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Title: Having Co-Opted the Tea Party Nationwide, Trump Tries to Stamp out its Remnants in Congress
Source:
Reason
URL Source: https://reason.com/blog/2017/03/27/ ... opted-the-tea-party-nationwide
Published: Mar 27, 2017
Author: Matt Welch
Post Date: 2017-03-28 07:39:41 by Deckard
Keywords: None
Views: 2401
Comments: 20
Have you seen the latest craze among Trump administration officials and their enablers in the Republican establishment? It's called Pin the Blame for Ryancare on the House Freedom Caucus, and it starts right at the top: Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump Democrats are smiling in D.C. that the Freedom Caucus, with the help of Club For Growth and Heritage, have saved Planned Parenthood & Ocare! This assessment of the famously stubborn, 29-member group is shared by an uncounted number of the their colleagues, and even one of their own: Rep. Ted Poe (R-Texas), who resigned from the caucus yesterday, explaining that, "Saying no is easy, leading is hard, but that is what we were elected to do." Also in the screw-you-guys,-I'm-going-home camp is Rep. Austin Scott. ✔ @AustinScottGA08 Mark Meadows betrayed Trump and America and supported Pelosi and Dems to protect Obamacare. As the debacle was taking shape Friday, you saw a lot of such with-us-or-against-us talk: Hugh Hewitt ✔ @hughhewitt Which @HouseGOP members will vote w/ @NancyPelosi today to keep Obamacare? Hard to believe any, but there are some who are...well, confused And it wasn't just on talk-radio Twitter. The Wall Street Journal, in a withering post-debacle editorial, asserted that the Freedom Caucus "sabotaged"…its "best chance to reform government": [T]he result of their rule-or-ruin strategy will now be the ObamaCare status quo, and Mark Meadows (North Carolina), Jim Jordan (Ohio), Louie Gohmert (Texas) and the rest own all of its problems. Please spare everyone your future grievances about rising health spending or an ever-larger government. The grand prize for cynicism goes to Senator Rand Paul, who campaigned against the bill while offering an alternative that hasn't a prayer of passing. Now, there are plenty of contrary takes (see Conn Carroll, Justin Amash, and Reihan Salam, for starters). But the betting money is that both the Trump administration and the GOP establishment it now sits atop will seek actively to marginalize the rebels and instead find common governing cause with centrist Democrats, particularly in the United States Senate. If true, this scenario would produce one of the greatest cognitive dissonances in modern political history, while setting the administration up for even more humiliation during its honeymoon phase. Trump the above-the-fray outsider is collaborating with dealmaking career insiders to sideline one of the only principled Beltway blocs, even before showing any ability to woo Democrats over to Trump's anti-conservative agenda. It's all shaping up to be a godawful mess. In a terrific New York Times Magazine article over the weekend, Robert Draper captured the quick devolution of Planet Trump's attitudes toward the House Freedom Caucus, and by extrapolation its Senate allies such as Rand Paul, Mike Lee, and Ted Cruz: Early this year, [House Majority Leader Kevin] McCarthy predicted to me that the new president would quickly subjugate the Freedom Caucus. "Trump is strong in their districts," McCarthy told me. "There's not a place for them to survive in this world." When we spoke on the morning of March 7, Trump assured me that he would not bully the Obamacare-replacement bill's loudest Republican critics, like the Freedom Caucus chairman, Representative Mark Meadows, on Twitter: "No, I don't think I'll have to," he said. "Mark Meadows is a great guy and a friend of mine. I don't think he'd ever disappoint me, or the party. I think he's great. No, I would never call him out on Twitter. Some of the others, too. I don't think we'll need to…." But on March 21, in a meeting with the Freedom Caucus about the bill, Trump called out Meadows by name, saying, "I'm going to come after you, but I know I won't have to, because I know you'll vote 'yes.' " Meadows remained a "no" The Draper piece makes clear that many of Trump's post-Ryancare priorities will involve such deviations from modern conservative orthodoxy as raising tariffs, spending billions on infrastructure, and abandoning even the rhetorical pretense of taking on the fiscal unsustainability of old-age entitlements. When I spoke with Trump, I ventured that, based on available evidence, it seemed as though conservatives probably shouldn't hold their breath for the next four years expecting entitlement reform. Trump's reply was immediate. "I think you're right," he said. In fact, Trump seemed much less animated by the subject of budget cuts than the subject of spending increases. "We're also going to prime the pump," he said. "You know what I mean by 'prime the pump'? In order to get this" — the economy — "going, and going big league, and having the jobs coming in and the taxes that will be cut very substantially and the regulations that'll be going, we're going to have to prime the pump to some extent. In other words: Spend money to make a lot more money in the future. And that'll happen." A clearer elucidation of Keynesian liberalism could not have been delivered by Obama. […] When I asked Trump if he was a fan of the border-adjustment tax, he replied: "I am. I'm the king of that." And to woo Democrats his way, Draper reported, Trump has offered preliminary support for expanding gun background checks, mandating greater benefits to miners, financing high-speed rail projects, and using the federal contracting process to punish companies that outsource jobs. Two bookended quotes from senior advisor Steve Bannon preview the new Trumpian bipartisanship: "I think the Democrats are fundamentally afflicted with the inability to discuss and have an adult conversation about economics and jobs, because they're too consumed by identity politics. And then the Republicans, it's all this theoretical Cato Institute, Austrian economics, limited government — which just doesn't have any depth to it. They're not living in the real world." […] "The thing you need to know about Trump," Bannon said, "is he doesn't care about the Republican Party and he doesn't care about the Democratic Party. He just wants to put some wins on the board for the country." But there are three serious structural obstacles to Trump effectively trading two dozen House libertarian-leaners for a half-dozen centrist Democrats in the Senate: 1) The administration needs the House Freedom Caucus to pass stuff like corporate tax reform, let alone the unpalatably steep agency cuts that Trump's proposed budget relies on to maintain last year's federal spending levels. (Reality check from Draper: "as a top House Republican staff member told me, 'even the cabinet secretaries at the E.P.A. and Interior are saying these cuts aren't going to happen. They're going to protect their grant programs, their payments to states, their Superfunds. So how do you cut 31 percent of the E.P.A. out of the 5 percent that isn't protected? And a bill that cuts all money for the N.E.A. will not pass. For Republicans in the West' — states whose vast rural areas benefit disproportionately from N.E.A. grants — 'that's a re-election killer. The campaign commercials write themselves.'") 2) There is no evidence yet that Democrats will collaborate with a president their base despises. Gallup's latest poll shows Trump with just a 36 percent national approval rating, lower than either Barack Obama or Bill Clinton ever had. And his approval rating among Democrats has been hovering in the high single digits. 3) The same Ryancare bill whose Republican opponents Trumpworld wants to punish for disloyalty was almost hysterically unpopular, far more widely loathed than even the Obamacare mess it sought to supplant. There's every reason to believe the HFC helped the Republican Party dodge a bullet, while also saving the country from a bad piece of legislation. As such, it's within the realm of plausibility that the Freedom Caucus stands to gain, not lose, political support from outside Capitol Hill. Which leads to the greatest dissonance of all. For more than a year now, House Freedom Caucus pal (though not a member—he's too independent for that!) Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Kentucky) has been telling a good and I think largely true shaggy dog story about how he thought his Tea Party-affiliated voters were attracted to limited-government notions, until he went to Iowa to campaign for Rand Paul and instead encountered a tsunami of TP support for Donald Trump. "I realized," he said, "they weren't voting for libertarian ideas—they were voting for the craziest son of a bitch in the race. And Donald Trump won best in class, as we had up until he came along." And how had the Paul/Massie/Lee/Cruz/Justin Amash class, and the movement they sprang out of, earned that crazy rep in the first place? By tackling head-on the sellout policies and corrupted personnel decisions of the GOP establishment. They were draining the swamp even before Donald Trump was getting into the birth-certificate forensics business. When I interviewed Massie and Amash in January 2016, just before their preferred candidate Rand Paul dropped out of the presidential race, both acknowledged that Trump was more successfully attracting voters who were disappointed that too many Tea Party picks had gone native in Washington. "They have sent some people here to Congress who said all the right things, they ran as Tea Party candidates, then they got up here and they voted for the omnibus bill, or voting for Speaker Boehner on their first day after pledging they wouldn't vote for him," Massie said. "And so what they're looking for is somebody's that's not going to be controlled when they get here." Trump may still be beyond the control of mere mortals, but ever since bending the party apparatus to his will in July 2016, along the way discovering that the "principles" of such fiscal conservatives as Mike Pence are about as malleable as tin foil, he has created a paradox that borders on the delicious: The very establishment he once railed against for being power-hungry sellouts have now sold themselves out to Donald Trump in order to retain power. And now both sides have joined up in trying to stamp out the last remaining principled deviants, who show little outward sign of giving a rip. If you plan on well and truly killing the Tea Party, it turns out, you're gonna need a bigger stake. The ultimate outsider candidate collaborates with the GOP establishment to marginalize the House Freedom Caucus and pivot toward centrist Democrats
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#1. To: Deckard (#0)
Amash is a piece of shit muslim lover.
