Blaming conservatives, Trump signals new openness to Democrats

Blaming conservatives, Trump signals new openness to Democrats

Coffee all over my keyboard. Damn you, Trump! Damn you!

@bass - whoever came up with the bill really doesn't matter. It comes straight back to Trump and hits him squarely on the jaw. Trump says everytime "WE have something..." and if you are going to try and lay the blame with anyone else then you also need to accept you have a president who has no idea what is in the policies that are being put forward. Either way, Trump is useless.

I thought Trump had a health care plan that would be the replacement. It appears he didn't offer a single thing except his crappy rhetoric. Is that right? I'm also disheartened to see him blame everyone else and not take any blame for his lack of leadership.

Wasn't Trump just blaming the Democrats the other day, even though he never once mentioned the Democrats nor solicited their opinions, in the run-up to the vote?

What the hell was Trump doing on the campaign trail talking about a fantastic health plan which would do a better job at a fraction of the cost?

His team couldn't produce

There shouldn't have been a need to produce anything - he supposedly already had the plan to make it work.

You don't suppose me may have been lying do you? Trump wouldn't lie, would he?

"I thought Trump had a health care plan that would be the replacement."

"Not Trump, Ryan"

What the hell was Trump doing on the campaign trail talking about a fantastic health plan which would do a better job at a fraction of the cost?

Trump is a con-man that is now in way over his head.

“It’s more or less a warning shot that we are willing to talk to anyone, we always have been,” he said. “I think more so now than ever, it’s time for both parties to come together and get to real reforms in this country.”

You cannot pretend to be willing to talk to anyone and be open to compromise when your proposed bill kicks 20 million people off of health insurance and is a massive tax cut to the ultra-rich. If you want to claim to be open to compromise, you have to start with a policy that isn't hyper-partisan to begin with.

Meadows also said he was open to a tax plan that is not fully “offset” so it is revenue neutral. That’s a shift for a fiscal conservative concerned about deficits.

Because as always, so-called conservatives only care about deficits under Democrat majorioties. When it's their job to balance the books, suddenly it's too hard, so let's not even try.

Trump left the White House on Sunday morning for the Trump National Golf Course in Potomac Falls, Virginia, returning in early afternoon. Trump also spent Saturday at his Virginia club.

Hey, if you want to save some money and stop adding to the deficit, how about cutting down the President's constant golf travel?

I thought Twitler was a deal-maker? A closer? More like a closer without the "c"...

Wow, the Republican party is eating itself from the inside.

Turns out they're way better at obstructing than they are leading.

His team couldn't produce, boo on them.

They had SEVEN YEARS to produce....

Yes, Congress write and push the bills. Trump is ultimately responsible for it. All three factions of the government being on his team and he couldn't get it done. Once again, it is a failure that comes back to him. He can get angry at whoever he wants in Congress but he's angry because he knows it is seen as his failure.

His team couldn't produce, boo on them.

He chose his players. Didn't work. His failure.

@bass

You still haven't answered the question of Trump's truly sensational claims about what would replace Obamacare.

Was it naivety? Misplaced trust? Just lies?

No, 'everyone' does not go on about how useless it is.

Yeah, they do

No, they don't. Repeating it doesn't make it true. The truth is, as much as you hate it, most people like it.

Almost everyone I know that makes over 50K a year hates it and especially the premiums are the worst thing about it.

Maybe, but people who make over 50K a year are not 'everyone'.

You're simply showing an inability to differentiate reality from your confirmation bias.

"Maybe, but people who make over 50K a year are not 'everyone'."

"Ahhh, so those people don't count. Just when I thought the liberal mindset couldn't lower the bar....."

Logic has taken a beating over on the lunatic fringe.

Trump promised a spectacular changes to health care

The spectacular changes didn't materialize

Ergo - HillarybenghaziObamamaybeaMuslimLMAO

I get the feeling that the Repubs are made for the opposition, and not to govern. They rail their hearts out while in opposition, but as soon as they get into power they are so comically incompetent, it actually seems like a national security threat to America. I just hope after this failed 4 year experiment the same mistake won't be repeated ever again

The breakdown:

1) Trump had no plan. He BSed, and passed it on to the GOP congress to script. He had no plan.

2) Enter Paul "Ayn Rand" Ryan, policy wunderwonk. He comes up with a plan of his childhood fantasies.

3) Ryan tells Trump AHCA is a dream team of a bill. Trump believes it, because he doesn't have a clue.

4) Trump gets a chubby, thinking this is the plan he boasted about but never worked out. Tells the GOP congress to get behind it. Vladimir Bannon thinks a straight up or down vote can help put together an enemies list of GOP traitors to purge.

5) The House Freedom Caucus thinks it's not cruel enough to poor people. Don't get behind it. Put themselves on Bannnon's hit list.

6) The whole bill folds. Trump blames everyone but himself, despite his promises. Great healthcare plan, everybody! Within days!

Trump = incompetent blowhard schmuck

Ryan = incompetent ideological opportunist who'd sell his grandmother to Satan

"What the hell was Trump doing on the campaign trail talking about a fantastic health plan which would do a better job at a fraction of the cost?"

"His team couldn't produce, boo on them."

