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Ad will collapse in seconds CLOSE / the national interest August 8, 2017 08/08/2017 1:15 pm By Jonathan Chait Share The GOP brain trust. Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images

It is slowly, very slowly, dawning on the majority party that its plan to pass a comprehensive reform of the tax code with only Republican votes is doomed to fail. The problem, which the GOP may or may not currently realize, is that a bill can be tax reform, or it can be passed exclusively with Republican votes. But it cant be both.

Tax reform means broadening the tax base by taxing income that is currently untaxed, through deductions and reducing the rates. Broadening the base is politically hard. Every current tax deduction has beneficiaries and defenders.

Tax reform can work politically, the classic example being the 1986 Tax Reform Act. But that law was created with bipartisan support. Bipartisanship is a crucial element. It meant that every member of Congress could potentially support the bill, which meant no member had walk-away power.

Mitch McConnell wants to pass his plan through the Senate with 50 Republican votes, because Democrats oppose any plan that creates a net tax cut for the rich, and cutting taxes for the rich is McConnells overriding policy goal. His strategy reduces the universe of possible votes to the 52 Republican senators. You can see the problem this creates: Just like with health care, three defections kill any bill.

Almost every Republican senator is going to have at least one current preference in the tax code they want to keep. Since McConnell needs the votes of almost all of them, he wont be able to ignore any of their requests. Eliminating deductions with that political strategy is going to be virtually impossible.

There are signs the realization is slowly sinking in. When Republicans realize they cant pass a partisan tax-reform bill, they will need to either pass a bill thats tax reform and not partisan, or partisan but not tax reform. Politico reports the White House is reaching out to a handful of Senate Democrats, out of the calculation that squeezing 50 votes out of a universe of 52 will be too difficult.

In all likelihood, they will discover Senate Democrats dont want to vote for a tax-reform bill that reduces taxes on the rich and raises them on the non-rich. That will lead them to the other alternative: the partisan bill that isnt reform. Bloomberg News reports that Republicans are considering a bill that mixes permanent and temporary changes to the tax code. That would enable Republicans to pass tax cuts which add to the deficit, and thus cant be permanent under the Senates rules without broadening the base to pay for them.

Republicans are eventually going to realize their path to passing a bill is a second Bush tax cuts. The main question is when they figure out that this is all theyre capable of doing.

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While many people think Congress is enriching itself, its actually too poor in policy knowledge and resources to do much more than take orders.

Tensions are ramping up on the Korean peninsula.

The presidents attorney says Trump has never thought of firing the special counsel and has sent Mueller messages of appreciation.

A report suggests the White House wants to tap Rudy Giulianis colleague at a white-shoe firm.

In a race marred by negative ads, Senator Luther Strange has a positive spot thats got more shout-outs to conservative icons than you can count.

This is why Trump hasnt condemned the attack.

Oh, gosh.

House conservatives are (essentially) asking Paul Ryan to either drive America into default, or surrender his Speakers gavel.

With conservatives now threatening to take must-pass legislation hostage, they could get together with Trump and permanently end Democratic leverage.

Including admiring tweets and pictures of Trump on TV looking powerful.

In a policy reversal, the Justice Department now supports quick purges of infrequent voters, which especially affect minorities (and Democrats).

A bill can be tax reform, or it can pass exclusively with Republican votes. But it cant be both.

Women also flocked over and asked him for pictures.

Despite inheriting a strong economy, Trump has lost significant ground with GOP voters, 200 days into his presidency.

The U.S. is helping Saudi Arabia tear apart its poorest neighbor.

He voted for Trumpcare and got Danny Tarkanian.

The hysterical response of Team Pence to reports his political team has contingency plans for 2020 illustrates the deep neuroses of the White House.

Strange new allies wage a strange new war against the national security adviser.

The city says the Justice Departments new qualifications for federal grant money are unauthorized and unconstitutional.

The extensive report, which concludes that human activity is driving climate change, is awaiting final approval by the administration.

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The Republican Dream of Partisan Tax Reform Is Impossible - New York Magazine

The new spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee (RNC) used her first interview in the position Tuesday to call for Republicans to rally behind President Trump.

Kayleigh McEnany, a formerCNN commentator, said on SiriusXM'sBreitbart News Dailythatthere are a "wealth of voices in the Republican Party."

"Theres no doubt about that. Thats kind of one of the things thats the beauty of the Republican Party: We welcome everyones viewpoint," she said.

"Look, we have to stand behind this president."