Just because someone is against Trump's travel ban doesn't mean he is a "muslim lover". Or a "piece of shit". Do Muslims Commit Most U.S. Terrorist Attacks? "By covering terrorist attacks by Muslims dramatically more than other incidents, media frame this type of event as more prevalent. Based on these findings, it is no wonder that Americans are so fearful of radical Islamic terrorism. Reality shows, however, that these fears are misplaced." Such fears are indeed misplaced. Your risk of being killed in a jihadist terror attack in the last 15 years amounted to roughly 1 in 2,640,000. Even if you stretch the period back to include 9/11, the risk would still just have been 1 in 110,000. Your lifetime risk of dying in a lightning strike is 1 in 161,000, and your chance of being killed in a motor vehicle crash is 1 in 114. Given that our government has already squandered more than $500 billion on homeland security, while encroaching on our liberties, it is vital that Americans keep the threat of terrorism in perspective. When Rand Paul was asked for his solution, he said they should proceed slowly, passing only what both factions agreed on, and try not to do too much at once. And he had the balls to call Trump's plan Obamacare-Lite?
Every time I see the picture of these 3 together and think about how they are acting … I can’t help it - but I am instantly reminded of these 3 together and how comical they also acted … Rand is of course the one with the kinky hair in both photos. Someone on Rand’s staff needs to advise Rand on the correct “business suit” dress. Rand dresses like he is going to some hillbilly dance back in the Kentucky sticks during the 1950s. He is such a pathetic looking creature …
I think Rand was being far too diplomatic. It is 0bamaCare. And once the GOP has cemented it as a permanent bipartisan measure, just wait until the Dems get the WH again. Rip it out. "Root and branch" as McConnell promised us many times, along with all the GOP congresscritters. No Republican ever voted for 0care. But that is what they want to do now. Phase I? Phase II and Phase III? Those are fantasies. You get a phase I where you screw a lot of Republican voters in various states like Alaska and Arizona and Nebraska and Kentucky. And that is so you can have a big tax cut for the rich, a GOP monomania. But 0care will remain and there will be no Phase II or Phase III at all.
He is such a pathetic looking creature How about posting a pic of yourself so we can all judge you? Be that as it may, that's what he said (starting at :50) http://video.foxnews.com/v/5375078529001/?#sp=show-clips He said nothing about "ripping it out, root and branch". More like "Tiptoe Through the Tulips". This is YOUR guy proposing a weak tea solution. You must be so disappointed.
So ... better that 0care will remain and there will be no Phase II or Phase III OR Phase I. 'Cause that what you got now.
The imaginary Phase II/III was only a ruse to get gullible conservatives to vote for the RINO RyanCare bill which was just a cheesy version of 0bamaCare which would nevertheless cement 0care into place for the next 50 years. RynoCare was a bait-and-switch RINO bill. Not the repeal we were promised for 7 years and through 50 different votes to repeal it.
You have no idea what you're talking about. You're lazy and simply repeating what you hear. The only thing Trump's healthcare bill retained from Obamacare was pre-existing conditions coverage and 26-year-olds coverage. You want to focus on that and ignore the rest? You choose to ignore the ending of individual mandates, employer mandates, plans that cover everything whether you want it or not, adding tax credits for individuals, a freeze of Medicaid expansion, expanding HSA's, defunding Planned Parenthood, and block-granting Medicaid. Oh, forget all that! Vote down the bill because Trump kept a couple of things from Obamacare. It's not perfect!
If that were true, there would be no need for a (fictional) Phase II or Phase III. And it was the pre-existing conditions coverage and the 26yo "child" coverage that were at the heart of the problem with 0bamaCare, at least as far as making the books balance. Retaining these in any program guarantees its collapse, just as the GOP recognized all along until the day after the November election when saying that suddenly would get you labeled a "fanatic" who "can't find their way to yes" and "allow the perfect to be the enemy of the good". Sound familiar? It's a very familiar template. We've heard exactly the same from the RINOs as they bash conservatives and blame them once the party is actually in power and accountable for what they campaigned for. "Oh, those nasty conservatives ruined everything for us again." Damn, you are such a sucker for these lies. Mark Levin addressed people like you recently.
Obamacare gave regulatory power to Kathleen Sebelius, HHS Secretary under Obama. She wrote the regulations. Repealing Obamacare does not repeal the regulations, only the power to write them. Hence, Phase II which allows Tom Price, the new HHS Secretary, to write new ones. Phase III contains the new laws which require 60 votes. This package would include cost saving measures such as tort reform, buying insurance across state lines, negotiating prescription drug prices, and setting up private health insurance pools.
