Donald J. Trump: Weasel-in-Chief (Flakeyus Maximus) New Case Study

To House Members: “Your healthcare bill greatest since sliced bread.” 

To Senators at Dinner: “House healthcare bill is mean and ugly – fix it.”

(Make it friendly. So, now enjoy your Trump steak and ketchup)

4th major update in this series (June 15, 2017): Now another major update on “Obama-repeal & replace" bill now pending in the Senate. Sadly, no one except a very few GOPers know what it's in the bill, which is not on the table for any committee debate or for the public to see. So, that whatever remains in the dark… 

The story is from here on from the NY Times – and it is stunning new development – shame on the GOP and mostly shame on the GOP Senate “leader” (and I use that word carefully) Mitch “Mr. Peepers” McConnell (R-KY). His comments in the piece are particularly noteworthy and just, well, just plain crazy.

3^rd major update on the following two updates on the original story – kind of hard to keep track isn’t it? This from Mr. Trump who now calls the plan he cheered about at the Rose Garden session, “mean.” Ouch.

Extracted from * Politico and via the Washington Post here:

IMAGINE IF you’re a House Republican, and voted for the leadership’s health-care bill in May after being told that you were doing the newly elected president a solid. You listened to the White House’s pleading – perhaps you got a phone call from Vice President Mike Pence, Chief of Staff Reince Priebus or even the president himself. The administration was on the Hill nonstop to push their legislation. You explained to your constituents that the late-in-the-game changes made to the bill helped cover more people. You celebrated with him in the Rose Garden after passage seen here – about 6-minutes:

Rose Garden Rally (May 4, 2017): House Passes Obama-care Repeal Bill

NOW YOU HEAR THE PRESIDENT has gone behind closed doors and told senators the House bill is “mean” and says it doesn’t do enough to cover people. Wouldn’t that anger you? Well, it’s angering a lot of House Republicans, who believe their president put them at political risk with that comment. A Senate health care bill was always going to be more moderate than the House version. If you're a House Republican, are you going to help the White House next time after the president privately just dumped all over you after you cast a vote for him? A lot of GOP lawmakers are buzzing about it, and many are none too pleased with the president right now. Story: “AP sources: Trump tells senators House health bill ‘mean,’” by Alan Fram.

QUICK REMINDER:  Republicans on the Hill spent years decrying behind-the-scenes machinations of government. Now they have an attorney general that is refusing to discuss his conversations with the president. And a Senate majority that seeking to pass a major health-care bill without hearings.  

2^nd major update: This is the introduction to first update which follows below – this 2^nd  update is a fine piece from Vox.com, here in part:

[If you recall candidate] Trump once warned that “there was a philosophy in some circles that if you can’t pay for it, you don’t get it. That’s not going to happen with us.” But it is going to happen with him, now president Trump.  

The reason so many people lose health insurance under this GOP “repeal and replace plan” is because they can’t afford it, and thus, under Trump-care (AHCA) – unlike and compared to Obama-care (ACA), is simple: “If you can’t afford it, you don’t get it” – but under Obama-care you could and 10 of millions did and now: The GOP wants to take that away for what, um?

Hint: More tax goodies to the top crust who never have worry about healthcare or the next meal or a house or car payment or care or just simply paying their bills and trying to stay healthy and not sick w/o any care at the same time.” – Yeah those Americans – we assume the GOP does not represent them, right?

I like millions of others am reluctant to call anyone a liar, especially our president, but folks, Donald J. Trump is the premier liar of all time in that office. He is the very worse and in my view a compulsive serial habitual liar.

Continue reading Vox here and then the next original 1^st update below then original story below that – whew boy…!!!

1^st major update - April 23, 2017 here from CNBC  >> New GOP Health Care Plan and then more below: Trump-care (actually the Ryan AHCA ready to make a second attempt at passage since the yanked the previous bill due to lack of GOP votes to pass it) may now in fact include a new “innovative” provision called the “pro bono healthcare provision” by participating doctors to the needy (i.e., those uninsured). 

Their GOP “plan” or their concept appears easy to understand (you can laugh now):

1.  Local doctors could voluntarily agree to accept up to 20 pro bono patients/year.

2.  In return the local doctor would receive a tax deduction.

3.  That tax deduction would be equal to a normal office visit and fees for each.

4.  At the end of the tax year, the doctor would fill out a one-page form listing how many “pro bono” patients they served and the value of those visits.

5.  Like all tax deductions, “pro bono care” would be subject to audit (for fraud).

The medical community is on board. The Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC) polled hundreds of doctors and found over 80 percent would participate. Since there are some 400,000 primary care doctors and nurse practitioner around the country, and if each were to accept 20 patients, then over 6 million insured people would be helped.

Uncle Sam would in essence be picking up the tab (no taxes from the doctors and services paid for) but from tax reduction and tax break for the MD’s thus reducing the Treasury’s total tax revenues for that year (less money in the Federal kitty as it were.

Doesn’t that somehow equate to and sound like a “one-payer system?”  Sure sounds like that to me. Just don’t try and get or find a Republican in Congress to admit that is exactly what the “pro bono” care provision would be in reality. Good luck in your search.

GOPers would thus able to claim that the “pro bono healthcare” provision:

1.  Not only provides coverage for millions of the uninsured, but that it is also saving money by reducing or eliminating costs from Medicaid (which presently helps some of our neediest citizens) and thus reducing the Federal treasury, too.

2.  As for Trump, he could take credit (which he will) for providing health care for millions of uninsured and saying he is saving taxpayers hundreds of millions in Medicaid costs for those 6 million thus also saving his promise to “not cut Medicaid” and give us “tax reform” too – that is smaller government. His win-win.  

Nice “Art of the Deal” trick, um? Yes, it is. Plus, if Federal revenues are cut or reduced then the GOP can claim “tax reform” – another sleight of hand trick. Call that too the “Art of the Con.” (I note: A good deal or raw deal? Take you choice and this ties right back the 3^rd Update above that introduces all this background info).

Now the background and related original post has two key articles: If this all-GOP run government can’t serve people they way they have sworn to do, or the way claim in every floor speech, then may I suggest they seek another line of work on a cattle or horse ranch someplace out of sight shoveling the crap they shovel on this critical issue, or tell us they want to return home to “spend more time with their families.” 

Realize all these GOP stunts have been playing out since 2010 when the ACA was signed into law (BTW: without a single Republican vote) and with over 75 GOP attempts to repeal it have failed. Not hard to wonder why?

Behind it all: These two schemers

Cuts will come – make no doubt about it. Nobel Prize economic winner, Paul Krugman, and a darn good writer, says:

“Trump voters will feel and be betrayed, but guess what, Trump does not care.”

That from Krugman is the first key article, is here from the New York Times.

Here is the second key article – also a good story, vis-à-vis all this GOP sustained nasty political con game with the history of their past failed attempts to “repeal and replace Obama-care” also here from the New York Times.

So, what can we make of all this? Seems the GOP is still looking for how shall I say it: Still looking for leadership and still apparently looking in all the wrong places. Worse, they seem to be looking for zebras in the forest – hint: Zebras don’t live in the forest.

Now, we see Trump weighing in and blasting the very plan he jumped for joy like a cheerleader at the White House when the GOP House passed their bill by a single vote.

Stay tuned for more of the worse yet to come. Just wait and see. One word describes the GOP: Leaderless and Lost (actually two words)