Republican Rhetoric About To Meet Reality
Now that Republicans control all branches of the federal government, their base is going to expect them to make good on their promises. However, what we're already seeing is that political rhetoric that helps get you elected isn't the same thing as actual reality. It's going to be interesting to see GOP rhetoric collide with the hard, cold facts of reality in the next few months, and nowhere is this more true than on the issue of healthcare reform.
Republicans have already started to realize that their campaign rhetoric isn't reality, moving quickly from "repeal and replace" to "repeal and delay." There's a reason for this, and the reason is they can't agree among themselves what to replace Obamacare with -- because they are scared of seeing headlines such as: "Millions Will Lose Coverage Under GOP Plan," or, perhaps, "GOP Plan Will Blow $10 Trillion Hole In Budget."
Let's run down the core Republican rhetoric, and introduce some reality to the picture. Picture one of those period pieces on Masterpiece Theater: "Republican Rhetoric, may I introduce you to Mr. Reality? Mr. Reality, meet Rhetoric."
GOP Rhetoric: Everybody hates Obamacare, therefore getting rid of it will be very politically popular.
Reality: While the GOP has successfully demonized the term "Obamacare," when you ask people about the component parts, most of them are wildly popular -- even with Republican voters.
Republicans have convinced themselves that Obamacare is a total disaster, a total failure, and none of it works at all. Obamacare has ruined millions of lives, they tell themselves. The reality is that pretty much all the components of Obamacare (with the possible exception being the individual mandate) have been improving lives for millions.
Insurance companies can no longer drop you when you get sick. They also cannot slap a lifetime ceiling on what they will pay out. They cannot refuse insurance because of pre-existing conditions. Children get to stay on their parents' insurance until they are 26. Insurance companies have to spend 80 cents of every dollar on actual health care now, instead of being free to rake in as much profit as possible. Preventative care is now free.
Each and every one of those things poll extremely well with the public -- even in deep red states. Getting rid of any or all of them is not going to be politically popular at all. Donald Trump and the GOP have convinced themselves that they can keep all the goodies and get rid of the bad parts, but the problem with that scenario is that the numbers just don't add up. Rhetoric, meet reality. The "bad" parts of Obamacare mean the good parts are possible. Wishing this reality didn't exist isn't a real plan of action, and Republicans are beginning to realize this.
GOP Rhetoric: We are fiscal hawks on the budget, and want to balance the budget so we don't add to the national debt.
Reality: Obamacare saves the federal government money. Lots of money, in fact. Repealing it therefore means increasing the deficit and adding trillions to the debt.
This is the first bit of rhetoric that is going to be obliterated by reality. Republicans are supposed to be the ones who care deeply about reducing deficits and the national debt. However, this has always meant "Republicans care deeply about reducing deficits when Democrats are in power." In reality, they actually love deficit spending when they are driving the bus -- because then it is ideologically pure deficit spending.
Obamacare saves between nine and ten trillion dollars over the next decade. Repealing it means that money won't be saved, it'll have to be spent. Now, Trump himself isn't all that big a deficit hawk (he's proposed a huge infrastructure spending plan, for instance), but the GOP is. Since they cannot square the circle of "Obamacare saves money, repealing it will cost money," they will go to their always-handy fallback plan: "We don't care."
This one is amusing because it involves two pieces of Republican rhetoric colliding with each other, which (like in an atom smasher) will obliterate at least one of them. Repealing Obamacare's going to blow a hole in the deficit? Then we'll just stop pretending we are fiscal hawks that particular week -- easy!
GOP Rhetoric: Replacing Obamacare with a Republican plan will be easy.
Reality: No, it won't.
This one is pretty obvious. Republicans have had roughly seven years to come up with their own plan. What have they accomplished in all this time? They have put forward zero bills and have only managed a bullet-point list comprised of nothing but rhetoric and wishful thinking.
If Republicans had been smart, they would have passed (or at least proposed) some actual "replace" legislation before Obamacare went into effect. That way, they could have made the argument that their plan was superior to Obamacare because they would have been free to demonize Obamacare as a disaster of epic proportions before anyone got any actual benefits. They did not do so. Now, people are getting benefits from Obamacare, so whatever plan the Republicans come up with has to be as good or better than the actual reality of Obamacare.
