While this may not seem like a stunning development considering that the GOP owns a majority in the House and in the Senate, Sen. Rand Paul’s optimism in the aftermath of the GOP’s Ryancare debacle provides a reason to be hopeful.
When the House failed to bring Speaker Ryan’s healthcare bill to a vote, it seemed that GOP efforts at repealing and replacing Obamacare might be finished. The tone coming from GOP leadership and the White House was one of defeat, and both groups appeared ready to move on to other matters. However, a couple of deep breaths and a few days later and it looks like the GOP may now be ready to find a Plan B, which accounts for Paul’s optimism.
The senator was a guest on CNN’s “The Lead,” where he opened up about the repeal and replace debate. One of the most important moments may have come when he chose to praise the members of the House Freedom Caucus, whom many are blaming for the death of Ryancare. Paul refused to lay blame and argued that HFC was only doing what it believed to be best for the nation.
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The Healthcare conversation picks up at about the 5-minute mark (transcript follows):
I think the Freedom Caucus is doing what is best for America. They’re very principled and honorable men. I think that we’re trying to also let Republicans know if we pass something bad, if insurance rates are going up at 20%, 25% a year from now after Republicans have taken ownership of health care, that won’t be good for the party. It’s also just not good for the country. We do want insurance rates to go down. We want more people to have insurance at a lower cost, and I’m still talking to the White House. I am still talking to the Freedom Caucus. I am talking to anybody that will listen, and I do still think — I think 70%, 75% chance that we still do get repeal of Obamacare, that we are going to find a good meeting place at some point.
By the way, if you have five minutes, give a listen to the entire interview in the video. Listen as Paul destroys the notion that Rep. [score]Devin Nunes[/score] has done anything wrong in the course of his investigations into White House spying or the Russian meddling. He makes a pretty convincing case that the media tumult over Nunes’s work has been overblown and misreported.
Cross-posted at Constitution.com
