TPM - "Ryan Plays the DC Press Corps Like a Fiddle"

[NRaleighLiberal]

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/ryan-plays-the-dc-press-corps-like-a-fiddle

By JOSH MARSHALL Published DECEMBER 8, 2016, 2:12 PM EDT

"Millions of people's lives and livelihoods are on the line. So it's not funny. But if there weren't such dire real world consequences, Paul Ryan's current flimflam would be straight up hilarious. Repealing Obamacare has immediate real world consequences. It will trigger providers to leave the system. It will deprive between 20 and 30 million people of the health care coverage they now have. (Here are the details of who loses their coverage, down to the state level.)

Ryan has promised that no one will be worse off after Republicans replace Obamacare. But the only reason they are talking about delaying replacing Obamacare for two or three years or more is because even after talking about it for five plus years, they have no idea what to replace it with. They appear to want to go back to the pre-Obamacare status quo. But they don't think that is politically viable.

Just like you can't jump off a building with no plan on where you're going to land (not if you want a good outcome), "repeal and delay" is a farce which is being gobbled up by the Washington press corps like no one's business. Sad! as Donald Trump would say. It makes zero sense except as a plan to put off the blame for the human carnage until after Ryan has bagged his tax cut.

Let's repeat this again, there is zero reason to wait a day to replace Obamacare with whatever Republicans want to replace it with — no policy or legislative logic whatsoever. The only logic is kicking the can down the road, because after five years Republicans have no idea how to accomplish what Obamacare accomplishes. So they have no replacement. What they do know is that by repealing Obamacare they can lock in a huge tax cut for the wealthiest Americans. So as if you're one of those 20 or 30 million Americans about to lose their coverage. All is not lost, Ryan got his top supporters a really big tax cut in exchange for the coverage you got under Obamacare."

[msongs]

1. all those union members voting trump will be looking for obamacare soon and....oh too bad nt

[guillaumeb]

2. The mainstream press allows itself to be played.

By accepting at face value what the GOP puts out.

[The_Casual_Observer]

3. Trump has been slamming Obamacare for years and promising

A better and cheaper alternative. It's painfully obvious he had no fucking idea about what he was talking about, it was just a lie. There is no plan.

[Wellstone ruled]

4. Paul Ryan has never had a original thought in his life.

Little Eddie is bought and paid for by the Koch Brothers. And the Koch's want Privatized Medical Care,you get a voucher to you local Koch Industries Clinic and once the value is used,go home and die.

[shadowmayor]

5. 60 Minutes Love Fest

The worst example of our Fawning Corporate Media giving face time to an absolute idiot introduced (again) to America as a budget expert. Unfriggin' believable.