Trump's buddies blow it all up
by digby
This is the Freedom Caucus making it clear that they will get their way or they'll blow the place up. Again:
“Republicans claw at each other over farm bill implosion”: “House Republicans are at each other’s throats after the Freedom Caucus delivered a shock to party leaders on Friday by killing a key GOP bill over an unrelated simmering feud over immigration. Speaker Paul Ryan and his leadership team were sure the group of three dozen rabble-rousers would cave. The partisan farm bill, after all, includes historic new work requirements for food stamp beneficiaries that conservatives have demanded for years. Plus, President Donald Trump leaned in, tweeting his support for the bill Thursday night to up the pressure on the far right.
“But Ryan’s team sorely miscalculated. In an embarrassing show of weakness, the bill went down on the floor after a last-minute leadership scramble to flip votes.
“Almost immediately, Republicans pointed fingers at each other. Freedom Caucus members said GOP leaders brought the matter on themselves by failing to pass a conservative immigration solution for Dreamers sooner. GOP leaders blamed the conservatives for upending a core Trump priority. And some Republicans even blamed Ryan, arguing they’re stuck with an outgoing speaker who couldn’t get the job done.”
-- QUICK TAKE … It’s easy to blame the lame-duck Ryan here -- and there might be some truth to the fact that Republicans are willing to screw him because he’s on his way out the door. That said, there is ample evidence that the Freedom Caucus would’ve done the same thing had he not been on his way out. Blame who you’d like. This is a House Republican Conference that is limping toward Election Day, unable to do something as simple as pass an all-Republican farm bill.
These are the same people who are acting as Donald Trump's henchmen on the hill covering up all his crimes. They aren't "principled." They're something else.
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