So, what was it then?

Naivety on Trump's part? Can't be that - not a grizzled businessman.

Does he have too trusting a nature? Nah, he gets people better than anyone.

Did he rely on the GOP geniuses to come up with something 'amazing'? He's been tearing the back out of these boneheaded establishment politicians non-stop.

The only real conclusion to draw is that he's just full of s###.

President Trump isn't a republican.

He's the leader of the Republican party. His actions all point at him being a republican - less taxes on the rich, less healthcare for the poor, anti-abortion, anti-environment, pro-big business, bigger military. Everything he has done so far has been completely in line with the Republican party of the past few decades.

You may wish he wasn't a Republican, but he's undeniably so.

One thing about Trump before he became a Republican, he was always a huge advocate for taking care of the poor and healthcare for all Americans.

Trump has said all sorts of things all over the board. So all we can look at is his actions when he actually became president. And as president, he hasn't shown anything at all that shows an interest in taking care of the poor, nor in putting forward healthcare for all Americans.

I fail to see the problem here.

Exactly - and as the most Republican member of this board, the fact that you see no problems, shows that Trump is inline with your Republican ideals.

So, yesterday he was blaming the Dems, now he's blaming Conservatives? I guess it's anyone's fault but his.

The ONLY people that really truly love it are the people that couldn't afford any healthcare plan prior to its implementation.

Should we read that gem, Bass4Funk as:

The ONLY people that really truly love it are the people that don't deserve any healthcare plan

Socialism on steroids? Umm what? Can you explain that one?

Otherwise, ur right. Let's be real. We've got brown skinned folks in a desert to bomb, that's where tax dollars need to go.

what happened to the famed health care plan that he told he has while he was campaigning. you know, the plan that was so good, everyone would be covered, it would be cheaper, more choice... why didn't he use that? surely that plan would have got not only REP but also DEM votes, right? :D

Sick of winning yet?

On a serious note, you can't control the cost of healthcare unless you actually do something to control the cost of healthcare. It's the flaw Romneycare had (they had to pass price controls after Romney left office), it's the problem with Obamacare and it was the problem that Ryna/Trump care had. This idea that you can nibble around the edges of insurance laws and magically have health care costs come under control is laughable.

Nothing emotional about it. His pitch failed because it was useless and the details of the policy were useless. So if Obama managed to get a useless policy through in much more hostile territory... what does that tell you about the skills of Trump. Not really very good.

everyone goes on about how useless Obamacare is and Obama still got it through.

No, 'everyone' does not go on about how useless it is. It's got a favorability rating over 50%, meaning more people like it than don't.

Not Trump, Ryan

Of course not! The man baby isn't responsible for anything whatsoever.

Idiotic ideas are someone else's, or "something he heard." Ridiculous retweets aren't his fault.

Why should a president have to verify every social media or Fox News article he quotes?

God save America.

The entire Republican party is to blame for this failure. They are a dysfunctional party with a dysfunctional leader. Obama united the Democrats and did something Trump wasn't able to do.

The Democrats are waiting, if the GOP is willing to ditch the 30 votes from the Freedom Caucus and swap them with 30 votes from Democrats. There's no reason not to try, and it eliminates the influence of the Freedom Caucus which is what the GOP needs to do. They are fundamentalists who will not compromise and do not fit well in a system of 50 different states and a mixed population.

The hard part for the GOP is that they manufactured this outrage for over 8 years, even tying it to their core principals. Some of us Democrats here warned you guys that there never seemed to be an actual plan and you guys willingly ignored us. You bought into it 100%. Now they have to keep parts of Obamacare while telling their people to forget about that stuff they said before. Their base might want to know why they were mislead so badly.

Bass: If you are talking about constructing and trying to implement it, No. That rests on the head of congress. I never liked the way Obamacare was implemented, but for me, the big blame goes to Emanuel and Gruber, that's where I place the blame on the real people that originally constructed this mess and likewise

after saying...

bass4funkJan. 05, 2017 - 10:47AM JST - Of course, NOT a single Republican voted for this bad system, so definitely the responsibility falls on the Dems and in particular Obama's lap.

I think you make stuff up on the spot too much. It makes conversations with you more difficult.

Not like the Dems worked with the Republicans on Obamacare

What?? You need to learn to fact check yourself.

"Jimizo

he also slagged off his daughter and her husband for being on the ski slope during the vote."

Wouldn't surprise me if he slagged off the ski slope itself. Blacklabel seems to be under the impression that his childish Twitter tantrums could be part of a clever game of chess on Trump's part. These master tactics must involve Spicer having a stroke trying to defend the barrages of trash, stupidity and petulance coming from Trump,

Republicans had zero interest in working with Obama and the Democrats to craft Obamacare. They went to work making up toxic statements to their base about it.

a lot of blame is being put on the freedom causus, but they are surely not the only ones to blame. a majority of it should go to ryan who presented a plan that had no chance of surviving in the house or senate. and then he left it to trump to sell. well, in order to sell something effectively, you have to know what you're dealing with. and trump obviously was clueless to the ins and outs of the legislation. he simply said "yes" to all the requests for changes to the bill, and that alienated more legislators. there has never been a more incompetent government than what we have today.

