All about optics. The average American knows very little about actual policies and what they contain.
“Soandso Senator is refusing to work with THE VERY MAN WE SENT TO THE WHITE HOUSE TO FIX THIS COUNTRYYYYY (pause for booing old senator). I pledge to work WITH the President to MAKE. THIS. COUNTRY. GREAT AGAIN! (pause for cheering)”
Um… how exactly? Just because Ryan won’t defend Trump’s p-grab video? Good luck with that.
Just because somebody has an R next to their name does not mean they need to defend every stupid thing the president says, does, or has done. He can only surround himself with yes-men in the white house, but he can’t do that elsewhere.
The fingers will already be pointed. Coming back to their base with no appreciable improvement is already a losing strategy.
EDIT: That is not to say your other concerns aren’t valid. They very much are.
First, this isn’t news - Ryan came out against Trump and his comments at the time the news hit. There’s no duplicity here.
Second, Ryan scores points here, and doesn’t lose them - no rational human would defend those comments.
Ryan is the Speaker of the House - he doesn’t work for Trump. That’s a good thing, unless you want the U.S. to be an autocracy.
Sure you do. Shove it down their throats until they understand what they have been doing.
Agreed. So improve things and let the finger pointing be countered with positive results.
My understanding is the new policy would be an improvement, but I am no healthcare expert (and have limited understanding of how the rising costs could be “fixed”)
I was talking more about the few republicans who think Obamacare should be repealed without a replacement… which seems like it ends in disaster and I would not want that for the country regardless of whether a Democrat or Republican is responsible.
No idea either. The UK experience has been that you can get it cheap, or you can expand it to cover the poor (which requires increased taxes and will impose strain on the service). There is no outcome that is better for all concerned.
If Price and Trump believe that “no-one will be worse off financially,” I would like to extend an offer to them to make a tender for the O’Connell bridge (which I own, obviously)
Ultimately the problem is you can’t stop the rise of prices unless you force young people to buy health insurance to bring the average down. Coupled with the fact that HC is stupidly overpriced, the only way to get young people to opt in is with a mandate requiring it.
Personally I’m happy to see the mandate get removed. It’s not what’s best for the country as a whole, but it’s sure as shit best for me haha
If Ryan vows to never back Trump as per his comments that’s a problem. But let’s not forget Trump is a guy that likes to get even
The 2018 mids are going to be tough for the dems to retake the House. They need to gain 24 seats and, while all are up for grabs, there are only 58 that are considered contested: 21 in blue districts and 37 in red. So it’s an uphill battle there.
Same with the Senate. Only eight Republican seats up for reelection, most in very solid red states.
If they do manage to swing it, though, even by a slim margin, it will say a lot about what voters think of this administration and congress.
No question it is a difficult mid-term to win, but it is certainly possible.
My concern is as follows:
Bill Clinton attempted major changes early in his first term and failed. As a result he had to govern from the centre-right to get things done. Obama attempted big changes and lost everything he needed to enact any of his agenda and so ended up doing very little in the latter parts of his presidency.
Now, bearing the above in mind, does Donald Trump possess the fortitude to govern as a Republican if the winds change?
That’s the million dollar question. I don’t think he has any set ideology to speak of, but he’s stubborn and vindictive as hell, so it’s hard to say whether he’ll do what is needed to get re-elected or if he’ll just double-down to try to prove he’s right.
Rachel Maddow has Trump’s tax returns. To be released at 9pm
That should be interesting.
Eh, probably not as interesting.
She’s pretty hard to look at, and I don’t know if that will be worth it.
Oh god. Watching a dick nosed lesbian rant and grasp at straws is more painful than I thought.
Not surprising the 2005 taxes were probably the least interesting to be “leaked” which almost sounds like it was done on purpose.
I would be stuck in an endless state of laughter if somebody faked those documents and delivered them like that to make it seem legit.