Health care reform is complicated. It affects millions of lives. Now that Obamacare's been in effect for a number of years, people are getting benefits from it. Repealing it means taking away actual benefits rather than some straw-man apocalyptic fantasy. So Republicans now face the prospect of headlines pointing out that their plan is measurably worse than what people have now. If replacing Obamacare was so easy, why hasn't it happened yet? Because it's not, that's why.
GOP Rhetoric: Republicans can do a better job of health reform, built on sound conservative principles.
Reality: The math, unfortunately, just doesn't add up.
There's a big reason why no actual "replace" bill has ever been voted on in either house of Congress. The reason is that when bills are introduced, they are "scored." The Congressional Budget Office runs the numbers and informs Congress (and the people) what the effect of the legislation will be. This includes the effect on the budget, and also things like how many people will either gain or lose coverage.
Republicans, to be blunt, are terrified of what those numbers are going to show, on any of their replacement plans. That's why they haven't agreed among themselves on actual legislation. They're afraid of the political blowback. They have good reason to be afraid, because it is very likely that the numbers are going to plainly show that millions are going to lose coverage under any Republican replacement plan.
Think about it -- why are Republicans now attempting "repeal and delay" in the first place? How long will that delay be? Some want to kick the issue beyond the 2018 midterm elections, and some want to kick the ball all the way past the 2020 election. Why? Because they're scared of how the voters are going react. Plain and simple.
If the Republican plan actually worked and was actually better than Obamacare, then they would eagerly be rushing to pass it now. Or they would have already passed it (they've had seven years to do so, remember). The political timidity of "repeal and delay" ("Maybe we'll get around to it in three or four years, trust us") proves nothing so much as political fear on their part.
If they actually had a plan that was the best thing since sliced bread, then they'd be touting it to the skies and have it ready to pass on the same day they repealed Obamacare. They don't have a plan like that, because a plan like that does not exist and never will.
Paul Ryan swears he's going to have an actual "replace" bill this year. Forgive me if I have my doubts, because he said exactly the same thing last year, and no bill appeared (instead, he came up with that smoke-and-mirrors list of bullet points -- and even that was a heavy lift among his own caucus).
Instead, Republicans are going to enact the Underpants Gnome Theory Of Governing, by repealing a law they have no idea how to replace. This theory (which I explained roughly a year ago in great detail) goes like this: "(1.) Repeal Obamacare. (2.) ?? (3.) Everything will be wonderful." No, seriously, that's their plan. That's the only plan they've got. If they go ahead with Phase One, we'll be stuck in Phase Two ("??") forever, because Republicans will remain terrified at having any actual bill scored -- and letting the public see how much worse their plan will actually be.
Conclusion
There's really only one way out of the mess Republicans are creating for themselves, but I doubt they'll actually take the only exit ramp available (for ideological reasons). The only possible answer to the problem of Republican math just not adding up would be if they decided to only make very minor changes to the core of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Tinker around the edges a bit, throw in a few conservative bugaboos (tort reform, for instance), and then sit back and declare the whole thing totally different and not like Obamacare at all. Rebrand it "Trumpcare" (that one seems inevitable), pass it, and then loudly proclaim to the public that Trumpcare is a thousand times better than Obamacare (even though it's essentially the same thing). Because the core of the law will be preserved, the numbers will actually compare favorably to Obamacare -- why wouldn't they, if it's essentially the same thing?
That's really the only political answer I can come up with, but as I said I seriously doubt Republicans will be smart enough to seize it. In keeping with this article's title, I would call it: "Since you can't change reality, drastically change your rhetoric, declare victory, and move on."
Democrats already seem ready for this fight. Chuck Schumer unveiled a dandy slogan to ridicule Republicans with, while they struggle with reality smacking them in the face this year: "Make America sick again." Any Republican plan that actually gets scored by the C.B.O. and shows millions losing their health insurance is going to be fair game for that brilliant bit of political spin, that's for sure.
Republicans have been fearmongering Obamacare since before it actually existed (remember the "death panel" nonsense?). Their rhetoric has been soaring along on the breeze for eight years now. However (to mix metaphors a bit), the ball is now squarely in their court. It is "put up or shut up" time. This is going to be painful for the Republican Party, since they've fallen into the trap of believing their own spin. Because now it is -- quite simply -- time for them to face reality.
