Three Republican senators delivered the ultimate betrayal Tuesday to Republican voters and, specifically, to supporters of President Donald Trump by refusing to back a plan to repeal Obamacare. The previous president’s signature legislation, also commonly known as the Affordable Care Act, is a monster that, although dying, cannot be killed.
On Monday, Republicans’ second attempt to move forward with a ‘repeal-and-replace’ strategy foundered. Two more Republican senators joined Susan Collins (R – Me.) and Rand Paul (R – Ky.) in vowing to vote ‘no’ on a motion to proceed (MTP) with the Better Care Reconciliation Act. Senators Mike Lee of Utah and Jerry Moran of Kansas announced their decisions Monday evening. With a majority of just four in the Senate, Republicans were in trouble, and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell shelved the idea. In simple terms, a motion to proceed is a proposal to bring a bill up for consideration if that bill does not have unanimous support.
Just two hours after the collapse of McConnell’s motion to proceed, President Trump tweeted “Republicans should just REPEAL failing ObamaCare now & work on a new Healthcare Plan that will start from a clean slate. Dems will join in!” McConnell took up the challenge, reviving a Republican tactic which had failed during the Obama administration; repeal the Affordable Care Act and craft a replacement later.
The usual left-wing Republicans – sometimes known as moderates or centrists – rebelled against that idea Tuesday. Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski joined Susan Collins of Maine and Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia in opposing a straight repeal. According to the Los Angeles Times, Capito released a statement, saying “I cannot vote to repeal Obamacare without a replacement plan that addresses my concerns and the needs of West Virginians.”
Republicans in Congress have promised, for the past seven years, to repeal Obamacare. The conservative wing of the party has constantly balked at the idea of replacing the law with anything that still leaves the federal government largely in control of health care. The so-called moderates are reluctant to replace Obamacare at all, even though they didn’t vote for it. The president himself has drifted from repeal to repeal-and-replace.
The Republican hold on the Senate is tenuous. Democrats have just six fewer seats and enjoy the support – on most occasions – of the two Independent senators, Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Angus King of Maine. This wafer-thin majority makes passing any meaningful health care legislation all but impossible. No Senate Democrat is going to vote yes on any bill that repeals or replaces Obamacare. Senator Charles Schumer (D – NY.) responded quickly to Monday’s aborted MTP:
Rather than repeating the same failed, partisan process yet again, Republicans should start from scratch and work with Democrats on a bill that lowers premiums, provides long term stability to the markets and improves our health care system.
The Democrats have no apparent intention of starting from scratch, however; some minor alterations to the current health care law are the only things even remotely likely to draw any Democratic Party votes. Deputy White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Tuesday “Democrats have refused to join in fixing the health care problems that have plagued our health care system…in large part due to Obamacare,” and added “{and) hopefully, with the collapse of the program that they put in place, they’ll be more willing to come to the table and help clean up the mess.”
Republicans now continue to replace the Affordable Care Act at their own risk. Were Congress to do nothing more with health care, the current law will continue to implode. The Democratic Party owns that implosion for as long as Republicans fail to pass health care legislation.
