An Angry Freedom Caucus Responds To Trump's 2018 Threat

Zero Hedge ^ | 03/30/2017

[SeekAndFind]

After Trump drew 'first blood' this morning with a tweet threatening to fight Freedom Caucus members in the 2018 mid-term elections, a pair of House representatives have fired back with aggressive tweets of their own implying that Trump's healthcare plan was evidence that he had "succumb to the D.C. Establishment."

"It didn't take long for the swamp to drain @realDonaldTrump. No shame, Mr. President. Almost everyone succumbs to the D.C. Establishment."

 

".@realDonaldTrump it's a swamp not a hot tub. We both came here to drain it. #SwampCare polls 17%. Sad!"

It didn't take long for the swamp to drain @realDonaldTrump. No shame, Mr. President. Almost everyone succumbs to the D.C. Establishment. https://t.co/9bDo8yzH7I

— Justin Amash (@justinamash) March 30, 2017

.@realDonaldTrump it's a swamp not a hot tub. We both came here to drain it. #SwampCare polls 17%. Sad! https://t.co/4kjygV2tdS

— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) March 30, 2017

 

Ohio Representative Jim Jordan, the former chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, also defended conservative lawmakers earlier today on Fox News.  Per The Hill:

"The Freedom Caucus is trying to change Washington, this bill keeps Washington the same, plain and simple," Jordan said Thursday on Fox News' "America's Newsroom."

 

"We appreciate the president, we are trying to help the president. But the fact is, you have to look at the legislation. It doesn't do what we told the voters we were going to do, and the American people understand that. That's why only 17 percent of the population supports this legislation."

 

Jordan wouldn't comment on the threat regarding the 2018 midterms, instead characterizing the scuttled healthcare vote as just a "postponement" and arguing that Republicans will succeed if they deliver on their promises to voters.

 

"Lets forget the blame and what may happen in the future, lets just do what we said. That's what the Freedom Caucus and what Republicans are committed to," he said.

Of course these latest tweets come after Trump took to twitter earlier this morning, saying "The Freedom Caucus will hurt the entire Republican agenda if they don't get on the team, & fast. We must fight them, & Dems, in 2018!"

The Freedom Caucus will hurt the entire Republican agenda if they don't get on the team, & fast. We must fight them, & Dems, in 2018!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 30, 2017

 

So, Republican civil war it is...Ultimate winner:  Democrats.

[statered]

hahaha great comeback. Kasich is more chummy with the Freedom Caucus than he is with me. Although you can't see it, that is the issue - you think the FC is on your “team.” Here's a clue - no one is on your team, not Trump, not Kasich, and certainly not the Freedom Caucus.

There are only interests, there is no loyalty.

Let them bitch at each other. Nothing wrong with that. the only thing that gets me excited enough to post is when I see folks here acting like someone attacked THEM. I am hoping I can decrease the number of marionettes.

tis futile.

[FourtySeven]

Yours is perhaps the most sane post of the day since this whole mess started (today with his Tweets).

Indeed Obamacare should’ve just been allowed to explode by itself. Exposing the dems for what they are. I’ll give Trump some credit here because he said he thought about doing that but thought it wasn’t “right” to do that because it would’ve left millions in the lurch. So he gets some nice guy credit there.

But this is a disaster and he’s only making it worse with his strong arm tactics and yes his pride. It’s the worst side of him, that worked for him in the past (either through dumb luck or actual strategy) but this is going nowhere fast.

As another poster said on another thread, “good luck pissing off your conservative base. Ask Mitt Romney how that worked out for him”.

[BuddhaBrown]

“So where is the FCs better bill? “

The whole dang party voted for repeal in ‘15. Get that bill out of hiding.

And if you insist on something specifically from the HFC, Mo put out a great plan this week. I believe it will fit into a tweet.

“...will be a dem house and senate in 2018...”

The House is always up for grabs. But the Dems are NOT going to win the Senate in 2018. They are defending three times as many seats as the R’s this time around.

Which makes the whole TrumpCare debacle more aggravating.

Because instead of the standard secrecy-then-threats strategy, an honest approach might have included just creating the full Freedom-oriented bill up front and in the daylight. If the bully pulpit and other means is not enough to get the votes in the Senate now, then campaign on it in ‘18 - there is actually a good chance having 60 R seats after that election.