Yes and No. If you are talking about pitching it, yes. If you are talking about constructing and trying to implement it, No.

And because the pitch was useless, implementation couldn't happen. His failure. Was a useless policy yes but everyone goes on about how useless Obamacare is and Obama still got it through.

Yes, it truly does.

Haha! Wow. "Repeating something makes it true."

Not that you had much respect on this site, but anyone who reads that is going to have even less for you now.

Not true at all and that's why the majority of working Americans hated it with a passion.

Nope. But hey, keep repeating that, and in your own mind it will become true!

Ahhh, so those people don't count.

Sure they count. But they aren't 'everyone', no matter how much you'd like them to be.

Pretty describes the majority of liberals and Dems.

Apparently its describes you too. How do you like being part of the majority of liberals and dems?

@bass One thing about Trump before he became a Republican, he was always a huge advocate for taking care of the poor and healthcare for all Americans.

Could you provide some examples? If not, then you're spreading more fake news.

Blaming conservatives, Trump signals new openness to Democrats

@bass You've identified as conservative. Will you continue to scrap your purported conservative principles to stay aligned with Trump? Will your allegiance to Trump trump the principles you claim to have? It seems to me that a true conservative would be fiercely opposed to Trump's attempts to alter the balance of powers in trying to increase the power of the executive.

Trump campaigned as a populist with ideas that come from both the left and the right. But his staff is all HARD RIGHT. Mick Mulvaney, is the White House budget director. He is as hard right as they come and he's the one that worked out the bill with Ryan. So long as Trump has folks like him representing him to congress nothing is going to get done. These people alienate moderate republicans and democrats alike.

Trump isn't going to bring in democrats into anything because he's staffed the office with people who don't know how to compromise.

So the next thing they intend to is tax reform. This time around they are going to make an example of "Freedom Caucus" leaders that defied him on Health Care. Safe money is it's end up tanking the budget bill.

Logic has taken a beating over on the lunatic fringe.

The Democrats????

It is only logical if it agrees to your way of thinking? That is extremely partisan, but so are all of your comments.

Instead, the GoP has taken to feelings and dismissal of facts when they don't support their position. The only logic that applies is win at all cost or devil be damned.

"Yeah, but Trump can do so much, the Washington establishment are the people I really despise!"

But you supported the Romney/Ryan ticket with some force against the Bolshevik Muslim. I know you would have voted for anyone against Obama, but you seemed quite taken with them.

When did your dislike of the Washington establishment set in? Was it at the same time you dropped your support for the TPP?

@blacklab the President has shown his willingness to work with anyone who will help him keep his promise to the American people to give them better and cheaper healthcare.

He did not try to work with Democrats.

"Didn't work, so I applaud that the President is going about this in an adult manner as the next step."

He slagged off the democrats first, then slagged off the republicans, and then says he's willing to work with the democrats.

This is adult behaviour?

The problem is that Trump keeps alienating the left, then suddenly says 'lets work together', as if everything he has done previously won't matter. And his supporters then say 'the left should work with him', completely ignoring not only what he has done to alienate the left, but also what they've done over the past eight years.

There needs to be a reconciling before being able to effectively move forward. And as long as Trump and Republicans continue to not take any of the blame, and to blame it all on the left, it will not happen.

Single payer is Socialism on steroids. How is that a win for the people? America has a $20 trillion national debt. Be real will you!

Socialism of a kind, I guess. But is it any different from publicly provided education or even police forces? Hardly steroids. A healthy workforce benefits companies too. As for being real, take a look around at developed countries that have single payer (or single provider) systems. They spend a lot less of their GDP on healthcare, and have better overall health.

The GoP needs to transition from a party of No to a party that can actually govern.

As unseemly as it seems, governing must include working with Democrats.

I for one don't think it will happen, and the GoP moderates and extreme sides (Freedom/Tea party) will continue to battle and ultimately be ineffective. They will waste an opportunity presented by having a GoP lead legislature and president to pass legislation.

The next bit of legislation will be tax reform. If they can actually get tax reform passed, they will act without reason and give tax breaks to the rich and put further increase the deficit. The crazy thing about that (because it is reasonable) is the nutters of the Freedom party will probably stop tax reform too since it would increase the deficit.

Trump's behavior reminds me of what Steve Martin said about his quarterbacking experience: "I used to like to punt on first down."

That of the House Freedom Caucus reminds me of what Otter said to Flounder in "Animal House": "You f@cked up. You trusted us!"

There is no easy way out for this motley bunch. Fortunately, in this case, inaction was preferable to their disastrous plan for action. For other issues coming up real, real soon - funding the government, raising the debt ceiling - inaction is not an option. The GOP only has a few more months to learn how to govern before this items must be addressed. For everyone's sake, let's hope they acquire at least a modicum of competence by then.

Wasn't Trump just blaming the Democrats the other day

He was. He's blamed Democrats AND Republicans. He advocates personal responsibility--for other people.

He campaigned on repeal and replace....

