16th July 2017, 12:15 AM
So John McCain has had some surgery, and he'll be recovering in Arizona for the next week so the health care bill has been put off -- they need 50 to bring it up to the floor, and without him it's 49 for and 50 against. This is a bad sign because it suggests that McConnell thought that with him he had a good chance of winning, but the delay itself is a different story.
So on the one hand this delay because of McCain's illness, while bad for McCain and his health, might be positive for the chances of killing the bill, because it slows the momentum towards it puts off the vote and gives more time to pressure Republican Senators to vote against it. If they voted soon it was looking like maybe McConnell would win and get Obamacare repealed, because as that one article said none of the remaining 50 Republicans want to be "the bad guy" who takes down their we-hate-Obamacare crusade after so long.
But the question is, will, during this delay, some of them finally give up on the bill because of how terrible it will be, either because of pressure from governors back home, the health care industry, thinking of people on their state who will lose health care and die, etc, and come out opposed, or will it just delay the ultimate passage of this bill for a week, because what Republican actually cares about any of those things compared to a chance to pass something which will help the rich?
All year I've been thinking that there is a very good chance that the Republicans fail to pass anything and Obamacare survives, but this will definitely be the most important test of that. It could go either way.
That's a good idea sure, but the party faces systemic challenges here due to Republican lawmakers in so many states passing so many voter suppression laws...
So on the one hand this delay because of McCain's illness, while bad for McCain and his health, might be positive for the chances of killing the bill, because it slows the momentum towards it puts off the vote and gives more time to pressure Republican Senators to vote against it. If they voted soon it was looking like maybe McConnell would win and get Obamacare repealed, because as that one article said none of the remaining 50 Republicans want to be "the bad guy" who takes down their we-hate-Obamacare crusade after so long.
But the question is, will, during this delay, some of them finally give up on the bill because of how terrible it will be, either because of pressure from governors back home, the health care industry, thinking of people on their state who will lose health care and die, etc, and come out opposed, or will it just delay the ultimate passage of this bill for a week, because what Republican actually cares about any of those things compared to a chance to pass something which will help the rich?
All year I've been thinking that there is a very good chance that the Republicans fail to pass anything and Obamacare survives, but this will definitely be the most important test of that. It could go either way.
Dark Jaguar Wrote:The only solution is to get the electorate to the polls. That means a candidate that motivates people is needed. A call to proper action and a democratic party willing to out and out say "our ways are better and yes, we really DO want to do these things, this is why they would be good". Don't try to dress it up and cut it down to make it into some half-realized idea!
That's a good idea sure, but the party faces systemic challenges here due to Republican lawmakers in so many states passing so many voter suppression laws...