-- Chris Weigant
Follow Chris on Twitter: @ChrisWeigant
Plus even Trump looks like he realizes this is a trap and is already warning Congressional Republicans against repealing Obamacare.
Has Trump started using the moniker "Washington Republicans" or "Establishment Republicans" yet? He needs somebody to blame for everything that goes wrong, and Obama is too popular and Hillary is his buddy now.
Schumer will do everything he can to mess with his Trump's head, and he isn't even President yet.
Plus, as everybody who paid any attention to the ACA, it was based on the Republican-leaning Heritage Foundation plan.
Just to add to the irony, Gingrich promoted the same Heritage plan as an alternative to Hillarycare - individual mandate and all :)
If this wasn't literally life and death, it would be hilarious.
More background, including a video of Romney holding Gingrich's feet to the fire over this:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/theapothecary/2011/10/20/how-a-conservative-think-tank-invented-the-individual-mandate/#64a46ad7621b
The Democrats, lead by head clown Chuck Schumer
- Excerpt from Trump tweet, 1/5/17
When you are bright orange, throwing around the "clown" label really risks blowback.
The One Who Watches Words has frowned on me again.
My current health insurance plan is a "grandfathered" pre-ACA plan and, relatively speaking, it's pretty good. After I had a stroke, I was hospitalized for a month and it should have been longer, but my insurance company wouldn't pay any longer. I live alone and was sent home at great risk of falling (five times so far). They didn't force me to go. I could have stayed and paid my own astronomical bill. Freedom!
Now I have a "pre-existing condition" and the GOP wants to send us back to the days when America was great and insurance companies told people like me to go away. I'm OK only just as long as I don't lose my job and I don't feel very secure about that any more. Thanks Trump!
Now that Republicans control all branches of the federal government, their base is going to expect them to make good on their promises.
And I am ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN that ya'all will give Trump and the GOP the benefit of EVERY DOUBT that ya'all have given Obama and the Democrats when THEY failed at making good on their promises....
Right?? :D
Reality: While the GOP has successfully demonized the term "Obamacare," when you ask people about the component parts, most of them are wildly popular -- even with Republican voters.
Yea.. The MANDATE is "wildly popular".. :^/
Yes, there are some good points to TrainWreckCare...
But it's BAD points overwhelm any good..
The mandate for one..
The FACT that insurance costs have sky-rocketed...
What part of the AFFORDABLE Care Act is affordable???
What good is having health insurance when it is too un-affordable to use???
Reality: Obamacare saves the federal government money.
At the cost of gouging the American people..
THAT's the part ya'all don't get...
GOP Rhetoric: Replacing Obamacare with a Republican plan will be easy.
Closing Gitmo will be easy.
Providing quality health care at affordable costs will be easy..
If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor
Funny how ya'all only slam the BS from the Right, but slurp up the BS from the Left...
Any Republican plan that actually gets scored by the C.B.O. and shows millions losing their health insurance is going to be fair game for that brilliant bit of political spin, that's for sure.
And any Republican plan that IMPROVES Americans dismal health care mess will be resoundingly opposed by Democrats because Democrats won't want to give the GOP a "win"...
Go ahead.. Tell me I am wrong... You can't because I'm not...
Republicans have been fearmongering Obamacare since before it actually existed (remember the "death panel" nonsense?). Their rhetoric has been soaring along on the breeze for eight years now.
And CrapCare is in a death spiral..
So, apparently, the "fear mongering" from the GOP over CrapCare was dead on ballz accurate...
This is going to be painful for the Republican Party, since they've fallen into the trap of believing their own spin. Because now it is -- quite simply -- time for them to face reality.
No... It's going to be REALLY painful for the Democratic Party when the GOP actually fixes TrainWreckCare and gives Americans a REAL and SOUND health care policy...
When you are bright orange, throwing around the "clown" label really risks blowback.
Only from those enslaved by Party ideology and who are not going to give Trump credit for ANYTHING no matter how good it is for the American people...
We saw that played out live and in color when Trump saved Carrier jobs...
Almost a thousand Americans had jobs saved for Christmas and the response from the Hysterical Left??