Blacklabel, Trumps campaign comments regarding his beautiful healthcare plan resembled in no way what his and Ryan's final package became. Most all politicians stretch the truth or over-promise now and again, but Trump's bill would have proven his promises to be outright lies. The job of a president on such acts of major legislation is to provide an overarching goal and a roadmap to get there. Trump was derelict in both of these.

Dems will work with him if Trump if his legislation matches his goals of improving the healthcare system. Most Dems, of course, feel the best way to do this is to build on the ACA (or go single payer, but that's pie in the sky at this point). Anything else and Trump's outreaching is simply hot air, as much as his campaign promises have thus far turned out to be.

Oh, and yes - Obama ended up with zero GOP votes for the ACA, but he did reach out to dozens of moderate Repubs, if only to provide a facade of bipartisanship for the more conservative Dems.

"I think he really believed (as would anyone) that 7 years was plenty of time for them to actually have a suitable replacement worked out."

Trump has been hammering establishment politicians non-stop. The approval rating of these people is absolutely atrocious - the US people don't seem to view these people as competent. This is part of the reason he got elected.

It doesn't make sense that Trump would make outlandish claims about a plan he only believed would be sensational based on the fact that he saw the people coming up with the plan as boneheads in the first place.

"Will you continue to scrap your purported conservative principles to stay aligned with Trump?"

"I believe in the man, so that should answer your question and what else, sir?"

Shoes and reason should be left at the entrance to the tent. I have visions of the character played by Dennis Hopper in Apocalypse Now talking about Colonel Kurtz.

I spilled mine laughing at your post, @Sense !

sign of things to come. I am selling everything and moving to the mountains of Ibaraki......

President Trump isn't a republican. Normal republicans didn't want to elect him and nobody likes to be pushed around. Normal republicans only voted for Mr. Trump because he was NOT a democrat with policies they knew they didn't like.

I'm extremely doubtful that he will do any better with democrats. They won't be able to deal with him either, which is a good thing.

Yeah, sorry strangerland. I used "everyone" a bit carelessly in trying to make the point and didn't make that clear.

motytrah wrote: "This idea that you can nibble around the edges of insurance laws and magically have health care costs come under control is laughable."

Hear, hear! It's a belief in magic just as thinking that there can be a good health care plan that will satisfy everyone. Some people will inevitably be dissatisfied.

@PtWill you continue to scrap your purported conservative principles to stay aligned with Trump?

@bass I believe in the man, so that should answer your question and what else, sir?

So your loyalty to Trump trumps your principles

@bass what else, sir? @bass One thing about Trump before he became a Republican, he was always a huge advocate for taking care of the poor and healthcare for all Americans.

Could you provide some examples? If not, then you're spreading more fake news. But then this is the post-truth era, isn't it.

I am not a fan of the Idiot-in-Chief, but I would welcome efforts to preside from the center of the political spectrum, rather than from the far right. Still, The Chump seems to be stuck permanently in fantasy land, so it might be very difficult to find common ground.

The GOP will either have to agree to the demands of the Freedom Caucus or they will have to work with Democrats. Everyone is saying that Obamacare needs to be modified but the GOP refused to cooperate in the past. Now is a good chance for them to reverse their position.

A government offering medical insurance like Japan does so because laws state that everyone needs to be covered. You are still free to use a company supplied or private insurer

Sure government supplied only covers needed procedures and materials(like no whitening or porcelain fillings).

Called medical aid not beauty aid. :p

"What the hell was Trump doing on the campaign trail talking about a fantastic health plan which would do a better job at a fraction of the cost?"

Your 1st American election, yes? Did you really believe that a canidate can accomplish more than 30% of what he/she promises after becoming president. That's a good president if they do. Most don't make it. Canidates are like men who meet a beautiful girl at a bar.....they will say anything to get her.

it was the Democrats that signed this junk into law, what does that say about the Republicans that couldnt come up with an acceptable replacement for JUNK, it seems JUNK policies are a challenge for even them. LOL

But he didnt hire those people, cant fire them and cant force them to vote for anything that he has promised to the people. .. So I guess all he can do for now is hold them accountable and call them out in public....

I'm curious, Blacklabel, in what you think the job of a president is. Do you think he should simply sit and hope that a legislator will show up with a bill that is to his liking and commands majority support?Or do you think he should roll up his sleeves and immerse himself in the details so that he can guide the crafting of the bill towards whats optimal given practical constraints? Obama did the latter with the ACA; Trump did the former.

Perhaps this Trump's passiveness will be limited to healthcare, something he clearly does not care about - but even so, his was a pathetic effort. So who should ultimately be held accountable? Where does the buck stop?

The ONLY people that really truly love it are the people that don't deserve any healthcare plan.

not what I said, not what I implied. But nice try.

So what did you mean by:

The ONLY people that really truly love it are the people that couldn't afford any healthcare plan prior to its implementation❓

We're all ears, Bass.

The Republicans could get a win for the people, if they just proposed a single-payer option. The Democrats would go along with it, and enough Republicans would as well, to win easily.

We're all ears, Bass.

People on the lower economic ladder predominantly.

That's screamingly obvious, Bass. As is how these people are being judged, dehumanized and written off as unworthy in the posts.

Single payer is Socialism on steroids. How is that a win for the people? America has a $20 trillion national debt. Be real will you!

