Paul Ryan has taken on a mammoth task. No matter what losses in coverage he agrees are accurate, tens of millions will lose their insurance if and when Trumpcare passes. Mr. Ryan does not contest this, according to the New York Times. He ignores it and tells the GOP legislators whose votes he seeks that there is a silver lining. According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) some $337 million will be saved.
Falling through a canyon
Ryan is depending on three Tax Breaks to sweeten the pot. The breaks will go to high wage earners, medical device businesses, and insurance companies.
The Times says that Ryan has little interest in strategy at this point. All he cares about is getting the legislation out of the House and over to the Senate. Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady suggests that what unites conservatives is more than what divides them.
Get the law passed
The real aim of all this is to tempt wavering Tea Party types and any others who have qualms about the bill to move it to the Senate where any problems can be fixed. But the same forces that exist in the House exist in the Senate. If the bill gets there, it will face a combination of resolute Democratic attacks and GOP bickering. That makes the chance of passage less likely than Mr. Trump desires.
Repeal at any price?
David Brat, the Tea Party Virginia congressman who brought down Eric Cantor on the immigration issue, may have an influence on his like-minded fellows. "I'm a no," he told the Times, speaking of Trumpcare as it is being presented by Mr. Ryan. The House Democrats in the meantime have lost no time contrasting healthcare for all with the certainty of tax breaks for the wealthy and secure.
There is apparently a simmering resumption of friction between Ryan and Trump, noted by Breitbart. Things could get ugly and there are those who say they already are. Whatever the President may suggest about speed is contradicted by the likelihood that doing away with Obamacare will not be doable without years of struggle and possible defeat. The price of repeal may turn out to be too high for the GOP.
