There we have it folks. The AHCA/Trumpcare/Ryancare/Republicare (the name is the political equivalent of hot potato at this point) has fallen flat on its face. But wasn’t that to be expected? When the Koch Brothers threaten to cut funding for House Republicans that vote yes for the bill, and even Breitbart denounces the healthcare bill, you know that something’s wrong. The main problem is one that has been observed numerous times throughout history - the transition of from being the opposition party to the governing party. The Republicans, after 8 years under a Democratic White House, have had to switch from merely voicing opposition to the President’s actions to cobbling together solutions and uniting factions of their own party. But aside from a somewhat rocky start, the failure of this bill highlights deeper problems for the GOP as a whole.
Think back to 2009. It was during this year that President Obama started pushing and campaigning for his to-be landmark piece of legislation - the Affordable Care Act (ACA or a.k.a Obamacare). After wrestling with Congress, he was finally able to get it passed - but with a cost. The political toll of the ACA was the loss of the Democratic Party’s majority in the House of Representatives, with Tea Party candidates sweeping many former Democratic seats. Ever since then, the unifying call and undying promise of the Republicans has been to “Repeal Obamacare.” For over 7 years, we have heard the promise to repeal Obamacare. Over time, the slogan expanded to “repeal and replace,” but the message remained the same - the Republicans would do all that was necessary to get rid of this legislation.
When Trump was elected President, many were unsure about the direction that the country would head in, but one thing was almost certain - the days of Obamacare were numbered. Republicans now had control of the White House and both houses of Congress. What could stop them now? The answer - themselves and their constituents. In an almost unexpected manner, many citizens around the country began protesting against the repeal of the ACA. In fact, many communities who famously denounced the ACA in 2011 were now berating their representatives in town hall meetings for supporting the repeal of the ACA.
So what changed? Why did citizens who were so adamantly against Obamacare suddenly unite around it? Much of this unity can be contributed to the “replace” portion of the Republican policy. On March 7th, 2017, House Speaker Paul Ryan unveiled the Republican replacement for Obamacare - the American Health Care Act (AHCA). The bill suffered the classic problem of “trying to please all but ending up pleasing none.” Many constituents who relied on the securities of the bill denounced it for removing too much of Obamacare’s safety nets, while many TEA Party advocates and members of the House Freedom Caucus argued that the bill didn’t go far enough in terms of repealing Obamacare. Ultimately, this culminated in Trump and Ryan pulling the bill on March 24th, saying that “Obamacare is the law of the land.”
In the end, however, the ball is still in the Republican’s court, however, and they’re already moving onto their next legislative priority - tax reform. Unlike healthcare, there is more consensus on tax reform among Republicans, but only time will tell what happens here on out.
