Perhaps you've heard the saying before: “Go big or go home.”
Congressional Republicans may be prepared to do just that in making a new attempt to repeal Obamacare. And if they’re successful, not only will American health care get far less complex and far more affordable, it could drive GOP successes at the polls in the fall midterms.
As reported by Quin Hillyer in a column for the Washington Examiner, President Obama’s signature law is in bigger danger now of being sacked than at any time since it was passed:
Time and opportunity still exist to replace Obamacare.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., ought to make it a priority, and should make clear he is open to pushing through a budget resolution next month to make it happen.
It can’t happen without the budget resolution, because that’s the only way they can avoid a bill-killing filibuster and pass the healthcare reform with a bare majority of 50 votes (plus Vice President Mike Pence) in the Senate.
A behind-the-scenes effort led by a coalition of conservative groups under the tutelage of former Republican senator and presidential contender Rick Santorum has been working on crafting new legislation that is being viewed as far more palatable to Republicans in the House and Senate who were not supportive of the various pieces of repeal legislation offered last year.
The failure to pass a repeal and fulfill a major campaign pledge was heavily criticized by President Donald J. Trump but widely hailed by Democrats as demonstrating to the country how inept the Republican majority was at actually governing.
Now, the political landscape has changed. Whether it’s true or not, many Republicans and GOP-aligned PACs believe it’s possible there could be a so-called “blue wave” in November — a raft of Democratic victories that would allow the party to retake all or part of Congress over failure to pass Obamacare repeal and a number of other issues like funding for Trump’s border wall. (Related: Without the Individual Mandate, Obamacare Should Fall Apart in Court.)
As such, the Santorum-led group believes now is a perfect opportunity to not only fulfill a campaign promise to repeal a law directly responsible for driving up the cost of healthcare and health insurance premiums, but also give dispirited Republican voters a reason to go to the polls in November.
When the Santorum group finally unveils its plan — perhaps within the next few weeks — there will be a major effort “to rally grassroots support and give courage to House and Senate members to pass it,” Hillyers writes.
“This is an amazing, even unprecedented project, truly growing up from activists and thinkers rather than being the usual top-down, elected-official-led exercise in sausage-making,” he continued.
What’s more, Hillyers says the Trump White House is on board with the effort, supporting it quietly away from the limelight so as not to draw attention. He says he’s been told that when it comes time to introduce the measure the White House is prepared to support its passage with well-planned messaging that departs from the “seat-of-the-pants effort we saw last year.”
Hillyers says that everyone involved in the project understands that Trump hate has energized many on the Left and so they’re going to show up at the polls no matter what Congress does. So Republicans might as well ‘go big’ before they ‘go home’ — if, in fact, many of them actually lose to Democratic challengers.
That may not be an issue. “…[G]iving conservative voters a ‘win’ on Obamacare would surely drive up Republican turnout,” he writes.
“In the end, this is not just about budgetary bean-counting or an attempt to gain political bragging rights. This is about better serving patients, giving them more options and making healthcare more affordable,” he added.
Stay tuned.
See more coverage of healthcare at HealthCoverage.news.
J.D. Heyes is editor of The National Sentinel and a senior writer for Natural News and News Target.
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