The one reason I disagree with you on this is that it is March of 2017, not the summer of 2018. In fact, I suspect the GOP cobbled together this shoddy, half-assed "fix" bill just to get it out of the way a year and a half before any of them are up for re-election. Maybe they even did it just to satisfy their Chamber of Commerce and insurance industry pimps and get a B+ for trying.
I think we should all reserve judgment on this until November-December of this year. Once the 2018 insurance renewal notices start going out in October, you'll see a dramatic change in attitude in Washington as every member of Congress scrambles to calm their outraged constituents. There will be a much stronger political will to get something effective done in Washington -- and by "effective" I mean ANYTHING that reduces insurance premiums for people and for employers.
Trump has no choice but to work with moderate democrats if the Freedom Caucus will go against his tax reform and his infrastructure bills. He was hired to get things done and as a businessman if one avenue is blocked he has to find another avenue.
We are talking democrats like Joe Manchin who are more conservative than Graham or McCain and should really switch parties. It’s not like he’s going to have anything in common with Maxine Walters.
Actually, this is all going to work out nicely for Trump. The RyanCare bill would have been a disaster. If it passed the House, it would have been bogged down for months in the Senate and made more moderate and then sent back into the House and would have been voted down by the Freedom Caucus. His whole agenda would have been trashed like Clinton in 1993 when his health care plan failed. Trump wasted two weeks on this and saw it was a big loser and moved on. It’s what any smart businessman would do.
Trump won Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania because he attracted a lot of white democrats who like GOVERNMENT benefits but don’t want them going to ILLEGALS. They are fine with government help to pay for their insurance. THEY JUST WANT THEM GOING TO THEM NOT ILLEGALS.
They aren’t movement conservatives. The Freedom Caucus plan would have BETRAYED the people that elected Trump. The Freedom Caucus would have taken away all tax credits and pre-existing condition protections and would have HURT these people. Trump was never going to allow that.
Also, as a master negotiator, Trump knew the Freedom Caucus had to be made an example of and marginalized NOW. He can’t have them threaten to derail every piece of his future agenda because they don’t know how to compromise. Trump kisses nobody’s ring. He would be paralyzed. He’s got to break their will. It’s negotiations 101. Bringing democrats into play increases his negotiating leverage with the Freedom Caucus. Their votes won’t be necessary.