It's a win for the people because it will bring health care costs to a reasonable level, which is a win for all the people.

But hey, why not attach a label like 'socialism' and then make it extreme by adding 'on steroids', so that you can dismiss it outright instead of debating it on its merits.

And there you have the Republican party. On steroids.

They wanted to, but the Dems refused, if the Dems want to make inroads with the public it doesn't look good for them either to stand by the sidelines and chuckle.

The Dems refused to repeal ACA, but they said they would work with the GoP to fix problem areas.

Yes, the GoP's actions were laughable. Never before has a bill been so despised by the public and key stakeholders, AMA, AARP, Nurses, doctors, hospitals, even insurance CEOs and key members of the Senate (GoP and Dem). But, they went ahead with it anyway and failed. You could call it a good college try, but it was all idiotic.

Until the more moderate GoP learns how to compromise with Dems, the GoP will continue to be seen as a laughing stock charging up a hill they can't possibly climb without help.

It's a win for the people because it will bring health care costs to a reasonable level, which is a win for all the people.

There's nothing in Trump care that addresses health care costs. There isn't a single reputable Actuarial Professional on record that supports your assertion. At best it nibbles around the edged of insurance policy.

That being said we're already on Trumpcare. The Trump administration has the ability through the secretary of Health Human Service Tom Price to change the definitions of what "essential care" means for an insurance program. Price already has rules in the making that radically reduce the number of things insurance has to cover. That will lower the cost of insurance, but the cost of care is the same, so it just shifts those costs to people who get sick.

Trump can't get rid of the insurance mandate, but he can change the penalty without congress's input. There are rule changes in the making that will do just that. That will hammer the costs of insurance on the individual market. Whatever saving are gleamed by shifting costs to the sick will be lost.

So what we'll end up with is insurance that hammers families when they get sick and costs about the same. Sick of winning yet?

It is not a conservative/liberal thing, but a non-politician vs politician thing. Trump is trying to do businesses the way businessmen do. As time is valuable, they try to do things quickly, and with little fanfare, because the sooner the deal is made, the sooner everyone gets paid.

But in politics, nothing is done in a timely manner. Most political promises are never kept. There will be hearings, negotiations, and votes, but time is on the side of such things, eventually people forget about the promises made, and are not offended when said promises are not kept.

What Trump is going to have to do is start campaigning for independent, non-politicians in the next midterm elections. So long as Washington is still made up of the "pay-to-play" types in both parties, who will approve no laws or reforms unless they profit personally, nothing will get done.

Trump will have no better luck with democrats than he has had with republicans, because, fundamentally, there is no difference between either party.

zichi - Who are the members of Trump’s cabinet and what do they stand for and what is it they have said. A Trumpist’s Grotesquerie and the conspiracy theories of Trumpland: a compleat and comprehensive bestiary.

You sound very bitter, and maybe a bit confused. This thread is about Trump signaling a greater willingness to work with moderate Democrats on upcoming legislative battles.

Blaming conservatives, Trump signals new openness to Democrats

And who will pay for all this? This giant entitlement for 320 million people?

It will be taken from the military budget of course.

Instead of killing people in other parts of the world, the government can take care of the people in its own part of the world.

I challenge anyone to name one single useful health care legislation passed by Republicans. Yes, Obamacare, Medicaid, Medicare, etc., may not be perfect, but at least Democrats are trying and working to make real progress with health care. All Republicans can do is whine and complain about it, and then rush out a haphazard POS plan just to spite others.

"I challenge anyone to name one single useful health care legislation passed by Republicans."

Yeah, the obstructionist Dems are a real bitch.

Oh my....

How politics hurts the American people

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KESv3Jw_Pvg

Sorry Trump, the Art of Flip Flopping will eventually annoy both parties.

Although this wasn't specifically Trump's bill he campaigned on repealing Obamacare and he wasn't even able to get Republicans to agree to start the legislative process. That's just pathetic. Both the conservative and the moderate wings of the Republican party are to blame for that - but ultimately it is on Trump. The quarterback always gets the blame even when his team mates make mistakes. That's just the way it is. But in politics presidents never accept blame either because they view that as weakness.

But ultimately Trump is right. Obamacare is imploding - even Democrats know that though most will not admit it out load. After all, they are the experts. How can they be wrong? More and more people will be priced out of the market causing more companies to drop out of the system leading to a drop in coverage levels. That process has already begun. Republicans will not help fix a system they were locked out of when it was setup in the first place. Why? Because Democrats will not accept any market oriented reforms that would be the price of bipartisan reform. Trump will try the bipartisan angle but Pelosi will get her people to march in lockstep in opposition - no cooperation with Trump will be tolerated (hashtag "Resitance" and all that). So Obamacare will limp along and the system will degenerate year after year.

Both parties could get their way if they just sent the issue to the states. I hope that Dems will ultimately agree and end this standoff. Give block grants to the states on a per capita basis and let the Liberal states be Liberal, the Moderate states be Moderate, and the Conservative states be Moderate. I am skeptical that even this reasonable solution is possible because the far Left Progressives want to micromanage everyones lives as they believe they are the experts and only they know what's best for everyone else.