"Who cares!!! Trump didn't save ALL the jobs!!!! Trump is evil!! Trump is bad!!! Trump is Hitler!!! Let's find some poor homeless mentally challenged guy and torture him to say how much he hates Trump!!!"
-The Left Wingery
Like I said... Ya'all are doing EXACTLY what ya'all complained that the GOP did to Obama...
Who could have POSSIBLY predicted that this would happen!!???
Oh... Wait.... :D
Plus, as everybody who paid any attention to the ACA, it was based on the Republican-leaning Heritage Foundation plan.
Yep... It was a great GREAT plan and Obama and the Democrats totally screwed it up and made it unworkable... :D
Obama and the Democrats could screw up an iron football!!
Let's face reality here, people... If you can bear to..
TrainWreckCare has *NEVER* enjoyed any popularity with the majority of the American people..
Oh sure, if you cherry pick an obvious feature here and there, you can find overwhelming support.. Pre-existing conditions?? Yea, and people love rainbows and puppy-dogs too....
But TrainWreckCare in it's entirety has *NEVER* enjoyed any semblance of support with the majority of Americans..
Why??
Because they saw CrapCare for what it was.. A HUGE government overreach and intrusion into their lives...
ANY replacement that the GOP comes up with will be, BY DEFINITION, *better* than CrapCare.....
You can lipstick this pig all you want, but the simple fact is that the American people put Trump and the GOP in office, knowing FULL WELL that it will mean the death of CrapCare...
If ya'all could rise above Party Ideology, ya'all would see how that indicates how popular TrainWreckCare is...
http://www.wsj.com/articles/lessons-from-obamas-failure-1483661223
Yup... Yup...
If the GOP can avoid the Democrats' gross and obvious mistakes on their creation of TrainWreckCare, then their replacement will be a success..
While it's a very VERY low bar to meet, I can definitely see the GOP screwing it up...
But ya'all should keep in mind one oh so very salient point...
If the CrapCare replacement is a success, Trump gets the credit...
If the CrapCare replacement is an abysmal failure, the GOP will get the blame thereby solidifying Trump's status as a warrior for the American people against the evil establishment...
For Trump, it's a WIN-WIN :D
All Party slavery aside, ya'all just HAVE to admire the dynamic that Trump has created... :D
Record 95,102,000 Americans Not in Labor Force; Number Grew 18% Since Obama Took Office in 2009
http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/susan-jones/record-95102000-americans-not-labor-force-number-grew-18-obama-took-office
The American people were screaming and BEGGING for Jobs...
Obama and the Democrats chased almost a HUNDRED MILLION Americans out of the job force and gave them CrapCare instead...
There really is no question WHY the American people have gave the GOP the biggest control of government they have had in almost a century...
And I am ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN that ya'all will give Trump and the GOP the benefit of EVERY DOUBT that ya'all have given Obama and the Democrats when THEY failed at making good on their promises....
So you already expect the GoP to turn out to be liars. Well at least you are realstic.
How 'bout that wall - turns out as well as being useless, we get to pay for it after all. Mexico will be billed later - and if you believe that ...
Michale: Is the $1T debt increase from the upcoming budget bill making it into the right wing bubble?
It is a bit of a quandary - either ignore the CBO $1T figure and get rid of Obamacare (with no replacement) and give up any pretense of budget discipline, or they keep Obamacare.
As I said earlier, if this wasn't life and death it would be hilarious.
So you already expect the GoP to turn out to be liars. Well at least you are realstic.
They are politicians.. OF COURSE they are liars.. It's part and parcel to the job description...
But the point is, I condemn BOTH Partys..
Ya'all only condemn the GOP for their lies and fully and completely deny that the Democrats EVER lie...
How 'bout that wall - turns out as well as being useless, we get to pay for it after all. Mexico will be billed later - and if you believe that ...
And guess what??
I don't care...
"The Wall" has always been metaphorical for me and for millions of other Trump supporters...
Speaking of walls, reports show Obama is building a wall around his new home and making the US Taxpayers pay for it..
And here I thought Obama was all about building bridges and NOT walls.. :D
Michale: Is the $1T debt increase from the upcoming budget bill making it into the right wing bubble?
