After ObamaCare repeal, GOP majorities on life support

[DonViejo]

BY ERIC HAM, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR - 05/11/17 11:40 AM EDT

In just 105 days of his presidency, Donald Trump with the help of the House GOP, finally got the victory he desperately needed. After failing to begin the dismantling of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), aka ObamaCare, in Trump’s first 100 days, the House GOP, led by Speaker Paul Ryan, finally slayed their white whale.

With 217 yea votes and no Democrat support, Republicans passed the American Health Care Act (AHCA) which aims to repeal President Obama's signature legislative accomplishment. A triumph of epic proportion indeed (though it leaves some key provisions of ObamaCare in place and faces uncertainty in the U.S. Senate). One thing for sure the victory does assure is that GOP representatives are “dead-men walking” in the 2018 midterm elections.

After a string of stunning losses and setbacks on the Hill and in the courts including TrumpCare, the travel ban and border wall funding, the Trump administration is seizing on the passage of AHCA as a much-needed lifeline.

However, in doing so, the House GOP leadership rushed through a bill absent the all-important Congressional Budget Office scoring and no hearings to vet the bill's impact on the American people. This amid the backdrop that a recent Gallup poll shows the Obama’s Affordable Care Act with a 55 percent approval rating, while the AHCA stands at a paltry 17 percent. Despite those facts, Republicans are determined to strip millions of Americans of healthcare. (The CBO estimated approximately 24 million could lose coverage under the GOP’s plan).

In the aftermath of Obama's historic healthcare win, Democrats proceeded to lose a whopping 63 seats in the House and six in the Senate. Moreover, historically, the party that controls the White House struggles to maintain seats in midterm elections and if history is any guide, the House GOP's healthcare "victory" all but dooms both Republican-led chambers to minority status in 2018. Moreover, President Trump’s historically-low approval numbers only compounds the problems confronting Republicans efforts to maintain control of the levers of power in Washington after 2018.

more
http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/national-party-news/332931-after-obamacare-repeal-gop-majorities-on-life-support

[HughBeaumont]

1. One factor kind of puts the kibosh on this argument:

The American Voter.

I'm simply not convinced they're ever going to fall out of love with Republicans or cease pining for the "Successor to the Reagan Mantle".

They're so PAINFULLY DESPERATE for a Republican administration that isn't corrupt, disastrous or a multi-million-job loser. They want SO BAD to have a Republican administration that has all the qualities of the Democratic administrations assigned clean-up duty.

Remember - THESE are the people that thought "President Donald Trump" was a good idea.

NOT putting my hopes on that.

[50 Shades Of Blue]

2. Heard that before...