If you think we got the American Health Care Act (variously nicknamed RyanCare or TrumpCare) because the conservative establishment has once again sold us down the river, I’ve got some oceanfront real estate in Arizona I’d like to show you. Paul Ryan and Donald Trump are not the problem, we are. Rather, our silence is.
“Silence?!” you ask.
Yes, silence.
While you and I were celebrating our recent electoral successes and laughing at the wailing of anti-Trump snowflakes, the subversives were hard at work #Resisting. What the insurgent Left knows, after decades of making the slow march through the institutions, is that politics is about more than one battle. The Left is fighting a perpetual war; one that is well funded by self-interested partisans and facilitated by trained organizers.
These radicals understand all too well what motivates the political class: the desire for re-election. House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and his compatriots in Congress know that some action must be taken on the Affordable Care Act or they will lose their positions. Their aim isn’t just a selfish desire to maintain their lifestyle of affluent elitism. It is also an acknowledgement that if they want to achieve their long term goals, they need to be around for the long hall. This requires they get re-elected.
But how do they determine what their chances for electoral success are during the lulls between election cycles? One way is by getting feedback during town hall events when they meet with constituents. I thought conservatives and Tea Party types knew this, because we acted like we knew this eight years ago. But memories are short. While you and I were spiking the ball and praising the God Emperor, groups like Indivisible were mobilizing activists to shout down our elected officials. We’ve all seen the news reports, so eagerly covered by the Democratic Media Complex, depicting constituents as protective of the Affordable Care Act.
Members of Congress like Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) might know in their hearts that their actual constituents want something more than Obamacare-lite, but that isn’t what they’re seeing at their town halls. What they are seeing is a hoary host of opposition. They are also seeing an explosion of “Obamacare saved my life” stories on social media. The fact that such stories are likely the product of professional trolls, or even programmed bots, is something they have neither the time nor the inclination to investigate. For the past month, Republican representatives have been assaulted by a wall of opposition on multiple fronts. In the face of that onslaught, they still had the temerity to put forth this milquetoast bill.
How have we, the grassroots Right, responded? We feed the Leftist narrative by shouting to the wind, and our social media accounts, that the Establishment has betrayed us again. Even our beloved bastion of bravado, President Trump, seems to be pushing for this mere paper cut to the leviathan state. And so we tweet, groan, and post on Facebook. If you are like me, and none of your 25 followers on Twitter happens to be a powerful politician, simply tweeting is not enough. It is time to stop being the polite attendee silently sitting on the sidelines as the #Resistance bullies our representatives. It is time that we break through the illusion that #Resistance voices reflect a majority of the American people, and it isn’t that hard to do.
First, we must take a deep breath and remember who our opponents really are. They are not the good and misguided representatives in the House and Senate who have been cowed by the Left. Those are our good, but deeply imperfect, front-line grunts in the battle to come. Our opponent is the socialist Left and its allies in the Democratic Media Complex who have, through their decades-long march through the institutions, constructed a leviathan state that threatens freedom in all aspects of our lives. The healthcare battle is, in a sense, but a minor skirmish in a much larger war.
Second, we must look carefully at what people like the president are really saying when they offer their “support” for the bill. President Trump said the “wonderful new Healthcare Bill is out for review and negotiation.” He didn’t say that it was out for immediate passage and revolutionary change; he said review and negotiation. That was a clarion call for us to band together and fight for something better. And the way to get that is not by whining that our representatives have betrayed us; it is rather to manfully tell them it is not enough and that we want and expect, and even demand more from them.
Third, given that the last two months have been filled with one final, intense, and massively well-funded anti-repeal push, we have let the Left distract us with feint attacks on former National Security Advisor Mike Flynn and Attorney General Jeff Sessions instead of understanding that our representatives are essentially trapped in a political Bastogne and see themselves surrounded by animosity. We even have Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) competing to see who can do the best impersonation of General McAuliffe as the Mainstream Media demands Republicans surrender and capitulate in the Battle of Obamacare. It is our job as citizen soldiers to play the role of Patton by attacking our opponents and reminding our representatives that we are to fight alongside them.
We must flood the phone lines. We must attend the town halls ready to stand and shout rather than sit and capitulate. We must write letters until their inboxes are overwhelmed. We must transform our tweets into letters to the editor of every press outlet we can think of, and we must hold anti-Obamacare events. We must revive the energy of the all the past Tea Parties.
