For over seven years, Republicans railed against the “broken healthcare system” given to us by the Democrats. Obamacare, they told us, was a disaster that needed to be repealed and replaced. To drive home the point, House Republicans safely voted over 60 times to repeal the dreaded law knowing full well it would never be scrapped as long as Obama was president and could veto the bill.
With Donald Trump now occupying the White House, the Republican dream of relegating Obamacare to the dustbin of history seemed well within reach.
But the big moment never happened. Yesterday, the GOP healthcare bill went down in defeat. No, not because it failed to secure the required number of House votes to pass … but because the bill was yanked from the floor and never voted on.
Chuck Schumer, the Senate Minority Leader, attributed the GOP debacle to incompetence.
Ultimately, the TrumpCare bill failed because of two traits that have plagued the Trump presidency since he took office: incompetence and broken promises. In my life, I have never seen an administration as incompetent as the one occupying the White House today.
Schumer, of course, is right. But Republican incompetence and Broken Promises is just part of the story why the Republican effort to repeal and replace Obamacare failed.
Simply put, the GOP health plan was a bad bill.
Trump supporters, even in deeply red states, came out in force against the bill Trump tried to sell as one that would “lower costs, expand choices, increase competition, and ensure health care access for all Americans.”
It appears you can’t fool all of the people, all of the time. Even voters taken in by Trump’s con know dog poop when they see it.
Fearing for their political lives, is there any wonder why House Republicans, led by the bill’s architect, Paul Ryan, pulled the bill?
Hey, there are elections coming up next year!
Republicans got the message loud and clear at the many “town hall” meetings they held earlier this month with their constituents.
Nothing instills fear in the hearts of Republicans more than the prospect of losing their jobs … and their free gold-plated health insurance.
(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
