McConnell To Push Repeal Only After Collapse Of Healthcare Bill

McConnell To Push Repeal Only After Collapse Of Healthcare Bill

What a shame, the Senate’s terrible, no good, does-not-actually-repeal-Obamacare plan, similar to the House’s does-not-actually-repeal-Ocare plan, has collapsed, as it has not garnered the necessary support. Talking Point Memo’s Tierney Sneed plays it straight in reporting what comes next (interestingly, the article from the hardcore left site is more straight news than most of the Legacy Media outlets)

Not long after the defections of two more Senate Republicans made the GOP Obamacare replacement bill dead in the water, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell  (R-KY) announced Monday night he would let members vote for a “repeal only” amendment, if they are able to get the base health care legislation that was passed in the House onto the floor.

Under the plan laid out by McConnell’s statement Monday, if the Senate Republicans are willing to advance the repeal-and-replace bill passed in the House in a procedural vote, they will get a chance to vote on an amendment to replace it with a “repeal only” approach, similar to a 2015 bill Congress passed that was vetoed by President Obama. It’s unclear what the next steps would be if the vote on the amendment failed.

This should be very interesting. The GOP did this numerous times while Obama was POTUS, especially in the House. But, not, they know that if a repeal bill passes Congress, POTUS Trump will sign it. So, it’s not for show. Will the squishier members show their true squishiness? If the GOP does not get a repeal bill through, you can bet that they can kiss Congress goodbye over the next one to two election cycles. McConnell is taking a big risk here, but, you can also bet he’ll be letting members know what will happen to their majorities and individual seats if they do not vote to kill Ocare.

But, is this really repeal? Sundance explains

Correction, I just noticed McConnell’s trickery, the 2015 bill was a defunding bill, not a repeal.  McConnell is just tricking people into thinking this was going in the direction of a repeal. It’s not.

The GOP have never, ever, voted for a repeal. That would take 60 votes. They voted in 2015 to defund it using the 51 vote threshold of ‘reconciliation’.  They’ve never once had a repeal vote on Obamacare.

Therefore, if this actually goes to a vote, this appears to be constructed simply as an exercise to prove a vote was taken.  ObamaCare remains and the implosion continues.  McConnell’s political calculation here is trickery.  Nothing more. O-Care remains.

An interesting point. Does McConnell go this route, or does he actually go for repeal, which would require either some trickery or the nuclear option?

Crossed at Pirate’s Cove. Follow me on Twitter @WilliamTeach.

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