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Extreme Makeover: Political Party Edition

Lura Forcum, March 27.

 Hi friends,   

Nearly everyone is familiar with the show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. In this show, a family is selected to have their home completely remodeled to suit their exact needs.

Featuring the famous “Move that bus!” chant, the show is full of feel-good moments and a family that’s ecstatic when their entirely different and new home is revealed. 

In many ways, the two political parties have experienced an extreme makeover in recent years. The GOP has shifted from being the party of free trade and personal freedom to that of economic protectionism and culture wars. Driven largely by the MAGA movement, the party’s agenda is now set solely by President Donald Trump. Rather than being a coalition or consultation of a variety of views and voices from the party, it’s a monoculture. Whatever Donald Trump says is Republican is Republican; anything else is RINO.  

But the effects of the Donald Trump on the Republican party extend to the Democrats as well. In reaction to the MAGA movement, Democrats have moved even further to the left. The party was once focused on blue collar union members in the Rust Belt. Now it’s focused on identity politics and opposing anything and everything Donald Trump does.  

But the parties’ extreme makeover is not eliciting joy and delight from voters, unlike the TV show. It’s as if we were expecting a home renovation but instead when the bus moved out of the way, we saw a pile of rubble where our home used to be. American politics is perhaps now best described as Extreme Makeover: Politically Homeless. 

At the Independent Center, we believe that individuals should have the power to craft their own homes, lives, and political experience that best fit their needs. We don’t have to accept whatever solutions and policies and positions the two parties are offering us.   

So if you don’t like what the two-party makeover has done to our political landscape, join us in building a new home. Here’s a simple ask - get your friends, family and colleagues to sign up to our newsletter!

Best, 

Lura 

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IC Mailbag

Trump told the Senate GOP that he wants a debt limit increase on his tax bill. What exactly does that mean?

Increasing the statutory debt limit is the most consequential vote Congress will take this year, and it’s one of the allowable uses of budget reconciliation. The budget resolution that passed the House included reconciliation instructions to increase the debt limit by $4 trillion. Extraordinary measures taken by the Treasury to pay the United States' debt service obligations will run out in August or September. The tax bill, assuming Congress passes it before the end of July, provides a vehicle to increase the debt limit, although the tax bill will be a partisan product.

Are House and Senate Republicans on the same page?

Differences between the House and the Senate, regardless of whether the same party controls both chambers, have long been documented. You’re dealing with a lot of personalities, each with their own goals and ideas of how legislation should look. Former House Speaker Tip O’Neill (D-MA) once said, “The House Republicans are not the enemy, they’re the opposition. The Senate is the enemy.” The end goals are the same, but the differences in how they get there are what drive drama on major legislation on Capitol Hill.

Are Republicans going to cut Medicaid to pay for the tax bill?

Republicans are likely to make changes to Medicaid, but it’s too early to say what those changes will be, or whether or not the deficit reductions target given to the House Energy and Commerce Committee will rely on spending reductions alone or include revenue enhancements. Some of the changes to Medicaid floated by House Republicans have already been dismissed, as Trump and Speaker Johnson have said there won’t be cuts to benefits. The devil is in the details of Medicaid changes. However, we have to recognize that Medicaid is a broken program that needs to be overhauled. It faces provider shortages and low reimbursement rates, among other challenges.

Podcast Appearances

• Lura Forcum on Political No-Brainer hosted by Jeff Rabinowitz

This Week in Congress:

• Trump tells Senate GOP he wants a debt limit increase in his tax bill

• Schumer says he won’t step down as Senate Democratic leader despite government funding uproar

• President Trump’s top national security officials faced a two days of tough questions on Capitol Hill

What We’re Reading:

NBC News: GOP Sen. John Curtis says politicians are 'not being honest' when they say they won't touch Social Security

By: Megan Lebowitz

New York Times: Bernie Sanders Has an Idea for the Left: Don’t Run as Democrats

By: Reid J. Epstein

The Independent Center is the go-to organization for information, research, and engagement with independent voters, who now make up the majority of the electorate.

We represent those who are fed up with partisan politics and feel politically homeless. We believe the future is not red or blue; it’s fiscally responsible, socially inclusive, and free to choose the best options for ourselves, our families, and our communities.

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