A political Hail Mary

The most sweeping tax reform plan in generations must be so very easy to do that U.S. Senate Republicans have decided to add a degree of difficulty. You know, just for fun. Like say moving the goalposts another 20 yards down the field at a football game.

The House is expected to have a floor vote on its tax plan today. But over in the Senate the plan is to muddy the waters considerably by adding a provision to repeal the individual mandate that is part of the Affordable Care Act.

Now the math of the Senate GOP’s latest gambit is entirely understandable. Repeal of the individual mandate, according to the Congressional Budget Office, would save more than $300 billion over the next decade — money that could be used to pay for the tax cuts contained in the reform bill. It would also result in 13 million fewer Americans being covered and premiums increasing by about 10 percent for those still in such plans.

And while the Senate bill might attract enough Obamacare haters and deficit hawks, it would also write off any possible support from moderate Democrats.

Then there are the uncomfortable optics of a Senate plan that makes individual tax cuts temporary (expiring at the end of 2025), but corporate tax cuts permanent. It is budgetary sleight of hand, concede Republicans, intended to comply with Senate rules limiting the impact of bills on long-term deficits. Still the politics of it are problematic.

With characteristic understatement Sen. Susan Collins (RMaine) said, “I personally think that it complicates tax reform.”

We couldn’t agree more. The Senate’s GOP leaders have taken a huge gamble in linking two of the nation’s most contentious issues. The math may work for them, but the politics are a long shot indeed.