What is even more amazing is that the sinister side of society has, in its hubris, left us with all the tools we need to defeat them. Indivisible, that risible Leftist astroturf organization, has published a toolkit with everything we need. Let’s use it.
Time to launch our assault on their flank.
We must mock our opposition. Let our representatives know that not only do we want them to fight for us, but we are willing to fight for what we believe in as well. Because if we don’t fight for what we want, what right do we have to expect others to fight for us?
“Even our beloved bastion of bravado, President Trump, seems to be pushing for this mere paper cut to the leviathan state.”
I deferred to very few in my insistence that Trump was the best available choice, but it is not to be forgotten that he couldn’t propose the Wall without putting a completely unnecessary Door in it. The necessity of holding his feet to the fire should never be underestimated.
Well stated regarding “the wall” – Trump always leaves himself wiggle room and he definitely wiggles!
People forget that until only a few years ago, he was a Democrat. He’s on record saying that if he ever ran for president, it would be as a Republican because Republicans are stupid.
“On record” means some Democrat bogus “fact checking” operation has given it less than five Pinocchios.
“… that isn’t what they’re seeing at their town halls. What they are seeing is a hoary host of opposition.”
Is repealing Obamacare particularly unpopular with the grey haired? If so, I complement you on the turn of phrase.
The grey haired don’t care because they think none of it touched their Medicare. But they’re wrong. Obamacare was partly paid for by cutting Medicare (stiffing doctors).
“Health Care Reform” is not what the election was about. That would be “Repeal Obamacare”, and evidently we’ve been lied to once again.
It is not my fault that you didn’t pay attention.
troll. If that phrase was said even once, it was in the context of we will repeal the law, and replace it with better alternatives getting the Feds out of it. what do you mean by “not my fault”? Interesting comment from someone posting over 700 comments. Taking a little personal responsibility? You are a shill for……mmmm, let me guess.
It’s not my fault that you weren’t strangled in your crib to prevent you from campaigning for Hillary.
Yes. We can assume Ryan is throwing us under the bus for now…but we will see. They gave goodies to Insurance Co.’s in this bill. Pandering for campaign donations.
Sorry, but our representatives are the problem. Refusing to end the filibuster (a rule which isn’t in the Constitution and went against the expressed intent of how the Senate was supposed to work laid out in the Federalist Papers) was the first signal it was going to be business as usual from the say-anything do-nothing GOP Senate leadership. They are out of excuses. They control every branch of government, and they ran on repeal. Anything less proves they were lying to keep their seats.
You have been fooled by the Left’s application of two of Alinsky’s rules. They’ve personalized, frozen, and isolated the GOPe for you and you’ve bought in hook, line, and sinker as they make you hold them to the fire to live up to their own book of rules as you see them.
You want change? Make change. Put on the pressure. Don’t spend time blaming. Act, act, act. Move forward, ever forward.
Not saying you are wrong about the actions the Senate has taken, just saying that you must act. They must see they have support.
We did act. They had no power so we gave them the House. They said they could do nothing with just one house so we gave them the Senate. They said they could do nothing with just one branch so we gave them the Presidency, too. Now it’s the filibuster’s fault they can’t do what they ran on. It’s always a new excuse as to why they can’t do anything, and this time they’ve run out of them. The filibuster is wholly within their control to be rid of, and the fact they won’t own up to it lays bare the insincerity of ever really wanting to enact reform. They paid lip service to it to get elected, but they won’t do it when given the opportunity. If they were serious about doing what they claim to believe is best for the country, they would end the filibuster and repeal Obamacare tomorrow. They would pass serious reform of entitlements and the usurpation of power by the federal government. Instead they present watered down versions of the very things they spent eight years criticizing all under the lie that it has to be this way to get past the filibuster. They pulled the same crap under W when they had the levers of power and did nothing to curtail the federal behemoth. The Left hasn’t hoodwinked anyone into blaming the GOPe; the GOPe’s own actions have brought that blame on themselves.
I assume you are writing letters, calling your Representative’s office, and attending events right?
Negotiate and Revise. That’s the process. Don’t get trapped by Rules 8 and 13.
Not saying it’s not enough, but action takes more than elections. Read the Indivisible tool kit with the understanding that the Left knows how Members of Congress think and that the Left never rests, never stops, and never sleeps. You and I must do the same.
