usmbguest5318
Gold Member
What is Trump thinking by issuing an ultimatum to Congress? Today, Trump told Congress vote on the bill by tomorrow, Friday. As if? What is he going to do? Not sign if House doesn't pass it next week and the Senate some time after that?
Give me a break! I think Trump thinks the government is like Trump Organization and he's the boss, so everyone must kowtow to his command. Truly, the man should have taken Mr. Kahn's offer to lend his a copy of the Constitution to Trump.
Trump's issued the ultimatum, and I dare him to live up to it if the House doesn't vote on it by COB March 24, 2017. Truly I'd like to see the House call his bluff. It's high time someone does. Trump, after but a week or so, of negotiating is fed up with trying to collaborate his way to a win-win deal. I guess that shouldn't surprise anyone given Trump's past demonstrations of his selfishness. Trump's got health insurance and he doesn't have stand to make "big money" on whether health insurance reform happens or doesn't. HIs employees don't get health insurance from an exchange.
Over cocktails earlier today, someone resignedly asked, "Why did Ryan start with the ACA repeal instead of something less contentious?" From a political strategy standpoint, there were a variety of plausible answers to that question that we discussed.
Give me a break! I think Trump thinks the government is like Trump Organization and he's the boss, so everyone must kowtow to his command. Truly, the man should have taken Mr. Kahn's offer to lend his a copy of the Constitution to Trump.
Trump's issued the ultimatum, and I dare him to live up to it if the House doesn't vote on it by COB March 24, 2017. Truly I'd like to see the House call his bluff. It's high time someone does. Trump, after but a week or so, of negotiating is fed up with trying to collaborate his way to a win-win deal. I guess that shouldn't surprise anyone given Trump's past demonstrations of his selfishness. Trump's got health insurance and he doesn't have stand to make "big money" on whether health insurance reform happens or doesn't. HIs employees don't get health insurance from an exchange.
Over cocktails earlier today, someone resignedly asked, "Why did Ryan start with the ACA repeal instead of something less contentious?" From a political strategy standpoint, there were a variety of plausible answers to that question that we discussed.
- Among them, my personal favorite was that P. Ryan, who's not all that keen on Trump in the first place, wanted an early vehicle for handing Trump his comeuppance, so to speak, and to make it clear that Trump will not bring to Washington his authoritarian approach and find a "welcome mat" for it.
I liked this proposed answer because the fact of the matter is that Trump has shown none of the leadership that one would expect from a man who's been CEO of a big company. (That, of course, is because he hasn't been such a CEO; he's only the CEO of a very successful family business that isn't run like a big company.)- Is the POTUS the most politically powerful man in Washington? Yes.
- Did Trump do his job and take the lead on crafting the legislative agenda for the bill? No.
- Did Trump make sure the bill conforms to the grandiose health insurance provisions that he promised? No, and it doesn't.
- Did Trump build consensus among House and Senate members? No, and there is none.
- Did Trump use the power of his office to govern? No. All he's done is issue edicts.
- Did Trump do his job and sell specific provisions of it to the electorate? No. Most of the electorate doesn't like the ACHA's provisions and impacts.
What has Trump done with the power of his office? He's used it to evangelize about himself and how great he is, he's used it to play the "blame game," and he's used it to make utterly specious claims about what someone else has done. That's it. The man is a political neophyte and his handling of the ACHA/O-care repeal and replace process shows just how much of one he is. His novelty with "varsity" politics is the ultimate cause of the ongoing failure of the House to arrive a consensus on the design and passage of the ACHA.
So, what might someone with experience have done? For one thing, they'd have conceived to "trash" O-care in two phases: the repeal and the replacement. The nature of health insurance/healthcare is such that it is one of the few occasions in which putting the cart before the horse is called for. Trump, however, isn't all that smart or innovative, which is among the reasons he should never have been made POTUS to begin with. (Of course, voters who aren't particularly savvy couldn't tell that for themselves and they refused to believe the people who were telling them as much...so here we are....)
