The Looming Republican Disgrace Read more at: http://www.nationalreview.com/article/449720/republican-health-care-bill-looming-disgrace?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=NR%20Week%20in%20Review%202017-07-23&utm_term=VDHM
A majority is a terrible thing to waste.
On the cusp of a historic failure, the party has begun the finger-pointing, and it’s hard to argue with any of it.
- The establishment is right that Trump is incapable of true legislative leadership.
- The Trumpists are right that the establishment is ineffectual.
- Conservatives are right that moderates don’t really want to repeal Obamacare, whatever they’ve said in the past.
- And pragmatists are right that a few conservatives are beholden to a self-defeating purity.
.. At least Collins, an ideological outlier in the Republican Conference, has been consistent. She voted against the repeal-only bill in 2015, and the GOP leadership never thought she was gettable.
.. For Rand Paul, clearly, a perhaps once-in-a-generation opportunity to significantly reform two entitlement programs isn’t as important as scoring cheap points against his colleagues in the cause of getting as many cable hits as possible.
.. it’s particularly important that the Utah senator keep the big picture in view; torpedoing the entire effort over a relatively technical question about the insurance risk pools — Lee’s current posture — would be a disastrous mistake.