While the media are enjoying what they say is Republican hypocrisy over their process to pass a Senate version of a bill to repeal and replace Obamacare, there is little attention being paid to the substance of the debate. President Donald Trump didn't help matters when he muddied the waters, first saying that the House version of the bill, which he had enthusiastically supported, was too "mean," and now saying he wants the Senate version to have "more heart." Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has promised reporters a "discussion draft" of the bill later this week. In the meantime, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and many Democrats are blasting the bill as heartless and cruel. The toxic political atmosphere is not making matters any easier.
When former President Barack Obama spoke before a Berlin audience last month, he defended his signature legislative achievement, Obamacare, as having helped to insure 20 million people previously uninsured, and allegedly bettering the lives of millions of Americans. The media continue to portray such progress, of course, as imperiled by Congressional Republicans in league with an uncaring Trump who are currently locked in a debate over the merits of—and possible reforms for—a law that progressives believe must be protected.