Repeal it. Then we can talk about these Phase II and Phase III ideas you have.
The "26-year-old" coverage is paid by the parents. It's no big deal. What IS a big deal is covering pre-existing conditions. That's expensive. But, what do you propose? How many votes for the bill do you think you could get with an answer like, "Let them die"? Seriously. What's your plan, Stan? Or is it your job simply to criticize others without offering any solution of your own?
Tried that. Didn't work. Your guys stood in the way. Ball's now in your court. Do something or STFU.
Trump had one thing going for him in the last election. He was running against Hillary. Running against Hillary a rabid infected dog could make a good comparitive impression. Trump is a block headed carnival barker with a billion dollars in his back pocket to impress people. He lost the first debate by a landslide but was saved by Hillary's health problems at the second debate.
We have a solution. The 2015 Price repeal bill which passed Congress twice. Stop pretending it doesn't exist and that it didn't have almost unanimous GOP support only 14 months ago. We most certainly did not try it. We tried to cement the failed 0bamaCare into law forever along with a promise that we'd fix it all in a (never gonna happen) Phase II and Phase III (when the Dems would magically rise to give us the votes to finally get rid of it). No. The GOP has promised repeal for 7 years, through over 50 votes, as the centerpiece of GOP campaings for four straight elections as we gave them the House, the Senate, and the WH. Now repeal the goddamned thing, you worthless scumbags.
SPOT ON ...
I admit it exists and that it had almost unanimous GOP support only 14 months ago -- when it didn't count. Now that the same bill can pass, the Freedom Caucus chickened out. But, oh, how they strutted around after voting to repeal when they knew Obama would veto anything they passed. They were so brave! Just look at them! Our heroes. The fought the good fight but that darn old Obama stopped them. Bunch of slimy, yellow-bellied hypocrites. May they all lose in 2018.
It is most certainly not the same bill. And you know it. Stop pretending otherwise.
#2. To: A K A Stone (#1)
(Edited)
Amash is a piece of shit muslim lover.
“Truth is treason in the empire of lies.” - Ron Paul
Those who most loudly denounce Fake News are typically those most aggressively disseminating it.
#3. To: Deckard (#0)
#4. To: All (#0)
(Edited)
#5. To: misterwhite (#3)
And he had the balls to call Trump's plan Obamacare-Lite?
#6. To: Gatlin (#4)
Rand dresses like he is going to some hillbilly dance back in the Kentucky sticks during the 1950s.
“Truth is treason in the empire of lies.” - Ron Paul
Those who most loudly denounce Fake News are typically those most aggressively disseminating it.
#7. To: Tooconservative (#5)
"I think Rand was being far too diplomatic."
#8. To: Tooconservative (#5)
"But 0care will remain and there will be no Phase II or Phase III at all."
#9. To: misterwhite (#8)
So ... better that 0care will remain and there will be no Phase II or Phase III OR Phase I.
#10. To: Tooconservative (#9)
"to vote for the RINO RyanCare bill which was just a cheesy version of 0bamaCare"
#11. To: misterwhite (#10)
(Edited)
The only thing Trump's healthcare bill retained from Obamacare was pre-existing conditions coverage and 26-year-olds coverage. You want to focus on that and ignore the rest?
#12. To: Tooconservative (#11)
"If that were true, there would be no need for a (fictional) Phase II or Phase III."
#13. To: misterwhite (#12)
#14. To: Tooconservative (#11)
"And it was the pre-existing conditions coverage and the 26yo "child" coverage that were at the heart of the problem with 0bamaCare, at least as far as making the books balance. Retaining these in any program guarantees its collapse"
#15. To: Tooconservative (#13)
"Repeal it. Then we can talk about these Phase II and Phase III ideas you have."
#16. To: Deckard (#0)
#17. To: misterwhite (#14)
(Edited)
Seriously. What's your plan, Stan? Or is it your job simply to criticize others without offering any solution of your own?
Tried that. Didn't work. Your guys stood in the way.
#18. To: misterwhite (#15)
Ball's now in your court. Do something or STFU.
#19. To: Tooconservative (#17)
"Stop pretending it doesn't exist and that it didn't have almost unanimous GOP support only 14 months ago."
#20. To: misterwhite (#19)
I admit it exists and that it had almost unanimous GOP support only 14 months ago -- when it didn't count. Now that the same bill can pass, the Freedom Caucus chickened out.
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