Donald Trump, never the sharpest tool in a given set of bowling balls, promised that Obamacare would be repealed “on day one.” But Republicans weren’t exactly waiting with a replacement bill and a pen when he arrived.
Repealing President Obama’s signature accomplishment became the central focus of Trump’s first 100 days. But despite Donald Trump investing almost a whole week’s work into the bill, it went down in flames, generating some unflattering analysis.
Dan Rather says the failure of the GOP healthcare bill to pass is the most "staggering loss" he's ever seen so early in a president's term ...
The sequel bill made it to the Senate, where an endless parade of articles ensured America that Mitch McConnell’s wily strategic brilliance and willingness to trample on centuries-old Senate rules would get that baby delivered. Only, someone in the process didn’t hold up his end.
Across town, over rosemary-grilled rib eye and summer vegetable succotash at the White House, President Donald Trump and GOP leaders were attempting to convince a group of reliably conservative rank-and-filers to join with them and vote for the health care bill. But as they dined on lemon ricotta agnolotti with heirloom tomato ragout and the "farm stand peach cobbler," the Senate rebellion against the health care bill was well underway.
Somehow, even agnolotti didn’t get Republicans to sign up with Donald Trump. Whatever that is.
Of course, by putting out a statement that “most” Republicans were loyal (to who?) hard-workers, Trump leaves himself some space to go after the others—those lazy traitors. Democrats also come in for scorn despite being purposely cut out of the whole affair.
But what’s obvious about the latest healthcare bill failure isn’t just that Republicans have been unable to turn eight years of Obamacare talk into any form of action. The bigger revelation is that—no one is afraid of Donald Trump.
All Trump’s cajoling, threatening, fuming, and summer vegetable succotash wasn’t able to swing the handful of votes he needed. Republicans voting against the bill had to know they’d be in the scope of Trump’s Twitter feed, and they still didn’t go along with him.
Why not? For one thing, there’s Trump’s mercurial nature. Ask Lyin’ Ted, Little Marco, and “he’s a hero because he got taken prisoner” McCain how loyal Trump is to Republicans. What’s the point of being loyal to someone whose loyalty arrow only points one way?
Trump’s inconsistency doesn’t stop with people.
Two tweets within twelve hours of each other offering completely different plans. Kill it and force Democrats to beg for mercy? Let it die and something, something.
Why would any Republican go out on a limb for Donald Trump, when they know well enough that Trump will turn on them at the first sign of disagreement … and he’ll create the disagreement himself.
There’s also the non-trivial matter that people hate you, Jar Jar Trump. They really hate you. In fact, they hate Trump so much that Trump has started simply lying about his numbers.
"The ABC/Washington Post Poll, even though almost 40% is not bad at this time, was just about the most inaccurate poll around election time!" Trump tweeted Sunday morning, July 16.
The ABC News/Washington Post poll actually showed Trump’s approval rating at 36 percent — not almost 40 percent, as the president stated.
If Republicans were already disinclined to put their necks on the line for Trump when his support has the lifespan of a tsetse fly, they’re even less excited to sign up with the least popular president in seventy years.
Finally, there’s the little matter of how tying themselves to Trump means getting into an increasingly crowded bed filled with Russian lawyers, ex-Soviet oligarchs, mobsters, spies, and Steve Bannon.
All the factors go together to give Trump’s political power all the efficacy, and appeal, of a fart in a hurricane.
The bill didn’t even get to 49 votes. But sure. Go for it.