GOPe’s actions are influenced by what they see on the ground. The Ricochet forums and here aren’t the ground. Flood their phones. It’s our fight too. Your rage should be directed at the enemy and not at the shellshocked troops of low morale.
The GOP demoralizes its own base when they pull stunts like this. When you spend time persuading neighbors the GOP will enact the reform they’re running on, then they turn around and offer slightly less Leftism instead of what they ran on, they instantly lose all credibility and make the base not want to bother fighting. This is a problem of the GOP’s own making and has nothing to do with the Left. Congress needs to grow a pair and do what they said they would do to get elected. Their behavior is exactly why so many on their own side have become cynical and don’t believe they will do anything that requires actual effort or jeopardizes their cushy lifestyles. They are parasites willing to live off government largesse and not serious about reform.
Bingo!!! Wright’s oblivious – he’s a fish which doesn’t know the waters in which it swims.
This IS the reform they ran on. Just because you wanted something else doesn’t change a thing. Tax credits were always a part of it. It was always repeal AND replace. Replace with nothing was never a campaign slogan. Not in the 2016 election.
They did not run on Obamacare Lite. They have been talking about repeal outright for years right up to the point they could actually do it when it became repeal and replace. They have completely abandoned the idea that the federal government has no place in providing health care. They’ve given away the game in doing so because once you concede that point, you’re just quibbling over the size of the program which will eventually get increased as they always do.
You are wrong, Trump stated the alternative plan was HSA, and cross state competition. It was not repeal and replace in his campaign. It was “immediately repeal not repair” and it was always getting the Feds out. Who are you trying to convince? At no time did any candidate state repeal a tiny portion and replace it with another variation of government control within the existing bill. You need to stop lying to yourself and others. I heard every campaign speech and interview he gave. Just because you are trying to pretend there are no mandates, doesn’t make it fact. Phase one is a bill that has not passed. Nothing has changed. Nothing.
http://www.cnbc.com/2017/01/24/the-stupidest-part-of-obamacare-goes-away.html
Again, pay attention. Repeal and replace has always been the goal, Trump said many times he wants insurance for everyone: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/01/16/trump-reportedly-insists-healthcare-replacement-will-have-insurance-for-everybody.html
Why are you lying?
Why are you lying? FU and your miss arrogance pink vajina hat bs. He never said he was forcing everyone onto insurance. He stated on the campaign trail: REPEATEDLY….
“We will immediately repeal, not repair Obamacare…it is a disaster, believe me”. You are nothing but a troll trying to change the narrative.
This POS bill is a feeble attempt to repair a tiny portion of Ovommit care leaving everything mandated and regulatory in place, government run into the sunset years from now. Ryan admitted it is not a repeal.
It is a broken promise. None of your assinine horse sh.t twisting of meaning can change the facts.
When pushed for details during campaign he said free market, crossing state line for competition, HSA would be the new approach to lowering costs for affordable insurance. You lose big mouth, because no individual with a brain cell will participate in this at the community rates projected. You cannot force us to contribute to your risk pool of deadbeats and illegals. Families that have employee plans may continue. Pre existing will continue to pay their premiums to remain covered if they are smart.
He always stated the law would go away by repeal, and we would have HSA, competition across state lines, and free market in its place. You are lying again. Replace was not mentioned. when asked what the alternative was he explained the above. You are a shill trying to make people believe he intended to implement the same bill.
You “making a difference,” are ya???? Bwahahahaha!!!!
“Your rage should be directed at the enemy and not at the shellshocked troops of low morale.”
Garbage. The GOPe Congressional slime aren’t troops on our side, they are the enemy. The idea that they are “good and misguided”, fooled into thinking that the astroturf is the real grassroots, shellshocked by the opposition, etc. is just nonsense. They’re not THAT stupid — they know what their voters want, thats why they ran the way they did. But they just owe fealty to other forces (the cheap labor lobby, insurance lobbyists, etc.), and they are just liars and evil Thyy don’t need support, they need intimidation or replacement.
Getting rid of the filibuster won’t work in this case. Senator’s Collins, Portman, Murkowski and Gardner Say they won’t vote for the current plan. Anything more conservative is off the table.
This is the bottom line in the letter signed by these Senators:
“the February 10th draft proposal from the House does not meet the test of stability for individuals currently enrolled in the program and we will not support a plan that does not include stability for Medicaid expansion populations or flexibility for states.”