Were Trump both smart and not a political novice, he'd have led the Administration, the Congress and the nation on the following course of action for repealing and replacing O-care:
So, what might someone with experience have done? For one thing, they'd have conceived to "trash" O-care in two phases: the repeal and the replacement. The nature of health insurance/healthcare is such that it is one of the few occasions in which putting the cart before the horse is called for. Trump, however, isn't all that smart or innovative, which is among the reasons he should never have been made POTUS to begin with. (Of course, voters who aren't particularly savvy couldn't tell that for themselves and they refused to believe the people who were telling them as much...so here we are....)
Were Trump both smart and not a political novice, he'd have led the Administration, the Congress and the nation on the following course of action for repealing and replacing O-care:
- Have his own team of genuine experts compose the draft legislation for the replacement of O-care. He'd have had them start that process back in July when he won the GOP nomination. It'd have been cheap to do. Six experts, one of whom might have been the woman he's emplaced as the head of Medicare/Medicaid, perhaps letting her lead the development effort. Pay the team of six $200K each (depending on the staffing model, that's the most he'd have to spend -- $200K each assumes each team member is principal-grade -- not including expenses) for the period of August 1st to Nov. 10th. (Experts are used to mitigate one's own inexperience with the subject matter and the development process.)
- "Socialize" the draft at various milestone points during its composition. That would allow him to initiate the consensus building as well as obtain feedback from the public. It also would have allowed him to show a degree of knowledge and understanding about the specific subject matter that he discusses in each "socialization session." ("Socialize" --> "consulting speak" for "communicate and discuss with stakeholders in the hope of receiving constructive criticism.")
- Continue the development process, and after being inaugurated, announce a delivery date to Congress of the proposed legislation. On the day of the announcement, as a part of the continuous improvement and "socialization" process, release the draft in whatever state it's in...put "TBD" in places where your team knows they have to refine the finished product or in places where one is unsure of which of the options one has been considering one would like feedback from the public, news analysts, Congress, etc. Just tell people that those details are still in process and that if they have something they would like to contribute, "now" is the time to speak up. Trust me. They will speak up, and in a constructive way, if they're encouraged to do so.
- Submit the finished (amended as needed) legislation to Congress on the day promised.
- Use the Presidential "bully pulpit" to:
- Keep Congress in line.
- Obtain whatever support one can from the opposing party.
- Explain to the electorate the reasoning behind any controversial aspects of the legislation.
- Explain the the replacement bill will only be signed and take effect after the repeal legislation has been passed.
- See the replacement bill passed and sign it.
- Instruct Congress to then pass the O-care repeal. From that point on, the ball is in their court. The replacement that "you," POTUS promised to your voters is done and ready go. Congress can "dick around" all they want with figuring out how to get the repeal done.
- The other idea among several that were advanced among the people at the luncheon was something of a "conspiracy theory" sort of idea. It was that P. Ryan knows "what's what" regarding Trump's exposure on the "Russia" issue and what he knows suggests that Trump won't be in office very long anyway, so handing him a defeat sets up the playing field for once Trump is history.
Positioning and already weak Trump with a loss out of the gate on health insurance/healthcare, and then highlighting how ineffectual Trump is, will reduce Trump's popularity even further and make it even easier to commence impeachment proceedings on even less legally rigorous grounds. Remember, Congress -- the House and the Senate -- don't have to follow anything but their "gut" to vote "yes" to impeach and to convict. They can hold the hearings and argue "all day" using rules of law, but they don't have to vote using rule of law any more than common citizens have to use good sense in the voting booth. The more he can create a "gut feeling" that Trump should be ousted, the easier it'll be for rank and file Congressional members to vote "yes," especially since most Democrats would love to be offered the opportunity to do so.
That's a political game at which everyone in Washington is far more experienced than is Trump and every single person on his core team of lackeys. And let's face facts: everyone on The Hill would sooner see a President Pence (or even a President Ryan if it were to go that far) than a President Trump. It's become clear to everyone who matters most that Trump is a clown. They have to indulge him because he is POTUS, right now. They don't have to keep him around. Both Pence and Ryan are Republicans and the GOP held Congress isn't going anywhere anytime soon,. so the sooner they can get rid of Trump, the better. It's just a matter of fomenting the political appetite for doing so.
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