The final Republican effort to repeal Obamacare in 2017 just got real as Senate Republicans are looking to start voting next Wednesday on a bill that devastates the American healthcare system.
Senate leadership is aiming to start voting on the Cassidy-Graham health care plan next Wednesday. “I think so. I think that’s the likely thing,” Sen. Roy Blunt, a member of leadership, told me.
Some Senate Republicans, who we’ll call the less stupid, don’t want to vote on this bill unless they know that it has the votes that it needs to pass. However, the vote even if we fail again crowd appears to be winning and is going to force some vulnerable Senate Republicans to take a very uncomfortable vote.
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The names to watch are Murkowski and McCain. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine is a definite no, which means that the fate of Obamacare will again come down to Murkowski and McCain. If both of them are a no, the bill will die. If one of them is a yes vote, Obamacare is a goner.
It is impossible to know which direction that the two Senators will go in, but one thing is clear, if the public doesn’t step up to pressure the Republican Senators on Graham-Cassidy, the bill stands a good chance of passing and being signed into law. Democrats one last loud and sustained push from the American people to remind Senate Republicans that vote to repeal Obamacare will not be tolerated.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association