Here is video of John McCain giving the thumbs down and his no vote on the GOP so-called ‘skinny repeal’, of Obamacare, their latest effort to destroy Obamacare.
Frankly, I had read McCain’s speech on the floor the day before, in which he called for stopping the GOP rush to ignore all order and precedent, without hearings, or anything resembling the regular order of writing legislation with input and balance from both parties. I was very skeptical, because time and again, he has spoken out, but then hewed the party line and enabled the disastrous policies the GOP party has undertaken. So it honestly surprised me that he held his ground, and voted no.
I will add that, on reading about the vote counting process, McCain did not have to return to Washington and cast his vote. With his vote absent, the two no votes of Murkowski and Collins would have been sufficient, as the GOP could not get to 50 and let Spence cast a deciding vote. So he came to intentionally make a statement, I think, about what he said in his speech the day before the vote.
For which I thank him, as I think does every thinking American. And I also want to thank Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, whose no vote is being ignored by the mainstream media, because, hey, they are just women, and sexism is alive and well in America. Note that these women have actually been threatened with violence in the heavy rhetoric spewing from some male GOP members of Senate. They just don’t know they should sit down and shut up, apparently.
The GOP members of the Senate knew this was awful legislation, they were even openly telling their House colleagues NOT to vote for this bill as is. THe intent was to get it into conference so they could butcher Obamacare without the constraint of doing it in the light of day, and without the input of the Democratic members of Congress.
McCain did not just save 16 million people with this action as one estimate suggested. If this horrible bill had gotten to reconciliation conference, the GOP would have gone right ahead and behind closed doors implemented their goal of not just dumping the 23 million who have insurance thanks to Obamacare, they would have upped the ante to 32 million in some versions of their plans. A non-insured rate for Americans worse than before Obamacare. They would have literally destroyed Medicaid, throwing aging ill Americans who depend on it to have a bed in a nursing home and food to live on and a comfortable place to spend their final years out onto the street, and they would have done anything to start attacking Medicare, too.
They would have again slashed taxes for the obscenely wealthy, both personal and corporate taxes. That is their driving goal right now, above all else. Their bill should really be called the Wealthcare Bill.
The bottom line is, the GOP will oppose ANYTHING that makes it appear that government services benefit the people, and are worth the taxes we pay. They will do anything to fight that idea. And anything to defeat the very concept of successful government benefiting the populace. It is against their fundamental principles.
They literally want to drown government in the bathtub, and turn over control of this nation to the oligarchy, and the corporate plutocracy. They hate the rule of law. They hate the regulations that keep our food supply, our water supply, the very air we breath safe. They have been trying for years to put corporate arbitration, under panels the corporations get to chose, into contracts, forbidding consumers access to traditional legal systems that will protect the rights of consumers. Their goal is to undermine the very legal system our founding fathers put into place to insure equal access to justice under law, not under the whim of individuals in power.
Bottom line, they do not CARE if millions of Americans die. All they care about is their money and wealth and power.
By the way, KUDOS to John McCain, Susan Collins, and Lisa Murkowski, who voted no, and to the entire Democratic caucus, none of whom broke ranks to enable this madness.
Best of all, though, this means at six months in, thank $DEITY for the health of this nation across the board, Donald Trump has absolutely NO major legislation to point to as passed since taking office. And I sincerely hope it stays that way.
