The Return of Maverick McCain Saves Obamacare

[DonViejo]

John McCain, Susan Collins, and Lisa Murkowski did exactly what the Founders thought United States senators should do. Mitch McConnell and 48 other Republicans, not so much.

Michael Tomasky

07.28.17 6:29 AM ET

Wow. John McCain came through.

Thursday evening, as the workday ended, some colleagues and I checked in on the press conference McCain was having with Lindsey Graham, Ron Johnson, and Bill Cassidy. They were saying basically that they’d vote yes on “skinny” repeal as long as they could be sure it failed. “I am not going to vote for the ‘skinny’ bill if I’m not assured by the House there will be a conference,” Graham said. We couldn’t bear to watch much, turned it off, and went for a drink.

John, John, John, we muttered; millions of liberals and moderates across the country were surely muttering. What are you doing?

Yes, he was a war hero, no one denies that. Well, someone does, actually, and you know who I mean. But liberals don’t. And he used to be a great senator. But all that was very, very long ago. Since 2008, when he caved in to the advisers who pushed Sarah Palin on him as his vice-presidential pick, he’s been a different guy. And when he voted for the motion to proceed Tuesday, liberals thought: Really? You got up off of your cancer bed, where you’re getting Cadillac health-care paid for by us the taxpayers, and flew across the country to deny 20 million people health insurance? The mainstream media fell over themselves praising the speech he gave that day. Liberals hated it. Sure, pretty words, but they’re completely at odds with that shameful vote you just cast. What a phony.

Well, no more. He did the right thing. He cast a historic vote. Of course, it shouldn’t have come to this. No one should have voted for this travesty, written over lunch and not designed to fix anything; cynically reverse-engineered just to get 50 votes, damn the substance. It didn’t deserve one vote, let alone 49.

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http://www.thedailybeast.com/the-return-of-maverick-mccain-saves-obamacare

[MosheFeingold]

1. McCain did what he did

Because he hates Trump and the likes of Ted Cruz. He's a bitter, mean, old, guy. Not a man of principle.

But, hey, whatever works. A vote is a vote, no mater why cast.

I'll take it and chalk it up as a win.

[JayhawkSD]

2. "Maverick McCain Saves Obamacare"

Headlines everywhere on this line. "One Vote Sinks Health Care: McCain's."

John McCain, singlehandedly leaped into the breach and fought off the ravening reformers, defeating the heinous efforts of his own party, his valorous effort alone saving the American people from extinction by dread diseases.

There's only one problem with that story. Two other Republican Senators also voted against the bill, but they were both women and neither of them is dying of cancer so they don't count. I'm not quite the feminist that my wife is, but that meme is utter bullshit.

Let's try this, "Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins saved Obamacare, and John McCain went along for the ride." Let's hear more about two women who exhibited courage and leadership, and less about one self serving asshole from Arizona.

[BigmanPigman]

6. Of course they gloss over this fact! Another very evident example of sexism!

Keep in mind that a female rep (Hirono) who has stage 4 cancer came from Hawaii and flew in for the final vote too. No grandstanding and no hypocrisy like McCain. Don't you just love the double standard?!

[kimbutgar]

3. I wonder if he saw the criticisms about his hypocrisy and was concerned about his legacy.

[dalton99a]

4. I wouldn't doubt it

[Skittles]

5. or maybe it was the outpouring of support from Democrats since his diagnosis

or maybe he never forgot what Trump said about him

whatever the reason, I am very grateful