Trump to Senate: Cancel Your August Recess and Get Obamacare Repeal Done

Yes, they should, but of course they won't.

President Trump told GOP senators at the White House on Wednesday that they should cancel their August recess and not leave town until acting to repeal ObamaCare.

"We shouldn't leave town until this is complete," he said during a lunch at the White House. "We should hammer this out and get it done."

Trump also said that repeal isn't enough, and that Republicans should also replace ObamaCare with new legislation.

Repeal makes sense strategically (as well as being the fulfillment of a campaign promise): Once Obamacare is gone (assuming with a 1 or 2 year grace period where it will still be in effect), Democrats will no longer be able to interpose Obamacare as an alternative to any new plan proposed. It will be gone. The choice will not be between Obamacare and some new reform, but between the new reform and nothing at all.

Which puts huge pressure on Democrats to play ball.

Imagine a finicky cat who won't eat the cat food. Well, take the cat food away for a day and he's going to become a whole lot less finicky about it.

You can't beat something with nothing, they say. A corollary to that is this: It's easy to beat nothing with something.

Right now the argument is between Obamacare and "Something Else," with a lot of people invested in protecting Obama's legacy.

We should make the argument between nothing and Something Else.

Easier fight to win, and would give us genuine leverage for our main reforms.

However, two Republican liars and charlatans -- Lisa Murvieski and Shelley Capoto -- have announced that they were lying all along and just want Obamacare. They will not agree to any repeal (with details of a new plan to be worked out later) because, I posit, they want the Democrats to always have the leverage of saying #ButObamacare and thereby defeating any alternative to it.

Patterico says it's time to put money into primary challengers for both of them, and I agree.

posted by Ace at 03:15 PM

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