For the second time, President Donald Trump had Republican members of Congress bused to the White House for a photo opportunity with him in the Rose Garden. This time it was a celebration of the House passing a bill designed to replace Obama Care with Trump Care. It was a surprise victory after several false starts by Speaker Paul Ryan (R., Wi.), although passing by only 4 votes among the 435 members of the House. But, the passage was a major achievement for the President who has had his share of setbacks in his short time in office.
So, with this positive development, why in the world would the White House insist that the House members standing behind the President all be white, old, almost all men, laughing? That has been the stereotype optic the GOP has been fighting since their Candidate Barry Goldwater lost the Presidential election overwhelmingly in 1964. After a hard fought and successful battle, the adroit optic would reflected the diversity of our country--the actual users of health care--men, women, white, black, Hispanic, Asian, old and young.
To add to the GOP myopia, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell elected to ignore the presence of 20 women Senators (20% of the Senate} and appoint 13 white males to the Select Committee to write their health care bill. Really.
The Democrats hardly had a better optic, singing a song on the floor celebrating their expected loss of GOP members after the vote. Such childish behavior is in violation of the rules of the House of Representatives and hardly in keeping with being a good loser.
Behavior of both parties continue to propel support for term limits for everyone in Washington.