Congressional Politics Quotes
The threat was delivered to Mark Sanford a conservative Congressman from Southg Carolina, Sanford had stated that he would vote against Trump's plan for a replacement to Obamacare. He paid no attention to the threat and the intent of intimidating other Republican members of the House of Representatives failed, There were so many Republican defectors who would not vote for the bill that House Speaker Ryan, withdrew the bill at the last minute has the majority Republicans had so many defectors that the Obama Care replacement coult not possibly pass. This was a great blow to Presieent Trump and not President in history had been thwarted so early in his administration on a major bill. Worse Trump's own party contolled the majority and the entire party had run their campaingns with the "promise" to repeal ObabaCare. However when they tried to do it, they cound it was not so easy and even most of the conservatives proferred ObamaCare to the propsed legislation that the Speaker or the House and the Presidenet were advocating.
This is a perennial problem whenever the Chief's of Staff want to cut any program. Even if the program is a failure or is no longer needed Congress fights cuts tooth and nail. Then they make speeches decrying government spending and especially waste, when the vast majority of the waste is in programs or operations upon which they have insisted.
2012 and 2013 with the Tea Party driving Republicans more to the right under fear of being attacked in their primary elections caused the handful to shrink to 2 or 3. The change stems from the historical fact that the majority of the Democratic racists (mostly of the South) were furious that their party, had passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ending legal segregation and institutional racism of the South. The Republicans implemented a “Southern Strategy” by using code words that endorsed Southern racism and this swung the formerly Democratic “Solid” South to the Republican side changing the balance of power for years. The conservative Democrats became Republicans changing the balance in that party. The conservatives starting purging the liberal Republicans and then drove many of the moderates out. Meanwhile, the Democrats, without their conservative wing from the South became more left wing and made things uncomfortable for the remaining conservatives. Just as Tama predicted there were few moderates left to cross over and vote with the other party. Congress became totally dysfunctional.