The “stability for Medicaid expansion populations” is thoroughly addressed in the current plan. In fact, it went a bit overboard, in my opinion. These Senators just wanted stability for those already in the program, but the current plan says no one will be kicked off and then allows people to keep signing up for 3 more years. The last part seems to be overkill.
“Flexibility for states” is a bit nebulous, but in principle, I am all for it. This might be something that can be done unilaterally in phase 2, if it doesn’t meet the requirements for a reconciliation bill.
Concerning the changes to how Medicaid is financed, they say “We also believe a gradual transition is needed to ensure states have the time to successfully implement these new changes.” The current plan gives them 3 years, which should be more than enough.
So, saying they won’t vote for the current plan does not seem very accurate. The current plan is designed for them.
Maybe so, but that doesn’t change the fact the filibuster is being used as an excuse when they can remove it
If anything more conservative than Ryancare is “off the table”, then let’s let the dumpster fire that is Obamacare burn until Collins, Portman, Murkowski and Gardner change their mind.
Unfortunately, our system was designed to be slow. That’s the way the system is. Now, you could advocate for breaking the system, but that would have many unexpected consequences. Or you can work within the system and understand the limits of how quickly and how absolutely you can change things.
How is following the expressed intent of the Founders breaking the system? These phony self-imposed constraints are excuses the GOP uses to never get things done while Democrats use any means necessary
Action alone is NOT the answer – the RIGHT action is.
Oh, the RIGHT action. Man, if only we had had caps lock back in ’09.
This is a really great column. My only minor quibble is that our “frontline” soldiers in Congress deserve a bit more of the blame than Mr. Wright is perhaps willing to put on them. Their courage is a bit lacking, it seems (in GENERAL, not in every case).
My own health doesn’t allow me to do a lot more than write checks and do a little activism here and there. I surely hope that those who are able will follow the above call to arms.
You are right that they lack courage. Frontline soldiers often do. It takes good Sergeants, Lieutenants, and Generals to motivate them. We need to be those people. Checks and a little activism are more than enough.
Phone calls and letters are better. Fill the supply lines of information with support for right action!
Your criticism of the Rs in Congress is exactly correct, yet you say “this is a really great column” – column that claims the opposite! Are you another muddled thinker?
They will NEVER impose the same crap on themselves as they impose on the rest of us. Never have, never will.
Did your Representative cut and run during the break like ours did? He scheduled a 2 hour meet and greet and was gone in 30 minutes because some Democraps wouldn’t behave.
The GOP wouldn’t know what courage was if they stepped in it! Need some new guys with cojones in 2018!
My Representative is a converged Leftist.
Why did conservatives in attendance allow those Democrats to misbehave? Did your friends on the Right just sit there as Democraps, good phrase btw, dominated discussion? Shame them. Mock them. Show the Reps they have support when they feel surrounded. They won’t cancel then.
What’s a “converged” Leftist? Did you mean “converted”?
Were you there to support your representative and help silence the loud mouths from the left? The author is 100% right. If those of us who value our constitution and protect our individual rights and freedoms against the onslaught of identity politics we need to be there.
Yeah – by all means, let’s have more asinine food fights!
Back to trolling again or have you ever stopped?
Anyone who calls you on your inane posts is “trolling.” Bwahahahaha!!
Not true at all. Actually some trolls have something to say and can be entertaining as well as enlightening. You, on the other hand, as many of your troll posts attest usually offer the rhetorical equivalent of ignorant grunts one would expect from your ape avatar. Ad hominem attacks and insults seem to be your forte.
You’re projecting — it’s what stupid people do.
No I’m speaking the truth, it’s what intellectually honest humans do, but I can’t speak for apes like you who grunt out insults.
You invert reality – it’s what you psychos do.
You spew hate, ape man and that’s what true psycho’s do. Extract your head from your nethereye and eat another banana and then beat your pud.
lol, no troll ever has anything enlightening to say. That’s why they’re trolls. They say things to get a rise out of people, push them into blowing up, and then walk away as if they have no dog in the fight. It’s passive-aggressive for the internet. Anyone who says otherwise is defending troll behavior and mocks honest, intellectual debate and discussion.
You make a good point. I probably misused the term to identify some folks who never comment on a given article, but do make relevant counter comments to those who do. Thanks for pointing that out.
