Greetings! As you know, the Senate is still struggling to find a way to keep Republicans' promise to the nation...that they would end Obamacare and (eventually) replace it with something better. Let's hope they can make it happen.
Here is my latest article, which should be appearing soon in a newspaper near you, and has already appeared in
American Greatness ... Thanks to
American Greatness for providing another outstanding platform for my conservative commentary. :)
The article follows the logic of my previous post, more or less. I hope you enjoy it, and I hope you encourage your Congressman and Senators to vote to end Obamacare and pursue real fixes to our broken health care system. If you ask me, time is running out. Our health care fiasco will bankrupt us, if we're not able to change course.
https://amgreatness.com/2017/07/24/repealing-obamacare-spur-much-needed-bipartisanship/
<SPAN LANG="en">Republicans
should just REPEAL failing ObamaCare now &amp; work on a new
Healthcare Plan that will start from a clean slate. Dems will join
in!” Much as so many Americans like to denigrate the President's
tweets, in this case I believe he is on to something. In fact, his
advice, if followed, could be a game changer in terms of both health
care and the toxic political environment we find ourselves in. I
shall explain.</SPAN></P>
<P LANG="en" STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"> Now, I do not discount the
possibility that Republicans in the Senate will ultimately pull
themselves together and vote to pass a comprehensive plan to repeal
and replace Obamacare. Remember, the House of Representatives had
enormous difficulty in passing a similar bill, but they got it done.
That it was hard should come as a surprise to no one. Every
Congressman, and every Senator, is holding out for the best possible
deal, as he or she sees it. That's just political gamesmanship. No
one should dismiss the possibility, therefore, that the Republican
effort to repeal and replace Obamacare simultaneously will still
succeed.</P>
<P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><SPAN LANG="en"> But, supposing that
“repeal and replace” really is dead in the water, Trump's plan
for repealing now, and replacing later, has considerable merit. Of
all its potential advantages, though, I want to concentrate on only
one: repealing Obamacare now, and presenting Democrats with a </SPAN><SPAN LANG="en"><I>fait
accompli</I></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en">, is the best way to confront them
with the fact that Obamacare really is dead, and starting over is a
necessity. It is thus also the best way to convince them to
participate in creating a new and better health care plan.</SPAN></P>
<P LANG="en" STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"> Of course, any conservative
will tell you that getting rid of Obamacare has been a necessity, in
terms of the national interest, for a long time, and that may be
true. Politically, though, Democrats are under huge pressure from
their fanatically leftist base to preserve Obamacare, for a number of
reasons: it is part of President Obama's (tattered) legacy; it
expands access to health care for many Democratic constituents; and,
philosophically and practically, it expands government, and what
leftist doesn't jump for joy whenever government swells in size and
power?</P>
<P LANG="en" STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"> Not surprisingly, every
Democrat in the House and Senate has so far voted against the
Republicans' bills to repeal and replace Obamacare. Whatever they
may think of Obamacare itself, and some must realize its manifold
flaws, politically they cannot afford to anger the Democratic base,
which loves Obamacare.</P>
<P LANG="en" STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"> But imagine that Trump's
advice is followed by Congressional Republicans, and they vote to
repeal Obamacare in a way that takes effect in, say, 2019 or 2020.
Trump would sign the bill, and instantly the political landscape
would change. No longer could Democrats portray their obstructionism
as a defense of Obamacare. Obamacare would be history. Democrats
and Republicans alike would thus have to turn the page and ask
themselves: after Obamacare's demise, what comes next? Surely,
something would come next. It could be something hammered out by
Republicans, working alone, no doubt with great difficulty, but with
a sense of urgency, since Americans do expect some assistance from
the federal government in meeting their health care needs. But I
believe it is much more likely that, instead of Republicans working
alone to replace Obamacare in the next two or three years,
responsible, moderate Democrats will join them. They will want to
put their stamp on “Trumpcare,” as it may eventually be called,
and the Republican leadership is likely to welcome them to the table,
because passing a replacement health care plan would be immensely
difficult, as it has been up to now, without any Democratic support.</P>
<P LANG="en" STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"> The long-term result of
following Trump's advice on health care, therefore – of repealing
now, and replacing later – may be, not only better health care, but
more bipartisanship in Washington, something that has been
depressingly rare ever since the contentious (Bill) Clinton years.
Simply put, the shibboleth of Obamacare, alternately adored and
despised by millions of Americans, will have been obliterated, and
freed of that mythical construct we will all see health care with
fresh eyes. Democrats and Republicans may even find that, in
cobbling together a new plan, they are in agreement much of the time
on what needs to be done. (That, frankly, is already the case.) For
those who think this is pie in the sky, consider all the Democrats
who voted to confirm various Trump nominees, including Supreme Court
Justice Neil Gorsuch. That is a beginning, but much more can be
done.</P>
<P LANG="en" STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"> Sometimes, to make progress
after a long period of deadlock and recrimination, the old
conversation needs to be set aside, and a new conservation begun.
Trump's tweet shows how this can be accomplished, and how Congress
and the President can start governing again. It's worth a try, is it
not?</P>
<P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal"><BR>
</P>
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