If there is one thing that I will never understand about today’s politicians, it is why they choose to air their dirty laundry in public rather than going behind closed doors to work out their problems.
That is exactly what his happening now after President Donald Trump made a pivot from his hardline stance on the shutdown to expressing a willingness to work out a deal.
Reports are flying that GOP senators are upset with Trump, feeling as though he has undermined their strategy.
I have stated many times that I believe Obamacare is what led to the high costs of health care in this country.
Having said that, until a change is made, this is the system that we have, so we have to make the most of it.
The tax subsidies that were in place took some of the sting out of premiums for many Americans, but they just expired, and one of the key sticking points for Democrats in the shutdown standoff is that they want those tax breaks extended.
Trump is now willing to talk to Democrats and offer them a deal, although it has been unclear just how far he will go. But if we look at the proposal given this week, it would extend the tax cuts for another year while not addressing the liberals' other demands.
Republicans tried to give the Democrats a concession, offering to extend the tax cuts for one year.
Mind you, Democrats could have permanently extended these cuts when they controlled the government, but they chose not to, solely in the hopes of making this an issue for Republicans, in my opinion.
To that point, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) rejected the one-year extension, stating, “What world are these MAGA extremists living in right now to think that Democrats are going to go along with a one-year extension from a group of people, meaning the Republicans, who just permanently extended massive tax breaks for their billionaire donors?” He continued, “It’s a laughable proposition. It makes no sense. The Democratic position has been clear: Permanent extension, and let’s go from there.”
So, again, why are reporters not hammering Democrats as to why they did not permanently extend these tax breaks when they had all the power?
Reports started to surface late this week that there were grumblings among GOP senators after Trump made the bargaining pivot regarding healthcare.
One unnamed Republican stated, “He just muddied the waters for sure.” He would not put his name on the quote for fear of retribution by Trump, which is a big problem in the caucus right now. Rather than speak their minds directly to the president, these members are terrified that if they say anything, Trump will try to primary them, so they air their grievances in public instead of directly to the White House.
Another lawmaker stated, “The indication that there’s a willingness to do that really delayed any resolution as there was this moment in which Democrats thought they had a path forward that doesn’t exist.”
Abigail Jackson, a White House spokesperson, pushed back, stating that party leadership and the president are in “lockstep,” but that is clearly not the case. My biggest criticism of Trump has been his “all or nothing” stance, as he constantly threatens every Republican who does not fall in line with him. He has to be more open, at least to the point where Republicans can bring concerns to him rather than airing them out in the media. All that does is feed Democrats' momentum, and we just cannot allow that to happen in a crucial election cycle.