There are other strategies that could pass a clean/full bill now too.

Cruz’s latest scheme is a good one and gets Pence involved.

Otherwise, I like my plan: Just do like Dirty Harry did - use tactical nukes instead of strategic nukes. He changed the Senate rules to not require 60 votes for judges below SC, etc. We can change the rules so that 60 votes are not needed to REPEAL legislation, only to pass it.

My way is actually MORE geared toward the original intent of the deliberately more deliberative Senate. Both the deliberation rules and my scheme are things which bias the Senate against passing new things in haste.

And, no, I’m not worried the Dems are going to turn around and use the new rule change to repeal our things too. Sure it’s possible. But, current prez and speaker aside, our party generally is not supposed to be creating new entitlements and such to begin with.

The Donald, I believe suggested or did implement similiar logic as some level of the regulations jungle - the idea of remove two for every new one, I think.

[Reno89519]

My focus, like yours, is on action. I want to see action, not talk. I really don’t care the details of the FC or others. Too many different, competing groups get lumped together. End of day, problem is leadership—Ryan and his deputies need to go. Shame on everyone for rallying around and keeping him. Shame on Trump for trusting him and Rinse, and others that did everything they could to thwart him and do so today, even if less directly or openly.

[HarleyLady27]

This is Rand Paul’s bill, the only place I could find it was on Lame Cherry:

What I would prefer is Ryancare defeated or tabled, and the Rand Paul bill introduced by the Freedom Caucus in the House.

Dr. Rand Paul Unveils Obamacare Replacement Act | U.S ...

Dr. Rand Paul Unveils Obamacare Replacement ... to provide Congress with a health care plan grounded in broadly supported conservative reforms that is ready for an ...

https://paul.senate.gov/news/press/dr-rand-paul-unveils-obamacare...

This is a summary:

Dr. Paul’s entire plan laid out section by section HERE, and you can find summary information below.
Dr. Rand Paul’s Obamacare Replacement Act, S. 222:
Legalizes Inexpensive Insurance Plans:
Ensures that Americans can purchase the health insurance coverage that best fits their needs.
Eliminates Obamacare’s essential health benefits requirement, along with other restrictive coverage and plan requirements, to once again make low-cost insurance options available to American consumers.
Protects Individuals with Pre-Existing Conditions:
Provides a two-year open-enrollment period under which individuals with pre-existing conditions can obtain coverage.
Restores HIPAA pre-existing conditions protections. Prior to Obamacare, HIPAA guaranteed that those in the group market could obtain continuous health coverage regardless of preexisting conditions.
Helps More People Save To Buy Health Insurance and Cover Medical Costs:
Incentivizes savings by authorizing a tax credit (up to $5,000 per taxpayer) for individuals and families that contribute to HSAs.
Removes the annual cap on HSAs so individuals can make unlimited contributions.
Allows HSA funds to be used to purchase insurance, cover premiums, and more easily afford a broader range of health-related expenses, including prescription and OTC drugs, dietary supplements, nutrition and physical exercise expenses, and direct primary care, among others.
Guarantees Fair Tax Treatment of Health Insurance:
Equalizes the tax treatment of the purchase of health insurance for individuals and employers by allowing individuals to deduct the cost of their health insurance from their income and payroll taxes.
Frees more Americans to purchase and maintain insurance apart from their work status.
Does not interfere with employer-provided coverage for Americans who prefer those plans.
Helps Individuals Join Together to Purchase Insurance:
Expands Association Health Plans (AHPs) to allow small business owners and individuals to band together across state lines through their membership in a trade or professional association to purchase health coverage for their families and employees at a lower cost.
Also allows individuals to pool together through any organization to purchase insurance.
Widens access to the group market and spreads out the risk, enhancing the ability of individuals and small businesses to decrease costs, increase administrative efficiencies, and further protect those with pre-existing conditions.
Allows the Purchase of Insurance Across State Lines:
Creates an interstate market that allows insurers who are licensed to sell policies in one state to offer them to residents of any other state.
Increases State Medicaid Flexibility:
Enables states to fully exercise current flexibilities afforded to them through Medicaid waivers for creating innovative state plan designs.
Empowers Physicians:
Allows non-economically aligned physicians to negotiate for higher quality health care for their patients.
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a physician a tax deduction equal to the amount such physician would otherwise charge for charity medical care or uncompensated care due to bad debt, limited to 10% of a physician’s gross income for the taxable year.

