Maybe there is a separation, however, Mr. Bupkis chose to blame the “RINOs” – very probably (given his wording) referring to those same “Freedom Caucus” representatives that “conservative” media are blaming.
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AFAIAC, what is a Republican, has become an open question, BUT, by what it USED to be, from things people would yell “RINO!!!” at, as a baseline, trump has no problem supporting and pushing things that would deserve that label, and calling FC members this is flipping of the term on its head.

My point was labeling Trump a RINO isn’t accurate. His protectionist illegal immigration/trade philosophy is 180° from RINO’s, who, I believe, favor globalist policies.

If national populism survives another couple of election cycles, it will confound all current labels.

A person yelling “RINO!” today at those who don’t support a bill that leaves much of obamacare intact is pointing that gun in the opposite direction than it would have been fired in the recent past (2014/15?).

See my immediately previous comment for more on “RINO!”, and why this might be.

Right.

This now just comes across as cynical partisanship rather than principled, as they implied all along.

Especially so with a bill that wasn’t anywhere close to what they implied they’d replace obamacare with.
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This is where the GOP has run into trouble, and opened the door for a man like trump. They never really defined a positive vision, let alone try to sell it to the public.

They got wrapped up in the tactical day to day politics, being anti-obama.
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It is also a big reason why “not clinton” is not sufficient.

Yes, it got trump an extremely low margin win, but a great many GOP voters stayed home (there was such a low percentage of eligible voters for trump – and clinton).

The combative, rush, rush, distractionary politics being run on “our” side is not engaging those missing voters, and is rather off-putting, to say the least.

There is a great deal of distrust from this in trump and the GOP right now (not just the overblown stuff from dems and the msm, but an honest one from their own side!), and this was very much reflected in the outcome of this (so-called) “repeal and replace” AHCA bill.
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Back to the term “RINO!”. It used to mean something, but the definition of what it is to be a Republican seems to have “changed”, and is still very much up in the air, with great uncertainty all around.

It’s just a reflection of the times, and why we so often say…

“We’ll see”

Labeling Trump by current conservative-liberal labels is a mistake/isn’t accurate.

While this may be true on health insurance, it certainly fails on illegal immigration/trade.

From an academic perspective, it would have been interesting to see the dynamic had the AHCA made it to the senate. Would McCain/Graham- who no doubt loath Trump, made nice to pass the bill, or would their pettiness/egoism got the better of them?

Right.

It used to be that the POTUS sets and drives the agenda, and uses his unique position with the “bully pulpit” to make the case to build public support for a position.

That seems to be out of fashion nowadays, where leading from behind means others take the blame for failures.

As we all know, obama did his fair share of blaming, especially on the GOP, when, in fact, he may well have been the one at fault (by design or by flaw).

Don’t think we gave him a bye on that.

Not sure what changed now?
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trump is probably the closest of any elected GOP federal office holder to the dems. That ought to make him the prime / lead RINO.

Because of (ab)uses like this, “RINO” has become rather meaningless, as it merely signals “person I disagree with”, given the changing standards that people throw out that term.

BTW, not sure what was snarky – calling him “bunion”? Gosh, that pales in comparison to what trump has said and done.

How many here refer to obama as Barry Sotero or something less complimentary? Did you speak up then?

But, yes, I am having a little fun by creatively showing I am less than impressed by some individuals in high office.

Probably picked up that idea from listening to Limbaugh and Levin, way back when, before they found out hyperbole and negativity builds an audience and sells.

I thought the leadership and wonks had some real plans worked out by now, but judging by the current healthcare bill, apparently not.

That may be the reason you voted for Trump, but that is not the reason some/many/most people voted for him. Because that wasn’t part of his campaign platform.

His platform was to replace Obamacare with something better.
Here are some of his statements according to the website On the Issues:

Keep pre-existing condition coverage; not individual mandate. (Feb 2016)
Removing cross-state barriers solves many insurance issues. (Feb 2016)
Taking care of poor sick people isn’t single-payer. (Feb 2016)
Insurance companies love a lack of competition. (Nov 2015)
The insurance companies have total control over politicians. (Aug 2015)
Don’t cut Medicare; grow the economy to keep benefits. (Jun 2015)
Make health insurance premiums tax-deductible. (Mar 2015)
Save Medicare & Medicaid without cutting them to the bone. (Jan 2015)

Trump had the ultimate say on this bill and he put his weight behind it. He sent Steve Bannon to the Freedom Caucus and here’s what Bannon said:

“Guys, look. This is not a discussion. This is not a debate. You have no choice but to vote for this bill.”

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/446127/outsider-enters-boldly-and-trips-over-his-own-shoelaces