Posted on 07/06/2017 2:48:00 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
In October 2016, concerned about progressive complacency toward the election just ahead, I tried to draw attention to the dire immediate consequences of a Donald Trump win combined with GOP success in hanging onto control of Congress. I pointed to Paul Ryan’s confident predictions that his own “Better Way” agenda could be smoothly enacted via the un-filibusterable budget-reconciliation process, which he called the “bazooka in my pocket.” On Election Night I warned that big scary changes for the country might be swiftly on the way thanks to the GOP trifecta victory and the Republicans’ power to impose their will no matter what Democrats did to fight or obstruct them.
Turns out I may have spent more time anticipating the actual outcome than did a lot of congressional Republicans, according to one of them, Senator Pat Toomey:
Sen. Patrick J. Toomey offered a simple, remarkable explanation this week for why Republicans have struggled so mightily to find a way to repeal the Affordable Care Act.
“Look, I didn’t expect Donald Trump to win, I think most of my colleagues didn’t, so we didn’t expect to be in this situation,” the Pennsylvania Republican said Wednesday night during a meeting with voters hosted by four ABC affiliates across his state.
According to the Washington Post’s Paul Kane, this is almost certainly why congressional Republicans agreed upon a “repeal and delay” strategy for dealing with Obamacare soon after the election: They had no real clue how to do anything else. But the lack of advance planning has also been evident in the inability of Republicans in the Executive and Legislative branches to reach any kind of agreement on how to proceed with other very basic agenda items — also achievable without Democratic votes — like “tax reform” and the federal budget. And the disarray extends beyond the legislative process:
Perhaps nowhere did the surprise factor of Trump’s victory show its impact more than in the effort to fill top jobs inside the administration. Clinton’s campaign, fully expecting victory, was stocked with hundreds of volunteer advisers who were already angling for sub-Cabinet-level posts in key agencies including the departments of State, Justice and Defense. Many of them were current or former senior staff to congressional Democrats.
But with Republicans, those connections were rare because few believed them to be worth the effort.
It is hard to overstate the difference for Republicans between the “Trump wins” and “Clinton wins” scenarios. After all, the GOP had been rehearsing the politics of obstruction and enjoying the innocent pleasures of passing consequences-free legislation for six long years after Republicans retook the House in 2010 (and then the Senate in 2014). The transition from gesturing to governing was especially tough for the anti-government party, and it did not help that the new GOP president was so unorthodox, unpredictable, and inexperienced a figure. Republicans did not, as Toomey said, “expect to be in this situation,” so they did not go through the difficult process of airing their differences and putting together pre-vetted consensus plans. On issue after issue, they are doing that now, on the fly, using — as Toomey puts it— “live ammo.”
It’s not going very well.
Mind your language, please; there are ladies present.
They’re the Pussy Party and nobody wants to grab them.
All I can say is what fools and then some. They had 8 yrs. to figure it out.....they failed to do so and they are failing now as well. Sure looks like they had no intentions of “work” ......what a bunch idiots. They thought they would skate right in along with Hillary and the rest of their “league” of free loaders on the government system.
These Congressional Politicians are worse than those on the welfare roles....
“Well Hillary did win a majority of the popular vote”
Extremely, EXTREMELY, doubtful. Once Kobach’s committee is finished and all the cheating has been exposed, it’ll be proven that Trump also won the popular vote.
OK, you didn’t expect him to win, but he did, so stop whining and undercutting him, but work with him to enact conservative policies!
Too many GOP did everything to help Hillary. I guess they were surprised.
They still don’t get why they are in office. Hopefully they will be replaced by real conservatives next election.
Save
No......he and the rest of the pussbag GOP WANTED her to win over Trump.
Sundance at Conservative Treehouse posted something along these lines few months ago.
The point Sundance was making is that legislation is not written by the elected officials themselves, or even their staffers, but is written by the Lobbyists.
Lobbyists represent special interest groups, either businesses or non-profit groups (NGOs) that depend on government funding, and actually write the bills that are voted on by Congress.
Sundance’s point was that since no one in the lobbyist pipeline expected Trump to win, there was no legislation ready, and Congress doesn’t have any bills to vote on.
So, it was interesting to me to read today about Senator Toomey making a similar point, that nobody expected Trump to win, so the Republicans cannot move forward on legislation.
Here is the link the Free Republic posting of the article I mentioned above:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3548058/posts?page=2
Well, it’s a cushy job if you don’t have to do anything...
Yep - he just said they’re all stupid and can’t adapt to a good situation....
Signs in general, not just homemade signs, might be a good indicator. On a cruise this year we sat in on a panel discussion of the Media Research Center group. I think it was Steve Moore who said that when the campaign first began he wasn’t sure about DJT, but was helping him. He and others had flown into a small city airport, then took cars to go to a rural campaign venue. Driving through the Heartland, “Trump” signs were everywhere, and there were very few “Hillary” signs to be seen. I believe he said that was when it occurred to him Trump had a great chance.
“They had 8 yrs. to figure it out ... looks like they had no intentions of ‘work’”
C’mon... they worked hard, if “work” = dinner parties, traveling, and goofing off. There’s absolutely no excuse for them not being able to put a beautiful, kick-ass, perfect healthcare bill on DJT’s desk on 1/21/17. SEVEN YEARS, and NOTHING. Not one thing. Inexcusable.
As opposed to the rat wing of the Uniparty, the pubbie wing isn’t very comfortable with power. It is metaphorically scared of its shadow, of supporting any measure that could possibly enrage the always enraged Left and their media.
Article V.
Sounds like he is saying his principles change based on whether a Democrat or Republican wins.
Quite obvious they do. Obamacare was repealed numerous time when it didn’t matter.
The signs where I live, the photos of Trump rallies I saw right here on FR, and the scarcity of Hillary appearances helped me keep the faith that Trump would win. I couldn't figure out what Hillary was doing - could the election really be bought by a candidate with no message that doesn't campaign? Turns out she was losing. And it helps that I don't watch TV, much less the news.
I felt the same re Trump rallies, low interest in Hillary, etc., and believed that this indicated a strong Trump win. Then I let my mind take me to the fact that the Dems ALWAYS, ALWAYS cheat, and I began to worry. Then I prayed.
You are right! Not only did I see homemade Trump signs here in western NY, but some places had almost SHRINES to him.
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