McEnany pointed to ObamaCare, saying Republicans made a promise to repeal and replace the 2010 healthcare law and that the GOP needs to come together as the law "crumbles."

I welcome alternative voices, but look, these Republicans and the senators who have stood against Obamacare at least publicly, but then in their votes did not theyve got to come around, she said.

This law is crumbling, and, to me, thats a microcosm of the diversity of viewpoints within the Republican Party, which we welcome, but that need to come together because, at the end of the day, when you make a promise, it must materialize into results and successes and better outcomes for the American people.

The RNC spokeswoman argued that future electionswill be determined based on what the GOPdoes for the public.

Ultimately, the election will be determined by having successes on behalf of the American people," she said, calling for congressional Republicans and the White House to work together.

You know what that means? It means going out and actually talking to the people."

McEnany said a crucial part of getting Trump elected to a second term is "just getting out there, what President Trump's doing, what Republicans are doing."

I think a big part of my year-and-a-half at CNN was just wanting to give the CNN viewer the other side of the story wanting to give them a perspective that, in earnest, they probably hadnt heard, she said.

In terms of moving forward, I want to be a part of this fight."

McEnany frequently defended Trump during her time at CNN, where she was a paid contributor in 2016. She was named as the RNC's new spokeswoman on Monday.

McEnany told Breitbart that she has been welcomed by the RNC staff.

It was so heartening to see that this party, that the RNC, is staunchly behind this president, she said.

They realize that for our party to succeed, that means the president must succeed.

McEnany has also been a contributor to The Hill.

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New RNC spokeswoman calls on Republicans to unite behind Trump - The Hill

Orrin Hatch is an 83-year-old Republican senator from Utah, and, depending on which left-wing conspiracy theorist you read, the future president of the United States. He is also, to the chagrin of pretty much everyone who can read, out here talking about shooting wads. In a recent interview with Politico, he said of current Republican legislative priorities, Were not going back to healthcare. Were in tax now. As far as Im concerned, they shot their wad on health care and thats the way it is. Im sick of it.

Was the onetime presidential candidate saying that the Republican party, anthropomorphized into the form of a human male, had already ejaculated over the prospect of healthcare reform and were no longer interested in having sex with it? The metaphor is tortured and unpleasant, but not altogether inaccurate. They have wasted the first six months of a new Republican presidency and dominant control over both houses of Congress trying to repeal a policy that, prior to its rebranding by Barack Obama, came from their own party, and now have little to show for it. Hatchs general point, it would seem, is that, if the enfeebled and overwhelmingly male Republican party is going to muster up the energy to fuck again, it is going to be a new policy initiative. His lack of enthusiasm for it is understandable, even if his choice of phrasing is not.

Hatch later took to Twitter to correct us young, post-Civil War whippersnappers about the true nature of wad-shooting:

Ah yes, Hatch was merely referring to the euphemisms he heard elder musketry enthusiasts use as he was growing up, which surely even then did not function euphemistically. Mel has a detailed breakdown of the possible etymological meanings of Hatchs aside, in which they explain his proposed wad-shooting thusly:

In weaponry ranging from a Napoleonic cannon to a modern shotgun, a paper, fiber or plastic wad is used to separate the projectile from the propellant. Shooting ones wad simply means that the charge contains no projectile and is therefore ineffectual.

Anyway, the larger point here is that it provided a good opportunity for dick jokes.

And so on. Future politicians, please note Hatchs mistake, and do not use euphemisms involving guns or sex when discussing legislative issues in the future, because both are deeply unpleasant.

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Orrin Hatch says the Republican party shot their wad, but not the way you're thinking - A.V. Club

Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., center, is surrounded by media on his way to view the details of a new health care bill on July 13, 2017. Alex Wong / Getty Images file

Heller charted a meandering course through the Affordable Care Act repeal debate, leading Tarkanian to say the senator had turned his back on us. Heller stridently opposed an early version of the GOP health care plan before voting for the final bill in the Senate.

I am a conservative Republican who supports the policies of President Trump to repeal Obamacare and end illegal immigration. I will continue to support President Trump's policies that have led to a 20% increase in the stock market in just six months, Tarkanian said in a statement announcing his candidacy.

Hellers camp quickly fired back, noting Tarkanians electoral record is 0-5.

Danny Tarkanian is a perennial candidate who has spent millions of dollars on five campaigns over the last decade. Nevada voters have rejected him every time, Heller spokesman Tommy Ferraro said in a statement. Hes wasted conservatives time and cost the Republican Party seats up and down the ballot. If he ultimately files for U.S. Senate he will lose in the primary.

