How its failure to replace Obamacare threatens the rest of the GOP agenda

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Stunning as it is to witness the demise of the Republicans’ health reform effort, perhaps the most surprising piece is who played the role of executor.
Moderates were widely expected to decide the fate of this bill, but no. In the end, it was brought down by two of the more reliably conservative voices in the Senate chamber — and just days after Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell accepted demands to move the bill dramatically right-ward.

This failure raises an ominous question for the whole Republican agenda. Looking beyond health care, will they ever be able to satisfy conservative purists and still assemble a coalition of 50 votes?

The math is not auspicious. Republicans control a slim 52-seat majority in the Senate. Which means any trio of defectors can break a bill. And now we know there exist at least three conservatives willing to derail legislation in the name of deep principle or self-interest. But the precedent is now set, and could haunt all future efforts.

The next big push is expected to involve tax reform. House Republicans have begun moving ahead with plans to overhaul the tax code and cut federal spending, but nearly all the details are TBD. Ditto from the White House, which has little to say about the nitty gritty even as it gears up for a nationwide push in support of big tax changes.

Many big questions remain unanswered. Should tax reform be revenue-neutral, with cuts in one area offset by closing loopholes? Or is the goal to cut taxes in hopes of super-charging the economy? Even if that means a widening deficit?

In politics, issues like these generally get worked out through compromise, horse-trading, and pressure from leadership. But that approach failed with health care, and there’s no reason to think tax reform will be easier.
Sure, cutting taxes is an idea with a broad support in the Republican party — but the same could be said of repealing the affordable care act (aka Obamacare). 

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