“I’ll just tell you, where it comes to politics, you can imagine this granite platform of principle, but let’s just say I am jaded by history and reality.”
You are swimming in the swamp. Rather than drain it, you are jaded by it. Just don’t pour the swamp filth in my cup and call it mineral water.
If the House Freedom Caucus thinks Trump is the enemy, or that they need to save him from himself, etc.; they are sorely mistaken. We will miss the best chance of real reform at many levels of government since Reagan. We should not push Trump into the arms of the Dems to accomplish his agenda.
Give Trump what he asks for at this point and let's move on with the rest. If it requires Phase II, and Phase III, so be it. Put your principles there and vote for Phase I to get things moving. That is better than keeping Obamacare and having to do Phase I or Oamacare fix later.