OPINION:
Obamacare repeal, once upon a time, the stuff of Republican Party platform, has now moved into fairy-tale status.
Sad but true. Republicans, it seems, are going to bank the 2018 elections on a hope in a good case of collective conservative Alzheimer’s.
How far have they strayed from their hatred of the socialist medical system?
“I would probably put that as 50-50,” said Sen. Bill Cassidy, in a “Fox News Sunday” interview about the chances of Obamacare repeal.
What’s even sadder is that Republicans can’t even get their own to speak the same language on Obamacare, at least in public. They’ve not only ceded the Obamacare repeal; they’ve ceded the notion of presenting a united front. It’s like a bullhorn to Democrats — come and get us.
On that same show, White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus said this, The Washington Post reported: “They will get a repeal and replace bill done.”
Meanwhile, across the network aisle, there was this from Sen. John McCain, on “Face the Nation” on CBS, about Obamacare repeal: “My view is it’s probably going to be dead.”
What an about-face from 2010, when Republicans were nothing but outraged at the socialist face-slapping from Obamacare, at the “pass it to read it” approach to legislating touted by Nancy Pelosi, at the smugness of Barack Obama at shoving through his spread-the-wealth medical package. Then, it was all repeal, all the time — from all the Republicans.
Now?
Now, we can’t even get a common message about Obamacare from two or more Republicans, speaking on the same day, on the same news show.
Forget repeal. How about a singular message? After all, it wasn’t so hard to do in 2010 — and 2011, and 2012 and all the years leading up to the clean sweep of Republican control in the House, Senate and White House. Where’s the outrage and party unity now?
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