The problem is that Trump keeps alienating the left, then suddenly says 'lets work together', as if everything he has done previously won't matter.

Reminds me of Obama. Isn't he the one who said Republicans are, "the enemy".

America is a highly polarized country. Unless one of the parties has total control of government (that means with a fillabuster-proof majority in the Senate) then nothing much can get done. Even then you must have everyone in the party marching in lockstep (see Obamacare). Well, the Democrats were able to get their people to march in lockstep and the Republicans could not.

Both parties are a joke. Why anyone would want to belong to either one at this point is beyond me.

takeda.shingen.1991@gmail.com Socialism on steroids? Umm what? Can you explain that one?

Single payer (ie. Federal government as provider of health care services) = Socialism. Simple enough for you?

Otherwise, ur right. Let's be real. We've got brown skinned folks in a desert to bomb, that's where tax dollars need to go.

I hear you - America and the rest of the West should keep it's nose out of the business of "brown people" as you dismissively term the people of the Middle East. That would be a good savings of tax dollars. Not nearly the $20 trillion in the American national debt but a good start.

Trump initially focused his blame on Democrats for the failure and predicted a dire future for the current law.

But on Sunday, his aides made clear that Trump would be seeking support from moderate Democrats, leaving open the possibility he could still revisit health care legislation.

Apparently Trump is willing to work with whomever can get the job done.

Congress failed when they passed ACA/Obamacare into law, and Congress failed to reform ACA/Obamacare. Good government is based on the ability of it's elected representatives to reach a workable compromise. There are either too many Democrats in Congress, or too many Republicans. The voters will have another chance to correct the situation in 2018.

Trump vs. the Koch brothers. Billionaire class schisms. Any person from the middle or working class siding with either Trump or the Kochs, or any Republican for that matter, has to accept they're encouraging the messes to come.

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/03/koch-brothers-obamacare-house-republicans-236389

It doesn't make sense that Trump would make outlandish claims about a plan he only believed would be sensational based on the fact that he saw the people coming up with the plan as boneheads in the first place.>

Very true, Im in agreement there. But he didnt hire those people, cant fire them and cant force them to vote for anything that he has promised to the people. Even the leader (Ryan) was one of these #NeverTrump people. Based on that, he more than likely 'overtrusted' people who care about their campaign contributions first, the people second and Trump last.

So I guess all he can do for now is hold them accountable and call them out in public so everyone knows about it. Then hope voters also hold them accountable the next time they are up for election?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/21/AR2010032100943.html

I went back and refreshed myself due to the power of Google. The House voted 219 to 212 to approve the measure, with every Republican voting no. Like anything related to Nancy Pelosi speaking, I have pretty much blocked it from my memory.

@Jimizo: No 3D chess this time from Trump. I really think he trusted that all the people who had campaigned and got elected on repeal and replace over the last 7 years would actually vote YES instead of NO. I think he really believed (as would anyone) that 7 years was plenty of time for them to actually have a suitable replacement worked out. That didnt happen, so a little public shaming of all involved with that fiasco cant hurt. Then move on while leaving the door open for anyone who wants to revisit this.

The GOP will either have to agree to the demands of the Freedom Caucus or they will have to work with Democrats.

They wanted to, but the Dems refused, if the Dems want to make inroads with the public it doesn't look good for them either to stand by the sidelines and chuckle.

Everyone is saying that Obamacare needs to be modified but the GOP refused to cooperate in the past. Now is a good chance for them to reverse their position.

In its current form they should have voted against it, but now with the disaster they just brought out, it would be a great time for them to come together and work on a bipartisan solution.

Actually the members of the Congress and the Senate were elected prior to the election of the president and even when in the same political party they also need to decide what is best for the people they represent even if that means disagreeing with the president or other party members especially since some of them face elections in two years. They are not just there to follow orders and beat the drum.>

Very much agree with this. Just disappointing that at least some Repubs got elected in 2012, 2014 and 2016 by saying they support getting rid of Obamacare. Then when they have a perfect chance to do it, they come up with nothing. Also, the President is the most recently elected of all of them. He campaigned on repeal and replace so that is the most recent will of the people for the Republican side. Those who are up for election in 2 years will be lucky if they are not replaced by another Repub who is more willing/able to do the job they were sent to do.

What?? You need to learn to fact check yourself.>

I missed the bipartisan effort to implement Obamacare or something?

So your loyalty to Trump trumps your principles.

I'm loyal to the American people, especially the middle class, I just like Trump, generally speaking for many reasons.

Republicans had zero interest in working with Obama and the Democrats to craft Obamacare.

This is true. The would have never voted for something so toxic as Obamacare one of the worst legislations to be written.

They went to work making up toxic statements to their base about it.

Actually both parties had toxic versions of the healthcare.

Shoes and reason should be left at the entrance to the tent.

Not my philosophy

I have visions of the character played by Dennis Hopper in Apocalypse Now talking about Colonel Kurtz.

Great movie.

We're all ears, Bass.

People on the lower economic ladder predominantly.

The Republicans could get a win for the people, if they just proposed a single-payer option. The Democrats would go along with it, and enough Republicans would as well, to win easily.

