Ideology, Not Tactics, Killed Trumpcare

Here are some themes you'll see in autopsies for the (possibly temporary) death of Trumpcare:

—The lionization of John McCain, as though his vote was the only one that counted, and not the other two Republicans or the 48 Democrats who didn't waver on the bill.

—A lament that Republicans could not come up with a good bill in seven years of opposition to Obamacare.

—A heavy focus on the failures of leadership and tactics.

It's true Republicans had seven years to come up with an alternative to the Affordable Care Act. The House of Representatives passed dozens of repeal bills when the safety net of President Obama's veto made it meaningless, but once Republicans gained control of the White House and both houses of Congress – once it mattered – they couldn't agree on a solution.

There was virtually no leadership from the White House on what a bill should look like. Trump's campaign promise to "take care of everybody" disappeared faster than a snowball on the Senate floor. He made it clear he would have signed anything Congress sent to him; he was only interested in the political victory, not results.

That left it up to Congress to write the bill, and the result was predictably chaotic. Far-right Freedom Caucus Republicans fought with less conservative Republicans (let's dispense with the notion that they're moderates, please) over exactly how many millions of people should have their health care stripped from them. Horses were traded. American lives were little more than legislative chits. The House eked out a bill, and Trump celebrated on the White House lawn with the whitest group of people assembled since the Donny and Marie reunion tour.

Then it was up to the Senate, where the only solution Mitch McConnell could come up with to get the 50 votes he needed was no solution at all. The so-called "skinny repeal" bill would have destabilized health insurance markets while accomplishing exactly nothing.

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/features/ideology-not-tactics-killed-trumpcare-w494720?utm_source=rsnewsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=daily&utm_campaign=072817_15