Beware of Pseudo Conservatives

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) was designed to ultimately be established as a socialist health system. The strategy was that it would be so expensive that if Hillary Clinton had won the elections, it would automatically be turned into a single payer system. So why after six months of a Trump presidency, the disastrous system is still in place?

Since the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) was passed by the Democrats without any support from the Republicans, the latter have been promising to repeal and replace it. With a Republican President in the White House and a majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, they still fail to keep their promise.

Both the conservatives and the moderates in the Republican Party cannot come to an agreement how to repeal and replace the (ACA). Seemingly, the conservatives want to repeal and make the system less costly to be able to reduce taxes. The moderates would like to keep the government’s funding of Medicaid. With only a majority of two in the Senate, it becomes very difficult to pass a bill if more than two Senators vote against it. With only two defections the Vice-President can cast his deciding vote and thus pass the bill.

After some arduous tries to get something done after the House had already voted and passed their version of an alternative to Obamacare, the Senate ultimately got the courage to take their version of repeal and replace to the floor. The leadership knew full well that Senators: Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska were always going to vote ‘NO”. Not expecting any other defections, the Republicans counted on a vote by the Vice-President to break the tie and get the bill passed.

After being diagnosed and operated for brain surgery, and knowing that a crucial vote to repeal and replace Obamacare was going to take place he made what is called a heroic return to the Senate to take part in the vote. He pleaded for bipartisanship in an impassioned speech when  he called for the Senate to make sure that a vote took place. Every Senator and the American public characterised his speech as seminal and his return to the floor as heroic.

In the past he had opposed Obamacare. But on the crucial vote at 1.30 am on Friday 28^th of July 2017, the maverick John McCain could not get away from the drama and self-centred decision, he voted “NO’ and as a result killed the Republican bill to repeal and replace Obamacare; thus helping the Democrats and self–aggrandizing himself in the history books.

McCain the long-time Senior Senator from Arizona has been a Republican in Name Only (RINO) for years. Revered by many because of his wartime service and capture by the Vietcong, he has, over the years, played a significant role in the Republican Party. He twice sought the Presidency of the United States; he lost to George W. Bush in the 2000 primary, and then lost to Obama in 2008.

In my view Senator McCain is a dejected politician who could not live with the fact that his past political decisions and stance on some issues prevented him from ever being President of the United States. Although well-regarded by many, his failure to be a true conservative had made him a less than powerful force in the party. Furthermore, his relationship with President Trump was never a good one after candidate Trump had refused to call him a hero during the campaign. Trump ignored Newton’s  third law that states:” For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. The actions of McCain in my view was a calculated on;

It is reported that when asked how he would vote he replied ‘Wait for the show’. When it was his turn to vote, he looked at the reporters and then the ceiling and shouted ‘NO’.  He came back to a heroic welcome, he voted ‘NO’ in a vindictive manner to send a resounding, and thunderous ‘F*** U’ to Trump.  Once again as a true RINO he placed his personal feelings ahead of the party and the nation, and voted with the Democrats, He then decided to return to Arizona where perhaps he may never return to the Senate again due to his illness. In my opinion, he accomplished what he always wanted to do – be a thorn in the Republican Party that he always wanted to lead and was never capable of doing.

To conservatives, let the McCain actions be a warming to you. Very often the conservative movement has seen rifts among the ranks. Closer to home, in Alberta, watch out for the progressives who have for years been hiding among true conservatives. They have never had the guts to call themselves Liberals but will vote with the left when it will suit their political aspirations.

 It is often said to beware of a woman’s scorn, but in politics be very aware of wounded and dejected politicians. They may not only hurt the party but more treacherously the nation.