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Republican Civil War Continues As Trump Lays Into Freedom Caucus, Paul Ryan

The showdown between Trump and the GOP continues. Although we can only speculate about what is happening behind closed doors, we can watch the drama unfold on twitter.

The Freedom Caucus is credited with causing the American Health Care Act, also termed Ryancare, to fail. Some, like Pat Buchanan, have argued that the Freedom Caucus did Trump a favor.

Did the Freedom Caucus just pull the Republican Party back off the ledge, before it jumped to its death? A case can be made for that. Before the American Health Care Act, aka ‘Ryancare,’ was pulled off the House floor Friday, it enjoyed the support — of 17 percent of Americans. Had it passed, it faced an Antietam in the GOP Senate, and probable defeat. Had it survived there, to be signed by President Trump, it would have meant 14 million Americans losing their health insurance in 2018. First among the losers would have been white working-class folks who delivered the Rust Belt states to President Trump.

But doing Trump a favor out of spite and doing Trump a solid are two different things. Here is what the Freedom Caucus had to say:

Politics in the United States have turned into Mean Girls-tier slap fights on Twitter

The Freedom Caucus picked a fight against Trump that they knew they could win. Ryancare was hugely unpopular, and defeating it took little effort on their part. It was an easy victory for the saboteurs in the GOP. They will likely feel emboldened by their success and continue to oppose Trump’s plans going forward.

It seems that Trump managed to turn the GOP opposition against itself by throwing his support behind House Speaker Paul Ryan.  Did Trump plan this? Perhaps, but there is also the consideration that Ryan tied himself to this bill voluntarily. He had been planning Ryancare for years. All Trump had to do was stand back and watch one of his main political rivals fall on his own sword.

Since then, Trump has also turned on Ryan. This should come as no surprise to anyone who closely followed the election campaign.

There is more than enough evidence to believe that Trump has little goodwill toward Ryan. During the election campaign, Trump had nothing but harsh words for the Speaker of the House. One day after Ryan told House Republicans that he would not campaign with and no longer defend the GOP nominee, Trump tweeted out:

“Desite winning the second debate in a landslide (every poll), it is hard to do well when Paul Ryan and others give zero support!”

He then followed it up with some more salvos:

“Our very weak and ineffective leader, Paul Ryan, had a bad conference call where his members went wild at his disloyalty,”

“It is so nice that the shackles have been taken off me and I can now fight for America the way I want to.”

Are we to believe that Trump had a change of heart when he made it into office? Unlikely. The lackluster effort on Ryan’s part and the failure to repeal Obamacare despite Republican control of the House gives Trump all the ammunition he needs to move against the Speaker.

Trump also tweeted to supporters to watch Judge Jeanine on Fox. Jeanine delivered a powerful argument for why Ryan should step down as Speaker.

Reportedly, Trump was unaware of the subject of Jeanine’s show when he made his tweet, but lets not be naive. Remember, “In politics, nothing happens by accident. If it happens, you can bet it was planned that way.”

So what is likely to happen to health care moving forward? Obamacare will most likely begin to come apart at the seams as insurance rates skyrocket, and the blame will fall squarely on the Democrats. Trump can even say that he tried to prevent it but that Democrats wouldn’t listen. Perhaps by the 2018 midterms, the situation will have worsened to the degree where American voters will be demanding a simple repeal of the Affordable Care Act after suffering under it for nearly a decade. It will line up an easy legislative target for the GOP in the run up to the election.

Vincent Law
the authorVincent Law
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42 Comments

  • I was never really any good at ping-pong growing up… today I don’t care much for the two party system. It seems as though with every election depending upon who’s in office, the same top 5 list: pro choice, healthcare, social welfare, etc. is being promoted or retracted; I don’t care much for this back and forth crap (ping-pong).

