Kellyanne Conway and Paul Ryan have something in common. They both believe they can overcome the American Medical Association and the US Chamber of Commerce, along with almost every health care organization that exists. But she, like Donald Trump, has survived many false statements in the past. At issue is a bill roundly opposed not only by every Democrat in Congress but by a growing number of Republican lawmakers as well.

Misplaced confidence

On Wednesday morning Kellyanne assured FOX News that the Trump legislation would pass. When asked why she said there were many reasons.

When Bill Hemmer pressed Kellyanne to indicate if she went as far as Speaker Ryan and "guaranteed" passage, she said yes and added that Mr. Trump is "confident" his replacement for Obamacare will become the law of the land.

That this confidence is sadly misplaced is most evident in the president's official name for a law that not even vetted by the Congressional Budget Office: "World's Greatest Healthcare Plan of 2017." This was actually the title of a 2016 bill that went nowhere. But it fits the remarkable sanguinity of Ryan and Conway in guaranteeing passage. It also mirrors the casual attitude of the President who seems to believe this is a selling matter. For those who are affected, it is more like life and death.

Division in the House

Conway told Politico that the Trump-Pence team is deeply involved in the new legislation. That suggests both sides of a fractured GOP are on board. Unfortunately, both sides are in open conflict.

Trump indicated both opposition to and approval of an effort by Senator Rand Paul to force complete repeal of the Obama program.

This does not seem like resolve. It reveals the confusion at the heart of this whole effort. Health care is not a matter of semantics. It involves the lives of the most vulnerable. Trump believes getting government out of healthcare is its salvation. Whether or not the nation agrees is an open question.

A binary choice?

Conway calls the Trump bill a binary yes or no choice "either making good on the promise to Repeal and Replace Obamacare or not.” But Trump's bill is not a full repeal and replace.

When Conway says, "he is really husbanding this through” the chances are that what gets through will not be what is being pushed now.
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