AHCA Whip Count

[KingSweden]

Congressman Joe Barton (R-Tx)


https://twitter.com/AliceOllstein/status/845373755136380929

This is refreshingly honest

[Tender Branson]

Trump's not totally wrong though: The massive premium hikes are not going over well with the working class and it will depend on how effectively Republicans and Trump will tie this to the Democrats before the next elections.

even if you would accept that you got a point, republicans control EVERYTHING and have chosen to change NOTHING.

there was a real price spike close before the election and NO ONE at all argues, that it has decided the election in any way.

i agree that the system must be fixed but without killing it and that can only be achieved if both sides agree on the need for fixing.

this is not about the skills of the democrats....it would say republicans would need an unbelievable amount of political capital to blame the minority successfully after years of total control.

didn't work in 2010 with much worse conditions, won't work in 2018/2020.

Oh, I definitely believe that the premium hikes brought out some additional Trump voters on election day. No way to prove this but it was certainly a part that enraged the Trump folk and a reason to keep Hillary out of the WH.

[tallguy23]

Any problems with the ACA will fall on Trump and the GOP. Voters almost always blame the party in power for any problems.

[Shadows]

Trump's not totally wrong though: The massive premium hikes are not going over well with the working class and it will depend on how effectively Republicans and Trump will tie this to the Democrats before the next elections. If Democrats don't find a proper message on their own they cannot simply rely on the Republicans to implode. They need to work for it and the best way to do so would be to find a bipartisan way to reign in the premium hikes. Otherwise it will really explode on the Democrats sooner or later because they are the architects of this ...

He was supposed to control it though, he was the president who was supposed to fix it & has a Super Majority in both houses. Dems really can't go with his Trumpcare. So he has to take MAJOR blame for this failure but as the Dems created ACA, they will also take "Some" blame for future price hikes.

I think it will set the stage for another crazy anti-establishment person (who will say Washington is broken, both parties don't want to get stuff done & are playing partisan politics with people). Pelosi is embarrassed to even ask for a public option, she probably doesn't even believe in it anymore. She said if she couldn't pass it with a Dem President & huge majorities, then they probably won't get it anytime in the near future.

[ApatheticAustrian]

This is refreshingly honest

to be totally fair....would you, as a more or less moderate republican center-roader, want to start an argument with the koch bros. organizations, ted cruz et al/freedom caucus, 100 different outside groups and think tanks and invite a possible primary opponent for a  hypothetical show-off vote which changes....nothing?

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

I'm not sure which reaction pic is more appropriate right now.

Maybe this



or this



or obviously this

[The_Doctor]

The other lesson to be drawn from this: the 44th president will have a more robust and durable legacy than the 45th president -- by far. The legacy of Barack Obama is now enshrined in law for all time until universal healthcare comes.

Obama's great gamble, his great game, paid off. We now know he was a far better strategist and had a more far reaching vision of the world. With Ryan's words that ObamaCare is here to stay the Republican Party has committed itself to preserving his legacy and worldview.

Stunning historical victory for Obama.

Obama's legacy is mixed. He left with strained race relations. It's probably too early to judge.

Nope. the healthcare law was his one hill. On it hinges so many things. He fought for the law knowing if it passed it opens the door to single payer. It opens the door to government regulation of the financial sector. It makes government actively involved in the delivery of a major economic good. The precedent is set. It's why he sacrificed Congress. Pelosi knows it too. She willingly fought for this moment.

Government now has an undisputed role in guaranteeing quality and accees of a good, namely healthcare. That precedent now means the next great Democratic coalition will be able to shoehorn their dreams on other issues. Namely...education and the financial system.

This is the hill of the next decade. And Obama just checkmated the Republican Party.

[The Other Castro]

Obamacare is finally bipartisan.

[publicunofficial]

Biggest losers are the Republicans who already voted to bring the AHCA out of committee, and for nothing. Namely, Leonard Lance.

[I Won - Get Over It]

Trump's not totally wrong though: The massive premium hikes are not going over well with the working class and it will depend on how effectively Republicans and Trump will tie this to the Democrats before the next elections.

even if i would accept that you got a point, republicans control EVERYTHING and have chosen to change NOTHING.

True, but Trump is not a "real" Republican.

I can't see that this failure is worse (for Trump) than if this disgusting bill would be passed..

[Crumpets]

Frankly, the most shocking this about this whole debacle for me is that the Democrats actually had a backbone and fought for something with unanimity.

[ApatheticAustrian]

Trump's not totally wrong though: The massive premium hikes are not going over well with the working class and it will depend on how effectively Republicans and Trump will tie this to the Democrats before the next elections.

even if i would accept that you got a point, republicans control EVERYTHING and have chosen to change NOTHING.

True, but Trump is not a "real" Republican.

I can't see that this failure is worse (for Trump) than if this disgusting bill would be passed..

i totally agree, at this point it was a lose-lose situation.

nearly impossible to make Ocare more secure and don't make millions lose coverage and not raising taxes at the same time, without also increasing the deficit at the same time.

small-gov populism doesn't work.

[ApatheticAustrian]

Frankly, the most shocking this about this whole debacle for me is that the Democrats actually had a backbone and fought for something with unanimity.

could have played out differently if trump actucally would have led the reform process, shoved ryan under under the bus and made a good, big-gov offer.

it's his fault and schumer's luck that he is only talking big-gov until now.

[World politics is up Schmitt creek]

Paul Ryan is destined to be studied as a classic case of the gargantuan gulf between perceived "wonkishness"/Very Serious Person-ness and actual ability to make meaningful change.