I wouldn't know... I am no more a part of the Right Wing Bubble as I am part of the Left Wing Bubble... :D
It is a bit of a quandary - either ignore the CBO $1T figure and get rid of Obamacare (with no replacement) and give up any pretense of budget discipline, or they keep Obamacare.
Again, who cares..
Whatever happens will be better than the abortion that is CrapCare and whatever happens President Trump will come out of it smelling like a rose.. :D
There really is no question WHY the American people have gave the GOP the biggest control of government they have had in almost a century.
True: gerrymandering.
I wouldn't know... I am no more a part of the Right Wing Bubble as I am part of the Left Wing Bubble...
I don't know which is worse - that you spew the crap the right wing publishes, or that you refuse admit that you're in their fan club.
And yet, everything the right proposes is some variation on the utterly failed policies of the Bushes. With that track record, no wonder you and others on the right are trying to pre-distance yourselves from the inevitable poor result.
"The Wall" has always been metaphorical for me and for millions of other Trump supporters
Oh, let's hope that is so. We can't afford a boondoggle that is little more than a 2,000 mile-long phallic symbol. With more illegal immigrants leaving the country than entering it, it would only serve at this point to keep them in than to keep them out anyway.
There really is no question WHY the American people have gave the GOP the biggest control of government they have had in almost a century.
True: gerrymandering.
Which explains SOME of the facts..
But not ALL of the facts....
Why didn't the Democrats take the Senate??
I don't know which is worse - that you spew the crap the right wing publishes, or that you refuse admit that you're in their fan club.
My NPA status is well-documented and un-questionable... :D
And yet, everything the right proposes is some variation on the utterly failed policies of the Bushes.
And yet, the American people just gave those policies another chance...
So, either the policies aren't bad or millions and millions of Obama voters suddenly became racist irredeemable deplorables...
OR....
Or you are a slave to Party ideology and cannot be objective about things... :D
With more illegal immigrants leaving the country than entering it, it would only serve at this point to keep them in than to keep them out anyway.
You have a tendency to throw out unsubstantiated BS... :D
But hay, if you ARE right, then Trump is already DELIVERING on his promise to get rid of illegal scumbags... :D
Here's the thing and there is just NO getting around this..
Head Clown Schumer is planning to obstruct EVERYTHING that comes from Trump and the GOP..
Does that tactic sound familiar??
Democrats are expected to throw every whiney fit, every hysterical tantrum in hopes of slowing Trump down and put Trump on the defensive....
But there is just one problem with that strategy...
"Whoooaaa hoooo now... I don't do defense!"
-Bill Murray, SPACE JAM
Donald Trump doesn't do defense... In that, Donald Trump follows the sage old advice of Captain James Tiberius Kirk...
"The best defense is a good offense.. And I intend to start offending!!"
No one... Repeat... NO ONE... does defense-borne offensive-ness better than President Donald Trump...
Democrats are out-gunned, out-manned and out-classed.... They are leader-less, rudder-less and direction-less..
It's going to be a slaughter.... There will be Democrat bodies strewn all over the chamber....
"The sport ends... The massacre begins."
-Field Primus T'Ceal, STAR TREK: The Final Frontier
Michale wrote:
"No... It's going to be REALLY painful for the Democratic Party when the GOP actually fixes TrainWreckCare and gives Americans a REAL and SOUND health care policy..."
OH PLEASE!!! WHAT B.S.!!!
They have had SEVEN years to come up with a better plan and have NOT been able to!!!
Also, the COST for MY Obamacare plan just went from 69 dollars a month to ZERO dollars a month starting in January!!! IMPROVE ON THAT!!!
Michale wrote:
"ANY replacement that the GOP comes up with will be, BY DEFINITION, *better* than CrapCare....."
OH YEAH??? Tell that to all the Republican senators who are now trying to put the brakes on repeal, now that they are realizing it is going to throw millions of Americans off their health care insurance and leave them unable to AFFORD ANY ALTERNATIVE. How is that BETTER???
Michale wrote:
"And any Republican plan that IMPROVES Americans dismal health care mess will be resoundingly opposed by Democrats because Democrats won't want to give the GOP a "win"...
Go ahead.. Tell me I am wrong... You can't because I'm not..."
YOU'RE WRONG. You don't think Democrats would do anything to save Obamacare, REALLY???
They have had SEVEN years to come up with a better plan and have NOT been able to!!!
