Smarter Politics

In this episode, we discuss the failed Obamacare repeal and the implications it has going forward, both among the Republican party’s base and among 2018 general election voters. Segment 1: What Went Wrong, What Next? While the specific blame has been spread pretty much everywhere in Republican circles in Washington, there are clearly major differences among House Republicans that may have doomed the effort from the beginning. Both the Freedom Caucus and moderate Republicans were critical of the bill, and each time concessions were made to one group, Congressional leaders lost support from the other. In the end, as the New York Times helpfully details, both groups kept the bill from reaching the 215 votes needed to pass. While the fight over the bill exposed the fault lines in Washington, a new HuffPost/YouGov survey shows that few voters strongly supported it, and that 44% of voters want the Republicans to move on to other issues. The fact is that the bill was never that popular among voters, and so