Welpity welp welp welpington.
If you care to venture onto the Twittersphere over the next few hours, you're likely to be bowled over with tweets about the flaming pile of sewage that was once the healthcare bill championed by President Donald Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan.
Republicans again failed to muster enough unity for a vote on healthcare legislation on Friday.
Trump, who once authored a book called "The Art of the Deal," had proven not so artsy in his dealmaking. Such things usually lead to a bunch of Twitter jokes, but, in this case, all folks had to do was retweet the president. They had a bunch to choose from.
"Never ever quit, never give up" - Donald J. Trump, The Art of the Deal.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 10, 2012
We will immediately repeal and replace ObamaCare - and nobody can do that like me. We will save $'s and have much better healthcare!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 9, 2016
Passion motivates. Passionate people don't give up; their zeal eliminates fear. Passion can also create business opportunities.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 19, 2013
The only deal the Republicans should accept is a complete repeal of ObamaCare. You have them on the run - don't fold - go for it!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 15, 2013
“Once you learn to quit, it becomes a habit.” - Vince Lombardi
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 29, 2013
I have never met a successful person that was a quitter. Successful people never, ever, give up!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 18, 2013
My motto is: ‘Never give up.’ I follow this very strictly. I do not let problems and challenges stop me; they are normal.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 16, 2013
There were plenty of regular tweets from people celebrating the news, too.
the art of the pull the vote because you don’t have the votes to pass it and you said there was no plan b and you stopped negotiating
— Philip Bump (@pbump) March 24, 2017
The schadenfreude has context. Trump strutted around the campaign trail saying it would be "so easy" to repeal Obamacare. He'd replace it with something that would be really just terrifically goddamn awesome and, sure, that was light on specifics, but it sounded sexy.
Once Trump had kicked down the doors to the White House, his friend-because-we-have-to-take-a-lot-of-pictures-together Paul Ryan rolled out a bill that was supposed to do the thing. Ryan was gleeful when he unveiled the legislation just a couple weeks ago, bill in hand.
This one-two punch was the thing that was going to fulfill the dream of an Obamacare repeal and replacement. Ryan smiled and joked when he talked about the legislation. He guaranteed they'd have the votes, and seemed to scoff at the presumption of failure.
Which brings us to welp. The early part of this week brought grumblings. The Very Conservative members of the House Freedom Caucus didn't like the bill. Some moderates didn't like the bill, either. Folks tried to rewrite it just before the vote was to take place on Thursday. Ryan and Trump tried to talk Congress up. Yet the vote didn't happen. They didn't have the votes.
So Trump and his Trumpites gave the representatives an ultimatum: Do this thing and do it now or we're not going to bother with healthcare legislation again. The vote was moved to Friday. But by midday it was clear the strategy was wobbling around on shaky legs. Ryan reportedly sped over to the White House to tell Trump he hadn't whipped up enough votes. Then the vote ... didn't happen. Again.
Cue the welpinator.
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