I would add two measures of THIS IS NOT A TAX AND THE SUPREME COURT CAN NEVER RULE IT IS A TAX, along with THIS IS NOT A MANDATE IN NO AMERICAN CAN EVER BE REQUIRED TO PURCHASE HEALTH CARE, and then I would be quite pleased with the above.

Whatever passes out of the House though has to invoke the Byrd Rule as Senator Ted Cruz has initiated, and then it can pass on 51 votes, but it must be thee ENTIRE PHASE 1, PHASE 2 and PHASE 3 or it will ruin President Trump in cost spikes, ruin each of you and ruin America.

The Conservatives are absolutely correct and President Trump has been placed into a position of being humiliated in defeat now or destroyed politically later. He needs to stop threatening Conservatives, and began to embrace what Conservatives are engaged in, in keeping Mr. Trump’s promises to America, and begin fixing this quickly so it does not involve more embezzling more Government funds for special interests and move on quickly to tax reforms.

I realize this is the non sexy stuff, and few will read it, but for those who care to be informed, this is the plain speak of what is taking place, which is something no American wants in Obamacare 2.0, the double dealing which will take place to get this crippled bill passed, and the process involved and those attempting to undertake it.

I agree with some, but at least it is something to work on instead of RINO RYAN’s RINO Bill...

[MyDogAteMyBallot]

“I agree that he is departing from conservatives and I can accept that - in some cases - without throwing him under the bus. I saw and continue to see Trump as an American first and believe that he will do what he thinks is best for America, although I may sometimes disagree, as in the case of AHCA.”

I agree there is no questioning his love of this country and desire to MAGA, but hitching his wagon to the likes of Ryan (& Priebus), McConnell & their ilk sadly takes him down the wrong road. Ivanka taking on a higher profile doesn’t bode well for any shift away from the big government policies that destroy a free republic.

[ManHunter]

“Ivanka taking on a higher profile doesn’t bode well for any shift away from the big government policies that destroy a free republic.”

Nor does the hiring of Jamie Gorelick as an advisor. I met that woman when she was the Deputy Attorney General under Clinton/Reno and she is a certifiable conniving witch, not to mention a dedicated devotee of the Clintons.

[FourtySeven]

I read what you posted and it seems like a fair compromise. It still allows for preexisting conditions but in such a way that seems to limit their damaging impact on everyone’s premiums. It would still have an impact but not as great.

I actually like what another FReeper proposed wrt the preexisting conditions ban: enable those who lost insurance they had at work to buy insurance individually even if they lost their coverage because of illness (and therefore can’t work anymore so lost their work insurance)

THAT seems like the best compromise to me. Because yeah, as a “purist” myself ( not saying you are just myself) the preexisting ban needs to be put back in place in any real conservative bill BUT I realize that will never happen. SO what I (others) proposed above at least limits their damage to the market as much as possible. And really that’s the largest group that loses their insurance anyway.

Other than the leeches of society who NEVER had insurance but can now hop on because of Obamacare. They are the real problem and should go.

So I don’t have any problem with compromise, but the prexisisting ban must be restored in some reasonable fashion. Or else it’s just Obamacare lite.

[gdani]

“And the FC voted him in as speaker.”

I’m not sure I understand the logic of Trump folks repeatedly saying this.

I completely understand it. They will fold faster than Superman on laundry day if it means a "victory" - even when said "victory" further entrenches socialized medicine.

They have zero principles they will not compromise.

[HarleyLady27]

That’s the part I’m having trouble with...I think it’s a better start to WORK on, and IMPOVE to what President Trump wants for America and the American People...

We have to start somewhere, and this looks better than that RINO RYAN bamicare part 2 he was lying to the President about...

I still want THE GOVERNMENT OUT OF OUR HEALTH, but is that going to happen? We’ll have to wait and see...

