Ceiling and dealing

The most optimistic among Republicans are anxious for September’s arrival, believing their efforts to bring about tax reform and personal and business tax cuts will succeed where similar heavy lifting to repeal and replace Obamacare failed.

Obamacare had become an entrenched entitlement in very short order, leaving many Republicans talking out of both sides of their mouths. GOP lawmakers showed little to no spine when it came time to act. In the case of tax reform, they are likely to hear from throngs of constituents who feel strongly that swift and significant cuts and simplifications are long overdue. Repealing Obamacare carried the threat that some would “lose” healthcare coverage (albeit unaffordable coverage). Tax cuts are about meaningful gains for ordinary working Americans, not loss. Continue reading “Ceiling and dealing”

Betrayal

The assault on the presidency of Donald Trump began when a Deputy Attorney General, Rod Rosenstein (nominated by Trump), appointed former FBI Director Robert Mueller Special Counsel to investigate unsubstantiated allegations that Trump campaign surrogates colluded with the Russian government to influence American voters ahead of the 2016 presidential election.

Thus began, as commentator Charles Krauthammer eloquently describes it, “an investigation in search of a crime.” Continue reading “Betrayal”

Activist judges draw red line

Thousands of North Carolinians will find themselves living in a new Congressional district as of Sept. 1. The deadline to redraw districts was imposed by three federal judges in a July 31 ruling that will inevitably drive campaign strategists crazy ahead of elections in 2018. More time will be spent on introducing voters to a new district; less time devoted to issues.

TheHill.com reports the order “impacts 28 of the state’s 170 General Assembly districts, which the court said last year discriminated against African-American voters by weakening their political power.” Continue reading “Activist judges draw red line”

Health-scare

It is easy to forget the overriding premise behind Obamacare: too many Americans were uninsured, unable to afford basic medical care and prescriptions. Obamacare was needed, its supporters said, because it would swiftly bring 30 million people into the rolls of the insured by making insurance affordable.

With the benefit of hindsight, we now understand that it never was about liberating those 30 million by granting them affordable insurance options. The heart of Obamacare was about providing more free insurance coverage by expanding Medicaid in the states through a massive federal entitlement. Continue reading “Health-scare”