Trump's healthcare defeat - a Republican fiasco years in the making
'Who was responsible? A president with a short attention span and no grasp of either process or policy didn't help'
After seven years of pledging to repeal and replace Obamacare as soon as possible, Republicans today pulled their bill from the House floor just before a scheduled vote -- because it was going to go down in flames. We should pause and realize what a big deal this is. The number one agenda item for years, the one that most House Republicans campaigned on when first elected, and they couldn't manage to even get an initial bill out of the House. Not only that, but it was clear this week that even though most of them were willing to vote for it, practically no one was enthusiastic about what they had produced. It also polled terribly, and conservative health care wonks hated the bill. Who was responsible? A president with a short attention span and no grasp of either process or policy didn't help. A speaker of the House with little experience or, so far, much in the way of demonstrated legislative ability wasn't helpful, either. Then there is the rejectionist House Freedom Caucus, who h...
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