To succeed on tax reform, GOP leaders must change their ways

THE budget resolution introduced in the House of Representatives is a measure that must pass. Without it, there can be no tax reform. Republican Party leaders are hammering this point home with centrists and conservatives, both wings having voiced objections.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan are surely making it clear to their members how important this resolution is. But they must not use that as an excuse for browbeating reluctant members into voting aye.

That would be in line with recent behavior rather than making a necessary break from it. It has not worked when leadership has said, roughly, “Republicans simply must pass this, so we need all you guys to swallow your objections; take one for the team.”

GOP leaders made that case in January when they pushed a $4.1 trillion budget that included a halftrillion-dollar deficit in one year and increased the national debt by $9 trillion, or about half, over a decade. Leaders told conservatives who objected that support wasn’t optional because the resolution paved the way for Obamacare repeal via the reconciliation process, which is immune to Democratic filibusters.

But, in the end, GOP lawmakers never got to vote on straight repeal in either chamber.

Pressing the rank-and-file to vote aye because a bill is “must-pass” didn’t work on Obamacare and won’t work on tax reform. No one will listen again when they’re told to take one for the team after a bill has been written in secret and the committee process abandoned. Health care’s failure highlights that Republican leaders haven’t figured out how to lead, and they need to do so in a hurry.

The budget resolution faces tough odds. “I can tell you with 100 percent confidence — they don’t have the votes to pass it on the House floor,” says Rep. Mark Meadows, chairman of the House Freedom Caucus. So, what must be done next to clear the way for tax reform?

First, make the process collaborative. The House Budget Committee did this right on Wednesday with a traditional markup of the budget, considering amendments from all comers. On the floor, an open amendment process may make some Republicans worry, but only a process that gives every Republican a chance to make his mark on the budget has a chance of getting adequate support to pass.

Meadows and his Freedom Caucus colleagues need to be willing to compromise on some details, perhaps on spending levels. The Freedom Caucus has shown great willingness to compromise this year. It’s the centrist Tuesday Group that seemed most dedicated to sinking the Obamacare replacement, even if the final death blow was delivered in part by Sen. Mike Lee, a stalwart conservative.

There’s a Republican credibility crisis brewing. The party’s leaders are not leading their troops, who have found that there is often only disappointment rather than reward for following orders. Republican members won office promising to reform health care and taxes, but run the risk of doing neither.

Republicans need to reform taxes, both to prove they can govern and to juice the economy. To reform taxes, they need to pass a budget. And to pass a budget, their leaders need to abandon their heavy-handed ways.