Breakaway Senate Republicans Push to Delay Obamacare Repeal

[highplainsdem]

Source: Bloomberg

A breakaway group of five moderate Senate Republicans pushed Monday to delay a bill repealing Obamacare until March -- potentially enough pressure to force the party’s leadership to comply.

The step is the latest sign of some Republicans’ growing uneasiness about their leadership’s plan to repeal the law with no consensus on a replacement as part of an effort to deliver swiftly on one of President-elect Donald Trump’s top campaign promises.

Senators Bob Corker of Tennessee, Rob Portman of Ohio, Susan Collins of Maine, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska offered an amendment Monday to the budget resolution that would extend the target date for the committees to write an Obamacare repeal bill to March 3 from Jan. 27.

“As President-elect Trump has stated, repeal and replace should take place simultaneously, and this amendment will give the incoming administration more time to outline its priorities," Corker said in a statement. "By extending the deadline for budget reconciliation instructions until March, Congress and the incoming administration will each have additional time to get the policy right."

-snip-

Read more: https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2017-01-10/breakaway-senate-republicans-push-to-delay-obamacare-repeal

[mopinko]

1. good. these guys hold the keys to the kingdom. i hope they use them wisely.

and many their number increase. we are not going to see the monolithic voting block we are used to. these swing dudes will be the belles of the ball.

[haele]

29. Will they be able to impact 2018 elections with their votes?

As in, does Portman think his appearance of "reasonableness" might be able to wash off the Trump stench of the brand in his state and possibly work to secure a Republican replacement for Sherrod Brown?
All these Republicans all been whipped into line before when push comes to shove come actual vote. I'm wondering what sort of political shuffling and posturing is going on right now.
You always need to follow the money when it comes to the actions and statements of pretty near all Republicans on the Federal Level - moreso than you would most Democrats.

Haele

[mopinko]

30. well, i think many people will try to wash off just enough of the stink.

just enough to throw voters off the trail.

interesting times.

[GP6971]

2. 5 rebels

they're in for a rough ride

[cstanleytech]

9. Assuming they arent being used as a token to try and fool the voters into thinking that some

Republicans actually care about the average american.

[GP6971]

17. The only one I really know about

is Collins. The others, not so much.

[LenaBaby61]

27. They're in for a rough ride ...

And I see a house of cards falling in on these 5 Republicans in ....

5....4....3....2....1



They'll be FORCED to fall in line or ELSE by the other GOP hacks & assholes.

**PROVE ME WRONG AND HOLD OUT.**

[tenorly]

3. Democracy in action.

It's amazing how humanist even the most craven fascist politicians can be, when faced with the prospect of being voted out.

[DonCoquixote]

4. now we will see

what Mitch and Paul are willing to do, I have every bit of coincidence they will try some bs. Welcome to DC Mr. trump.

[Phoenix61]

5. Funny what happens when you make

People own their own crap. I believe if the Dems keep pushing more repubs will follow these five.

[Miles Archer]

6. Ha ha. This will free up some time for Trump on day one.

[Hekate]

7. Is that a fracture I see? Can we stick a wedge in it and hammer away? nt

[keithbvadu2]

8. Democrats should STOP calling it Obamacare.

Democrats should STOP calling it Obamacare.

The GOP has framed it as stopping Obamacare which is an evil name to their base.

Start calling it only by the name 'ACA' and local names such as Kynect which people who have it like.

Many of the base do not know they are the same.

Keep hammering that republicans want to repeal what many of their base wants to keep.

'Republicans want to cancel your ACA health insurance'

[elleng]

12. Right!

It's handy, but does us NO FAVORS. The People LIKE their ACA!

[herding cats]

22. Some do, others know and reflexively dislike it, too.

I've encountered both in my work. I'm only mentioning this so we don't get even more confused by our opposition and again think of them as a homogeneous group.

Many of the people I suggested should look up how they were one and the same refused to saying they didn't have to, because I was wrong and they didn't care. Most later began hating on the ACA on social media. This includes the husband of a person I knew personally whose wife died of breast cancer most probably due to a lack of preventive care.

These things aren't as simple as we'd like to believe they are.

[elleng]

23. Yes, I'm sure there are both.

NOTHING is simple, and propaganda often wins for that reason.

[DrToast]

14. Agree...I remember the debate between Obama and Romney

...where Obama agreed to call it Obamacare. I remember thinking that was a mistake at the time.

[Rollo]

19. I've been calling it the ACA since day 1...

I never thought that calling it Obamacare was a good idea. Not that Obama wasn't a great president, but that it's a mistake to tie landmark legislation like that to an individual president. Plus, it was first used as a pejorative by the Republicans, trying to discredit what was essentially a Republican concept to begin with by linking it to a president that a significant portion of the Republican base thought was an "Obamanation". Obama decided to go with the nickname, perhaps thinking by embracing it he would rob it of its sting. Didn't work.

