Monday, March 27, 2017

Maybe the Republicans will LGBTQ our health care after all

I thought after the election that Republicans' best political strategy on health care was to do what they planned on LGBTQ issues, which is (with several important exceptions) strongly condemn the Democrats for steps taken for gay rights, and then continue those steps. Examples are gays in the military, jobs protection, and gay marriage. Exceptions are in general being transphobic, and gay rights overseas. The exceptions offer some political rewards, but reversing other gains in LGBTQ rights would come at a political cost.

There was no political victory route for Republicans on healthcare, including either repeal or repeal-and-replace. It all ends in disaster for them. Now they can just grouse about Obamacare but announce we'll just have to live with it, rather than make a serious effort to do something about it over the next four years.

The next question is whether they'll actively sabotage Americans' health care in the belief it will help them politically - maybe they'll do it, but I'm not sure it'll help them.

If for some reason they actually do the right thing and work on bipartisan, incremental health care improvements, maybe they can campaign in 2018 on the basis of governance rather than emotion. Just don't hold your breath for this.

7 comments:

David B. Benson said...

Medicare For All.

Fernando Leanme said...

Trump is pretty smart. When I think of it, he gets almost nothing accomplished other than approving oil pipelines (which is good, because it will help eliminate Venezuelan heavy oil imports, and this is an excellent move to cause the Maduro narco dictatorship a bit of pain).

Jeffrey Davis said...

Trump is already sabotaging healthcare by refusing to pursue penalties for failure to get insurance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TE8TaBH1dKc

Barton Paul Levenson said...

Trump is pretty smart--if by "smart," you mean "stupid."

Gingerbaker said...

I'm not sure Republican political strategy is susceptible to rational analysis, because they have very little fear of suffering consequences for their actions.

They have brilliant political strategists, all the money in the world, utopian gerrymandering, tens of millions of black voters with no voting rights, and a completely clueless and incohesive opposition party.

The Democratic party is so good at losing elections, one has to wonder - seriously wonder - if its upper management has not been infiltrated two decades ago.

TW said...

Good to see the EO rolling back the CPP got signed today.

THE CLIMATE WARS said...

Where would we if the administrative employment of the phobia inventing classes were not vested in the ... could someone rremind me which amendment that was ?