Trumpcare Megathread: It's dead (for now)

[Matty]

It all comes down to McCain:

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This was from 5 hours ago.

Pence is en route to the Capitol.

Isn't that a big hint?

[Matty]

Gov Ducey coming out against it is a sign that mccain will vote no.

Why would the gov say that otherwise/

[Matty]

Anyone feel bad that these old geezers in the senate have to stay up this late to vote on this stuff?

Can't be good for health

[Matty]

Gov Ducey coming out against it is a sign that mccain will vote no.

Why would the gov say that otherwise/

Of course McCain will vote yes. There's no way he's going to pull off an epic troll job like that.

Not to make light of it, but the dude has aggressive brain cancer.  He's at the "I don't give a flying sh**t what people think of me" stage.

[Matty]

Matt Fuller reporting that mccain told schumer he will vote no, and schumer left smiling.

[Matty]

This might be a dumb comment but I didn't know reporters were allowed on senate floor.

[Matty]

Some other rumblings is that Murkowski may have flipped to yes.

Gass, let me just say that even though we disagree on most things, I really appreciate your updates on twitter stuff. Whenever I see your name beside a post, I know it will be interesting.

Thanks for your effort during news threads like this.

[Matty]

Can't tell if Matt Fuller is trying to troll or not.

[Matty]

How could it "change quick" when the vote happens soon?

[Matty]

How many reportrs are in the senate floor right now? Seems like a lot.

[Matty]

Santander, why must you be rude to Wulfric?

[Matty]

What is happening?

[Matty]

In an ultimate move of Moderate Heroness, McCain dies on the senate floor.

I feel bad for chuckling

[Matty]

Is there a time limit?

[Matty]

Is this McCain's excuse if he votes yes?
"These good senators convinced me in the final minutes"

[Matty]

Can this end please

If McCain is going to vote no, why not just cast it?

[Matty]

Rumors circulating that McCain is gonna vote yes now.

Rumors from where?

[Matty]

I honestly feel like shooting myself.

Not because I want this to pass, I just can't go through another negative press day for my party and my ideology. I cannot do it.

I love politics and I the last 6 months have been absolute hell for me.

[Matty]

I honestly feel like shooting myself.

Not because I want this to pass, I just can't go through another negative press day for my party and my ideology. I cannot do it.

I love politics and I the last 6 months have been absolute hell for me.

So long as Trump is in the White House, it won't get any better.

Which is why the senate and house needs to make up for the WH BS and they are failing at that.

[Matty]

I know it sounds ridiculous but politics is big for me. I truly wanted to see some decent conservative policy implementation and now it looks like nothing will get done before the dems take the house, and that makes trump a lameduck for 2 years until he loses reelection.

[Matty]

McCain went to go take phonecall.

Who called him?

I bet it was ryan

[Matty]

It was a reporter's notebook that fell and hit Sen. Scott in the head.

that could actually cause a pretty big papercut if it hit in the right position.

[Matty]

TD, honest question, you do realize the fundamental problems of healthcare would have been the same no matter which republican got into office, don't you?

Are you under the impression that if another GOP president was in office, ryan and McConnell would have crafted different legislation?

Instead of blaming trump for every problem under the sun, maybe some of your vitriol can be cast towards the actual people in the legislature who crafted the legislation.

How would healthcare reform have been different if rubio were president? Would CBO scores of repealing the mandate be different? Would the fundamental problems be different? Would the laws congress have inherited be different?

[Matty]

TD, honest question, you do realize the fundamental problems of healthcare would have been the same no matter which republican got into office, don't you?

Are you under the impression that if another GOP president was in office, ryan and McConnell would have crafted different legislation?

Instead of blaming trump for every problem under the sun, maybe some of your vitriol can be cast towards the actual people in the legislature who crafted the legislation.

How would healthcare reform have been different if rubio were president? Would CBO scores of repealing the mandate be different? Would the fundamental problems be different? Would the laws congress have inherited be different?

To start with - the President's election started the death knell of this issue. Remember, he ran behind every GOP Senator. If he had won 51-46% instead of losing 48-46%, he could have credibly told the GOP Congress, "I carried you." Instead they carried him and we know that they have the leverage, not him.

Second, there was a better way. The President could have acted with leadership and crafted a better bill and pushed it. You know that as well as I do that the Congress was looking to the White House for leadership and we have floundered because they didn't provide it. Ryan and McConnell would have worked with the White House, and passed something.

We could have spent the last six months crafting an alternative to ObamaCare and owned the issue of healthcare. We could have put through the committee process. We could have improved the law and done tax reform first. Who knows?

To say nothing of the way two of the three no votes were treated - McCain, insulted, Murkowski's state threatened when she had clear leverage as a 2010 write in? 

Answer me this -- does not the President bear responsibility for his abdication of leadership and inability to lead Congress and the country on this issue? If you can't believe Trump is not responsible for the debacle of the last six months, if you're going to pretend Presidential leadership doesn't matter, then you don't really understand why the last six months went the way it did.

The fact the 2008 Republican Presidential nominee was the deciding vote against this speaks volumes.

Dude, the gop congress had 7 YEARS to come up with something. They need a reality tv star to do it for them?

The gop of crafting legislation lies in the house of representatives. Period.

How can you not put at least SOME blame on congressional republicans?

[Matty]

TD, here is something I will guarantee: If tax reform ends up being a success, you will find a way to not give some credit to the prez.