Hyper-partisanship has at least one vocal supporter in the 115th Congress: House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI).
In an interview with “CBS This Morning”’s Norah O’Donnell that aired Thursday, Ryan said that if Republicans don’t work with Trump on health care, “he’ll just go work with Democrats to try and change Obamacare, and that’s hardly a conservative thing.”
Ryan pulled the White House and House leadership’s preferred bill to repeal and replace Obamacare, the American Health Care Act, on Friday after it failed to garner enough Republican support. House leadership has since said they’ll try again to get rid of Obamacare, though there’s no concrete plan to do so.
“What I worry about, Norah, is that if we don’t do this, then he’ll just go work with the Democrats to try and change Obamacare, and that’s hardly a conservative thing,” Ryan said. “This is a can-do President, who’s a businessman, who wants to get things done. And I know that he wants to get things done with the Republican Congress.”
“If this Republican Congress allows the perfect to be the enemy of the good, I worry we’ll push the President into working with the Democrats,” he continued. “He’s been suggesting as much.”
Trump has suggested as much: White House press secretary Sean Spicer on Thursday characterized Trump’s effort to reach a consensus on a health care bill “a balancing act” between various camps in the House, including Democrats. Trump’s bottom line, Spicer said, was reaching a “good deal” that would receive “a majority in the House.”
Some Republicans, including Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN), objected to Ryan’s absolutism:
We have come a long way in our country when the speaker of one party urges a president NOT to work with the other party to solve a problem.
— Senator Bob Corker (@SenBobCorker) March 30, 2017
O’Donnell asked Ryan if, like Trump, he wasn’t also willing to work with Democrats, including House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).
“No, I’m trying to get this bill passed,” he said. “Nancy and I see things very, very differently. I don’t want government running health care.”
“I know he’s been saying that, and I don’t want that to happen, you know why? Because I want a patient-centered system,” he said, referring to Trump’s overtures to Democrats. “I don’t want government running health care.”
Good for Bob Corker. (God, writing that didn’t didn’t pain me as much as I thought it would). Ryan is a complete lightweight, nothing like the fictional character created by his fans in the media.
I hardly see Dumblefuck both “working with Democrats” and putting forth a plan that can get past Scylla in the House and Charybdis in the Senate.
Did people start laughing after he said that?
Why not both?
Ryan: “This president has proven his willingness to work with our sworn enemies!”
Reporter: “Are you referring to Vladimir Putin and the Russian oligarchs?”
Ryan: “NO! I’m talking about the Democrat Party!”
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ETA - Ryan’s warning might carry more weight had his pissident not tweeted out
this morning…