RyanCare Fail: a Victory for the House Freedom Caucus

For strategic reasons, I have signed onto liberal newsletter
eblasts, so that I can know what the enemy is doing in my state. After Speaker
Paul Ryan pulled the American Health Care Act (ACHA), every Democratic lawmaker,
candidate, and special interest group exulted in their victory:

“Your calls made the difference!”

“We did it!”

“You saved health care.”

Uh … no.

Because Obamacare remains intact, healthcare remains in
morbid free-fall. Doctors are still quitting the medical field, with premiums
rising, health insurance exchanges failing, and hospitals closing. Democrats
did themselves no favors in fighting against reforms. Obamacare is still an
albatross hanging around their necks, and they will have to blatantly lie to
voters that it’s working, or that somehow the Republicans are to blame because …
they keep trying to fix the mess created by the Democratic Party.

So, should Democrats around the country pat themselves on
the back for stopping another disaster? Perhaps they deserve a little bit of
credit, since they were loud. The true glory and applause belong to Republicans
across the country who hammered the Congressional majority to reject “Obamacare-lite.”

Yes. I wrote that.

Let’s walk through some surface realities about the bill
that met a quiet death off stage rather than an ignominious demise before all. The
Unaffordable Careless Act forced through Congress needs to be repealed—period.
No replacement needed. This process could have been done and over with within
days. All Speaker Ryan had to do was search the archive of dead bills for the
budget reconciliation of 2016. That bill would have repealed Obamacare, expect
for the coverage for pre-existing conditions and allowance for children to stay
on their parents’ healthcare plans until age 26.

I believe that Donald Trump approved of those two aspects of
the Affordable Care Act (even though they should be repealed, and the
opportunity for such benefits restored to insurance companies and locally-run
agencies). It’s time to get back to basics and just do the right thing, yet the
leaders refused to do so. What is the matter with the Washington DC leadership
in the House?

Here are my thoughts on the matter:

The House Leadership is still part of the
Old-Establishment-DC-Two-Step phalanx.  Paul Ryan basically stepped on the neck of the
House conference for the job. Since when did a candidate for Speaker of the
House ever list a series of demands? The other leaders (and their powerbrokers)
never ran for office on promises to drain the swamp and sharply limit the growth
of Washington DC into Main Street. They said all the nice things that
Republican voters and activists want to hear, but turned around and did the
bidding of their major donors.

Now that social media and internet technology of have
improved the average citizen’s watchdog role while facilitating grassroots
candidates to run for office and succeed, this Mad Men/chain-smoking backroom wheeling
and dealing doesn’t cut it anymore. US Senators like Ted Cruz, Mike Lee, and
Rand Paul (and I will add Pat Toomey) ran on platforms dedicated to operating
outside of the Big Government GOP orbit. They will not be bought, or they will
lose their seats.

Also, please stop blaming the House Freedom Caucus as a bunch
of stuck-up ideological Pharisees. We need more in their ranks who will demand
the best for the Constitution and the American people. Yes, the “compromise
critics” will roll out arguments like “The Framers were not ideologues” or “In Washington,
you never get everything that you want.” 225 years later, though, the
Democratic Party has embraced socialism as a foundational philosophy. They have
never wavered or apologized for this false, destructive world view. Republicans
want to accommodate with this anti-Constitutional world view? Not going to happen.

From this cause, a new Congressional hero stands out in
Washington DC. His name is Thomas Massie, and was crystal clear about his views
on RyanCare. Well, he did change his vote, but from “No” to “Hell No!” He came to
the defense of our President and his country, too, acknowledging that stopping
this rotten stop-gap replacement bill would save face for President Trump—and the
country.

Let’s face it, no matter how many majorities or minority
results that Republicans yield from election to election, the power rests with
us, and more Americans are flexing their muscle. Also, pundits should
acknowledge that the House bill was going to be dead on arrival in the US
Senate. 

Republicans opposed this legislation, which continued too many
subsidies, practically slammed the same mandate on individual consumers, and
maintained the worst of Obamacare in place.

What results must spring from Obamacare repeal in the healthcare
industry, so that American voters feel that they are getting what they voted
for by supporting Trump?

Would RyanCare have delivered on these promises? No.

Candidate Trump promised to repeal Obamacare. He also
offered a health care program that he would take care of everybody. Nothing
could make that happen more quickly than getting rid of Obamacare, then repealing
the other mandates, regulations, and limitations which have made bureaucrats
happy, but have made Americans unhealthy. Congressional Republicans don’t even
have to “start over.” Back to the 2016 Reconciliation Bill, Republicans. Every
time I called a House Rep to reject RyanCare, I also told them to reintroduce
the previous bill. This is not a difficult process, people. US Senator Mike Lee
is already on the job.

There is a silver lining to this RyanCare defeat. The
Speaker may face an early retirement, just like predecessor John “Don’t Make Me
Do This! It’s Too Hard!” Boehner. Principled Republicans like Dave Brat have
further established their non-establishment cred, too. May their tribe increase
… and again influence in Congress.

By the way, doesn’t “Speaker Thomas Massie” have a nice
right to it?