Summary: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan face a very difficult choice as they survey the smoking ruins of their “unified GOP government” after nearly six months in office. They could decide to pivot from health care to racking up small victories and awaiting reinforcements from the 2018 elections. Or they could go for a big deal with Democrats. It’s a tough choice for Ryan and McConnell, but I’m hoping they opt for the latter. Putting off fixing the disaster that is Obamacare is risky, though not impossible. If Republicans score enough small victories between now and November 2018, it may be possible to hold both houses of Congress. The 2018 prospects look bad for both parties: The GOP lacks policy victories, thanks to imprudence of the Freedom Caucus in the House, and scared moderates and ridged conservatives in the Senate.. The Democrats are lost in Trump hatred to the point where a large part of the country thinks that they and the mainstream media are deranged. We are at a crisis point where citizens are giving up on representative government en masse. So why not swing for the fences?
