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Friday, October 30, 2026Oct 30

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Hart: Fix Obamacare right

This photo taken July 23, 2013, show the U.S. Capitol in Washington. Congress returns to work this week with a relatively short and simple agenda, vote to keep the government operating in the short term, then return home to campaign. National security threats from Islamic State militants and Russian aggression in Ukraine loom large, but September's session may be too short for lawmakers to do anything but talk about them.  (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
This photo taken July 23, 2013, show the U.S. Capitol in Washington. Congress returns to work this week with a relatively short and simple agenda, vote to keep the government operating in the short term, then return home to campaign. National security threats from Islamic State militants and Russian aggression in Ukraine loom large, but September's session may be too short for lawmakers to do anything but talk about them. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) This photo taken July 23, 2013, show the U.S. Capitol in Washington. Congress returns to work this week with a relatively short and simple agenda, vote to keep the government operating in the short term, then return home to campaign. National security threats from Islamic State militants and Russian aggression in Ukraine loom large, but September's session may be too short for lawmakers to do anything but talk about them. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
photo Ron Hart

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In large measure, the reason Donald Trump was elected against the desires of the GOP, and later the Democrats, is that he is really neither. The inability to get the health care revision bill passed last week emphasizes why Americans elected Trump: to break up the caucuses that are driven by special interests and to get things done in Washington. He is not a politician, which is why this seems so awkward, but it’s for the best.

Obamacare needs major changes. It is like one of those cheap hospital gowns that ties in the back. Americans know the gown is like Obamacare; it makes you feel like you are covered, but you know your backside is exposed.

Watching Democrats defend Obamacare is like watching your niece defend her abusive relationship with her boyfriend, Trever. It is so bad Trump bristled at calling his bill “TrumpCare” – and he puts his name on steaks, vodka and mattresses.

The Dems know it is in a “death spiral,” as the Aetna CEO recently said. They are just looking for someone to blame. As Trump said, it would be smarter politically for Republicans to watch it explode further on the American people, since all the goodies were front-end loaded and the costs were put in like a time bomb to explode when Obama was gone. In short, bad will get worse.

House Speaker Paul Ryan, like his orange predecessor John Boehner, cannot force all three branches of government to work together. He can’t even control all three branches of the Republican Party: RINOs, tea partiers and libertarians.