President Trump has to stand up to the House Freedom Caucus as they obstruct and delay his agenda. Otherwise, his campaign promises will go unfulfilled, his voters will be disappointed, and he won’t get a second term in the White House.
I am a black conservative who believed the original Tea Party insurgency was a good thing. Why? Government spending and the actions of President Barack Obama were out of control. When Republicans took over the House, they provided sorely needed checks-and-balances on Obama’s power.
Fast forward to the present, and the Tea Party largely doesn’t exist in Congress anymore. The estimated three dozen former Tea Party members rebranded themselves as what is now known as the Freedom Caucus.
This secretive caucus doesn’t publicize who is in their membership, but they often vote as a bloc, potentially stopping any and all legislation from moving forward.
Look no further than last week’s stunning defeat of the House Republican healthcare bill for an example of the Freedom Caucus capabilities. This is especially shocking, given that the Freedom Caucus was negotiating with Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and Trump, helping to craft the bill. Not once did the Freedom Caucus put forth their own repeal-and-replace bill as a caucus.
As a Republican, I was extremely surprised that after numerous repeal and replace votes in Congress and seven years of railing against Obamacare, the GOP couldn’t get the votes. The bill wasn’t perfect, but with rising costs of insurance providers and many pulling out of the insurance marketplace altogether, Obamacare was far worse. Plus, if the bill passed the Republican-controlled House it would have continued into the Republican-controlled Senate, allowing for a stronger bill to be crafted.
The fact that Obama was able to pass Obamacare knowing very well that insurance companies would abandon portions of it, its implementation would vary greatly across states, and in just three short years many of those who had been promised healthcare access would lose it due to rising premium costs, is very telling.
In 2009, we were told it would cost $848 billion to insure 31 million people. That’s $27,000 per newly-insured person. Now we’re told it will cost $2 trillion to insure 25 million people. That’s $80,000 per newly-insured person — about a three-fold increase since passage.
This is a complete and utter disaster for the recipients of Obamacare and our economy. The young and healthy were to be the bulk of the newly-insured population, offsetting the costs of older citizens and those with pre-existing conditions. Young people, however, never signed up.
Americans were sold a glossy ideal for Obamacare that turned out to be a nightmare. Republicans had an opportunity to right the course, but the Freedom Caucus killed it.
Unlike the Freedom Caucus, Trump is not an ideologue. It doesn’t matter who an idea comes from — as long as it puts America first, Trump is willing to listen. He recognizes that great ideas come from a variety of origins and is willing to reach across the country to hear them. That’s what got Trump elected.
However, Trump’s good intentions and inclusive policy measures could be numbered if the Freedom Caucus gets its way. As Trump tweeted this week, “The Freedom Caucus will hurt the entire Republican agenda if they don’t get on the team, & fast. We must fight them, & Dems, in 2018!” I beg to differ, only because they’ve already hurt the Republican agenda. The Freedom Caucus has become their own party willing to stifle any measure that doesn’t align perfectly with their own priorities.
The American people put Republicans in charge for a reason, and that is to establish prosperity for all, provide a healthcare system that’s fair, defeat terrorist threats, and as Trump’s campaign slogan so aptly put it, “Make America Great Again.” The Freedom Caucus seems determined to thwart these efforts at every turn.
Freedom Caucus members know not repealing Obamacare puts every Republican in the crosshairs of Republican and independent voters, many of whom supported Trump because of his promise to end Obamacare. Therefore, Trump must break the back of the Freedom Caucus or risk becoming a one-term president with a legacy of policy defeat and unfulfilled promises.
The Freedom Caucus won’t stop with Obamacare. They’ll build their momentum as obstructionists by putting up a fight on every issue coming before Congress. Their next major targets will be tax reform, the federal budget, and infrastructure spending. They are entrenched and immovable.
As former Freedom Caucus member Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, who resigned from the caucus over the debacle, said some members of the extra-conservative group would “vote no against the Ten Commandments” if they got the chance.
Poe is right. The American people put Republicans in charge to work together for the good of all Americans. The Freedom Caucus stands in opposition to that commitment. This must end.
Gianno Caldwell (@GiannoCaldwell) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. He is the founder of Caldwell Strategic Consulting and a political commentator. He occasionally guest hosts the Armstrong Williams radio show on Sirius XM.
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