That said, the ACA was never a great name to begin with. Too much of a mouthful. Something brief but vaguely patriotic would have been better. Unfortunately, "Americare" was already taken by a private company.

In any case, the next few months should be very interesting. At its core, and in many of its details, the ACA is the spawn of a conservative approach to health care reform. It was originally a Heritage Foundation proposal, adopted by Romney in Massachusetts, and then dusted off and made national with the ACA. Now the GOP has the not undaunting task of repealing legislation that was first their idea, and replacing it with something that is still their idea. Health savings accounts and tax credits are a poor substitution, a band-aid approach.

Eventually we'll have a government that can enact real universal health care coverage. Until then, it will be pain in the neck.

[AllAmerican]

20. Messaging matters

One of my most disappointed moments of the last 8 years was the first time I heard the President refer to the Affordable Care Act as Obamacare, and not in a sarcastic way.

[elleng]

28. It matters hugely,

especially in this twitterverse.

[Hortensis]

34. Yes.

[olddad56]

10. lets face it America is fucked.

[50 Shades Of Blue]

11. LOL They're just covering their own asses

[Hortensis]

35. No. Don't think so. Most of the Republican congress,

especially house members, are extremists chosen to do serve the extremist plutocrats who got them elected. This group is solidly farther right than the typical Republican voter. But not all, and these Senators are not extremists.

[50 Shades Of Blue]

36. They are still Republicans.

[Hortensis]

37. And of course we're still Democrats, devoid of respect for hard

work and...what's the term? Family values?

Hard to work up excuses for trump voters these days. Nevertheless, political bigotry is as poisonous as any other kind, and very dangerous to democracy, as this disastrous, dysfunctional, hyperpartisan election should have made appallingly obvious. Something to stomp on.

[50 Shades Of Blue]

38. They are working hard to cover their asses.

When Sen. Collins isn't kissing Jeff Sessions', of course.

[Freethinker65]

13. Time to keep up the pressure and thank the GOP five even if it is just a GOP delay tactic

[AllAmerican]

15. Armageddon

Even this attempt at caring for their fellow man is disingenuous. They are extending the goal post to distance themselves from the political and social Armageddon created by repealing the ACA.

[GP6971]

18. Armageddon

for who?

Welcome to DU!

[Thinkingabout]

16. Some of the Republicans are smart enough to realize repealing

ACA would bring a revolution and change a lot of states blue. I am going to gently remind my Medicare friends if ACA goes away then losing the Donut hole in 2020 is just as gone, not a pleasant thought.

[Snarkoleptic]

21. Sen. Rand Paul has also spoken out against repeal w/o replace.

Which should finally prove to his libertarian followers, that he's an intellectual fraud.
The people of KY love their Kynect and Medicade expansion, so he's selling out his Ayn Randian principals.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

24. Knew it would happen

[elmac]

25. even if the process is delayed

the damage is done, insurers will start dropping out, it will snowball out of control.

[TexasBushwhacker]

26. An extra 5 weeks should be plenty of time

to come up with a replacement, since they've already had SIX FUCKING YEARS!

[Xolodno]

31. They don't have enough time, as the whole "replace" idea was a sham.

Now they have to figure something out. They can't kill the thing this late in the game as it would be catastrophic and will result in a number of them losing their jobs next election.

Ryan will have it pass the house, thereby punting to the Senate. It will make him and his ilk look good for their constituents.

The Senate will be the one with the task of "replacing it". Which will basically be the same package but with some tweaks they've always stated they wanted:

1. Remove the medical device tax. Sets them for a future budget battle they will want.

2. Tort Reform. Make it harder to sue for malpractice and take away states rights in setting its own laws on this.

3. "Sell across state lines". Code words for federal regulation of the health insurance market. In other words, deregulate and take away the state's ability to veto a rate hike, require a higher level of prudence for the rate change, state mandated capital requirements, ability to sue/arbitrate/appeal moves to a harder and more crowded federal courts.

4. Bring back some of the junk plans.

Then they will punt back to the House and say they have replaced Obamacare, which will approve it.

Of course they will say it costs less to....well yeah, after you gut the regulations, etc.

[Dave Starsky]

32. Repeal it and replace it with same exact thing.

Call it Trumpcare this time.

No one will be angry and Cheetoh can take credit for it.

[Blue Idaho]

33. Delay till March?

They won't have a workable plan to replace Obamacare by then... but I appreciate the first kick of the can down the road. I suspect there will be many more to come.