Republicans were never going to get rid of ACA; it’s their plan after all. Republicans were never going to build a wall. These were just talking points. What Republican lawmakers are great at is being united in thwarting Democratic policies and doing what it takes to enhance their own power. Republican lawmakers are much more united when it comes to core principles:
1. This is kind of vague but Republicans do vote on Democrat-lead bills [1] which is a pretty poor way of thwarting them.
2. I did forget about mentioning that one. Republicans could have easily restricted it in 2016 if they as a cohesive unit wanted to. They do not. It's much more useful to leave it in the current state where it can constantly be brought up every election cycle as a way to drum up supporters who have no object permanence.
3. You got me here but that's also the thing I listed as their only accomplishment.
4. This one is very bi-partisan. The military has no issue with losing funding and especially wants to optimize funding by doing things such as closing low-utilized bases and moving those staff to other under-utilized bases. However doing so affects congressional districts and their congress representative have no interest in losing jobs (money) for their region. The lack of awareness of defense spending as a jobs program is a big pet peeve of mine :/
> What Republican lawmakers are great at is being united in thwarting Democratic policies and doing what it takes to enhance their own power.
5. Sure but Democrats have this issue as well. There have long been calls for things such as Ranked Choice Voting, Approval Voting, etc and Democrats and Republicans have long tried to even overturn those efforts even when decided by voters as a ballot measure. Both of them know that allowing this will degrade the "both sides" situation going on as other parties will gain a foothold. However it also leads to situations where voting for your first choice (a 3rd party) in close elections (i.e 2016 [2] vs 2020 [3] and 2000 [4]) can allow your second favorite candidate to lose but Democrats collectively are ok with losing every 3rd presidency (~1/10yr) as long as it doesn't eat into their powerhold (every other elected position).
There really is no reason to argue about the Republicans here. We have a bunch of states such as North AND South Dakota strictly to increase the number of republican senators [5]. Or more recently, in 2000 when Republicans in US Supreme Court overruled Florida's Supreme Court about if a recount should occur [6] (so much for states rights!). SO yes, it's a moot point that Republicans are power hungry and don't care about consistency only power.
1. Thwart Democrats
2. Oppose abortion
3. Tax cuts
4. Cut/freeze non defense spending