On Tuesday, March 26, 2019 President Trump threw a virtual grenade into the Washington debating room when he tweeted, “The Republican Party will become ‘The Party of Healthcare.’” This announcement came the day after the Justice Department wrote a March 25 letter to the U.S. Court of Appeals in New Orleans that it would side with the December 14, 2018 U.S. District Court Northern District of Texas rulingthat the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), or Obamacare, was unconstitutional. The reasoning is because congress removed the penalty for not complying with the mandate to purchase health insurance, the mandate is no longer legitimate under congress’s taxing power, and is therefore unconstitutional.
Soon after the announcement, news outlets repeated the refrain that the Republicans had no healthcare plan to replace Obamacare. The Washington Post stated, “For Trump’s ‘Party of Healthcare,’ there is no health-care plan;” Roll Call declared, “Trump: GOP will have replacement if Obamacare is struck down, but no plan is in sight;” the HuffPost blared, “There Is No GOP Obamacare Replacement and There Never Has Been;” and the Vox wrote, “Republicans spent the weekend talking about a new health care plan that doesn’t exist.”
After President Trump’s tweet, too many Republicans scurried about aimlessly, trying to find a corner to hide in, nervously sucking their thumbs. The general theme whispered in congressional hallways was “we can’t run on healthcare … we’ll lose.” GOP Leadership said no replacement plan will be voted on before 2020.
The truth is the Republicans won the House of Representatives in 2010 by running against Obamacare’s overreach and captured the Senate in 2014 due to voter discontent with President Obama’s policies. The real problem was that after 7 years of promises to repeal and replace Obamacare, they were unable to come up with an agreement and sign it into law, even though the Republicans had the power to do it in 2017. The Democrats hammered the GOP in the 2018 campaign due to the Texas court’s decision, claiming they were dismantling Obamacare and that the GOP had no alternative to replace it or help people with pre-existing conditions. As a result, the Republicans lost control of the House in 2018.
Soon after the announcement, news outlets repeated the refrain that the Republicans had no healthcare plan to replace Obamacare. The Washington Post stated, “For Trump’s ‘Party of Healthcare,’ there is no health-care plan;” Roll Call declared, “Trump: GOP will have replacement if Obamacare is struck down, but no plan is in sight;” the HuffPost blared, “There Is No GOP Obamacare Replacement and There Never Has Been;” and the Vox wrote, “Republicans spent the weekend talking about a new health care plan that doesn’t exist.”
After President Trump’s tweet, too many Republicans scurried about aimlessly, trying to find a corner to hide in, nervously sucking their thumbs. The general theme whispered in congressional hallways was “we can’t run on healthcare … we’ll lose.” GOP Leadership said no replacement plan will be voted on before 2020.
The truth is the Republicans won the House of Representatives in 2010 by running against Obamacare’s overreach and captured the Senate in 2014 due to voter discontent with President Obama’s policies. The real problem was that after 7 years of promises to repeal and replace Obamacare, they were unable to come up with an agreement and sign it into law, even though the Republicans had the power to do it in 2017. The Democrats hammered the GOP in the 2018 campaign due to the Texas court’s decision, claiming they were dismantling Obamacare and that the GOP had no alternative to replace it or help people with pre-existing conditions. As a result, the Republicans lost control of the House in 2018.
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