PERSPECTIVE FROM THE 19TH HOLE: This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus use an image from my favorite sport, golf. Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all of my professional positions, including as a Congressional press secretary in Washington, D.C., an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and a private sector lobbyist. This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.
I think Daniel Henninger, author of the Wonderland column in the Wall Street Journal, is brilliant.
Yeah, okay, one of the reasons is that he agrees with me. Or, more accurately I agree with him.
Here is the way he described what’s at stake as Congress debates the GOP-proposed repeal and replacement of ObamaCare:
“If this bill fails, there is only one Plan B. It will be a single-payer system enacted after 2020 with votes from what’s left of the Republican party after—Donald Trump is right about this—they get wiped out in 2018 and lose the presidency two years later. After blowing it on ObamaCare, why would anyone vote for them again?”
So, it appears we are heading for an even bigger government program, one that appeases those on the left who want more government, but one we can hardly afford as the federal deficit runs ever higher.
Republicans, in my view, deserve credit for having the courage to propose, not just repeal, but also to replace ObamaCare, which has become a new national entitlement. It often is difficult to get rid of government largesse; those who have it want to keep what they have.
While Republicans proposed a new health care act, as they said they would do, there are not holding onto it with an iron fist. They have said they are considering amendments to make it more palatable as it has been considered or is being considered by four committees in the House.
The bill is heading to the House Rules Committee, where leadership will make amendments to appease conservatives and moderates unhappy with the current legislation.
And the president himself, who was not involved in drafting the Republican plan, is reported to be meeting with groups of Members of Congress to ask them for support in return for his commitment to make changes, including giving states more control over Medicaid.
The rub, of course, is that, as the president negotiates with Republicans in the House, he may make passage more difficult in the Senate.
Perspective from the 19th Hole 