Single payer is Socialism on steroids. How is that a win for the people? America has a $20 trillion national debt. Be real will you!

Trump's failed attack on the poor is only his first attempt but many more to come.

The poor get free health care through Medicaid. Try again.

It's a win for the people because it will bring health care costs to a reasonable level, which is a win for all the people.

And who will pay for all this? This giant entitlement for 320 million people?

But hey, why not attach a label like 'socialism' and then make it extreme by adding 'on steroids', so that you can dismiss it outright instead of debating it on its merits.

Socialism, pure and simple. No more big government and the money draining it will cause, not to mention the national debt. Thank god, that will never come t fruition.

And there you have the Democratic party. On steroids and mentally and officially certified section 8.

Yes, the GoP's actions were laughable. Never before has a bill been so despised by the public and key stakeholders,

You had Obamacare and the implementation of it that was so despised as well as half of the country hates it, don't get me wrong, I'm not backing the GOP on this either.

AMA, AARP, Nurses, doctors, hospitals, even insurance CEOs and key members of the Senate (GoP and Dem). But, they went ahead with it anyway and failed. You could call it a good college try, but it was all idiotic.

And still the majority of the people aren't happy, they got screwed again for the second time.

Until the more moderate GoP learns how to compromise with Dems,

....and the Dems with the GOP.

the GoP will continue to be seen as a laughing stock charging up a hill they can't possibly climb without help.

Not only them, remember, the libs are a marginalized group in Washington, now that's a party that has become a laughing stock. But on a serious note, both parties suck, let's just be real.

He is NOW, that is my point. Not like the Dems worked with the Republicans on Obamacare, so I agree with his decision to do it with Republicans only first. Didnt work, so I applaud that the President is going about this in an adult manner as the next step. Publicly shame those in his own party who didnt deliver on what the people who elected them put them there to do, then move on to whomever will deliver regardless of party.

Did Trump write that law? no Does Trump vote? no

So basically his 'failure' is that he couldnt personally convince over 200 lawmakers to vote for something that wasnt well written and didnt really match what he promised anyway? People who he didnt hire and who he cant fire? But ok, fine everyone had a good time making fun of the President, but time to move on now. Because despite all the gleeful comments from Schumer/Pelosi and even Hillary their healthcare is still broken and no longer affordable.

I think it is great that the President has shown his willingness to work with anyone who will help him keep his promise to the American people to give them better and cheaper healthcare. He gave the Republicans a chance, but they didnt want to work with him. So take the partisanship out of it and work with whoever can get it done.

Here's some perspective:

Media trumpet GOP health debacle

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=430OIJvSZYk

Sure it is, the alternative is to have no health care for anyone after this year. There are many methods to motivate groups of people to take ( or not take) actions and 'public shaming' is one of them. The non adult way would be to still exclude the Democrats even after the Republicans failed and put partisanship above everything else. Just keep saying the Republicans are the only ones who can do this, even after they proved they cant. The President has chosen not to do that, and will give any Democrats who want to a chance, which I agree with.

And as president, he hasn't shown anything at all that shows an interest in taking care of the poor, nor in putting forward healthcare for all Americans.

He tried, good on him, the GOP congress, they and the Dems need to be sent off to greener pastures.

You've identified as conservative.

What on Earth gave that away??!

Will you continue to scrap your purported conservative principles to stay aligned with Trump?

I believe in the man, so that should answer your question and what else, sir?

Will your allegiance to Trump trump the principles you claim to have? It seems to me that a true conservative would be fiercely opposed to Trump's attempts to alter the balance of powers in trying to increase the power of the executive.

Yeah, that's what liberals see. Too bad. Eye check time 10% for all libs.

@sense

The ONLY people that really truly love it are the people that don't deserve any healthcare plan.

As usual, you are not making any sense, not what I said, not what I implied. But nice try.

He's the leader of the Republican party.

He is, never said he wasn't or 110% blameless, wasn't my argument.

His actions all point at him being a republican - less taxes on the rich, less healthcare for the poor

Whoa, homie! One thing about Trump before he became a Republican, he was always a huge advocate for taking care of the poor and healthcare for all Americans.

, anti-abortion, anti-environment, pro-big business, bigger military.

I fail to see the problem here.

Everything he has done so far has been completely in line with the Republican party of the past few decades.

Yeah, but Trump can do so much, the Washington establishment are the people I really despise!

Logic has taken a beating over on the lunatic fringe.

The Democrats????

Trump promised a spectacular changes to health care

And they may come at a later date, he's got 42 months, but now he should move on to tax reforms.

The spectacular changes didn't materialize

Healthcare, No, they didn't, but there's always tomorrow.

No, 'everyone' does not go on about how useless it is.

Yeah, they do and especially people that don't have a lot of income. Almost everyone I know that makes over 50K a year hates it and especially the premiums are the worst thing about it.

It's got a favorability rating over 50%, meaning more people like it than don't. Everyone that I have met and interviewed that are in a lower income bracket are pretty much content with it. Before this monstrosity came out. I never had a problem, most people I know never had a problem with their healthcare plan, but the people in the lower income bracket didn't have anything. So I understand why they like it, I have to pay for it, so what's not to like for the lower class?

