There will be no vote this week on the Senate’s bill to repeal and replace Obamacare. Realizing he did not have enough Republican votes to pass what many have called “one of the worst pieces of legislation” ever proposed by Congress, Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell yanked the “healthcare” bill.
Republicans now plan on rewriting their bill over the Fourth of July recess and get a new analysis from the Congressional Budget Office before bringing the legislation to the floor.
But whatever tweaking is attempted during the next few weeks (or months) will not change the underlying fact that the proposed legislation is a piece of turd.
The CBO projected that if the Senate bill had passed, 22 million fewer Americans would have had health coverage. It is for this reason the bill has been broadly condemned as “barbaric and immoral.”
Incredibly, even with an approval rating of only 17%, the Republican-controlled Senate seems hell-bent on ramming its catastrophic bill down the throats of millions of Americans.
But even a few Republicans know putting whipped cream on a piece of turd will not make it more appetizing.
Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican moderate, said on ABC’s This Week, “I have very serious concerns about the bill.”
Democrats are not celebrating their good fortune. They remember being burned by House Republicans who also withdrew their version of the Obamacare repeal bill due to lack of votes, only to reintroduce a more draconian version a few weeks later. It passed by slimmest of margins.
No. Never sell short the cruelty of Republicans, in general, or Mitch McConnell, in particular. Democrats know this all too well.
“Our mantra is: ‘Do not underestimate Mitch McConnell,’” said Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal. “McConnell is not stupid, but he is heartless,” Dan Cantor of the Working Families Party has stated.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer understands tinkering with bad legislation won’t solve the problem. “No matter how the bill changes around the edges, it is fundamentally flawed at the center.”
All Americans of good conscience need to be vigilant in the weeks ahead and keep up their protests so that this inhumane piece of **** never sees the light of day.
“Passionate grassroots activism forced McConnell to pull the bill, and passionate grassroots activism will eventually defeat it for good – if we keep it up.” – Joan Walsh/ The Nation.
(Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
McConnell should put as many condiments on the turd as possible, because he’s probably going to have to eat it one way or another. The R’s can’t serve their corporate paymasters while replacing the ACA with something that will cover everyone and lower premiums, as they promised their base. The only possibility would be to run up a deficit that would further split the party. They’ve painted themselves into a corner that not even the most expert lying will get them out of completely.
Yes, Republicans are boxed in but never discount the evil of Mitch and his gang of thieves/traitors.