Aside From Donald Trump’s Win, The GOP Is Still Dying
While the GOP holds a majority in the Senate and the House of Representatives, Senators and Representatives alike have failed to unite themselves.
In fact, the Republicans were an opposition party for the better part of the last seven years.
While there was some skeleton of a plan to replace Obamacare, it was never given too much thought or reviewed by committees effectively.
When Donald Trump won the White House, although the Republican party became the majority, it was still an opposition party.
For Republicans to rally behind Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan seemed to be too much.
While Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer organized and filibustered, Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell failed to unite behind one bill.
President Trump spent hours and hours on the phone from the early hours of the morning until late at night converting one senator after the other to his vision and plan for healthcare.
Key senators like Rand Paul also failed to unite behind the American Healthcare Act.
While the plan was flawed, in my opinion, it still improved upon the healthcare system that many found to be failing.
The GOP needs to transition from an opposing body and become a legislative and policy oriented body.
The Republicans no longer have an excuse.
They are now the majority party and must capitalize on the situations that are in front of them.
The Republicans now have the option to improve the Tax Code from millions of words into perhaps just thousands, which details what people owe their Government.
In fact, the Government owes us a system that works for and by the people.
The Republicans have the responsibility to get behind some of the bills and plans that the Trump Administration proposes even if they are mildly flawed, as most bills are.
Just because it isn’t perfect doesn’t mean it should be completely rejected.
Obamacare had flaws and it was still introduced.
Many American’s could not keep their doctors.
For many, the premiums or deductibles were too high.
For example, some were covered, but the deductible was too high and thus, they weren’t effectively covered.
The problems with Obamacare were real, but so was the solution that was put forth.
Sure, it had problems, but it was still better than Obamacare.
While Rand Paul and Paul Ryan had different visions of healthcare than Trump, they both believe that Obamacare is a disaster and should be repealed and replaced.
The question was never about if it should be replaced, but rather what should replace it.
If this failure to unite behind our President continues, the Republican party has a long four years ahead and will likely have a difficult time in the midterm elections.
Pelosi and Schumer need to capitalize on this opportunity if they want their party to succeed.
The Democratic party forgot to nominate Bernie Sanders and underwent some serious divisiveness during the presidential campaign.
The victory of the Republicans will be short lived if they can’t unite behind the man who won it all, President Donald Trump.
There is some great news though.
The Republican party can use the nuclear option to nominate Neil Gorsuch, who was unanimously nominated to be a judge back in 2006.
The Republicans have the ball in their court, it is up to Speaker Ryan and Mitch McConnell to not drop it.
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Cover Photo Credit: Patrick Feller/ Flickr (CC By 2.0)