McCONNELL’S GOAL TO REPEAL “OBAMACARE” NOT AN EASY TASK

…McConnell as the Kentucky Senator

 

The Senate Leader may still not have enough ammo to achieve this task.

 

For years now, I have wondered why the Republicans want to take away health care from 17 million Americans? 

 

Why do they want the “pre-existing condition” back in their insurance policies that has caused so many people in the past to lose their homes and retirement funds to a catastrophic medical problem? 

 

Why do they want to kick the over 21 year old children off of their parent’s insurance policy?

 

I ask these questions because if the Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell gets his way on repealing the ACA (Obamacare), this is exactly what would happen.  This is especially since the Republicans have not offered one single plan for replacing Obamacare, now being held by those 17 million Americans.

 

Fortunately, for all those that are being helped by Obamacare, the senate leader is having some problems in getting that repeal to happen.

 

As of today, three US Senators and Republican presidential candidates, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio and Rand Paul have warned McConnell that his trick to pass Obamacare repeal through a budget reconciliation act will only get their vote if it repeals “absolutely everything in the law”.  That includes everything from Medicaid expansion to pre-existing conditions and even the free flu shots.

 

The Senate parliamentarian has also now ruled that some provisions of the GOP bill to repeal Obamacare and defund Planned Parenthood did not survive the so-called Byrd rule.  This legal rule governs when the powerful procedural tool known as "Reconciliation" can be used.

 

Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Susan Collins (R-ME), Mark Kirk (R-IL), and possibly more "moderates" don't want Planned Parenthood as part of the reconciliation bill.  Per Senator Murkowski, the Planned Parenthood provisions are "a big issue".  

 

So McConnell's got at least three senators who won't vote for anything short of complete repeal of Obamacare, or possibly four, because Utah's Senator Mike Lee has made his own comments about that.

 

Plus McConnell has three who won't want to take on a Planned Parenthood vote.

 

Now, McConnell needs 51 votes to pass his bill and for getting it to President Obama's desk, (Which he would veto anyway).  But he only has 54 Republican senators to work with, and that includes those as stated above. 

 

The Senate is going to be an interesting group to watch in the coming months.

 

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