Congress has an abysmal approval rating of about 20%. There are dozens of reasons for this rating. Right now, my disapproval with Congress stems from the chaos in Washington over healthcare.
Obamacare is imploding. It’s up to the Republicans to repeal and replace it. I know the Democrats will say NO to anything the Republicans propose. I get it. Not one Republican voted for Obamacare and, as a result, the Democrats own that disaster. So, the Democrats are playing the same game. (Games. Played by both sides. Another reason to dislike Congress.)
My beef now is with the Republicans. Granted. I don’t know all the procedures, rules and machinations that make up the comings and goings of Congress, but, it’s obvious, whatever it takes, Republicans must band together to repeal and replace Obamacare and help Mr. Trump follow through with the promises that got him elected. They don’t seem to get that.
Repeal and replace Obamacare was one of Mr. Trump’s top priorities. The Republicans in this country have waited eight years for the Obama administration to end. The Republicans now own Congress and the White House.
So, my question to the Republican leadership in Congress is the following: What the hell were you guys doing for the past seven years after Obamacare passed? Why didn’t you start working on a replacement bill that everyone could agree upon? Over the years, I heard a lot of promises. Why wasn’t a win by a Republican President anticipated so that when the time came, a bill could be rolled out, already agreed upon by everyone, voted on, passed and given to the President to sign?
Okay. I may be a little obsessive compulsive in my planning abilities. Maybe looking ahead seven years is a bit much.
But, I would ask them, why didn’t you start working on the repeal and replacement of Obamacare the day after Election Day? You had almost three months before Inauguration Day to come up with a plan that everyone could agree upon, including President Trump.
Back in March, Paul Ryan supposedly had some cockamamie health plan but postponed a vote because it was a terrible plan and he knew he didn’t have the votes. It was not only embarrassing for the President but it made the Republicans look like liars or complete incompetents. It made the rest of us frustrated. Do the Republicans in Congress actually want this President to fail? Isn’t it bad enough 90% of the mainstream media and the left want nothing more to see him go down in flames? It’s absolutely disgraceful.
This month, Paul Ryan and his crew scrambled to put together another bill to meet some self-imposed deadline. It passed the House. Now, the Senate’s working on its own bill. After all this time, everyone still isn’t onboard forcing Mitch McConnell to delay the Senate vote until after July 4th. The deadline they should’ve set for themselves began on November 9th and ended January 20th.
Reacting is not a sign of leadership. Action – not reaction – is. Unfortunately, all Congress seems to do is react. The House reacts to the President’s request to get things done. The Senate is now reacting to the House. And they call themselves “leaders.” Pathetic.
With Congress going home for the holiday, the Wall Street Journal reported on June 28th, “from now until Congress’ return, there is likely to be a run of deal-making, arm-twisting and lobbying.” Incredibly astonishing and extremely disappointing.
They’ve had seven years to have a plan in place. If that was too much to ask, they had since November 9th to come up with something upon which everyone could agree. Period. No excuses. And then they wonder why the American people have absolutely no confidence in Congress?
I don’t get it, but if you do, God bless you.
