Repealing the ACA under Trump

[knapplc]

If Trump were a true populist (and had any idea what he was doing), this is the moment he could pull a switch on the Republican Party and go back to his campaign lines about breaking with the other Repubs. He could appeal to the people directly and basically say the Dems failed with ACA and the Repubs failed with AHCA/BRCA, and now Trump is going to ride in and save the day with <insert some healthcare idea> (single payer, Medicare-for-all, cost controls, whatever).

 

He's not going to do that, but it'd be a move that appeals to his ego.

It would be brilliant, and an astute statesman would pull the trigger over the weekend.

 

It's just that Trump is neither brilliant nor astute nor a statesman.

[zoogs]

He'd also have to cared the slightest about any of this to begin with. But he doesn't.

 

A sweeping change of policy direction should never come about by having one person riding in and saving the day, either. Single-payer won't sneak up on us only to be unleashed by a hero in shining armor. It has to be fought for, championed at local levels, and then advanced by growing numbers of the politicians we vote into office.

[knapplc]

AARP, a huge voting bloc for Trump in the last election, strongly opposes this bill.

 

[BigRedBuster]

 

If Trump were a true populist (and had any idea what he was doing), this is the moment he could pull a switch on the Republican Party and go back to his campaign lines about breaking with the other Repubs. He could appeal to the people directly and basically say the Dems failed with ACA and the Repubs failed with AHCA/BRCA, and now Trump is going to ride in and save the day with <insert some healthcare idea> (single payer, Medicare-for-all, cost controls, whatever).

 

He's not going to do that, but it'd be a move that appeals to his ego.

It would be brilliant, and an astute statesman would pull the trigger over the weekend.

 

It's just that Trump is neither brilliant nor astute nor a statesman.

 

Doing what Reddenver said is the farthest thing from what this man is capable of.

 

He threw a party on the Whitehouse lawn for Christ's sake for the house bill.

[Danny Bateman]

 

Just called Sasse and Fischer's offices in DC and Kearney. Sasse's people are much nicer - they talked to me like an actual human being. Fischer's phone person kind of talked down to me or just didn't seem to care.

 

Sasse's people told me they had gotten a fair share of calls in Kearney and a ton in DC. DC said they had gotten 1000+ voicemails this weekend and their 5 lines had been ringing off the hook all day on this. They said there had been far more people with views like mine (opposed) than in support.

 

The Kearney lady even gave me a quote straight form his Koch brothers seminar this weekend where he referred to the bill not an ACA replacement but a Medicaid reform package. Still nothing on his website about that..

 

More Senators have moved to no as of today. I think we're up to 5 now? McConnell's going to have to cut some deals to get this thing done. That is a win for those of us fighting against this.

If Trump were a true populist (and had any idea what he was doing), this is the moment he could pull a switch on the Republican Party and go back to his campaign lines about breaking with the other Repubs. He could appeal to the people directly and basically say the Dems failed with ACA and the Repubs failed with AHCA/BRCA, and now Trump is going to ride in and save the day with <insert some healthcare idea> (single payer, Medicare-for-all, cost controls, whatever).

 

He's not going to do that, but it'd be a move that appeals to his ego.

 

 

I agree that it would be an incredible tactical move...

 

But he's just not capable of it. This is a natural drawback to being the delegator-in-chief. He has no idea what's in either GOP bill, nor the ACA, nor how any of it works. He'd have to have a working knowledge of substantive healthcare policy or at least the intellectual curiosity to listen to opposing viewpoints from those who do have such knowledge.

 

We know he doesn't meet any of those requirements.

[knapplc]

"Nobody knew that health care could be so complicated."

 

- Donald Trump

[RedDenver]

 

 

If Trump were a true populist (and had any idea what he was doing), this is the moment he could pull a switch on the Republican Party and go back to his campaign lines about breaking with the other Repubs. He could appeal to the people directly and basically say the Dems failed with ACA and the Repubs failed with AHCA/BRCA, and now Trump is going to ride in and save the day with <insert some healthcare idea> (single payer, Medicare-for-all, cost controls, whatever).

