Apropos the political disaster that has resulted from Republican efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and replace it with something “better” (a.k.a. the GOP Dump and Dupe operation), Kevin Drum observes that:
Paul Ryan and the rest of the House leadership is considering pulling the bill rather than suffering through an embarrassing loss, and Ryan has told President Trump he doesn't have the votes to pass it. Trump still wants a vote, though, so he can take down the names of the No voters and swear eternal vengeance on them. He's already declared war on the Freedom Caucus.
According to Mathew Sheffield in Salon, “many people within the administration would be eager to exact retribution on Republicans they see as disloyal.” And in the case of President Twitter, they might be able to make it happen. The same article notes that the members of the Freedom Caucus, the main opposition, hail mostly from safe districts where they have more to fear from being primaried from the right — and Trump’s approval in many of these area is close to 81%, much, much higher than the national average.
Of course — nd likely most important — there’s the question of financial aid from the official GOP apparatus that is likely more or less controlled by the President, the titular head of the Party. The loss of that support could smart — not to mention the pain engendered by seeing it go to an opponent.
On the other hand, the ideologically rigid Freedom Caucus types actually stand for what has come to be regarded as conservative orthodoxy in today’s extreme right wing environment. Not all conservative voters actually understand the ins and outs of that orthodoxy when it moves beyond fancy rhetoric, but they just love shaking their pitchforks, so, maybe, framed artfully, Trumpcare opponents can get away with defying the President in the name of that right wing catchall, Freedom. And they can always wave around a figurative Constitution, which is especially great since so few of them or their adherents really know anything about it.
The cherry on the sunday? It might not even hurt the bottom line. Republican opponents of Trumpcare, a.k.a. the American Health Care Act (AHCA), have some powerful allies. Which is to say, allies with easily accessible checkbooks and big bank balances:
According to a CNN report, advocacy groups led by Charles and David Koch are promising to create a new fund for Republican re-election races in 2018 for GOP lawmakers who vote against the current proposed health-care bill. “We want to make certain that lawmakers understand the policy consequences of voting for a law that keeps Obamacare intact,” Americans for Prosperity President Tim Phillips said. “We have a history of following up and holding politicians accountable, but we will also be there to support and thank the champions who stand strong and keep their promise.”
When I was a child my mother used to talk about how one could expect corrupt behavior from some folks because “they know which side their bread is buttered on.” Sad to say, the fate of healthcare in the U.S. may be decided by folks who will be making a decision about which side their bread is best buttered on.
And really, what’s a poor Republican gonna do? It’s either damned if you do, damned if you don’t — or, alternatively, who actually gives a damn, in the end, it’ll all come out in the wash.