They have come up with a bunch of good plans..
ALL better than CrapCare...
But there was no sense in putting them into play because Obama, ever the narcissist, would have veto'ed them...
YOU'RE WRONG. You don't think Democrats would do anything to save Obamacare, REALLY???
Not if it replaces Obamacare with TrumpCare...
Let's face reality, JM...
The American people have *NEVER* liked Obamacare...
This is fact...
ANYTHING the GOP comes up with will be better because the bar is so low to begin with...
http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2017/01/06/wendys-employees-accused-of-refusing-to-take-fwpd-officers-order/
This is the kind of Left Winger Democratic Party crap that is GOING to change....
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2017/01/05/chuck-schumers-difficult-dilemma.html
Save the Republic??
Or destroy the Democratic Party...
Which will Schumer choose??
Save the Republic??
Or destroy the Democratic Party...
For the record, I am perfectly OK with either.. :D
From the trashy little opinion piece/red bait from Fox News posted at [25]:
Which will Schumer choose?
This is a talking points piece, a little bit of propaganda similar to those flyers dropped onto battlefields that say, "Your leaders are stupid and self serving. Your plan will fail. Give up to our friendly forces now to save your country"
From the article:
Will he lead his Democrat caucus into a media firestorm against good appointees, or work to restore order to a longstanding process, averting disaster?
"Restore order"? pulleese. Prejudging the clown car "good appointees" is a nice touch.
Seasoned leadership is not about exacting vengeance or settling scores.
This would be funny if it weren't the GOP's current raison d'être. He must be trying some sort of reverse psychology.
Americans are watching. They want a respectful, fair, and orderly confirmation process. Anything else smacks of extremism.
Then we should stretch the confirmation hearings out over the next month, so that the candidates can be thoroughly vetted, and all questions can be publicly asked of them, right?
Nope. The GOP has decided to have all of the confirmation hearings on the same day, and include a "vote-a-rama" in the Senate to the day's schedule. The GOP should heed this fellow's words.
This would be funny if it weren't the GOP's current raison d'être. He must be trying some sort of reverse psychology.
Yea.. DEMOCRATS would never stoop to that, right?? :D
Again, you are ignoring the facts, Balthasar...
The American people overwhelmingly put Republicans in charge and told Democrats to take a hike..
Over 1000 Democrat seats in State and Federal government are now Republican..
You can whine and cry about how evil the Republicans are and how perfect the Democrats are..
But the simple fact is, the American people have passed judgement on Democrat leadership and it has been found wanting...
No amount of Trump Derangement Syndrome will change this one simple fact...
Your side lost...
Get over it...
The simple point is this..
President Trump is likely going to generate approval numbers unseen since the Reagan years...
And when he does, ya'all just HAVE to know I'll be around to point those numbers out, eh?? :D
Republicans' hatred of the ACA stems from the fact that it was supposed to be the biggest jewel in the GOP's legislative crown that Republicans planned to roll out soon after McCain was to take office in 2009. The plan had tested incredibly well in MA, and they tossed around the idea of letting Bush rolling it out in early 2008, but his popularity was so horrible that it seemed wiser to let his replacement start his presidency getting the credit. Only there was one small problem that they failed to consider...McCain lost!
The reason that the Republicans cannot come up with a replacement that is better than the ACA is because they know that the ACA was their BEST work! They would need to test whatever they came up with in the real world, and I know of no Republican state that has attempted to introduce a new state healthcare plan in the last six years...I admit that I could be wrong about this, so if you know of a state that has introduced a plan in response to the ACA please share it with us!
This is why I find the GOP so offensive, now.... They could work to make the ACA better for all Americans, but they are so anti-"anything Democrat" that they cannot allow their supporters to associate anything good with the Democrats.
I cannot help but think back to 2012, when Republicans thought they had cost Obama his re-election bid and they bragged in an interview at how "the better a piece of legislation was, the harder we had to fight to block it from passing!" How many times did they vote to block the ACA? They know how good the ACA is, yet they would rather Americans suffer than to allow a Democrat to get credit for something people like!
neilm [2]
Didn't see your post before I went off on the subject above. This is one of the things that angers me so much with the press....they should have reminded the public that the ACA was the Republican's baby anytime they reported on the GOP's hatred of it!!!