[Middle-aged Europe]

You must be logged in to read this quote.

[Tintrlvr]

Congressman Joe Barton (R-Tx)


https://twitter.com/AliceOllstein/status/845373755136380929

"We never really wanted to repeal Obamacare. But aren't you glad we lied to you all those years, voters?"

[Shadows]

The other lesson to be drawn from this: the 44th president will have a more robust and durable legacy than the 45th president -- by far. The legacy of Barack Obama is now enshrined in law for all time until universal healthcare comes.

Obama's great gamble, his great game, paid off. We now know he was a far better strategist and had a more far reaching vision of the world. With Ryan's words that ObamaCare is here to stay the Republican Party has committed itself to preserving his legacy and worldview.

Stunning historical victory for Obama.

Obama's legacy is mixed. He left with strained race relations. It's probably too early to judge.

Nope. the healthcare law was his one hill. On it hinges so many things. He fought for the law knowing if it passed it opens the door to single payer. It opens the door to government regulation of the financial sector. It makes government actively involved in the delivery of a major economic good. The precedent is set. It's why he sacrificed Congress. Pelosi knows it too. She willingly fought for this moment.

Government now has an undisputed role in guaranteeing quality and accees of a good, namely healthcare. That precedent now means the next great Democratic coalition will be able to shoehorn their dreams on other issues. Namely...education and the financial system.

This is the hill of the next decade. And Obama just checkmated the Republican Party.

ACA was a lot better than nothing during Bush. Did he knew this was going to turn out this way & thought this was some grand plan? Nope - Obama has already said he never anticipated this high premiums & thought more people will be covered with the ACA, he thought it was a much better bill & close to Universal healthcare (& that Single Payer is not possible)!

It is difficult to get a better working right wing plan so you can technically only go left which is problematic for the GOP. If Obama was a such a visionary, why would he have created a system with such rampant monopolies & massive profits for the Insurance companies? Even with 60 Senators he couldn't put a public option thanks to people like Joe Lieberman.

There will probably never be a public option, forget Single payer - When will you ever get that kind of majority again - In 35 or 40 years? And even when they had it, they couldn't put a Public Option (when Obama campaigned on it & promised it).

[Ronnie]

When Gorsuch gets seated on the Supreme Court, everyone will forget this ever happened.

[ApatheticAustrian]

gorsuch (or hardiman) is the one thing which was automatically clear after the election. everything else is in play.

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

Congressman Joe Barton (R-Tx)


https://twitter.com/AliceOllstein/status/845373755136380929

"We never really wanted to repeal Obamacare. But aren't you glad we lied to you all those years, voters?"

Good thing they've cultivated the moron half of the bell curve. Any party with remotely perceptive voters would be dead after this. Then again, if they had voters capable of independent critical thought, they wouldn't be the GOP we know and loathe.

[ApatheticAustrian]

https://twitter.com/justin_halpern/status/845386722741370881

[The_Doctor]

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Obama went big deliberately in 2010 against the advice of Rahm Emanuel. He's been in favor of single payer since 1993 and recently said he would've started with single payer if he redid the law.

He implemented this law because he, fundamentally, wanted to enshrine healthcare as a right. He anticipated the costs issues actually, which is why he fought for a public option. Obama from the start knew that a great law wasn't possible without a transition. Why do you think he brought Big Pharma on board? Expanded Medicaid? He was systematically building constituencies for health care. Obama's never intended the ACA as the final end point.

The name of the game is simple. Get people comfortable with government guaranteeing certain healthcare benefits and access and standards of care. And then do a UHC deal.

The next step is clear to the Left. They will point to the good things the law does and argue for a more liberal model that reins in insurance premium hikes, and enact it.

And 8-12 years. The economic and demographic trends and issues are converging on the next Democratic coalition. Your error is to assume an eternal conservative coalition in this country when one has existed since 1980 and to assume the Reagan era will indefinitely continue for another generation.

Lastly, healthcare is a major economic issue, you do understand, because healthcare costs have outpaced inflation considerably. The Republican Party is inherently unwilling to truly tackle that issue.

[Oakvale]

[Technocracy Timmy]

https://twitter.com/justin_halpern/status/845386722741370881

That's marvelous. Hilarious and bad ass at the same time.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Obama went big deliberately in 2010 against the advice of Rahm Emanuel. He's been in favor of single payer since 1993 and recently said he would've started with single payer if he redid the law.

He implemented this law because he, fundamentally, wanted to enshrine healthcare as a right. He anticipated the costs issues actually, which is why he fought for a public option. Obama from the start knew that a great law wasn't possible without a transition. Why do you think he brought Big Pharma on board? Expanded Medicaid? He was systematically building constituencies for health care. Obama's never intended the ACA as the final end point.

The name of the game is simple. Get people comfortable with government guaranteeing certain healthcare benefits and access and standards of care. And then do a UHC deal.

The next step is clear to the Left. They will point to the good things the law does and argue for a more liberal model that reins in insurance premium hikes, and enact it.

And 8-12 years. The economic and demographic trends and issues are converging on the next Democratic coalition. Your error is to assume an eternal conservative coalition in this country when one has existed since 1980 and to assume the Reagan era will indefinitely continue for another generation.

Lastly, healthcare is a major economic issue, you do understand, because healthcare costs have outpaced inflation considerably. The Republican Party is inherently unwilling to truly tackle that issue.

No single payer, no public option, not even a weak public option. Sure, the ACA was a big bill, but he didn't really go that big.