy of the GOP leadership, particularly in the House.

[Smokin Joe]

Just shows the utter hypocrisy of the GOP leadership, particularly in the House.

Yep, and this American is sick of some SOB lying to me and then getting paid more than I do in an average year to do it.

[corbe]

   From the article (it is Politico, after all) it appears Cruz, as an official member of the Senate Health Committee, is staying in the fight at this time as opposed to whining on the sidelines. I applaud him for that.

[truth_seeker]

Accomplishment? How about passing the 2015 bill again and sending that to the Oval Office?

Because the earlier effort rested on the certainty Obama would veto it. It was for show, not for go.

For "conservatives" full of "principles," it was dishonesty as evidenced by the same Senators now unwilling to pass the equivalent measure.

[IsailedawayfromFR]

Because it will not pass the Senate @Smokin Joe

Then starve the beast to death.

[Emjay]

This one isn't all that complicated in terms of its political impact.

If the GOP can't pass a new Health Care bill, even an imperfect one, that the Dems are going to take back the Senate and perhaps the House...and we'll be getting single payer Health Care. This isn't a matter of choosing the lesser of two evils for these conservatives, its the difference between "lightning and a lightning bug" (Mark Twain quote).

If you can't score a touchdown, take the field goal and try again on the next drive...this is a matter of tactics, not principle. We all understand that "we" want a fully free market solution in the end...this is about how do we get to that. Killing the whole bill moves us irreparably away from that goal, finding a way to get it through moves us...albeit incrementally...towards the goal.

Good post.  Hate to cave on those provisions but we've got to act.

[Emjay]

   From the article (it is Politico, after all) it appears Cruz, as an official member of the Senate Health Committee, is staying in the fight at this time as opposed to whining on the sidelines. I applaud him for that.

Me, too.

[Oceander]

Then starve the beast to death.

By what, doing nothing?  Do you really think the DNC and the MSM are going to give the GOP a pass on that?  That's tantamount to letting the government shut down again, and that worked real well last time. 

[Axeslinger]

Obamacare WILL collapse on its own, it's already happening.  If the GOP replaces it with just another big gov program, they will own it.  They're going to be lambasted by the left for any perceived faults ANYHOW...so they might as well get it right and not piss off the right too.   If they are unable to do so, get those who vote against the campaign promise bill on record and then let O-care collapse.

[XenaLee]

Because it will not pass the Senate @Smokin Joe

Not even if they passed it using the nuclear option? 

[Oceander]

Obamacare WILL collapse on its own, it's already happening.  If the GOP replaces it with just another big gov program, they will own it.  They're going to be lambasted by the left for any perceived faults ANYHOW...so they might as well get it right and not piss off the right too.   If they are unable to do so, get those who vote against the campaign promise bill on record and then let O-care collapse.

Except that they won't.  If they sit on their hands and do nothing, when it collapses, they will be blamed for have done nothing, not even a little bit to help the worst affected, and the DNC will ask, with some justification, what's the point of letting the GOP run Congress if they don't do anything when they have control?  They'll say "look, we admit there are problems with Obamacare as we initially passed it, but they can be fixed and we have a plan to fix it.  Why continue trusting these idiots in the GOP who won't even try to fix it?"  If all the exchanges have collapsed by 2018 and the GOP is still holding a circle jerk with the diehard "conservatives" the GOP will be routed.  And single payer U.K. style nationalized health care will be in place by 2020 or so. 

[Bigun]

Not for this ....

Why not?