The author is 100% right. If those of us who value our constitution and protect our individual rights and freedoms against the onslaught of identity politics we need to be there. There is a saying I once heard (applied in a sales environment, but is apt her too) that resonated with me, “You can pretend to care, but you cannot pretend to be there.” What that was meant to say, is that it’s easy to engage from afar, but to move the ball forward you’ve got to be face to face to challenge objections and/or help ameliorate the the situation or solution. Otherwise you can appear to be only casually engaged. If things don’t go the way you want shouldn’t the first criticism should be your own self reflection. How did your action or inaction impact the desired or undesired result?
Good luck! I’m sure your soaring rhetoric will win the day.
The major problem is that no one on the right is willing to say that healthcare is NOT a right, that the programs are bankrupting us, and that while things can’t be simply blown up, they have to be dismantled. Instead, we accept our enemy’s assumptions, so we find ourselves unable to fight.
NONSENSE!!!! Ted CRUZ and several others have been saying that for years!! Even George W Bush said it, but couldn’t get his fellow RINOs do throw away their careers for his proposed trivial “solution” to SS!
The thesis of this essay is pure-sell-out-to-the Left-claptrap!
When the author claims, ” we must … remember who our opponents really are. They are not [our] good and misguided representatives in the House and Senate who have been cowed by the Left. Those are our good, but deeply imperfect, front-line grunts,” he’s dead WRONG – those capitulators ARE the worst enemies of Americanism because they legitimize the Leftist views.
He’s dead WRONG again when he claims that, “[Trump didn’t say that [the house bill] was out for immediate passage and revolutionary change; he said review and negotiation. That was a clarion call for us to band together and fight for something better.” Trump is a lying, self-serving Lib who is once again conning his supporters.
Wright is a RINO and a Trumpsucker – a capitulator and a child who wishes only to “mock” the Left rather than actually defeat them an restore Americanism.
We are in a war in which only one side fights.
ANY “health care reform” is destined to fail if it doesn’t do 2 things!
1) it must reduce COSTS, not costs to the consumer, but overall costs in the industry. This REQUIRES real tort reform (lawsuits must become ancient history) and government regulation must be axed to the bone.
2) It must make the DOCTORS happy. Because we are the ones that have to make it work, and if it doesn’t satisfy us (the advocates for our patients), our enthusiasm for the AHCA will be as minimal as it is for the ACA. The problem is that no one seems interesting in asking us! The AMA does NOT speak for the majority of physicians. Private practice physicians are, by and large, NOT members of the AMA; but we the ones doing the real work of health care. Call us.
1) These things cannot be done in phase 1. They are slated for phases 2 and 3.
2) So, tell us what you would like to see happen. I would love to hear it. I do not trust the AMA either. In particular, I would like to know how you feel about price transparency.
Who do you work for? You are refusing to hear “full repeal” and lying by saying that this shit pile was part of the campaign. This was never explained as an alternative or replacement. Who the f are you? You are desperate trying to convince people the Ryan sh.t is the only way. Who are you troll?
Cause the rest of the republic want Doctors Happy? LOL
Unfortunately, passing a new entitlement is the opposite of what they were elected for. It is just as likely to get their seat revoked if they pass an new entitlement as if they just repeal the law. We need to remove the filibuster, and repeal not replace Obamacare. Get hard folks, People get hurt when the rules change. The hourly worker took it on the chin under the ACA, others will get hurt in the new plan. The worst is keeping the ACA, the second worst is passing a new entitlement we cannot afford.
They wouldn’t be fighting with the left if the GOP supported this disaster. If they’re lucky the left will save the GOP from themselves.
The problem is, the bears have already been fed. Everyone wants a free ride. Everyone wants their own little carve out. Everyone thinks that THEIR entitlement is not an entitlement. This absolutely applies to the TEA Party, if that is still a thing. The govt can not give you anything, including a vague subsidy, unless it has first taken it from someone else. If you are lucky that is another party but really it is YOU. Medicare and Social Security are the most sanctified of Sacred Cows but yes, they are socialism, fellow babies, with all the attendant maladies; constant UPWARD pressure on claims and constant DOWNWARD pressure on payments. All this crap must cease and no, not Trump and not Ryan have any intent to do or even allow any such thing. Yep, for electoral reasons or so I hope. If they really believe they can spin the plates in such a way to make this crap ‘work’ we are in more trouble still.