I agree Ryan has to go. The article got one thing wrong. It is not difficult to understand why those Freedom Caucus members did not vote for the bill. They have PRINCIPLES, something the Dems and RINOs do not. The good news is Obamacare will collapse on its own.
The House leader must be someone absolutely capable of counting votes. Ryan did not have the votes to begin with to pass his version of health care, and his whips could not change the situation.
In effect, Trump should know by now that the people who cheer for him the loudest are followers in name or spirit of the Freedom Caucus. He must understand by now that there are members of the House of Representatives (albeit a small percentage) who have the courage of their convictions. And, if I read the man correctly, I do not think he will ever again underestimate their willingness to replicate Horatio at the Bridge when they feel so compelled to do so.
Principles are fine things, it's true, as long as they are the correct principles. But compromise at the appropriate time and for good reasons is also a fine thing, something too many on the political Right have either never learned or forgotten.
The appropriate time for the so-called Freedom Caucus to stand up for their principles was during the vote for Speaker and Republican leadership at the beginning of this year. Once they voted for Ryan and McCarthy to be their leaders, they had an obligation to follow and compromise where necessary to move the agenda. To pull this stunt now serves no one well and definitely plays into the Left's hands, making us all much less free.