Tarkanian, son of college basketball coach Jerry Tarkanian, most recently lost a 2016 challenge to Rep. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., the Democrat running against Heller next year.

Still, Tarkanians multiple campaigns, while unsuccessful, have made him a well-known name in Nevada politics. If nothing else, his presence in the race could force Heller to divert resources and push the senator into more conservative positions than might be advisable in the Democratic-leaning state.

Heller, the only Republican senator from a state Hillary Clinton won last year, is already Democrats top target in upper chamber in a year that otherwise has them on defense. Groups opposed to Republican attempts to repeal Obamacare spent more than $15 million on ads hitting 13 GOP senators during the health care debate. More than third of those ads $5.6. million

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Danny Tarkanian to Challenge Dean Heller in Nevada Primary - NBCNews.com

"It's not good enough. We've got to do better," said Sen. Ron Johnson, a Republican from Wisconsin, of the Senate's effort so far this year.

In part, they have themselves to blame. After using a process that required only Republican support, they still failed to find consensus on a plan to overhaul the Affordable Care Act and haven't otherwise moved on President Donald Trump's legislative agenda.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said Republicans have four priorities: health care, tax reform, regulatory reform, and confirming conservative justices to the Supreme Court.

"If we deliver on those four, this could be the most productive congress in decades," he told reporters. "If we fail on those four, this Congress would be a heartbreaking missed opportunity."

But Republican senators have also been distracted from following through on legislative accomplishments. They worked closely with the White House and even changed Senate rules to get Justice Neil Gorsuch confirmed, but the relationship with the White House has often been sour.

Staffing kerfuffles at the White House, continued leaks about the ongoing Russia investigation and Trump's own evolving goal posts on health care all have all created an environment where senators' are slowly realizing if they want to pass a comprehensive legislative agenda, they may have to be more self-reliant.

"We're getting used to each other," said South Dakota Sen. John Thune, a member of leadership. "A lot of our members have never had a Republican administration. This is a President, obviously, who's never had to work with Congress. I just think there are some growing pains that come with that, but things we can work through. "

When Congress returns in September, they'll have a full agenda. They'll have to raise the debt ceiling, keep the government funded and renew the country's flood insurance program. They'll also have to return to work on stabilizing the health care system something most lawmakers acknowledge now requires Democratic help. And, lawmakers are expected to turn again to try and get Trump a win on tax reform.

After years of waiting for a Republican to enter the White House, GOP senators admit that they are adjusting to the fact that the conservative legislative agenda is in their hands.

"I think we're conducting our business in the way things were intended to be," said Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. "Look, we're separate but equal branch, and I think we understand it's up to us to pass laws and make changes and to deal with things like tax reform. "

Asked if he felt like Congress was on its own, Corker said he was relishing the freedom and urged his colleagues to accept it as a silver lining.

"Honestly I enjoy the fact that Congress, the Senate in particular, is charting a course and developing legislation and, let's face it, leading on all of these issues," Corker said. "When my members in the committee say, 'Well, we have no one here from the administration to weigh in on this,' I say, 'Be careful what you ask for. It's pretty nice the way things are.'"

Republican senators are even defying Trump in some obvious ways. After Trump suggested in a New York Times interview and Twitter that he was displeased with Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Republicans on Capitol Hill came to Sessions's defense.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, a Republican from Iowa and the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, tweeted that the Judiciary Committee wouldn't approve another attorney general in 2017. And South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsay Graham declared there would be "holy hell" to pay if Sessions was fired.

"I don't think that the caucus is ignoring the President," Collins said in an interview with CNN's Dana Bash last week. "But there may be some ignoring of his rhetoric, which, at times, is over the top."

Murkowski agreed, saying that when the rhetoric from the Oval Office "is not constructive to governing," it's "important to speak up."

"And I think you are starting to see a little bit of that," she added.

If anything, it's been a learning curve for all sides. After a raucous health care debate and the passage of a bipartisan Russia sanctions bill that the President finally signed, Sen. Jeff Flake, a Republican from Arizona, said Trump might have learned more about how Congress operates.

"We'll stand up for our prerogatives," Flake said. "No president should expect any senator or member of the House to be a rubber stamp. We have our own franchise."

CNN's Ashley Killough contributed to this report.

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Republican senators realizing legislative agenda is in their own hands - CNN