Blog Credo

The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.

H.L. Mencken

Saturday, March 25, 2017

The Coming Civil War In The GOP

For years, the coalition that creates the modern GOP has been fractious.  The Wall Street Republicans and the Main Street Republicans are standing aside, aghast and agog, at the Theocratic Republicans and the John Birch/Tea Party Republicans.  What is unclear is where Paul Ryan fits into this coalition.  Wall Street loves him, but it seems both Main Street and the JB/TP wings hate him - or at least his American Shit Sandwich Health Care Act.

Ryan only became Speaker when no one else could or would do the job.  He shrewdly played coy with the idea and forced certain conditions before taking the gavel.  Now it looks as if Ryan has a full scale revolt on his hand.

Martin Longman as a logical but implausible plan for Trump to salvage his presidency.  Trump could cobble together a legislative coalition to pass some things he has said he's interested in: more and better health care coverage; infrastructure; maybe even a border tax.  The problem - as demonstrated by the American Shit Sandwich Health Care Act is that we have no idea what Trump really cares about.  This bill violated every promise he made and he still supported it.  Why?

The GOP has an increasingly unpopular president at the head of an increasingly unpopular agenda.  Then there is the Russia scandal percolating over to the side.

We are barely more than two months into this....

No comments: