This jockey can win no matter which horse finishes first

Article

Why Steve Bannon Might be the Winner of the GOP's Health Care Civil War

Summary

Gabriel Sherman writing in New York magazine says Steve Bannon has positioned himself so that Pres. Trump, and to greater extent,  Paul Ryan and Congress will shoulder the blame if the American Health Care Act fails.

Quote

"The failure to repeal and replace Obamacare would be a stinging defeat for Trump. But it would be an even bigger defeat for Paul Ryan, who has all but staked his Speakership on passing this bill. And in the hall of mirrors that is Washington, the big winner to emerge out of the health-care debacle could be Steve Bannon. That’s because Bannon has been waging war against Ryan for years. For Bannon, Ryan is the embodiment of the “globalist-corporatist” Republican elite. A failed bill would be Bannon’s best chance yet to topple Ryan and advance his nationalist-populist economic agenda."

Understanding

Powerful people encounter at least two compelling priorities -

1. How do I use my position to do what is right?
2. How do I preserve my power? 

How powerful people work through those internal questions can lead to great good or great corruption.

Mr. Bannon's alleged goal of deconstructing the administrative state gains some juice if the AHCA fails. Bannon's agenda might gain even more momentum if the AHCA passes and disappoints. That scenario could strengthen the argument of the Freedom Caucus that government has little or no business in health care and entitlements are an archaic vestige of the Deep State.

We might be wise to review Machiavelli's The Prince or look carefully at how Thomas Cromwell maneuvers in Hillary Mantel's historical novels on the court of Henry VIII. The forces of power are at play in the public strong-arm tactics of Pres. Trump and in the shadows where men new to power privately whisper and smirk.