Goodbye AHCA. We hardly knew ya.
Literally.
The American Health Care act was mishandled from the start.
It was drafted in secret with no input from conservatives in the Congress.
There was never any effort to educate the American people on what it would do and why it would be a good plan to replace the disastrous Obamacare scheme.
It was introduced without any plan to convince the American people that it was worth supporting.
And there was no plan to effectively refute the CBO report that they knew would dubiously claim that millions of people would lose their coverage.
The Republicans can claim that this bill was unfairly covered in the news media, but President Trump and Speaker Ryan had to know that would happen. If they didn’t, they were grossly politically negligent. Yet they had no plan to deal with the “opposition party” news media.
It was a fiasco from start to finish.
So, RIP AHCA.
Now it’s time to write a new bill with meaningful input from conservatives.
And this time they had better develop a PR plan before they introduce it.
And they had better do it soon. If Trump follows through on his threat to leave Obamacare in place because the AHCA failed, the Republicans will lose scores of seats in Congress in 2018 – and deservedly so.
We elected Donald Trump to be bold and to take risks in order to restore our country. He’s done that, and for the most part, he’s enjoyed a string of successes.
But risk is risk, and sometimes it results in defeat. The AHCA was a bold and risky move that resulted in defeat.
Although the Democrats and their loyal news media will trumpet this as a catastrophic defeat, it need not be one. Trump and Ryan need to put on their big boy pants, accept that politics often includes setbacks, roll up their sleeves, and get back to work.
And next time, learn the lessons of this fiasco and get it right.
Author: Ken Falkenstein
Ken Falkenstein is the Managing Editor of Committed Conservative and brings a wealth of experience and expertise in public affairs to the job. Ken served in the U.S. Army in the last years of the Cold War as a Russian linguist for military intelligence and the NSA. After leaving the Army, he earned his degree in Secondary Education from Old Dominion University, where he also wrote a popular column in the student newspaper.
Upon graduation, Ken worked as a Legislative Aide to two Republican members of the Virginia House of Delegates. Ken also served as Corresponding Secretary of the Young Republican Federation of Virginia, managed several successful political campaigns, and managed governmental affairs operations for a local Realtor association.
In 1995, Ken moved to Washington, DC to serve as a Legislative Assistant to Sen. John Warner (R-VA). While working for Sen. Warner, Ken attended law school at night, earning his J.D. with honors from the George Mason University School of Law (n/k/a The Antonin Scalia Law School). Since that time, Ken has practiced as a civil litigation attorney, including serving for three years as an Associate City Attorney for the City of Virginia Beach, Virginia.
Ken previously was a contributor to the highly-regarded political blog Bearing Drift and was a weekly co-host of The Steve Batton Radio Program. In 2016, Ken ran unsuccessfully for the Virginia Beach School Board. Ken is also a former President of the Down Syndrome Association of Hampton Roads.
Ken now lives outside of Denver, Colorado with his wife, Kim, and three sons, Adam, Dylan, and Joshua, who has Down syndrome. Ken’s writing is motivated and informed primarily by his concern for his kids’ future.