As soon as the draft of the GOP’s “Better Care” bill was released and Senate Leader Mitch McConnell promised to get it to a vote soon there was turmoil in the legacy media. Of course the usual suspects from the Democratic leadership, still drying tears from Tuesday’s failure to have Ossoff elected (and Trump thereby rebuked) were quick to claim there would be children dying in the streets, hospitals closing, plague, famine and disaster all due to the evil and mean spiritedness of the GOP and Trump. Interesting that they seem immune to the plight of out of work American citizens and their peril in facing out of control health care costs and diminishing choices. Democrats seem determined to prolong and increase the pain of a failure, Obamacare.

Legacy Media is quick to provide advice to the GOP, namely that they are doomed.   Politico ran a story that three GOP Senators were going to block the legislation..but provided a caveat to all good progressives that there was always a chance that the GOP might just arm-twist and corrupt these brave Senators into compliance so there was a chance it might succeed. Central to the GOP proposal is the essential gutting of Obama care, removing taxes and mandates. In the fall even some democrats speculated that when Obamacare had completely imploded that Hillary (as president) could fix it by moving the US into a single player plan. Trump’s Election ended that. Now they dream of retaking the House. That promise had been continual over that last few elections and has been wrong every time.  Legacy Media is well known for publically reminding those that make new such forecasts of their lack of accuracy in the past.

Previously to Trump’s election Legacy Media could be counted on to thwart pending  Republican legislation by endlessly parading stories of death, horror and calamity if the legislation was ever passed. Battered by the media endlessly over the last few decades many in the GOP would wilt at the first media  attacks. “Do you hate sick people?” is the usual tone of legacy media’s version of “fair and balanced.” Yet there are signs that it is possible many in the Republican party are growing a backbone.

In the past legacy media could be counted on to raise protests and opposition then to cover them endlessly to keep the political pressure on. You could trust them to then declare that the issue over, the people had decided and the GOP was on the run. Too often in the past they succeeded. Yet now there is a strong  statement that the GOP plan will get no Democratic votes. Really? Is that true or just wishful thinking?

After Tuesday you would be unwise to trust either the media’s judgment or the leadership of the Democrats.  Are they really so sure that no one in the Senate will cross over the lines to the Republicans? No one?  That President Donald Trump wouldn’t dare to interfere with internal democrat party affairs to try entice a few Senators to join him on this?

President Trump might well take some time and go visit some Democratic Senators, even if he doesn’t manage finding any that will be persuaded he will certainly give legacy media and progressives heartburn over the mere thought that he might succeed.

The worst enemy of this health care plan are those in the GOP that refuse to bend, seeking unobtainable perfection over something that can be accomplished.  Almost anything they achieve will be a huge improvement over the disaster that Obama Care has been.  As a throttle on jobs and growth Obama Care has been extremely effective, getting rid of the mandates will open new hiring and spur growth.  That fact alone should convince the skeptics inside the GOP to support this, even if it isn’t perfect it is something that will prove that the GOP can govern and will spur the economy (and that  in the long run will raise revenue).

Yet the GOP also has a legacy of being the “stupid party,” of seizing defeat from the jaws of victory. However that  was in the past when legacy media still ruled the narrative and could be confident of “helping” the GOP to see what they needed to do. Then they could simply proclaim that the GOP legislation was doomed and their narrative of doom would prevail. When you control  the narrative “reality” and “truth” is what you say it is, true or not. In the past Republicans would see if they were succeeding  by reading the NY Times or the Washington Post (and reality be damned ). That all changed with the election of Donald Trump as President  and the 4 lost special elections all provide additional evidence that Legacy media no longer controls the narrative, they have lost that power. 

If Republicans succeed  in passing their health care bill over the kicking, crying and screaming of Democrats it should provide yet another wake up call to those in legacy media.  Yelling about Trump merely wastes energy and time.  Are there any people left in Legacy Media who might recognize that a return to being objective might help them to regain the public’s respect and trust? Probably not. This mirrors the turmoil inside the Democratic party.  So far their answer to losing has been to move even further left. 

Consider what might happen if some Democratic Senators ignore their leadership and take a position that the disaster of Obamacare is a major crisis and that they are responsible enough  to take a chance and try to help fix it. Obviously any that risk this ill endure the wrath and hatred of both leadership and legacy media, but the voters just might be supportive.  Indeed risk also brings opportunity. A wise and gifted politician might recognize a chance to grab a leadership position themselves. One (or  more) might stake out a position in the center, as did Bill Clinton, and try and move some rational thinking back into the Democratic Party. They could position themselves as peacemakers and statesmen (and women) using the health care bill as a moment to pivot from the left. Republicans might well choke on a Democratic Senator who comes along and exclaims that  I have to help fix this disaster and I am just glad that the Republicans now finally agree with us on preexisting conditions and keeping kids on your insurance until age 26.  Impossible you say? Perhaps not.  Have Republican centrists at last learned that legacy media is not now and  never has been their friend.   That Legacy Media’s narrative is always against them. The  public recognizes that and their trust in media is at rock bottom.  If the Republican Party can simply stand up and pass a Health Care bill then tax reform and an improved economy will follow;  that would make it very unlikely that Democrats could even come close in 2018 to regaining control of the House.