    Friends closest to Richard, do they call him ‘dick’ for short? Kidding aside I been chewing on this concept of what it would be like to roll back our economy to the 1950’s. I heard Spencer make the comment that it would be like rewinding a movie back to a certain spot then playing it forward again… and I get that! Great visual analogy. Problem I have with Islam… ok. Removing ‘usury’ from the financial system we have doesn’t necessarily lower the ‘cost of living’ like I’d prefer it to and if it doesn’t effect our living standard then why do it? Make sense?

    What does the Alt-right purpose as an ideal economical financial system?

    • Talking about economics in a multiracial society without first addressing White Interests is completely retarded.

      • ThomasER916 Let me help remove the stick out of your ass! Girl scout! Want me to burp you while I’m at it? Dork! What is White Interests? Amuse me with your stupidity would you?

    • ThomasER916 The good thing is they’re very religious in nature. As long as we can promote that the ‘virgin Mary’ is making appearances south of our border we should be good!

        • ThomasER916 That is true. You simply under estimate the power of religion. The Church holds all the cards!

          • > You simply under estimate the power of religion.

            No I don’t.

            >The Church holds all the cards!

            The Church is cucked.

  • I wouldn’t put it past that sneaky weasel Ryan to have put healthcare front and center of the Republican agenda only for the express purpose of sabotaging Trump’s administration.

    Has Ryan ever accomplished anything that expanded the reach and influence of conservatism? As with all conservatives it is worth asking of him: What have you ever succeeded in conserving? Name a single goddamned thing.

    Trump should make it clear to Republicans in Congress: I’m the future, Ryan is the past. Side with Ryan, and you will whittle the Republican party down to nothing.

  • “Obamacare will most likely begin to come apart at the seams as insurance rates skyrocket, and the blame will fall squarely on the Democrats.”

    I have heard some in the insurance industry say that Obamacare is in a death spiral, but it seems to have worked well in Massachusetts (as Romneycare) for many years now. Of course, Massachusetts is one of the richer, more populous states. The biggest problems appear to be in poorer, less populous states like Alabama, where I understand there is only one insurer left on the exchange.

    I don’t think Trump can afford to allow Obamacare to collapse. Poor whites benefit from Obamacare because it allows them to go on Medicaid. Higher income whites who don’t have health insurance through their employers also benefit from using the exchanges. Some of these people are small business owners or consultants. If these people are older, they will have a tough time finding jobs with decent health insurance. We are not going to return to the good ole days when everyone had decent insurance through their employer. Richard Spencer’s suggestion of single payer is not politically doable in the United States of 2017. The most practical, pragmatic course of action for Trump is to shore up Obamacare in the regions where it is not standing up on its own. Yes, that will probably require more funding.

  • Another point, the Freedom Caucus are all Libertarian spergs like the execrable Justin Amash. The Freedom Caucus is likely to resist Trump on creating protectionist trade agreements, because “muh free trade.” The Freedom Caucus will also butt in and oppose Trump on issues like a Muslim ban, because “muh constitution.” So Trump is right, the Freedom Caucus Congressmen need to be replaced by Nationalists.

    • The Freedom Caucus is being held up as “ultra-conservatives” even thought they are 1. Useless and 2. Cucks supreme when it comes to “muh-constitution.” Their influence needs to be broken just as much as the corporatist republicans. Trump needs the party to be his lackeys and nothing more.

      • Apparently you missed the part where Judges have stepped in repeatedly to stop Trump. Because “Muh Constitution” “Muh Separation of Powers.”

        • Maybe because there is no such text in your previous comment. Perhaps you have forgotten.

          I merely point out that the Constitution is not your enemy. In fact, it’s abandonment is. The rest is your imagination.

          • The Constitution is a piece of paper enforced by people who make decisions on their own personal whims. It doesn’t mean shit in the real world. These Libertarian “Muh Constitution” morons would be the first to oppose Trump if he defied the Judicial Branch.

