The Death of “Compassionate Conservatism”: 24 Million People To Lose Healthcare Under Trump

With Republican control of the White House and legislature, it seems the unthinkable might actually happen– the repeal of Obamacare.

While Trump promised healthcare for “everyone,” a new report from the Congressional Budge Office actually shows that 24 million people in the United States are about to lose healthcare.

Let that sink in a minute: 24 million people who have access to doctors and life-saving medicine, are about to be shut off– the door to access healthcare will close to them.

President Trump seems excited about the direction things are going in. As reported by CNN, Trump recently said:

“It’s a big, fat, beautiful negotiation… Hopefully we’ll come up with something that’s going to be really terrific.”

Um, yeah– taking healthcare away from 24 million people sounds “really terrific.”

Perhaps the most over-the-top offensive, bogus argument being made by Republicans is that we simply cannot afford it. Their argument might hold some intellectual validity if it were not so grossly hypocritical– the reality is that Republicans are no longer fiscally conservative and are happy to spend money we don’t have, as long as it’s spent on bombs.

Just recently the President introduced a plan to increase military spending by $54 Billion dollars– as if our military weapons were just a bunch of spears and sticks that were in desperate need of an upgrade to the modern world.

I remember former President George W. Bush coining the term “compassionate conservatism,” and the way in which previous conservatives tried to balance compassion and conservative values. Even as a liberal I was able to respect an awareness that regardless of one’s political ideology, it all needs to be clothed and balanced in compassion.

Sadly, the idea of “compassionate” conservatism is long dead– because any ideology that takes healthcare away from the poor in order to finance bigger tanks and more bombs, is anything but compassionate.