This is completely out of control
Donald Trump’s impeachment is inevitably taking up much of the news cycle as it should. The problem, however, is that it also serves as a distraction from the other awful things his administration is doing while his presidency is in peril. Some of these awful things could in fact turn the average voter against him in a way that the televised hearings might not.
Typical of a Friday in the White House, Trump attacked Nancy Pelosi and House Democrats not just because they’re trying to impeach him, but because Pelosi and fellow Rep. Frank Pallone proposed a bill that would allow Medicare to negotiate the prices of medications with drug companies.
The bill was endorsed in committee last month and awaits a full vote in the House, where it will likely pass with a Democratic majority. The thing is, back in September, Trump came out in favor of the bill and a bipartisan effort in the Senate that would help it advance to his desk. In fact, this was an idea he was open to while on the campaign trail. So what changed? Perhaps, it’s better to look at what hasn’t.
Mitch McConnell is still the majority leader – and obstructed over 400 bills that passed in the House from even coming up for a vote. House Republicans are of course still against Pelosi’s bill, while offering no alternatives of their own. It’s safe to say that Republicans have decided Trump needs them more than they need him. This is also why Democrats need to focus on healthcare as a key issue for 2020 – they need to flip the Senate if we’re to have any progress on the issue at all.
James Sullivan is the assistant editor of Brain World Magazine and an advocate of science-based policy making