After a series of closed-door meetings, rejected promises, and thinly veiled threats from President Donald Trump, Republicans finally pulled the American Health Care Act before taking a vote on Friday. This was met with laughter by many, and a few tears by others. But the best reaction came from #GOPDnD, which ended up having the Dungeons & Dragons game of their lives.
The #GOPDnD hashtag game sprung up on Twitter over the past couple of weeks. Some people attribute the campaign origins to Patton Oswalt’s 2015 tweet about turning 2016's presidential candidates into D&D characters, but the hashtag itself is linked to James D’Amato from One Shot Podcast. Lately, it’s been used in response to Republican attempts to squeeze Trumpcare through the House of Representatives in less than a month. As House Speaker Paul Ryan’s bill rose in infamy, making enemies across the aisle and struggling to evade a tragic CBO score, a shitty Dungeons & Dragons game served as the perfect metaphor for the debacle.
However, it wasn’t until Ryan sadly addressed his constituents on Friday afternoon, confirming they were dropping the bill they’d reportedly spent at least seven years working on, that things were really taken up a notch. The game became epic, a legendary tale of terrible people playing a game that they didn’t know how to win. No wonder Ryan said it’s easier to be the opposition party than to govern. They’ve forgotten how to play nice with others.
The Grand Ol’ Magic Party is still going on Twitter, so it’s definitely worth joining in on the fun for a bit— especially since SUE the T-Rex already ended her D&D game a little while ago. If anything else, this whole thing goes to show you can always find a bright side to the ugliness of politics. Republicans might’ve failed (this time) to take health insurance away from up to 24-million people… but hey, at least they can still cast Benghazi. That spell still works, right?
Clarification: Article originally said Affordable Health Care Act, it has been fixed. Also added attribution to James D’Amato.
