Obamacare is the law of the land

[Quaro]

1. They can vote to change the rules to only require 50 votes. The so-called nuclear option. They did this for Gorsuch already.

2. They can do it in the next fiscal year, which starts soon (but they would use that option for the next year).

[triggercut]

1. They can vote to change the rules to only require 50 votes. The so-called nuclear option.

2. They can do it in the next fiscal year, which starts soon (but they would use that option for the next year).

McConnell’s said pretty repeatedly he’s not interested in going there.

[TranquilityBase]

[SlainteMhath]

The Budget Reconciliation thing would certainly explain Trump’s angry tweets this morning about needing to get 60 stooges in the Senate to MAGA. It pretty much read like “How are we supposed to fuck over America if you guys can’t get us 60 Senate seats?! SAD.”.

That said, it’s a hollow victory if Republicans use the nuclear option and vote to change the process to only require simple majority. Doing so would be suicide though, as it would leave them wide open for a rigorous beating if the Dems ever recovered a Senate majority. On the other hand, I would not put it past them to vote the nuclear option, pass a ton of crazy shit, and right before midterms vote to go back to the old way just to cover their asses. The optics would be TERRIBLE, but Republicans are no longer at all concerned about optics.

[Strollen]

It’s plausible, but based on the 11th hour press briefing McCain gave with Graham, Johnson, and Cassidy, I don’t think this move was that well plotted out.

I doubt it also. The new (fiscal) year starts Oct 1, so after the August recess it is doubtful there would be a lot of time to do anything. It is an interesting little factoid, but I doubt it will have any significant negative impact. That said McCain has been clear that bills should be bi-partisan, so making it harder to use reconciliation is a feature.

[Wallapuctus]

Colin Jones (colinjones)

[Ephraim]

I find it refreshing that you and Speaker Ryan are both quoting a proud Canadian. Maybe Gordon can serve as our NAFTA renegotiator.

[magnet]

On the other hand, I would not put it past them to vote the nuclear option, pass a ton of crazy shit, and right before midterms vote to go back to the old way

“Voting to go back to the old way” would be useless. Senate rules expire at the end of every session, and so every new Senate session begins with a majority vote to honor tradition and keep the filibuster. If it’s ever thrown out, a future Democratic majority would have the necessary pretext to get rid of it for good.

It’s a bell you can’t unring.

[divedivedive]

Hey I grew up on his music. Give me some Gordon, some SCTV and some Kids in the Hall, I’m happy!

[Pyperkub]

I have no idea if this facebook link to McConnell trying to cast “Repeal Obamacare” will work, but it is a riot if you click through all of the photos/slideshow.

[triggercut]

BLCKDGRD (BLCKDGRD)

[triggercut]

Hey, can somebody more knowledgeable in the arcane minutiae of reconciliation say whether this Reddit post is accurate?

"I’m not sure if it’s really being appreciated just how comprehensively the Republicans were just fucked over.
See, the Republicans have been trying to pass these godawful healthcare bills through a process called budget reconciliation, which, among other things, protects the bill from being filibustered in the Senate and only requires a simple majority of 50 votes (rather than 60, which the Republicans don’t have).
The thing is, the Senate can only consider one budget reconciliation bill per topic per year. Of course, if the bill dies in committee and never comes to an official vote, it doesn’t count- which is why they’ve been able to keep hammering away at the issue.

This bill, though, was allowed to come to the Senate floor, because the Republicans thought they’d secured the votes. Collins, Murkowski and the Democrats would vote no, everyone else would vote yes, and Pence would break the tie. And then McCain completely fucked them. And it was almost certainly a calculated move; he voted to allow the bill to come to the floor. Had McCain allowed it to die in committee, McConnell could have come back with yet another repeal bill; but he let it come to a vote, and now they can’t consider another budget reconciliation bill for the rest of the fiscal year. The Senate needs 60 votes to pass any kind of healthcare reform now.

So now they’re caught between a rock and a hard place. Either they concede defeat on the issue and try again later (causing a big, unpopular stink that could damage elections if they try it before the midterms, or risking losing the slim majority they already have if they wait) or they actually sit down with the democrats like adults and write a halfway decent healthcare bill.

This is amazing."

Here’s why that doesn’t apply to what happened on Thursday night, and why that redditor’s heart is in the right place, but he/she is incorrect.

What lost a vote on Thursday night wasn’t technically a bill. Skinny repeal was an amendment to a bill. That’s how McConnell was able to get it introduced as the third thing in a string, after ORRA (straight repeal) and BCRA (the senate healthcare bill) were both defeated on Wednesday, specifically.

When McConnell gives his weirdly resigned but sometimes defiant speech at the end of everything on Thursday night, he puts HR 1628 (or whatever number the bill itself that skinny repeal was an amendment to) back on the calendar. That means the senate can take it back up when they want. Importantly, it does not mean they’re taking it up soon. It just means that McConnell carefully put it into this pile with a bunch of other dead or unconsiderable bills that he can pluck it from at some hypothetical future point if prospects for it improve.

For now though, ACA repeal isn’t dead…but it is in a sleep state for at least a while. And that’s completely awesome.

[triggercut]

Fun fact that Harry Enten just pointed out: Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins could have both won their most recent reelection bids without a single Republican voter voting for them.

I’d bet McConnell sent a note to the White House, and I’d also bet he’s doubling down on this today: be very careful about attacking those two for their votes Thursday night. Either seems like a mere nudge gets them into Jim Jeffords territory.

[Woolen_Horde]

So, the question is if McCain dies (most likely) and Gov. Ducey appoints a die-hard right winger to fill the seat until the election, does McConnell rez this and immediately move to a vote?

[triggercut]

In all likelihood, yes. Root for John McCain’s continued health through the 2018 Congress, and hope that Democrats do very well in House races.

[Woolen_Horde]

I can’t imagine McCain lasting that long. I guess the best hope (aside from him beating the odds) is to make it as close to the election as possible?

[triggercut]

I can’t imagine McCain lasting that long. I guess the best hope (aside from him beating the odds) is to make it as close to the election as possible?

Glioblastomas are aggressive, but if caught early enough they can be held in check for 12-24 months via drug therapy. I only know this because the last two people I know of who had this, one survived for 30 months post-diagnosis, and the other is still on the radio in St. Louis, MO, running in marathons, and seems to still be in remission almost five years post-diagnosis. He’s an outlier, obviously, but still.

Every one of these is different, but McCain being back on his feet fairly quickly post-surgery says he may have a chance to fight off the inevitable for a while.

[Nesrie]

McCain is pretty old though. I mean I hope anyone who faces this sort of thing does as well as they can but it’s pretty challenging when you’re at that end of the life spectrum. He needs to do what’s best for him and his family.

[divedivedive]

All right dudes, maybe nineteenth time is the charm!

As Trump steams, Senate Republicans consider new repeal effort

Trumpcare is some kind of lovecraftian beast!

[Woolen_Horde]

They can’t give the Walmart heirs massive tax cuts until they kill Obamacare. Won’t someone think of the billionaires??!!