Who was surveyed in that poll, which demographic and who did the polling? Remember, we have seen, polls don't really mean that much these days.

Nothing emotional about it.

Oh, yes it does. It has everything to do with it. Liberals for some reason are extremely emotional people, don't let your emotions cloud the judgement.

His pitch failed because it was useless and the details of the policy were useless.

Yeah, but he can say what he wants, Obama said, you could keep your doctor, also garbage. Pelosi and the Dems lied, Gruber and Emanuel were the chief architects of this disastrous crap and the Repubs were No better in coming up with an alternative.

So if Obama managed to get a useless policy through in much more hostile territory...

Listen, the Dems are lemmings, if Obama would jump off a cliff they would have followed, the collective is incapable of independent thought process, that's what that tells me, the greater good, the DNP is more important than the safety and security of the American people.

what does that tell you about the skills of Trump. Not really very good.

Considering his fortune, success and the promises he has kept so far, very, very good. Go Trump!

"U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday attacked conservative lawmakers for the failure of the Republican bill to replace former President Barack Obama’s health care law, as aides signaled a greater willingness to work with moderate Democrats on upcoming legislative battles from the budget and tax cuts to health care."

Congress needs to get with the program and pass a bill to fix the Obamacare disaster.

Judge Jeanine: Time for Trump to create his own rules

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KjNxgW7J3E

They had SEVEN YEARS to produce....

Very true.

And because the pitch was useless, implementation couldn't happen. His failure.

If you think emotionally, Yes. If you think logically, No.

Was a useless policy yes but everyone goes on about how useless Obamacare is and Obama still got it through.

It's the truth. The ONLY people that really truly love it are the people that couldn't afford any healthcare plan prior to its implementation.

No, they don't. Repeating it doesn't make it true.

Yes, it truly does.

The truth is, as much as you hate it, most people like it.

Not true at all and that's why the majority of working Americans hated it with a passion.

Maybe, but people who make over 50K a year are not 'everyone'.

Ahhh, so those people don't count. Just when I thought the liberal mindset couldn't lower the bar.....

You're simply showing an inability to differentiate reality from your confirmation bias.

Pretty describes the majority of liberals and Dems.

Yes, Congress write and push the bills. Trump is ultimately responsible for it.

Yes and No. If you are talking about pitching it, yes. If you are talking about constructing and trying to implement it, No. That rests on the head of congress. I never liked the way Obamacare was implemented, but for me, the big blame goes to Emanuel and Gruber, that's where I place the blame on the real people that originally constructed this mess and likewise, I blame the GOP for standing around for 7 years to come up with nothing. That's where the failure rests.

So, what was it then?

Beats me, your guess is as good as mine.

Naivety on Trump's part? Can't be that - not a grizzled businessman.

Naivety can be an asset. It hits us all and can be a good buffer, helped a lot of people in business, helped Gates, Jobs, millions of people.

Does he have too trusting a nature? Nah, he gets people better than anyone.

Doing morning stretches, don't hurt yourself.

Did he rely on the GOP geniuses to come up with something 'amazing'? He's been tearing the back out of these boneheaded establishment politicians non-stop.

He, tried and kudos on him for doing so.

The only real conclusion to draw is that he's just full of s###.

Yeah, you would say that, but don't worry, it doesn't hurt you at all, you're not American. I'll put it with congress, the epicenter of this mess.

Hasn't been 100 days. I think he did well, except for congress last week, absolutely horrible.

whoever came up with the bill really doesn't matter.

Actually, that's not true, maybe that holds true to people that don't have any idea about politics, but congress are the minions that write and push these bills through.

It comes straight back to Trump and hits him squarely on the jaw.

We shall see, as I said, it could go 4 ways.

Trump says everytime "WE have something..." and if you are going to try and lay the blame with anyone else then you also need to accept you have a president who has no idea what is in the policies that are being put forward. Either way, Trump is useless.

Trump can say whatever he wants, Obama can say whatever he wants, but at the end of the day, it was the Democrats that signed this junk into law, not the president and with this one, the GOP Republicans couldn't come up with a better alternative to replace Obamacare. If the owner of the restaurant tells me his food is good, but the cooks are lousy, I'm going to be ticked off at the cooks that prepared the food, I could care less what the owner thinks of believes, it's the people that prepare the food.

What the hell was Trump doing on the campaign trail talking about a fantastic health plan which would do a better job at a fraction of the cost?

His team couldn't produce, boo on them.

I thought Trump had a health care plan that would be the replacement.

Not Trump, Ryan.

It appears he didn't offer a single thing except his crappy rhetoric. Is that right?

Not Trump, the GOP moderates and the Freedom Caucus.

I'm also disheartened to see him blame everyone else and not take any blame for his lack of leadership.

He doesn't have to do anything, it will depend on the people, he did what he could, he can't make the congress do anything they don't want, so that will rest on the shoulders of the American people, they can either blame Trump, Paul Ryan or Congress. Now he's on to tax reform and that's another big issue, if he can get that done and go back at a later date and try to tackle healthcare again, then so be it, but trying to get businesses to stay and encourage small business growth as well as big business and lower corporate taxes will be a gargantuan achievement.