MICHAEL RUSSELL

Trump, Republicans made smart move in pulling health care bill before House vote

Mar 27, 2017, 12:39 PM | Updated: 1:01 pm

President Donald Trump talks about the health care overhaul bill, Friday, March 24, 2017, in the Ov...

President Donald Trump talks about the health care overhaul bill, Friday, March 24, 2017, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

It was an interesting weekend for me watching the reactions to Friday’s defeat of the Republican health care bill before a House vote could be held.

The weekend political talk shows were chock-full of Democrat celebrations, Republican reasoning and businesses-as-usual politics.

First, I would like to congratulate those Republicans that voted their conscience, not their party — and I’m talking about those that voted for and those that voted against the bill.

I didn’t read the entire piece of legislation, so I am unqualified to say if it would’ve worked or not.

But what I can tell you is that it was a garbage piece of legislation because it was written by politicians.

What was striking to me was seeing Republicans actually acting like lawmakers interested in what is best for our nation. On the other hand, Democrats were acting like obstructionists voting purely for party and former President Barack Obama’s legacy.

Democrats know Obamacare is a disaster. There is no way that you can say the Affordable Care Act is doing great things for our nation as an educated, sane human being.

But President Donald Trump showed real intelligence after the Republican bill was pulled. He was getting attacked from his own party as well as the Democrats. When he said that we’re going to have to let Obamacare stand for a while, I applauded him.

This is acting in the best interest of the nation. It’s not that Obamacare helps this nation at all, it’s just that sometimes punting is sometimes your best move.

Watching the Republicans try to ram their bill through the house was disturbing to me — and another example of politics as usual. It wasn’t a matter of taking their time and making sure that this was done right.

It’s refreshing to have a president in the White House that is willing to take defeat, regroup and get it right the next time.

After all, he has another year and a half of House, Senate and White House control. It’ll be interesting to see what the Republicans come up with next.

But let’s be honest, Obamacare isn’t that high of a bar to clear.

Michael Russell

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Trump, Republicans made smart move in pulling health care bill before House vote