It’s challenging to see the sunlight at the end of this complex tunnel, but it’s there. More visible today than a week ago.

White House Legislative Affairs Director Marc Short appears on Fox News Sunday to discuss the ongoing efforts to reform ObamaCare.  In a very positive shift amid the overall discussion, for the first time the point of the cost on the individual insurance market is brought to the forefront.

CTH readers will note our continuing frustration that 99% of the entire healthcare discussion has centered around medicaid spending, or the state funded subsidy of low-income healthcare coverage.

The vast majority of the most severely impacted people within the discussion, middle-class workers/taxpayers who do not qualify for medicaid, have been essentially locked out of the legislative consideration. It is refreshing to see middle America finally being part of the equation.  Within the Senate bill, Ted Cruz and Mike Lee have finally advanced something of value.

The “Consumer Choice Amendment” would allow insurance companies to sell plans that do not follow regulations created under Obamacare, with the caveat that those insurers have to sell at least one plan that adheres to Obamacare’s mandates. The proposal would allow insurers to sell plans with tailored benefits.

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President Trump meets the swamp people to discuss the making of swamp sausage…

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Again, as with 99.99% of all ObamaCare conversations, the entirety of media discussion  surrounds Medicaid spending, funding, etc.

The middle-class taxpayers’ healthcare interests, those on the individual market, are entirely disconnected from the political discussion by the professional political class.

Frustrating is an understatement.

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In an effort to break the intransigence of Republican Senators who refuse to vote approval for the senate healthcare reform/replace bill, President Trump met with Senator Rand Paul earlier this afternoon.  President Trump is trying to get the #NeverTrumper’s to support the 3 step approach.

The Senate version of the Freedom Caucus (Cruz, Lee, etc), and Senators from states who are now entirely addicted to federal medicaid spending, are not willing to support legislation that doesn’t: A.) give them a full repeal, and B.) give them even more Obamacare money, respectively.

Because of the intransigence of both oppositional sides within the Republican Senate, it now appears a vote is not going to take place this week.

That said, President Trump calling them to the White House to remind them if they don’t do it this week, the far-left-activist groups (those demanding single-payer) are going to swarm the Senators over the holiday break; and they will return to DC in no better shape than they are in today.

There is a reason why Harry Reid ‘sequestered’ the entire Senate for two weeks before Christmas 2009, never let them leave for holiday recess and forced a vote on Christmas Eve at 1:38 in the morning.  If they don’t get it done now, it’s dead.

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White House Senior Adviser to the President Kellyanne Conway is interviewed by former Clinton White House aide ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos about the current healthcare bills on Capitol Hill.

ABC’s Stephanopoulos is one of the most ardent Democrat party ideologues/operatives within media and this interview is a representative example of how he argues exclusively from a position of ideological advocacy against the Trump administration.

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Texas Representative Roger Williams is the third base coach for the GOP congressional baseball team.  Williams was hitting practice grounders to the infield when the Bernie Sanders campaign volunteer, James Hodgkison, opened fire on the team from behind the third base dugout.

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The charity baseball game will go on as scheduled tomorrow night.

2016 GOP Baseball Team Pictured

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Senator Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) appeared on both Fox News and CNN to discuss his support for the removal of James Comey from the FBI:

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Senator Paul later appeared on CNN as Wolf Blitzer plays out his apoplectic role about Director Comey’s firing. (Not enough duct tape to retain the Blitzer ‘splodey head’

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In the final hours prior to the healthcare debacle, the billionaire Koch Brothers sent a warning to the House Freedom Caucus that they’d better hold the line and kill the ObamaCare repeal or replacement bill, or else.

…”The advocacy groups helmed by Charles and David Koch have unveiled a new pool of money for advertisements, field programs and mailings that would exclude those who vote for the health care bill they oppose on Thursday. The effort, which they described as worth millions of dollars, is an explicit warning to on-the-fence Republicans from one of the most influential players in electoral politics not to cross them”… (more).

Weeks earlier the Billionaire authors (special interests) behind the ObamaCare repeal and replacement, Tom Donohue U.S. CoC et al., warned Speaker Ryan they expected the boundaries established years earlier to be retained.
Two sets of billionaire interests representing: ‘who-pays-the-insurance-premium‘ within the Healthcare issue.
It’s Paul Ryan’s fault, “remove him” some say.  No, it’s the House Freedom Caucus. “Grab the tar and feathers”, others say….
Odd, no?
Odd, because in the aftermath of the fiasco all of the blame-centric attention is focused on Speaker Paul Ryan and/or the House Freedom Caucus – meanwhile the billionaires garner nary a critical side-eye?
Perhaps it’s just too disconcerting of a paradigm shift for the average voter to ask?

Why are two billionaires Charles and David Koch allowed to threaten standing members of congress who are collectively at least supposed to represent the interests of approximately 28 million voters?

Why is Tom Donohue (U.S. Chamber of Commerce, President) allowed to threaten the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and author legislation affecting 300+ million?

No-one seems to ask those questions.
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Senator Rand Paul, Mike Lee and Ted Cruz pushed the House Freedom Caucus to remain firm in opposition to President Trump.
Having successfully defeated his opposition, Senator Paul pulls out the UniParty dance music and proposes solutions that can go no-where.  As you watch this, remember the House and Senate schedule spring break is next week…. Ergo Paul says “legislation should be brought up next week” blah-blah-blah.
This is a familiar UniParty ‘controlled opposition‘ trick.  Go public and make the solution something you know has absolutely no chance of even being explored.  Makes the abuser look great, and keeps the abused thinking their abuser is dreamy.

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Once you see the strings on the Marionettes you can never go back to a time when you enjoyed the puppet show and didn’t notice them.  Rand Paul is the guy running for Class President saying every student should have a convertible – who can disagree?
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The Congressional Intelligence Committee  hearing today was everything we anticipated it would be.  Which is to say it was: insufferable political posturing, pandering and circular parseltongue swirling the drain of non-intellectual gobbledygook.
These types of congressional hearings are perfect feed pellets for media pundits to blather endlessly, wax philosophically, and engage in long-winded academic esoteric analyses contrasting the implied meanings of stop signs.  However, they are ridiculous for all other purposes.
That said, against the backdrop of the espoused intention, and with full acceptance of the historic UniParty Benghazi hearings driven intentionally into the pit of nothingness, prayerfully I’m not the only person who noted that not a single congressional panelist asked Director James Comey or NSA Mike Rogers if they personally were the person who unmasked the identity of General Mike Flynn in the “intelligence intercepts”.

Yes, that’s correct.  There is only ONE KNOWN Factual and CRIMINAL activity currently identified: the unmasking and leaking of Mike Flynn’s name to the media.
Yet not a single congressional intelligence committee member would ask Rogers or Comey -under oath- if they were the source of: A) “The Unmasking”, and/or B) “The Leaking”.
Stop for a moment and think about that glaring an intentional non inquiry against the expressed intention of the purpose of the committee.
UniParty.
Bat-Sh!t-Crazy-Frustrating.
The Deep State doesn’t exist they say.  Skynet is not self-aware they say.  Malware is only harmful if the Russians have it they say.  Pay no attention to the embed data code on your gadgets…
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Yesterday, against the backdrop of Senator Rand Paul objecting to a unanimous consent call by Senator McCain, McCain claimed Senator Paul was working for Russian President Vladimir Putin.  Today, Senator Rand Paul responds:

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There is a longer history here. Previously Senator McCain called Senator Rand Paul a “Hobbit“, and earlier claimed that anyone who supports Senator Paul is a “whack-o-bird“.
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