Here’s a fascinating chart from the Wall Street Journal:
Even the Journal’s own description says “holdouts from two wings of the party” sank the Republican health care bill. But that’s not what their own chart shows. Ideologically, there was neither a “coverage caucus” nor a “conservative” caucus. The holdouts spanned the entire spectrum of the party in a pretty even way.
I can’t think of any insightful point to make about this, but it’s worth mentioning anyway. The conventional narrative of the bill being caught between two extreme ends of the party looks like it’s not really correct.
By the way, here’s how the Journal’s article begins:
With the collapse of Republicans’ health plan in the House on Friday, the Trump administration is set to ramp up its efforts to weaken the Affordable Care Act in one of the few ways it has left—by making changes to the law through waivers and rule changes.
Obamacare won’t implode on its own, but it might after Trump does everything he can to sabotage it.