          • Abandonment from the word …
            abandon
            [uh-ban-duh n] /əˈbæn dən/
            verb (used with object)

            1. to leave completely and finally; forsake utterly; desert:
            to abandon one’s farm; to abandon a child; to abandon a sinking ship.

            2. to give up; discontinue; withdraw from:
            to abandon a research project; to abandon hopes for a stage career.

            3. to give up the control of:
            to abandon a city to an enemy army.

            4. to yield (oneself) without restraint or moderation; give (oneself) over to natural impulses, usually without self-control:
            to abandon oneself to grief.

            5. Law. to cast away, leave, or desert, as property or a child.

            6. Insurance. to relinquish (insured property) to the underwriter in case of partial loss, thus enabling the insured to claim a total loss.

            7. Obsolete. to banish.

          • Ya’ know treason is in there too. Giving aid and comfort to an invading force.

    • Amash is my congressman. I have voted against him every election and will do so again next year. Unfortunately, the cuck is strong in my neck of the woods.

  • Buchanan is right. Trump dumps Obamacare for some shit like Ryancare and he loses the Rust Belt working class and the 2020 election.

    Whoever Trump has advising him, he needs new advisors. Spencer said the other day that he doubts Bannon if Bannon was fighting for Ryancare. I agree. Kushner of all people would probably give Trump the best advice on health care, and I am wont to admit that and hate Kushner.

    Just offer Medicare for everyone not on an employer plan, and the Republicans will have won the White working class for a generation.

    • Bannon’s position on Ryancare was ambiguous enough for me to believe that he opposed it and Trump didn’t want him giving away the game. Breitbart was running that Bannon said of of Ryancare “was written by the insurance companies”

  • Donald John Trump is a man who likes to put the Trump name on EVERYTHING. Though he made a big show of supporting this awful bill, it spoke volumes to me that he refused to allow it to be called TRUMPCARE and encouraged everyone to call it RYANCARE.

    I don’t think Trump is double-crossing the people who voted for him. I do think all this Russia Nonsense is a big factor in how he is handling Obamacare. Republicans who fighting each other over how to repeal/replace Obamacare will never have time to entertain the Democrat’s Russian allegations and sit on committees and discuss impeachment.

    I don’t think Trump liked Ryancare any better than he likes Obamacare. It is in his interests as well as that of the Republican Party for Obamacare to be an issue in 2018. Those soaring premiums will hurt the Democrats and this failed bill exposes Ryan and his cronies as no better than the Democrats. Hopefully the good people in Ryan’s district in Wisconsin will figure that out and get rid of him.

  • While the altright has had some good cultural insights, politically it has been a total failure. The problem is that Trump supporters are political noobs who have absolutely no idea what is really going on. Here’s a tip: if you find yourself on the same team as Reince Priebus and Sheldon Adelson, then you’ve been swindled. Those are the bad guys. The Freedom Caucus are the good guys.

    Priebus is one of the greasiest little rats of all time. We know he’s foreign by his ridiculous name and swarthy looks. He’s the one who prevented the Paul nomination in 2012 by his imposition of rule 40b, the same rule which delivered the nomination to Trump. The idea is to strip delegates of their power and use questionable, media-manipulated popular votes as the sole means of determining the nominee. That gives total power to vile foreign oligarchs like Sheldon Adelson, and indeed we saw that oily miscreant seated in a place of honor on the dais when Drumpf, the first President to have *0* American grandparents, was inaugurated to the highest office in the land.

    The lesson here is to look before you leap. Politics isn’t about making memes and watching TV. The first thing to do is to learn Robert’s Rules of Order. Then, find out who the regional political bosses are and oppose them manfully using the proper means. It’s very important that aspiring statesmen avoid any impropriety which can be used for blackmail. That is the main technique that the bosses use to keep power. That’s how Charles Kushner became the most powerful man in America. Don’t even think about picking up the sword of Truth without also having the shield of Honor else these spying, entrapping, blackmailing, organized criminals will have the victory.

