He’s validating that dark assessment, with a huge assist from Paul Ryan<br />and a cast of House Republicans who had consistently portrayed themselves as sober-minded, mature alternatives to those indulgent, prodigal Dems, if only they had a president from their party who would let them work their magic.<br />“Convenient how Trump flips from an all-powerful master negotiator to well-intentioned simpleton<br />duped by Snidely Ryan at the drop of a hat,” tweeted the conservative columnist Ben Shapiro.<br />For the entirety of his campaign, Donald Trump crowed about his peerless ability to make deals, one of which, he assured us, was going to be a replacement for Obamacare<br />that would cut costs without leaving any Americans in the lurch.<br />Convenient how Trump flips from all-powerful master negotiator to well-intentioned simpleton duped by Snidely Ryan at the drop of a hat.<br />For the two terms of the Obama presidency, Republicans in Congress perfected their posture as the party of no, becoming so comfortable in<br />that role that they still seem somewhat baffled to find themselves in a new one.<br />Never mind that House Republicans had voted dozens of times — back when Barack Obama was president and the action was meaningless — to end Obamacare.
