I have heard many commentators state that Republicans don’t know how to win. This is not true.  They simply retain the challenger’s mindset. They don’t act like victors.   Never has this been more evident than with the proposed healthcare legislation.

Republicans leaders have been in the minority so long that they have forgotten what you do, after you win elections.  This leadership group spent years passing bills to repeal “Obamacare”.  They placed a defund and partial repeal on President Obama’s desk in 2015, which was vetoed.

Now they have electoral majorities in both chambers of Congress and a Republican in the Oval Office and they have lost sight of their goal to shrink government involvement in the lives of the populus.  They worry about how Democrats will portray their legislation. They worry rather than message and educate.

Really, what about adopting a winning strategy!

Use the reconciliation process and defund Obamacare now!  It will only take 51 votes and it is ground, which was already plowed in 2015.  After defunding Obamacare,Democrats will have lost their signature law and you can realistically say you have reset the healthcare system.

Once you have defunded and reset healthcare.  You will be in a position with a good incremental healthcare change bill to pull some Democratic House and Senate votes by compromising on the timing of the phase out of some benefits in exchange for substantive market reforms.  This will lead the Democrats to compromises, which will enable Republicans to pass such important initiatives as universal interstate insurance sales as well as changes that will permit trade and other groups of consumers to purchase healthcare as part of an expanded group insurance market.(See Senator Rand Paul’s replacement plan https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/press/dr-rand-paul-unveils-obamacare-replacement-act)
An immediate repeal will encourage Republicans to take their time and avoid “the rush to do something” and “Comprehensive Legislation”, both of which have become the hallmarks of big government and known breeders of unintended consequences.

Take your time. Confront issues as they present themselves. Utilize feedback loops as you make small changes. There was never a great healthcare crisis and simply throwing public money at a problem does not solve it!

Don’t forget Obamacare was supposed to promote universal healthcare. How did that work out? If higher premiums declining insurance choice and increased dependence on the poverty healthcare program, medicaid, is your definition of promoting universal access, then Obamacare was a success. If not, then why adopt the same legislative formula,”comprehensive legislation”.

Simply redistributing wealth and giving the redistributed funds away for health insurance purchases does not lower healthcare costs. It does not increase the number of healthcare providers nor does it lower the costs of drugs or treatment. Republicans would do well to reset to the pre Obamacare situation, then implement small insurance changes. Look at methods to assist the states in their efforts to increase private healthcare providers and increase the availability of drugs for treatment. Trust the private market for once to meet demand. Remove federal regulatory impediments to provider service expansion. (Please see my previous post about the FDA)

I mentioned increasing providers. This is a task, which must be accomplished primarily by the states. Medical licensure is a state function. The federal government can provide much needed information about costs and education. The Feds can inform states of best practices to assist them in their efforts to increase the number of providers

The main point of this post is the Republicans don’t govern because they retain a “loser’s mindset”. Their actions remind me of one of the verses of the old anti war ballad, ” Where have all the flowers gone” Particularly the verse,”…when will they ever learn”

Yes, Republicans promise small government and free market solutions, but when the time comes to govern, they act like Bicoastal Democrats. Lite Democrats, but they act like Democrats just the same. They increase spending and government reach and have never seen a program they can’t sign on to, perhaps just at a lower level than your common “Bicoastalcrat”.

Republicans lack a winner’s strategy.  They learn from defeat only that some of their numbers can remain in power even after it.  Victory for them is a time for caution.  It is a time to preserve your gains.  Priciples take a back seat to voter pandering,

Now is the time to reset the healthcare marketplace and shrink government!

Don’t make the time-honored error of using comprehensive legislation to replace Obamacare. Act decisively! Defund, reset then bargain with the Democrats and only act incrementally. Use feedback to honestly judge whether your program is successful. The country deserves a free market healthcare alternative.

Please put the country and the economy ahead of your personal reelection ambitions!  Man up! Act on the principles that got you elected!