But the simple fact is, the American people have passed judgement on Democrat leadership and it has been found wanting...
Then why did a majority of the American people vote for the Democrat for president? Round and round we go.
So why don't we just agree that the American people are split politically, and start working on a program the everyone can get behind. Oh, that's right, we had a chance to do that for the past eight years, and McConnell and the GOP told us to stuff it. Now they want to pass a far right agenda and kill anything the Dems have touched in the last eight years, including the health care system they pretty much designed.
Warning to the GOP: if you kill the ACA, the next time you get single-payer. No more half-measures will be accepted by the Democratic rank and file when our turn comes up again.
It's almost as if the GOP doesn't believe that the margin they won by was razor-thin, or that the pendulum will ever swing back (and it doesn't even have to swing back very far to put the Dems back in power, y'know).
Then why did a majority of the American people vote for the Democrat for president? Round and round we go.
And if we were talking about a single candidate, you would have a point..
But we're not, so you don't..
We're talking about over ONE THOUSAND candidates where the American people told the Democrat incumbent to HIT THE ROAD, JACK!!
Warning to the GOP: if you kill the ACA, the next time you get single-payer. No more half-measures will be accepted by the Democratic rank and file when our turn comes up again.
There won't BE a "next time" in our life times, my friend..
The American people aren't going to trust the Democratic Party again for a long LONG time...
The Democratic Party is lost, fractured, splintered and leader-less.. It has ceased to be an effective Party and will likely remain that way for at least another 50 years..
It's almost as if the GOP doesn't believe that the margin they won by was razor-thin, or that the pendulum will ever swing back (and it doesn't even have to swing back very far to put the Dems back in power, y'know).
Whatever you have to tell yourself to make it thru the day..
In 2018, Democrats are defending *25* seats.. GOP is defending 8... Out of those 25 seats Dems are defending, 11 of them are in states that Trump won...
It's entirely likely that the GOP will have a Super Majority after 2018...
So tell me again, how the Democratic Party will come back?? :D
To further expand on the 2018 Senate Race..
Democrats have a good chance to wrestle Nevada from the GOP and a fair chance to wrestle Arizona away from the GOP..
Republicans are targeting Indiana, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, and West Virginia all of which went for Romney in 2012 and Trump in 2016... Further, Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan all went for Trump in 2016 and have Dem incumbents up for re-election... Three more seats in New Jersey, Virginia and Maine are up for grabs, but it's likely that Dems will prevail there...
So, the GOP is quite probably looking at a NET gain of 8-10 seats, which will give the GOP a super-majority...
That is assuming, of course, that Trump hurdles the very VERY low bar that the Democratic Party has established for Trump...
So, you see, my old friend Balthasar....
The picture does not look good for Democrats until at LEAST 2024.....
The GOP's desire to go after all things Democratic will have a huge backlash problem that the Republicans are ignoring: once they get rid of all of the programs that they have convinced the middle class are the causes for their financial woes...they'll have no one to blame when life doesn't get any better for the middle class!
The fact is that Illegal immigrants weren't stealing jobs from Americans. The GOP isn't interested in preventing illegals from being in this country or they would make it a felony that carries a lengthy mandatory prison sentence and massive fines to hire anyone without proper documentation. Donald Trump was the first Republican to actually address the issue with an actual plan -- even if his plan was nothing more than the phallic-symbol delusion of a narcissistic pathological liar.
The GOP is a climate change denial-for-profit hotbed, yet I cannot figure out why they are funding the military programs that are focused on the problems that the military believes climate change will cause our national security. The military has made it clear that climate change poses massive threats to our national security, so how will the Republicans explain spending massive amounts of money on something they think doesn't exist?
Now that Republicans control all branches of the federal government, their base is going to expect them to make good on their promises.
Um, in what universe is that going to happen? Certainly not this one.
I have a new 'word' ... or is it a phrase ... that is in desperate need of being banned:
Um
Try 'ah' next time in its place ... it sounds better. :)
But they mean different things. Directly, they represent different configurations of facial muscles, related to the facial expressions for different emotions. In this context, "um" suggests that I'm puzzled why he would even say that, whereas "ah" would suggest that I recognize his point but I think I have a doozy of a response to it.