    Never give up. Free America, Free Europe, Free Palestine!
    And to the Trumpfags: Paul / Massie 2020, ya’ll are cucks.

    • I would be more inclined to agree with you if the “freedom caucus” had any accomplishments of their own. They don’t. Repealing Obamacare, their primary goal and the reason for many of their elections, is still left to be done.

      They have done nothing but whine for the last 7 years.

      • The Freedom Caucus wasn’t even formed until 2015 so I’m not really sure what you’re talking about. Maybe, like so many uninformed Trumpers, you’re not familiar with the whole concept of a congressional caucus. In any case, they certainly were right to reject this absolute turd of a bill which was nothing but a massive subsidy to Big Insurance. There was tremendous pressure to pass that garbage but they held strong and we can all thank them for it.

        The Liberty Caucus is the one watch – those guys are our best hope.

        • They are an extension of the tea party, who again, has never done anything truly note worthy. You can say whatever you want about the Alt Right, we are more of a cultural movement at this point, but there is no question, the ideals and people that make up the current “freedom caucus” have not accomplished anything but worshiping their own butt holes, much like you are doing here.

          • Like Mark Twain said: “It’s easier to fool people than to convince them that they have been fooled.”

            Look into Thomas Massie a little bit. He’s an accomplished engineer and inventor, married to his high school sweetheart with whom he has four children. He lives in an off-the-grid timberframe home which he built himself. He’s a stalwart defender of the Bill of Rights and an opponent of despotic government intrusion.

            Nah, skip it: let’s stand by these greasy pimps and gambling bosses instead.

          • Assuming those are White children he has done more for the Alt Right agenda than his own. I understand many of these folks have personal accomplishments, much like many in the Alt Right, but you and I both know I was talking politically.

          • Politics are downstream of culture. No movement just gets people elected from nowhere (well (((some people))) seem to be able to manage to do it) we need to build an intellectual and demographic base first.

  • Are we to believe that Trump had a change of heart when he made it into office? Unlikely.

    Are we to believe that Trump’s verbal outbursts and Twitter rants are fully contained and we now have to read between the lines to know how he truly feels? Very unlikely.

    Trump endorsed Paul Ryan and John McCain before he was elected. He immediately backpedaled on the threats to investigate and prosecute Hillary once he won the election. He gave his full support of Ryan as Ryancare was being pushed. Why attach your name to something and give it your stamp of approval when you know it’s a disaster that your support base obviously didn’t want?

  • Ali Velshi who is a Canadian Muslim and NBC/MSNBC anchor was really disrespectful and repeatedly insulted Jim Jordan chairman of the Freedom Caucasus on NBC/MSNBC.

    Jordan tried to patiently explain the various issues involved in the healthcare debate, and Velshi took the attitude that Americans would allow people to die in the streets, as if America was some sort of an African Muslim hole like Somalia.

    Jordan in my opinion was too polite to Velshi. The only way to debate with a throat yodeling Muslim, is to yodel back at the Muslim twice as loud. Jordan wouldn’t have lost any votes in his central Ohio district, if he had told Velshi to stick a pork chop in his pie hole.

      • Velshi is a Canadian citizen, a Muslim, born in Nigeria. He is also an anchor & commentator for NBC/MSNBC.

        So, Velshi is a Canadian Muslim and he has no damn business pissing in the soup in the USA.

        • Canadian muslim is an oxymoron like african american. Barak Obama is african. I don’t care where the piece of dirt was that he was born.

          • Put a Somali in Minnesota and he remains a Somali. The dirt is not magical no matter how much you close your eyes and hope for a change. Why not open them and deal with the truth?

  • Yeah, that’s probably it. As ObamaCare implodes Trump will be in the position to have to do something with the support of the Democrats. Although, slapping around and threatening the Freedom Caucasus doesn’t make a lot of sense. It might be just too much political theater.

    Post that Friberg story, and keep it up for awhile, on how to handle the press seeking interviews, it’s very professional & smart.

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