Rick Perlstein
said it best, “I believe politics is a team sport. That, for awful and unfortunate reasons beyond any of our control, the American system only allows, effectively, for two teams.”Posted on 09/22/2017 8:13:53 AM PDT by NaturalBornConservative
Rick Perlstein
Is politics a team sport? The question resurfaced recently when Senator Rand Paul referred to the Graham-Cassidy Health Care Plan as — “Amnesty for Obamacare.”
Rand Paul Gives Graham/Cassidy a New Name: 'Amnesty for ObamaCare' - Big League Politics https://t.co/0RN6K9g6TG — Rand Paul (@DrRandPaul) September 19, 2017
When I saw this, I immediately fired off a tweet to Senator Paul stating, “Not again! It's a team sport. Time is up. If you are not Republican, then get off the team and go join the Democrats.”
Not again! It's a team sport. Time is up. If you are not Republican, then get off the team and go join the Democrats. — Larry (@larrymwalkerjr) September 20, 2017
An unidentified third party then replied, “Wrong - it's absolutely NOT a team sport. Members must represent their constituents' wishes - not follow some pigheaded slogan.”
In reality, it’s Senator Paul who’s following a self-contrived “pigheaded slogan”, while most Republicans in the House, 90%+ of those in the Senate, and the Trump Administration are in support of a “bill”, which repeals the main provisions of Obamacare, and takes power away from the District of Columbia, handing it back to the states.
If politics isn’t a team sport, then why do political parties exist? And, what is the purpose of winning the majority in both houses and the White House if the party in control isn’t going to stick together on major legislation? Of course, politics is a team sport.
Yet there always seems to be at least one grandstanding maverick, almost always a Republican, who wants to make a name for himself rather than play his position. Face it, Rand Paul doesn’t represent any constituents. Like John McCain and a few others, he merely represents himself.
If Senator Paul represents anyone, it should be the party he belongs to, whichever that may be. At this point, he represents constituents of the Democratic Party, who oppose the bill at all costs, and cares nothing for Republicans, the majority of whom favor some measure of victory.
Under the Graham-Cassidy plan a Federal block grant is given annually to states to help individuals pay for health care, Planned Parenthood is defunded, and the individual mandate, employer mandate, and medical device tax are completely repealed, to name a few. But even better, it’s supported by most Republicans in the House, 90%+ of those in the Senate, and the Trump Administration. So, what’s Rand Paul’s problem?
If Senator Paul can’t get 90%+ of Republican Senators to go along with his proposal, which he can’t, then perhaps he should dismount from his high horse and support the 90%+ of his party who see merit in Graham-Cassidy. If that’s not good enough for Senator Paul, then only one choice remains.
Stop calling yourself a Republican, and go team up with those more in line with your views. At this point in time that would be none other than the Democratic Party, which stands firm, in unison, against every proposal favored by the President and the majority of Republicans.
Obamacare will remain the law of the land even if they pass this turd.
Cubans born in Canada are not natural born citizens, sorry.
I agree completely. If they pass this, why would they ever revisit it? Would they repeal their own bill? Also, now when Medicaid fails, they can blame the republicans...
So these allegedly pro-life R jerseys wearing Democrats have defunded Planned Parenthood?
I left the GOP when it became apparent that they were only concerned with keeping the Cheap Labor Express running.
That’s the only thing that matters to them.
Which of the two versions has mandatory fines?
Wrong. If the bill isn’t passed we’ll be stuck with Obamacare forever.
So, what you’re saying is they should not pass anything and just let Obamacare remain in it’s entirety. Which 8-10 Democratic Senators are going to vote for your imagined “wipe-the-slate” full repeal?
No Rand Paul simply stands for what the other republicans should be standing for. He’s right. How does this bill repeal Obamacare? It doesn’t.
LOL. Apparently he doesn't know much about getting things done in DC. Left up to him Obamacare will remain the law of the land forever and ever.
Under the Graham-Cassidy plan a Federal block grant is given annually to states to help individuals pay for health care, Planned Parenthood is defunded, and the individual mandate, employer mandate, and medical device tax are completely repealed, to name a few.
You’re right on every point. I’ve lost all respect for Paul. Now, if he were to announce that he’ll both oppose the repeal of Obamacare AND sign himself and his family up for an Obamacare plan, that would change.
But he won’t. He’ll do his best to stick ordinary Americans with O-care forever, while he and his family remain exempt.
Phony.
The money we can’t afford is still there. Obamacare is unaffordable.
Corker, Hatch, Heller and Flake must go in 2018.
All of the structure and agencies invented by Obamacare remains.
The federal government is still collecting everyone’s medical records.
Obamacare will remain.
Not one part of the structure of Obamacare will be repealed.
I'd vote for Rand Paul in a heartbeat. All too often, he comes across as the only man in Washington DC who ever bothered to actually read the Constitution.
If Graham-Cassidy were identical in every word, it would still be better to vote for it. If Graham-Cassidy is approved, it can be repealed. If Obamacare is allowed to remain the law of the land beyond September 30th, it cannot in any practucal/realistic way ever be repealed.
That is a fantasy, writer.
The current bill does not repeal anything.
It changes some aspects of Obamacare.
Obamacare remains the law of the land either way.
They are repairing Obamacare, not repealing, not replacing.
Rand Paul is anything but phony. He’s right - There’s no repeal in this bill.
Also, this crap about “this is the last chance...” utter nonsense.
I’m actually kind of ambivalent about the bill: even though it’s a turkey, passing it will be scored as a Trump victory to rub in the faces of Dems. I always enjoy that. If it doesn’t pass that’s fine too - it’s nothing but an Obamacare ripoff signed by Republicans.
Either way, the Republicans who don’t support it should be judged according to their reasons. If it’s McCain - screw him, he just wants to make Trump look bad. If it’s McClowsky, screw her - she loves Obamacare the way it is. If it’s Paul, good for him - he wants a real repeal because he’s a constitutional conservative.
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