[MyDogAteMyBallot]

“Nor does the hiring of Jamie Gorelick as an advisor. I met that woman when she was the Deputy Attorney General under Clinton/Reno and she is a certifiable conniving witch, not to mention a dedicated devotee of the Clintons.”

remarkable, isn’t it? the “hold your enemies closer” rationalization for some truly astonishing hires is almost as stale as the “pearl-clutching” and “3D chess” lingo

[FenwickBabbitt]

I find your sort of attitudes sad and entirely unreasonable. Have you forgotten all that he’s done for us?

-He nominated constitutional conservative and Scalia-like originalist Neil Gorsuch for the Supreme Court
-He reinstituted the Mexico City rule, prohibiting taxpayer funding of abortions abroad
-His AG is currently cracking down on sanctuary cities
-He’s currently accepting bids on the border wall
-ICE has been especially busy deporting criminal illegals because of his executive order on the subject
-Border crossings are down substantially
-He wants us energy independent and has approved the Keystone and Dakota Access Pipelines
-Overturned Obama’s business-killing climate change regulations
-Signed a bill supporting the coal industry
-The stock market and consumer confidence ratings have shot up because of him
-He very soon wants to drastically lower personal and corporate taxes, which will lure business here and stimulate the economy
-He is a huge supporter of the military, police, and the Second Amendment
-His proposed budget wants to greatly upgrade the military, while slashing a lot of unnecessary programs and other funding, including things other presidents have treated as untouchable
-He has signed an executive order requiring that 2 regulations be removed for each new one
-He has instituted a hiring freeze for non-military federal employees
-He chose an education secretary who is a big proponent of school choice
-He is working on tougher vetting measures to try to keep terrorists out of the country
-He is an ardent supporter of Israel and a friend of Bibi Netanyahu’s
-He has stepped up bombings and numbers of troops fighting against ISIS, which is now on the run and potentially on the verge of collapse
-Etc., etc.

You can insist on being Utopians, but Trump wants to actually get things passed through a RINO filled Congress. Does that negate the tremendous amount of conservatives things (hardly failures) he has done on our behalf?

[jjotto]

They are bragging that they would rather have had Kevin McCarthy as Speaker.

[BuddhaBrown]

“They will fold faster than Superman on laundry day if it means a “victory” - even when said “victory” further entrenches socialized medicine.”

That makes no sense at all. The HFC stood strong and did NOT fold. Even under the pressure of both President Populist and the evil establishment crowd.

The HFC just prevented a new Republican-created version of socialized medicine. There is simply no honest way to call the Trump/Ryan bill Freedom-oriented. So how on earth is the HFC standing strong against it seem to you like a ‘fold’ on their part?

[SharpRightTurn]

“Then, Jordan should be leading. The Freedom Caucus needs to put up a plan. Just saying no isn’t cutting it.”

The Freedom Caucus endorsed Rand Paul’s private market plan:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2017/02/15/freedom-caucus-ready-for-obamacare-replacement-that-expands-hcas-bans-abortion-funding/?utm_term=.1aed097c68d8

Rand’s plan evidently did not appeal to Ryan’s lobbyist handlers.

[Kazan]

The Freedom Caucus, being comprised of liberty seeking Representatives does not have, nor the apparatus, to develop a “plan.”

All they have to do is say no and let Obamacare stay in place? I don't think so.

Principles doesn't mean squat if you're not getting things done.

[Kazan]

Then, one of them needs to pushing for a vote on the plan in the House.

And, if they can't get a vote on it, then they should demand individual pieces of legislation be passed -- defund PP, work for Medicaid, medical savings accounts, etc.

[itsahoot]

Every four years we are asked to get on a bus and ride to victory. It is always a cr@pshoot whether we wind up in the bus or under it but I am beginning to see tread marks in my sleep.

[gdani]

That makes no sense at all. The HFC stood strong and did NOT fold.

It makes no sense because it was a defense of the HFC.

The "they" refers to all the surrender monkeys. I was agreeing with you.

[Kazan]

Representative Jordan (a legendary Champion wrestler in his college days) knows where he stands, and a bit about strategy of winning in the endgame

Name one piece of legislation he has proposed that has been signed into law.