 

He's not going to do that, but it'd be a move that appeals to his ego.

It would be brilliant, and an astute statesman would pull the trigger over the weekend.

 

It's just that Trump is neither brilliant nor astute nor a statesman.

 

Doing what Reddenver said is the farthest thing from what this man is capable of.

 

He threw a party on the Whitehouse lawn for Christ's sake for the house bill.

 

We all agree on that point. I was just pointing out what a ripe time it is for a dramatic change in the policy and message.

[knapplc]

HAHAHA Chuck you madman! The Republicans can't talk to you! What are you thinking?

 

 

[RedDenver]

He'd also have to cared the slightest about any of this to begin with. But he doesn't.

 

A sweeping change of policy direction should never come about by having one person riding in and saving the day, either. Single-payer won't sneak up on us only to be unleashed by a hero in shining armor. It has to be fought for, championed at local levels, and then advanced by growing numbers of the politicians we vote into office.

From the time FDR established the committee to deal with economic insecurity until the Social Security Act was passed was 14 months. I agree that your scenario is more likely, but it's possible for the government to react relatively quickly given a top-level directive.

[BigRedBuster]

Interesting.

 

[knapplc]

This is the crazy thing in all of this. These GOP healthcare bills are going to badly hurt long-time GOP voters, but they're overwhelmingly in favor of Trump & his policies. They're listening to state media and not paying attention to common sense until reality hits them, then they suddenly get woke.

 

 

 

 

 

To support that point that GOP voters are in favor of Trump & his policies.

 

[Red Five]

I would like to commend the courageousness of Ben Sasse for coming out against the BCRA after McConnell shelved the vote.

[TGHusker]

Heaven forbid....next someone is going to tell me dogs will be sleeping with cats.

[TGHusker]

"Nobody knew that health care could be so complicated."

 

- Donald Trump

Nobody knew being president would be so complicated .....where's my golf clubs?

[TGHusker]

Interesting.

 

More than interesting. This president isn't making any friends with his GOP Senators. His strong arm business tactics don't work well in this environment. In some ways, I see him becoming marginalized as knowledgeable and experience people come up with 'Trump Work-a-Rounds'. Sometimes wt limited computer software we have to come up with work-a-rounds - typically some type of spreadsheet. Now we have a limited chief executive and we have to find work-a-rounds. Some quotes

 

When asked by reporters clustered on the blacktop outside the West Wing if Mr. Trump had command of the details of the negotiations, Mr. McConnell ignored the question and smiled blandly.

 

But the Trump team’s heavy-handed tactics have been ineffective in the Senate, and White House officials determined that deploying Vice President Mike Pence, a former congressman with deep ties to many in the Senate, was a better bet than unleashing Mr. Trump on the half-dozen Republicans who will determine the fate of the Senate bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.

Mr. Trump, who is fond of telling friends he is a “closer,” became more involved over the past few days, reaching out to a few reluctant conservatives like Senators Mike Lee of Utah, Ted Cruz of Texas and Rand Paul of Kentucky, who emerged from an Oval Office meeting on Monday saying he was more optimistic about getting to a yes.

 

Yet over the past few weeks, the Senate Republican leadership has made it known that it would much rather negotiate with Mr. Pence than a president whose candidacy many did not even take seriously during the 2016 primaries. And some of the White House’s efforts have clearly been counterproductive.

 

Over the weekend, Mr. McConnell made clear his unhappiness to the White House after a “super PAC” aligned with Mr. Trump started an ad campaign against Senator Dean Heller, Republican of Nevada, after he said last week that he opposed the health care bill.

The majority leader — already rankled by Mr. Trump’s tweets goading him to change Senate rules to scuttle Democratic filibusters — called the White House chief of staff, Reince Priebus, to complain that the attacks were “beyond stupid,” according to two Republicans with knowledge of the tense exchange.

Mr. McConnell, who has been toiling for weeks, mostly in private, to put together a measure that would satisfy hard-liners and moderates, told Mr. Priebus in his call that the assault by the group, America First, not only jeopardized the bill’s prospects but also imperiled Mr. Heller’s already difficult path to re-election.