C. Fraser Smith, BridgeTower Media Newswires
We may have a constitutional crisis on our hands with the firing of James Comey as head of the FBI.
Comey reportedly had just asked for more help with his investigation of possible collusion between President Trump's associates and the Russian government.
Trump said he cashiered him for doing a poor job. But maybe he was doing a better job than the president wanted.
I'm as dismayed as anyone by all this.
For me, the most dismaying recent Trump escapade involves The Picture:
The president of the United States and a gathering of Republican congressmen there were almost no women in the picture celebrated legislation that would strip health insurance from 24 million Americans.
Trump was celebrator in chief. Passage of an anti-Obamacare bill had finally happened. The bill may have next to no prospects in the Senate, but a half a loaf is ...
Trump seemed giddy as if he didn't know there was another step or two before victory.
I am the president, he said, as if to remind himself.
His congressional accomplices laughed along with him.
Democrats think these revelers have snuffed their careers. Before they left for the White House, the Dems serenaded them with a 1969 song that begins "Na Na Hey Hey" and ends with "Goodbye."
The Republicans' yes vote on the Trump bill would, in other words, end their careers.
No one knew with certainty what the bill would mean for health insurance because the GOP had not bothered to get the usual assessment from the Congressional Budget Office.
But other analysts say the bill leaves Medicaid vulnerable to deep cuts a particular concern to many states where hundreds of thousands of poor people depend on it.
Government subsidies that help lower-income people afford health care insurance were slashed.
The individual mandate, requiring participation in the insurance plan, has been eliminated. Health insurance doesn't work without across-the-board participation.
Obamacare's protection for people with pre-existing conditions was weakened,
Surely these changes would create enough anger and backlash that yes votes would mean goodbye.
But maybe not. Many of these men and women mostly Republicans come from so called "safe" districts. That means districts cleared of Democrats or moderate Republicans who might oppose them.
Many congressmen and women have been confronted by constituents angry at the prospect of damage to a program they rely on.
All of this may mean a painful example of gerrymandering's threat to good government. If you have no re-election worries, you can vote without regard to the needs or concerns of your constituents.
This may be true of representatives already picketed by voters who worry they are losing their coverage because it will be too expensive or because it's simply not covered in the bill these men voted for. And still they voted for the bill.
Their own skin is not in the game.
Trump insists his bill is great for everyone. Everyone is covered. No one loses anything. We can use the savings from denying coverage to 24 million for tax relief.
Rich Americans could win on both issues. Their coverage continues and they will get virtually all of the tax "reform" rewards.
Doubtless there are other reasons why the Republican "yes" persons are not worried.
They can find a way to blame Obama and the Democrats.
People won't read the bill or understand it if they did. (Some have read, of course, so the mad-as-hell- group is mobilized.)
And you can't trust the liberal media to give you straight scoop.
The Rose Garden smilers may be betting on the continued willingness of the voter to vote against his or her own best interests.
This is what Trump voters did although some may be thinking better of that now.
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C. Fraser Smith is a writer in Baltimore. He can be reached at smithfraser911@gmail.com.
Published: Fri, May 19, 2017
